Please select your home edition
Edition
Barton Marine 2019 728x90

Round the World Solo – François Gabart and the MACIF trimaran are off

by Macif on 4 Nov 2017
François Gabart and the MACIF trimaran are off Alexis Courcoux / Macif
On standby since 22 October, François Gabart cast off today, Saturday 4 November, at 10.05 (French time, UTC+1) to take on the challenge of the single-handed round the world record.

The MACIF trimaran skipper left his home port of Port-la-Forêt, on Friday evening, to make his way to the round the world starting line located between the Créac’h lighthouse, in Ouessant (Ushant), and the Lizard Point lighthouse in Cornwall, England, before setting sail in an 18-knot north-westerly.



They’re off!

To beat the record, held since 25 December 2016, by Thomas Coville in 49 days, three hours, four minutes and 28 seconds, François Gabart will need to cross the finishing line before 13.09 on 23 December (French time, UTC+1). In addition to working relentlessly to push his 30-metre trimaran as hard as he can, he will also need a sequence of favourable weather conditions, starting with the weather he will meet on the first run to the equator, which Thomas Coville crossed last year in five days, 17 hours, 11 minutes and 52 seconds.



What François Gabart had to say as his boat was leaving Port-La Forêt late yesterday afternoon:

“We hope that this weather window will be the right one to pick up the trade wind and quickly head towards the South Atlantic. It’s a small window. I may not be the best window in the world, but there comes a time when you have to leave! We have a fair idea of what weather we will have until the equator, but not after that. This is also part of the record attempt. This is why we have chosen to leave now. We have to try and we’ll see near Brazil if the weather follows on as we would hope. The timing is really important, since this is a record that’s almost impossible to beat. Thomas [Coville] sailed wonderfully and the weather windows followed on from each other perfectly. So I will do my very best to get close to what he did. You really need to have a guiding star and a little success to have weather windows that follow on from each other well right until the end. I’m really impatient to sail around the world on this beautiful boat. It has taken nearly 2 years of work to get to this stage... now, it's time to go!'

Boat Books Australia FOOTER38 South / Jeanneau AUS SF30 OD - FOOTERSydney International Boat Show 2024

Related Articles

ROCKWOOL Canada Sail Grand Prix Day 1
Emirates Great Britain tops leaderboard on opening day Emirates Great Britain driver Giles Scott has responded to his critics with a commanding performance to secure the top position following the opening day of racing at the ROCKWOOL Canada Sail Grand Prix.
Posted today at 5:23 am
SailGP: Brits lead after Day 1 in Halifax
The British SailGP crew were a surprise leader on Day 1 on a day in which consistency paid The British SailGP crew, skippered by double Olympic Gold medalist were a surprise to top the overnight leaderboard after Day 1 of the Canada SailGP, sailed in Halifax, Canada.
Posted on 1 Jun
New York Vendée-Les Sables d'Olonne day 3
Regular Dalin back on top but 'the Herrmannator' remains fast in second French skipper Charlie Dalin would dearly like to be first back to Les Sables d'Olonne at the conclusion of the New York Vendée-Les Sables d'Olonne solo race to France.
Posted on 1 Jun
Australia SailGP team set for racing in Canada
Tom Slingsby says team has had the “kick up the ass” they need for first-ever Canada event Tom Slingsby says he and his Australian crew are 'in the hunter position', with the pressure on for them to deliver a winning performance and close the gap between them and their New Zealand rivals at ROCKWOOL Canada Sail Grand Prix in Halifax.
Posted on 1 Jun
Cup Spy May 29: AC75s at the Barcelona Dodgems
Four teams teams sailed on Wednesday in the now-congested waters off Barcelona Four teams teams sailed on Wednesday in the congested waters off Barcelona in ideal foiling conditions. All teams conducted similar sessions focussed around racing drills, with the chase boats being used to provide a competitive edge to the training.
Posted on 1 Jun
US SailGP Team keen to get racing
After a regatta ending capsize in Bermuda, the US team are ready to bounce back in Halifax Returning to competition for the first time since crashing in Bermuda, Taylor Canfield and team are fired up to kick off to the North American leg of the SailGP Season 4 tour, the Rockwool Canada Sail Grand Prix in Halifax.
Posted on 1 Jun
Outteridge looks at his SailGP options
"I just want to sail with my mate Goobs again", says Outteridge on his first crew pick Nathan Outteridge is one of the most experienced drivers in SailGP, and he's proven to be a real super sub in the league - stepping in to race for a number of teams when their regular drivers have been unavailable.
Posted on 1 Jun
SailGP: Coutts critiques teams ahead of Final
US team to start with a new wingsail trimmer, Coutts says starts are Kiwis' Achilles heel SailGP CEO Russell Coutts gives his behind the scenes insight of what to expect, and outlines what was a boat-setup error aboard three times series champion Tom Slingsby's F50 in the previous event in
Posted on 1 Jun
SailGP: Kiwis have a target on their backs
Rival Aussie driver Tom Slingsby conceded New Zealand were “the top team at the moment” New Zealand enters the weekend top of the overall standings, ten points ahead of Australia. Speaking at this morning's pre-event press conference, rival Aussie driver Tom Slingsby conceded New Zealand were “the top team at the moment”.
Posted on 1 Jun
SailGP rivalries set to ignite in Halifax
Ten national teams compete in debut Halifax event for the ROCKWOOL Canada Sail Grand Prix For the first time in SailGP history, the ten national teams take flight on the waters of Halifax for the ROCKWOOL Canada Sail Grand Prix this weekend June 1-2.
Posted on 31 May