Jules Verne Trophy: "Sodebo" in the final spurt - "It's going well, guys!"
Tatjana Pokorny
· 22.01.2026
Nobody in Team Sodebo - neither on board the "Sodebo Ultim 3" some 700 nautical miles west of the Canary Islands, nor on land - wants to rejoice too soon. You never know. Instead, skipper Thomas Coville, his crew, the routers on land and the entire racing team are focussing fully on their Final spurt in the battle for the Jules Verne Trophy for the fastest non-stop circumnavigation with crew.
It's going to be exciting for the French, who are chasing the nine-year-old Jules Verne record set by "Idec Sport". For Team Sodebo, a new world record was already within reach on Thursday afternoon after 37 days and 15 hours at sea with around 1,650 nautical miles to the finish. In 2017, Francis Joyon and his team had sailed around the world in 40 days, 23 hours, 30 minutes and 30 seconds. No one has come close to this time since. Promising attempts often ended in "UFO" collisions and breakage.
Women without fortune: Mainsail torn
The women's team currently still sailing on the reactivated "Idec Sport" also had to accept early on that they would not be able to break the record. However, skipper Alexia Barrier, Dee Caffari and her six fellow sailors are still fighting to complete their non-stop circumnavigation as the first female crew on an Ultim trimaran, even without the cancelled chance of winning the Jules Verne Trophy. to achieve a best performance.
This has become even more difficult since the maltreated "Idec Sport" mainsail tore in violent winter storms on the Atlantic on Wednesday. In the Azores archipelago, it took four hours before the mainsail could be brought back under control and secured in the second reef. This latest brutal and irreparable setback has cost Alexia Barrier, Dee Caffari, Annemieke Bes, Rebecca Gmür Hornell, Deborah Blair, Molly LaPointe, Támara Echegoyen and Stacey Jackson more than half their mainsail area and will slow the trimaran down.
We are strong, we are united. So cheer up, we can do it!" Alexia Barrier
The skipper said: "Our mainsail tore in two when we wanted to jibe to set reef 1. In short, we spent three hours trying to get the mainsail down. Eventually we managed to get it into the reef 2 position. We still have a piece of mainsail left, just enough for reef 2, so we are continuing our journey." Alexia Barrier continued: "It can't be repaired. But two reefs will be enough to get us to Brest in the weather we're going to have. So, we're not worried."
"Sodebo Ultim 3" ahead of "Idec Sport" at the finish line?
After the mainsail breakage on "Idec Sport", it is not unlikely that Thomas Coville and his "Sodebo" crew will pass the women, who have been travelling for almost 54 days, on their way to the finish. The sailors last expected to cross the finish line on the evening of 25 or 26 January. Click here to track The Famous Project for women on "Idec Sport". For the men, who have already achieved several best performances on their ride around the worldthe record chance expires on 25 January at 20:31:25.
Will they come through and win the Jules Verne Trophy? Six-time circumnavigator Dee Caffari from the women's team knows just how difficult this is: "There have been 30 attempts to win the Jules Verne Trophy, but only 14 of them have successfully completed the circumnavigation. Only 9 of them have resulted in a record." Will the "Sodebo Ultim 3" run be the tenth?
The offshore world is now holding its breath. Coville and Co. still have at least one nasty hurdle to overcome on the way to the finish line: From Gibraltar onwards, gale-force winds are expected to pick up on the final nautical miles west of the Iberian Peninsula all the way to England. For the time being, however, the mood in the team remains good and focussed. The team's routing group on land commented on the latest weather information on Thursday: "It's going well, guys!"
Thriller in the final: Will "Sodebos" cushion be enough to break the record?
On Thursday afternoon, the "Sodeboys" held a lead of almost 700 nautical miles over the "Idec Sport" performance at the comparable time of the circumnavigation nine years ago. That is a good cushion, even if it initially melted slightly on the 38th day at sea in only around ten knots of wind.
