Thursday 10th July 2008
THE RIGHT TEMP'O FOR THE NORTH ATLANTIC RECORD: LESS THAN 6 DAYS, 4 HOURS, 1
MINUTE AND 36 SECONDS
Press release No.41
FAIRS WINDS, FINE SEAS AND A RATHER SATISFYING FIRST DAY AT SEA
546 miles in 24 hours or an average of 22.8 knots for Thomas Coville on the
maxi trimaran Sodeb’O.
A very fine first day's sailing for Thomas Coville who is racking up the
miles with the constancy of a metronome. 24 hours after leaving New York,
the skipper of Sodeb’O has covered 546 miles and has a 192 mile lead over
Francis Joyon’s time in 2005.
As forecast, Thomas Coville has benefited from relatively flat seas for the
first 24 hours and a very steady 20 knot SW’ly. These conditions have
enabled him to sail under full mainsail and small gennaker for the majority
of the time. During the night, he reduced the sail area a little and hoisted
the solent due to a large amount of shipping and a pea-souper fog which
prevented the skipper from seeing either the top of the mast or the bow of
the boat. Since he has got into deeper waters, the famous fog generated by
the Nantucket banks has naturally lifted. Not only can the skipper see the
horizon but he can also be seen and pinpointed, which will enable him to get
a little rest. This will be very welcome as Thomas has only slept for short
periods over the past 24 hours, with just two 20 minute catnaps. Over the
next few hours, these stable conditions will last and the maxi trimaran may
be able to round Cape Race by the end of Friday - the cape is the most E'ly
point of the North American continent and the last taste of land prior to
the Atlantic crossing. Once there it will be a big run across the North
Atlantic.
To beat the record time achieved by Francis Joyon in 2005, Sodeb’O will have
to cross Lizard Point (SW tip of England) prior to Tuesday 15th July, 1545
UT, but we should take the maxi trimaran’s lead into consideration after
just 24 hours. Indeed Francis set off relatively slowly but we know the end
of the course to have been a perfect ride of 6 days 4 hours, one minute and
37 seconds, crowned by a solo 24 hour record of the time, that of 540 miles
on the second day. Since then, the 24 hour record has developed. It has been
beaten several times, notably by the self same Francis. The current record
now stands at 619.3 miles and it is Thomas who has held this since January
2008.
It should be noted that the WSSRC has validated Sodeb’O’s start time: 9th
July at 1147 hours UT.
NB: A live visio-conference is scheduled with Thomas tomorrow, Friday. We’ll
keep you informed about the timetable and the connection methods in a news
flash.
View the video of Thomas aboard the maxi Sodeb'O "la tension à bord"(onboard
tension) by clicking here.
Download the rights free VIDEO in MPG 4 format and the SOUND in MP3 format,
directly from the press section of the website www.sodebo-voile.com
Download the PHOTOS, VIDEOS and SOUNDS from Thomas Coville live in the press
section of the website www.sodebo-voile.com
Follow the latest news from the Trimaran Sodeb'O on the website
www.sodebo-voile.com
Translated by Kate Jennings – Expression
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