Around the world against the current for more sustainability: "Use it again!": After four "UFO" collisions comes Cape Horn

Since 4 January, they have been embarking on one of the rarer record attempts: Romain Pillard and Alex Pella are sailing around the world in the "wrong" direction, against the prevailing winds on an east to west course. Following in the footsteps of Ferdinand Magellan and Juan Sebastián Elcano, who was the first person to circumnavigate the globe with a crew around 500 years ago, the French-Spanish duo are fighting for a new record.

The record to beat has been held by Luc Van Den Heede since 2004 with 122 days and 14 hours. Since the Golden Globe winner's exceptional achievement, no other soloist or team has managed a faster non-stop circumnavigation of the globe on this challenging and rarely chosen route. These statistics are also impressive: 11,000 people have climbed Mount Everest, 3,000 people have been to space, 300 men and women have sailed the Vendée Globe, but only five have managed to enter the short record list of "wrong way round the world sailors". The official start was made by Joshua Slocum in 1895 on his "Spray" with a sailing time of 3 years, 2 months and 3 days. He was followed by Chay Blyth (1970), Mike Golding (1994), Philippe Monnet (2000) and most recently Jean-Luc Van Den Heede.

With their project, Frenchman Pillard and Spaniard Pella are also promoting marine conservation, sustainability and the circular economy under the project and boat name "Use it again!". They demonstrate the possibilities for this themselves by travelling on Ellen MacArthur's aged trimaran as part of their challenge. In 2005, Dame Ellen MacArthur set a new solo record for the fastest circumnavigation of the world in a "normal" easterly direction with the "B&Q/Castorama" trimaran. Since her retirement from professional sailing, MacArthur herself has been fighting for a sustainable global circular economy with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, which she founded. Now her refurbished trimaran is to be given a new lease of life. Here it goes to a Spanish report on the record attempt (please click) which is worth watching even if you don't speak Spanish, because the crew, route, boat and the hard work on board, as well as the sailors' enjoyment of the challenge, are clearly visualised.

"It's crazy how emotions are magnified tenfold at sea"

The start to their sailing adventure was bumpier than hoped for Romain Pillard and Alex Pella, as the daring record hunters have already collided with so-called "UFOs" (Unknown Floating Objects) four times in the first three weeks! So far, the two-handed crew has absorbed each of these shocks. The port rudder took a heavy knock once, but is still working.

While the infamous Cape Horn Passage lies ahead in the coming days, Romain Pillard reports on his experiences at sea: "This descent from the South Atlantic was not as fast as expected, but it offered us some wonderful moments. It's crazy how emotions are multiplied tenfold at sea. We have times of euphoria in total symbiosis with the ocean and the boat. I have never experienced such beautiful sunrises and sunsets in my entire life. These incredible colours are almost unreal. We also pay special attention to the beautiful surfing. Or a well-executed solo manoeuvre while your sailing partner sleeps peacefully. Our days are set in rhythm by a multitude of small, simple feelings of happiness. And then there are the hard knocks. In the same way, a small problem can very quickly take on larger proportions on a boat. Our next stop on this world tour backwards is the mystical Cape Horn. Christian Dumard, meteorologist and router for our team, has been observing and analysing the various weather models for the Cape for days so that we as a crew can find the best possible passage. At the moment it looks complicated to say the least. To be continued..."

Here it goes to the interactive map of the team where you can check at any time where the trimaran is currently on its record hunt (please click!). Below you can see the latest coordinates from 26 January. The team is approaching Cape Horn these days.