30 attempts, 14 finishes, nine records - these were the statistics before the latest record attempt by Thomas Coville, Benjamin Schwartz, Frédéric Denis, Pierre Leboucher, Léonard Legrand, Guillaume Pirouelle and Nicolas Troussel. The 35-year history of the Jules Verne Trophy has now been enriched by a successful finish and an impressive record.
Jules Verne Trophy: around the world in 40 days
Setting off on 15 December at 9.01 pm, the French crossed the start and finish line this Sunday morning at 7.46 am. For their non-stop chase around the world, they have chosen "Sodebo Ultim 3" 40 days, 10 hours, 45 minutes and 50 seconds needed. They are the tenth crew to join the short but prominent list of circumnavigators who have been allowed to lay their hands on the Jules Verne Trophy:
- 1993/1994: Bruno Peyron and crew (5) on "Commodore Explorer" (France); 79 days, 6 hours, 15 minutes, 56 seconds
- 1994/1995: Robin Knox-Johnston/Peter Blake and crew (8) on "Enza New Zealand" (Great Britain/New Zealand); 74 days, 22 hours, 17 minutes, 22 seconds
- 1997: Olivier de Kersauson and crew (7) on "Sport Elec" (France); 71 days, 14 hours, 22 minutes, 8 seconds
- 2002: Bruno Peyron and crew (13) on "Orange" (France); 64 days, 8 hours, 37 minutes, 24 seconds.
- 2004: Olivier de Kersauson and crew (13) on "Geronimo" (France); 63 days, 13 hours, 59 minutes, 46 seconds
- 2005: Bruno Peyron and crew (14) on "Orange II" (France); 50 days, 16 hours, 20 minutes, 4 seconds
- 2010: Franck Cammas and crew (10) on "Groupama 3" (France); 48 days, 7 hours, 44 minutes, 52 seconds
- 2012: Loïck Peyron and crew (14) on "Banque Populaire V" (France); 45 days, 13 hours, 42 minutes, 53 seconds
- 2017: Francis Joyon and crew (6) on "Idec Sport" (France); 40 days, 23 hours, 30 minutes, 30 seconds
- 2026: Thomas Coville and crew (7) on "Sodebo Ultim 3" (France); 40 days, 10 hours, 45 minutes, 50 seconds
Historic success for Team Sodebo
All records in the battle for the Jules Verne Trophy were set on multihulls. The competition, which has so far been dominated by the French with one exception, began with the dream of sailing around the world in 80 days - hence novelist Jules Verne ("Around the World in 80 Days") as the namesake.
The first record time set by Bruno Peyron and his crew in 1994 (79 days, 6 hours, 15 minutes and 56 seconds) has now been almost halved. In 1994/1995, Robin Knox-Johnston and Sir Peter Blake and their crew on "Enza New Zealand" were the only non-Frenchmen to break into this domain of French offshore sport.
On 25 January, Thomas Coville and Team Sodebo beat the nine-year record time set by Francis Joyon and his crew on 26 January 2017, which so many people had been trying to beat, by 12 hours, 44 minutes and 40 seconds. For the new Jules Verne record holders, all good things come in fours: the "Sodeboys" sailed to a historic triumph on their fourth attempt since 2020.
First best time in the Jules Verne Trophy almost halved
Coville and Co. have now almost halved the first Jules Verne record set by Bruno Peyron and his crew on "Commodore Explorer" in 1993/1994. They had already laid the foundations for this in a very good wind and weather window in the Atlantic at the start of this latest non-stop circumnavigation. They passed the Cape of Good Hope with a 1200 nautical mile lead over the existing "Idec Sport" record.
A difficult Indian Ocean followed, so that the lead of "Sodebo Ultim 3" at Cape Leeuwin had melted down to 200 nautical miles. South of New Zealand, Coville and Co. even fell behind the record time of "Idec Sport" at times. But the comeback was successful in the Pacific. With speeds of over 35 knots, the 32-metre VPLP Ultim trimaran was sometimes blazingly fast. At Cape Horn, they had an eleven-hour lead over "Idec Sport" on their dream run nine years ago.
"Sodebo Ultim 3" passed the equator on 19 January in the final Atlantic sprint. In the stormy finale, the seven sailors of the 40-strong Sodebo Voile team had to overcome brutal conditions once again, reminiscent of the storm finale of "Enza New Zealand" in 1995who dragged chains and hawsers behind her to get to the finish in one piece.
In the storm final for the Jules Verne Trophy
Already on the eve their triumphal journey Thomas Coville and his crew were greeted from the air by a Falcon 50 crew from the French Navy Nationale. Thomas Coville had expressed his hope "that we would reach the finish line in one piece". That has now been achieved. Thomas Coville and his crew were expected at the Quai Malbert in Brest this morning for a jubilant reception. According to the team, the planned live broadcast will begin at around 11am. The record still has to be World Sailing Speed Record Council (WSSRC) be ratified.
