Monday 08 December 2008
LINK-UP WITH THOMAS COVILLE:
NEW 24 HOUR DISTANCE RECORD HOLDER, SOLO IN A MULTIHULL
628.5 miles in 24 hours! Such is the performance achieved on Sunday night at
2045 hours (UT) by Thomas Coville aboard Sodeb'O.
After initially beating his own record yesterday at 1815 UT after covering
620.80 miles - compared with 619 on 6th January 2008 - the skipper was able
to continue lengthening his stride in a building wind. As a result he has
improved on his new record, reaching 628.5 miles at 2145 hours at an average
speed of 26.19 knots!
"These speeds are completely insane! To maintain an average of 26.19 knots,
you have to regularly make over 30 knots of boat speed, which effectively
means you have to be extremely quick the whole time! Sodeb'O is going fast.
She loves these conditions as do I! I am very happy with this record for all
the people who are accompanying me in this effort. Ellen (MacArthur, patron
to the Maxi Trimaran Sodeb'O, who completed this same round the world
circuit in 2005) had warned me that despite the very best preparation for
this round the world record, you would never be ready, either physically or
mentally, for such a testing exercise," admitted the skipper this morning
during the telephone link-up.
This record is awaiting official approval from the body that governs round
the world sailing records: the WSSRC.
AUDIO, VIDEO, IMAGES AND CARTOGRAPHY ACCESSIBLE FROM THE press zone on the
site www.sodebo-voile.com
Translated by Kate Jennings - Expression
|
