Sodeb'O skipper averages 25.87kts
Currently midway between the Cape of Good Hope and the Kerguelen Islands, skipper Thomas Coville has beaten the single-handed 24 hour distance record on a multihull, with a total distance of 620.80 miles covered at the average speed of 25.87 knots.
The trimaran Sodeb’O, part-way through a singlehanded circumnavigation, is making headway beam onto the wind in a 22 to 26 knot NNW’ly air flow with waves of 4 metres. He has just broken his previous record set in the same zone on 6th January 2008. At that time he covered 619 miles in 25.80 knots.
The wind is filling in so the record is set to continue to increase over the coming hours. It has yet to be approved by the WSSRC.
After slowing at the entrance to the Indian Ocean, Thomas has extracted himself from the clutches of a zone of high pressure and is on a direct course towards the Kerguelen Islands. Thomas was recorded making 35 knots of boat speed by his routers this morning.
The Maxi Sodeb’O is currently surfing along the edge of a low, which is generating 24/ 25 knots of NNW’ly. With a good swell moving in the direction of the wind, the ‘High Speed Trimaran’ of the seas is well and truly underway. However, the skipper isn’t leaving the deck as router to Sodeb’O, Christian Dumard, explains: “At this point of sail, slightly beam on to the wind, if the boat is carrying too much sail aloft, she immediately lifts and that can become dangerous. As a result Thomas is constantly maneuuvring whether it be the mainsail or his headsails, so as to maintain a better speed and ensure the boat is as stable as possible.”