Pushing swiftly towards his goal of an unprecedented fast solo circumnavigation, Francois Gabart not only broke the 24-hour solo record but also crossed the distance from the French island of Hessan to the Cape of Good Hope in the shortest time in sailing history.
Neither the damaged batten nor the forced reduction in speed broke the spirit of the young Frenchman.
The previous time, the yachtsman covered 778 miles in 24 hours on his own.
For comparison, the maximum distance sailed in a day is 907.9 miles. This value was set on a trimaran Banque Populaire V in 2009, but then the boat was driven by 11 people.
Moreover, Gabar reached the Cape of Good Hope in 11 days, 20 hours and 10 minutes after crossing the starting line between Wessan and Lizard Islands. He beat the previous record time of 1 hour 38 minutes, set in 2011 by Loïck Peyron for the Jules Verne Cup.
François Gabart set sail on November 4, aiming to set a new record for a solo circumnavigation of the globe. To achieve his goal, he needs to circumnavigate the globe by 13:09 on 23 December.