Sodeb'O- And then comes the Indian

by Kate Jennings - Expressions on 6 Dec 2008 One is entitled to wonder how far it will go when you look at the average speeds of these multi-hulled craft which naturally devour the North and South Atlantic in a single breath.

We honour the ladies with Dame Ellen leading the way in 2004 with a time of 19 days and 9 hours. She was to be beaten in 2005 and 2007 by Orange II and Groupama III, among others, who made the descent from Brest to the Cape of Good Hope in around two weeks*. However, we should remember that these two giants of the seas each had a crew of strapping fellows aboard to successfully control their steeds.

And then came a major exploit when Francis Joyon, all alone on his trimaran Idec, swallowed up the Atlantic like a metronome last year; the entire feat along an unashamed route, which was to take just 15 days, 7 hours and 16 minutes at an average speed across the water of 20.24 knots. It was a first in the history of solo sailing. The skipper set the bar sky high.

And Thomas Coville set about tackling it at a fiercely relentless pace this year, and completed the first stage in this circumnavigation of the globe just 29 hours from the summit. It has to be said that Saint Helena was particularly unkind, forcing Sodeb'O to go right around the outside of her, whilst a year earlier, Joyon was allowed to merrily cut the corner. And yet the skipper of Sodeb'O has nonetheless been able to link together two weeks of 500 mile days, or more, despite miserable weather and seas which weren't always gracious, often lying across his path.

Paradoxically, even though he's taken 16 days, 12 hours and 23 minutes, Thomas has been the fastest of the two, with an average speed of 20.51 knots VMG compared with 20.24 knots for Francis. The only thing is that the skipper of Sodeb'O, as we mentioned before, was forced by Dame Weather to take the route not far off Brazil, which is a damned awful diversion. Whilst the cheeky skipper of Idec made his descent of the Atlantic in just 7,492 miles, Sodeb'O's log had this morning clocked up 8,153 miles at the Cape of Good Hope, which is 661 additional miles.

Fortunately there is still a long way to go. Thomas has just completed a third of the course of what amounts to precisely 24,275 miles along the great circle route. Since this morning, Thomas has been sailing in the Indian Ocean with its seas battered by a succession of lows, whose principal aim seems to be to spin around the Antarctic and give sailors a shake-up.

Today's weather analysis by Richard Silvani from Météo France: 'The still steady NW'ly wind of over 30 knots is shifting to the W and then the SW, as the trimaran's course bends southwards. She will have to continue to move quickly in very messy seas with big waves, as a zone of high pressure is approaching from the west! The trimaran has a rendez-vous with a new low this weekend!'

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