The Sodebo Ultim maxi-trimaran driven by Thomas Coville and Jean Luc Nelias has made it to the finish of the 13th season of the famous offshore race Transat Jacques Vabre. The crew took 7 days 22 hours 7 minutes and 27 seconds to complete the distance. They have crowned this year's Ultime Class as well as the new record holder of the regatta.
The 31-metre boat arrived off the coast of Brazil in El Salvador this afternoon, having covered 4,742 miles at an average speed of 24.94 knots.
Tom Coville already holds the world record for a single non-stop circumnavigation of the globe, which is currently being attempted by previous Transat Jacques Vabre winner Francois Gabart 's 100-foot Macif.
Sébastien Josse and Thomas Rouxel finished 1 hour 47 minutes and 57 seconds behind the winner on the world's biggest trimaran. Gitana 17 Maxi Edmond de Rothschild.
The sea giant led from the start of the race, but lost ground to a new record holder in the Canary Islands and never regained the lead. Maxi Edmond de Rothschild was Sodebo Ultim's main rival before the start, but the tandem of Coville and Nelles eventually managed to pick the best trajectory and make better use of the weather conditions.
«It will be a battle of two generations of trimarans»," announced Tom Coville at the start in Le Havre.
The remaining boats still have over 1000 nautical miles to go.
The 2017 Transat Jacques Vabre Regatta started on 5 November in Le Havre, France. During the challenging trials that awaited the participants on their way to Brazil, the 50-foot trimaran Multi 50 Drekan Groupe capsized , forcing Eric Defert and Christopher Pratt to abandon the race.
