Oops, I Did It Again

As the Wanderer pointed out to us, "Francis Joyon, without really trying, broke the Transatlantic record." Joyon was returning solo from The Bridge race, in which he had competed with crew. 

And it was his own solo record that he beat, by 49 minutes. He had set the record in June 2013 aboard his previous trimaran, the 95-ft IDEC. This week’s record was set aboard the 104-ft IDEC Sport, the same VPLP-designed maxi-trimaran that holds the Jules Verne Trophy around-the-world record. The 61-year-old Frenchman achieved the new record for the crossing between the Ambrose Light, New York, and the Lizard Light, UK, without any preparation beforehand, no stand-by period or sophisticated routing, and without advance fanfare.

“I only just did it,” said Joyon. “I was pleased to finish, as over the past 24 hours, it has been very tiring. My autopilots weren’t working well, so I had to stay at the helm all the time over the past 24 hours, while carrying out maneuvers in a lot of squalls with the boat slamming into the seas.

"I set off from New York in a hurry,” he stressed. “I didn’t even have time to sort out the supplies. I just bought some eggs and bananas. As for the food on board, the lads ate it all during the crossing in The Bridge.”

Joyon departed from New York on July 6 and arrived in Cornwall on July 12. The new record (pending ratification) is 5 days, 2 hours, 7 minutes. See www.idecsport-sailing.com.