Circumnavigations: Three tris, three worlds - "Sodebo" record at Cape Horn

There is a lot going on at Cape Horn and in the South Atlantic: The women's team The Famous Project had already passed the most legendary of all landmarks for circumnavigators on 6 January and heralded its final Atlantic sprint. However, the record time for non-stop circumnavigations, which Francis Joyon and his crew had set in 2017 with the same "Idec Sport" at 40 days, 23 hours, 30 minutes and 30 seconds, had already expired for Alexia Barrier, Dee Caffari and their six fellow competitors on 9 January.

The Famous Project with foil problems

The Famous Project has now been on the road for almost 43 days. Technical problems at the start had jeopardised their Jules Verne record chance of the fastest non-stop circumnavigation of the globe. Nevertheless, they did not give up and have now passed three capes as the first all-female crew on a maxi trimaran and sailed far east of Brazil on 11 January, already over the 30th parallel south towards the equator.

The sailors had to contend with lighter winds recently, but also took the opportunity to check their damaged starboard foil, which had been damaged during the Cape Leeuwin high-speed passage in a collision with a large fishing net and its floats and possibly another collision. The sailors have only now been able to see the severe delamination at slower speeds.

The unusable foil has now been completely recovered and locked in place. Alexia Barrier reported: "We got the foil up yesterday in calm conditions and realised that it was damaged in the lower part. That was a bit of a surprise. We can't use it anymore, but that's okay because the boat was built without foils (ed.: 2006), so we will sail it without a starboard foil."

Almost a "meeting of giants" at Cape Horn

However, the damage is not a major concern for the crew on the Atlantic home stretch of their non-stop circumnavigation. For the women, it was less than 2000 nautical miles to the equator on Sunday morning. Click here for the track for The Famous Project. Alexia Barrier, Dee Caffari, Annemieke Bes, Rebecca Gmür Hornell, Deborah Blair, Molly LaPointe, Támara Echegoyen and Stacey Jackson continue to put the pedal to the metal.

Southwest of them, Guirec Soudée was still fighting its way towards Cape Horn off the Argentinian coast. The Frenchman wants to sail around the world with the trimaran "Macsf" against the prevailing winds. He would achieve his first major milestone with the most notorious of the three capes before sailing into the Pacific, which Thomas Coville's 'Sodebo Ultim 3' has just left. Even a "giants' meeting" at sea between the "Macsf" soloist and his seven compatriots seemed conceivable for a while, but has become rather unlikely if Team Sodebo keeps to the planned course east of the Falkland Islands. Guirec Soudée (click here for his tracker) too late for an encounter at sea.

It still had around 600 nautical miles to go to Cape Horn early on Sunday morning, when Thomas Coville's "Sodebo Ultim 3" had already passed it during the night. The 2019 Ultim had achieved this with a new Pacific record (7 days, 12 hours, 12 minutes) after a total of 26 days, 4 hours and 46 minutes. This record had previously been held by François Gabart with "Macif" and 7 days 15 hours since 2017.

Cape Horn: 11 hours ahead for "Sodeboys"

In the Cape Horn passage, Team Sodebo had a lead of around 235 nautical miles over the "Idec Sport" record time. In a comparison between the "Idec Sport" record from 2017 and the current time of "Sodebo Ultim 3", the "Sodeboys" had now reached Cape Horn 10 hours and 59 minutes faster than Francis Joyon and his crew once did in their successful attempt. "Sodebo Ultim 3" had travelled 19,781 nautical miles at Cape Horn since the start in Ouessant - 1449 more than "Idec Sport" once did. The very informative tracker shows this comparison between the record-breaking journey of 2017 and the current Sodebo attempt on a permanent basis.

It's a great moment, especially after our cancellation last year. It's great to set a new reference time, but our goal is the record in Ouessant." Guillaume Pirouelle

"Sodebo Ultim 3 has now already left the Pacific and is following The Famous Project team, which drives the old Idec Sport, in the South Atlantic. In contrast to the women's team, the seven-strong men's team on "Sodebo Ultim 3" still has every chance of breaking the nine-year-old "Idec Sport" record. Team Sodabo had 14 days, 18 hours, 44 minutes and 29 seconds for the final sprint from Cape Horn to the finish line near Ouessant if they want to lift the Jules Verne Trophy into the French sky at the end.

We are proud and satisfied with what we have achieved so far. But we know that it's not the time at Cape Horn that counts, but the time when we arrive in Ouessant." Nicolas Troussell

Team Sodebo leaves the Southern Ocean with the Cape Horn Passage. Skipper Thomas Coville said: "I like to call Cape Horn the 'Cape of Happy Deliverance'. It's the opposite of the Cape of Good Hope, which takes us into the southern hemisphere where we are on our own. Over the last few days we've had rough seas, strong winds, icebergs and lots of ice. Which has made us even more excited about passing it."

Navigator Benjamin Schwartz also described his feelings about the successful passage, saying: "Cape Horn is a symbol because it is the exit of the South Sea tunnel and the return to milder conditions. For me personally, it's the first time I've come this far on a non-stop circumnavigation." This Jules Verne record attempt had already got off to a promising start with the record at the Cape of Good Hope on Boxing Day.

The South Atlantic: the final challenge

Thomas Coville, Benjamin Schwartz, Frédéric Denis, Pierre Leboucher, Léonard Legrand, Guillaume Pirouelle and Nicolas Troussel know that they must not let up now. The Atlantic ascent harbours its own dangers and the current conditions confirm this, according to the team. Several areas of low pressure are currently forming off the coast of Argentina and Uruguay. The crew may favour an easterly route before the wind, but according to the team, they must "keep a cool head and constantly adapt".

The new week will be decisive in the current battle for the Jules Verne Trophy. The Sodebo routers have already confirmed it: The most complicated part of this attempt to break the non-stop record around the world begins. Thomas Coville said: "In a competition, the hardest part often comes at the end. Of course it will be less cold and there will be fewer icebergs. But we still have to expect low pressure areas and difficult conditions. It's up to us to bring what we're building to a successful conclusion."

The hardest part is not behind us, but ahead of us!" Thomas Coville

Benjamin Schwartz explained: "We are slowly approaching the finish line. The next waypoints are the equator and, above all, the finish line. We are already a little impatient to find out the result of this attempt. We have all the cards in our hand to break this record."

Bravo! The last and third cape of the non-stop circumnavigation has been mastered! The clip from the night of the Cape Horn passage of "Sodebo Ultim 3":