‘Sodebo’ Breaks Jules Verne Trophy Circumnavigation Record
They made it! Sodebo crossed the finish line on Sunday morning, beating the Jules Verne Trophy circumnavigation record by almost 13 hours with a final time of 40 days, 10 hours, 45 minutes and 40 seconds. The record had stood since 2017, when Francis Joyon sailed nonstop around the world in 40 days, 23 hours, 30 minutes and 30 seconds. In December, Thomas Coville and six crew set off aboard the 100-ft trimaran Sodebo to attempt to break this already amazingly fast nine-year-old record.
The first Jules Verne record of sailing around the world in under 80 days was set by Bruno Peyron in 1993 aboard the 85-ft Commodore Explorer with American Cam Lewis aboard. It’s been lowered nine times since then.
Sodebo skipper Thomas and the crew averaged about 29.17 knots for their over-28,000-mile route around the planet. They beat all kinds of records along the way, weathered storms, and dodged icebergs. Finishing in the North Atlantic in January always sounds like a bad idea, but if you want to break records these are the things you do. You want to get around Cape Horn in the “summer,” and that brings you home in the winter. In their last 1,000 miles the crew reported winds up to 55 knots and seas up to 38 feet. And it’s cold.
These 100-ft Ultime-class trimarans have the crews essentially entirely encapsulated in the cabin, so most of the line handling, winch grinding, helmsmanship, navigation and all the rest happens “down below.” They very rarely tack or jibe, and actually, we’d guess they tack fewer times in 28,000 miles than we do in the average weather leg on the Cityfront. It’s also amazing that they don’t hit anything. Most racers have some fear that they could hit a log or container in the middle of the night, so sailing at that speed 24/7 for 40 days would be extra worrisome. Many prior record attempts have been aborted due to collisions with UFOs (unidentified floating objects).
While Sodebo was on their record-setting run there was another record attempt underway. The all-women’s team, The Famous Project, was looking to set the benchmark for the fastest time around the world for a female-crewed boat. The team has succeeded in their goal by completing their run for the Jules Verne Trophy in 57 days, 21 hours and 20 minutes. The Famous Project crew were also racing to break Joyon’s record, aboard Joyon’s 100-ft Ultime IDEC SPORT. Regardless of their finish time, they have broken new ground with their successful voyage, punctuated by countless racing challenges and unpredictable adversities on the ocean.
The Famous Project carried a total crew of eight from seven different nations, including skipper Alexia Barrier, Dee Caffari, Annemieke Bes, Rebecca Gmür Hornell, Deborah Blair, American Molly LaPointe, Támara Echegoyen, and Stacey Jackson. They were, above all, eager to make history in women’s sports and sailing by becoming the first exclusively female crew to complete this nonstop circumnavigation. They’ve done it!
Like the Vendée Globe, the Jules Verne Trophy seems dominated by the French, who have held the record nine out of the 10 times it’s been set. The first six records were set on catamarans, but since 2010 all the records have been set on trimarans.
The complete list of 10 records is here (with Bruno Peyron setting it three times!):
2026 – Thomas Coville, Sodebo – 40:10:45:50
2017 – Francis Joyon / IDEC SPORT – 40:23:30:30
2012 – Loïck Peyron / Banque Populaire V – 45:13:42:53
2010 – Franck Cammas / Groupama 3 – 48:07:44:52
2005 – Bruno Peyron / Orange II – 50:16:20:04
2004 – Olivier de Kersauson / Geronimo – 63:13:59:46
2002 – Bruno Peyron / Orange – 64:08:37:24
1997 – Olivier de Kersauson / Sport-Elec – 71:14:22:08
1994 – Peter Blake, Robin Knox-Johnston / Enza New Zealand – 74:22:17:22
1993 – Bruno Peyron / Commodore Explorer – 79:06:15:56
It will likely be the French who break this record again; it’s getting harder and harder to beat.