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  Gabart's around-the-world dream—Sailing news from the U.S. and beyond
 | | François Gabart aboard the MACIF trimaran Jean-Marie Liot / DPPI / Macif |
While François Gabart (FRA) has long been a household name in France, this Vendee Globe winner and sailing wunderkind is less well-known at other latitudes and longitudes. This is poised to change, however, as the 34-year-old sailor is currently chasing an around-the-world dream that-if successful-will cement his name into an elite club of just three sailors who have held the record for the fastest singlehanded circumnavigation. The current record, set by Thomas Coville (FRA) in December of 2016 aboard the maxi trimaran Sodebo Ultim, stands at just 49 days 3 hours 7 minutes and 38 seconds, thus presenting the young Gabart with a tough ask by anyone's yardstick (even if they prefer using the metric system).
Some backstory. Gabart spent years under the tutelage of Michel “Le Professeur” Desjoyeaux (FRA) before stepping into the limelight during the 2012/2013 edition of the storied Vendee Globe, where-as a rookie-he swept the 20-boat fleet to take top honors.
 | | Vendee Globe Finish For Francois Gabart (Fra) / Macif After 78d 02h 16mn 40sec / Winner - Photo Vincent Curutchet DPPI / Vendee Globe |
Yet to peg this as mere beginner's luck would be akin to drastically underselling one of the most methodical and tactically minded sailors afloat...not to mention a guy who simply knows how to make a boat move, irrespective of whether it has one hull or three.
Given the hallowed status that ocean sailing holds in France, it's not surprising that Gabart's sponsor, Macif, was quick to sign him up for an extended contract aboard a state-of-the-art, 98-foot trimaran (also called Macif) that the young Frenchman has been developing and campaigning in a build-up to his current challenge of trying to best Coville's record for the fastest solo circumnavigation.
 | | Francois Gabart on board his MACIF ‘Ultim' 105ft trimaran, shown here celebrating after winning the 'Transat Bakerley' solo transatlantic yacht race. Lloyd Images |
Gabart cast off his docking lines and crossed the official starting line, which is situated between the Créac'h lighthouse in Ushant, France, and the Lizard Point lighthouse in Cornwall, UK, on November 4, and has been making excellent progress thanks to a weather window that, while not opulent, has so far been delivering big-mile days.
“It's a small window,” said Gabart before leaving the dock at Port-La Forêt. “It 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... We have to try and we'll see near Brazil if the weather follows on as we would hope.'
 | | François Gabart and the MACIF trimaran are off © Alexis Courcoux / Macif |
“Thomas [Coville] sailed wonderfully and [his] weather windows followed on from each other perfectly,” continued Gabart. “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!”
While these are still early days, Macif has been delivering average speeds in the high 20s/low 30s, which equates to daily runs that can average 650-700 nautical miles, provided that Mother Nature continues to provide her critical power source. Still, Gabart must re-cross his starting line by 1309 hours, local time, on December 23, 2017, if he is going to usurp Coville as the fastest solo-circumnavigation gun, making the margins impressively tight.
 | | Thomas Coville broke the 50day barrier for a single handed round the world voyage Thomas Coville / Sodebo |
So, while the Volvo Ocean Race's fleet of fully crewed Volvo Ocean 65s are charging across the Atlantic Ocean towards their Cape Town, South Africa, finishing line, and as the doublehanded sailors in the ongoing Transat Jacques Vabre (including Thomas Coville and Jean-Luc Nelias, who are racing aboard Coville's Sodebo Ultim) race from Le Havre, France, to Salvador de Bahia, Brazil, I'm keeping a close eye on Gabart and my fingers crossed that he breaks the record.
After all, the only way that standards improve is if the world's best constantly push harder than those whose wake they're following.
 | | Skipper Sébastien Josse's new trimaran, Maxi Edmond de Rothschild Gitana Team |
Still, there's a certain irony to the fact that the world's latest, no-holds-barred maxi trimaran, skipper Seb Josse's Maxi Edmond De Rothschild, cut its offshore teeth in this year's Transat Jacques Vabre. While there's no doubt that Josse and his co-skipper, Thomas Rouxel, fully engaged their TJV experience, odds are excellent that Josse and his sponsor have already agreed upon a multi-year offshore racing program that likely includes a shot at the solo-circumnavigation record, irrespective of who is holding it.
Game on!
May the four winds blow you safely home,
David Schmidt, Sail-World USA Editor
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