The one thing you can say about French sailor Thomas Coville is that he’s as persistent as he is an accomplished ocean racer. He’s currently standing by in Brest, France, with his 105-ft maxi trimaran Sodebo, waiting for a weather window to take yet another crack at the singlehanded around-the-world record.

"Equipment, food…everything is on board," says Coville. “The waiting period is not easy to manage because you have to save money while keeping energy and motivation. My routers analyze weather files and will alert me when a window opens. Finally, freedom can be binding, despite knowing that the perfect window does not exist, we believe! We adjust our requirements as time passes knowing that the ideal window is between November 1 and December 15.”

This will be Coville’s eighth race around the world, the fourth singlehanded in an effort to claim the record for the fastest singlehanded circumnavigation. In his last two attempts, he failed by three days or less to beat the 57.5-day record set by another great French singlehander, Francis Joyon with the 97-ft trimaran IDEC.

In the world of singlehanded multihull sailing, there is only Joyon and Coville, who compete against each other for around-the-world, TransAtlantic and other records. The two men and their boats are very different. Coville is outgoing and his trimaran is equipped with the best of everything. Joyon is much more private, and his trimaran is the essence of simplicity. Right now, Joyon is the top dog.

As you can imagine, singlehanding a maxi multihull is dangerous enough in mild conditions, but around the Southern Ocean is exponentially more dangerous. As proof, check out the YouTube video of Coville almost auguring in with Sodebo.

Paper is so passé — at least according to the federal government. NOAA announced earlier this week that the Federal Aviation Administration, the government agency that prints maritime charts, will cease printing them after April 13, 2014. Before you freak out, take a deep breath and keep reading.

The charts, which will continue to be updated by NOAA, will be still be available for purchase at shops with print-on-demand capabilities — Waypoints in Oakland and West Marine, for example (see OceanGrafix for a full list of worldwide retailers) — and the maximum price is set by the government to ensure affordability.

Digital chart files have been available for some time in ENC and raster formats, but NOAA has launched a trial program that will make them available in PDF format through January 22. If the response to the trial is positive, NOAA will likely continue the service. Read the FAQ sheet on the announcement HERE and download the free chart files HERE.

Of course modern chartplotters have made paper charts all but obsolete, but we personally would never leave on an extended voyage without a pile of paper back-ups. Electronics are known to fail at the most inconvenient times and we’d hate to have to enter port using the Braille method.

Besides, we have a certain fondness for paper…

Throughout the world, tall ships are divided into four classes, with the largest — longer than 131 feet — given the designation of ‘Class A’. We think it’s a fitting moniker, as it not only acknowledges the size of these vessels, but also hints at their nautical grandeur. It’s not an exaggeration to say that Class A tall ships are the most spectacular traditionally rigged sailing vessels on the water today, and you have a rare opportunity to tour one this week, as the Colombian Navy’s magnificent three-masted barque Gloria will be berthed at Pier 17 until her departure on October 29 (tentatively 1 p.m.).

Currently homebound after a world tour, Gloria serves as both a goodwill vessel for Colombia and a seamanship training platform for up to 100 naval cadets. At 250 feet, she is one of the largest tall ships in the world, and she’s been in continual service since her launch in 1966 at Bilbao, Spain.

Don’t miss this opportunity to check her out first hand. South American officers and crew are always gracious hosts who take great pride in their vessels.

Public tour schedule:
Oct. 25: 2-4 p.m.
Oct. 26: 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Oct. 27: 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Oct. 28: 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Oct. 29: 10 a.m.-12 p.m.