Jules Verne Trophy: Record at the Cape of Good Hope, off to the Southern Ocean
Tatjana Pokorny
· 27.12.2025
Grey skies, grey seas, small mounds of foam on the waves: In the midst of inhospitable conditions, "Sodebo Ultim 3" races across the sea. The crew is chasing the Jules Verne Trophy for the fastest non-stop circumnavigation. The opening went more than promisingly: skipper Thomas Coville, navigator Benjamin Schwartz and their crew also passed the Cape of Good Hope in a new record time after their equator record on the evening of Boxing Day.
Jules Verne Trophy: next record for Team Sodebo
10 days, 23 hours and 56 minutes after their start, the "Sodebo" crew passed the first of the three major capes at 8.56 p.m. on the evening of 26 December. At the Cape of Good Hope, the current hunters were 1 day, 19 hours and 31 minutes faster than the Jules Verne record holder "Idec Sport" on her record journey in 2017. The record for the section from the start line in France to the Cape of Good Hope has been held by "Maxi Edmond de Rothschild" since 2021, whose best time was beaten by "Sodebo" by 9 hours and 36 minutes. Click here for the informative tracker from Team Sodebo.
After briefly celebrating the best time ever sailed between Ouessant and the Cape of Good Hope, the seven-strong "Sodebo" crew seamlessly continued their exhilarating journey with the second major leg in the Indian Ocean. Thomas Coville, Benjamin Schwartz, Frédéric Denis, Pierre Leboucher, Léonard Legrand, Guillaume Pirouelle and Nicolas Troussel did so with the good feeling of having beaten "Idec Sport" by almost two days on their record-breaking voyage around nine years ago.
Skipper Thomas Coville said after the overall successful Atlantic opening passage: "This is a great moment for the team. It makes us forget a bit that we didn't have much wind and didn't make much progress today. We've been fighting for this all day! And now all seven of us are experiencing the Cape of Good Hope together, everyone was awake for the passage. We are very happy with the time. Symbolically, a time of under eleven days is really great! That's the time we were aiming for with the routing team. Now we have a third of the route behind us, we will endeavour to continue like this."
The first stage successfully mastered
In fact, the "Sodebo" crew already had 6559 nautical miles in their stern water when they passed the Cape of Good Hope and still had 15949 nautical miles to go. The record is also a great achievement because the very extensive St Helena High had previously forced the crew far to the west of the Atlantic on a southerly course.
"Sodebo Ultim 3" had got off to a brilliant start and 4 days, 4 hours, 2 minutes and 25 seconds set a record between Ouessant and the equator. The route in the South Atlantic then proved to be more difficult than expected. "It really was a very long diversions to Brazil before we could turn left," explained Thomas Coville. But also this: "Even though it was a long way, we maintained a constant speed of 35 to 40 knots on average. It's great to have achieved this reference time, but we realise that this is just one stage and we can't let up."
The goal remains unchanged: to break the Jules Verne Trophy record. "We are going at the right pace, but we know that we have to remain humble and focused at all times," emphasised Thomas Coville. The Jules Verne record for the fastest non-stop circumnavigation under sail is 40 days, 23 hours, 30 minutes and 30 seconds.
The battle for the Jules Verne Trophy continues in the Southern Ocean
On 27 December, Team Sodebo had already reached the 45th parallel south. The long and challenging Southern Ocean passage is underway. The team's routers are working together with CLS (Collecte Localisation Satellite) to detect and classify possible ice and minimise the risk of collisions. At the same time, the crew has to deal with the plummeting temperatures. On board the "Sodebo Ultim 3", hats and warm clothing are very popular.
It's exciting to see how the conditions are changing. We are approaching even more inhospitable areas and are ready to face them!" Pierre Leboucher
"It's true that we're all dressed to the nines, especially when it comes to changing sails," said Pierre Leboucher, talking about the challenges in the race for the Jules Verne Trophy. "Going outside is like an expedition," added Thomas Coville. "We have also adapted our meals and are now eating more calories."
Beforehand, intensive work was carried out in collaboration with Sodebo's research and development laboratory to compose freeze-dried meals for each sailor that are precisely tailored to their personal nutritional requirements (around 4000 kcal in cold regions). Even when the thermometer has dropped, the mood on board is excellent.
