His astonishing new record for sailing solo, non-stop around the world of 42 days, 16 hours and 40 minutes on the trimaran MACIF is truly breathtaking.
Gabart set sail on the same weekend as the Volvo Ocean Race fleet left Lisbon for Cape Town – it is simply remarkable that he has already finished and that he managed to slice nearly six-and-a-half days off the record set in 2016 by Thomas Coville which many observers thought would last for years.
His performance and that of his boat reminds us that although the Volvo Ocean 65s are relatively extreme from the point of view of ordinary amateurs, they are like buses compared to the Formula One cars of the Ultime class.
(Robin Knox-Johnston was the first man to sail around the world solo and non-stop in 1969, taking 312 days. Gabart has now done it in 42 days. It makes you wonder just how much more time can be taken out of this record…are we close to the final frontier?)
Back out on the Volvo Ocean Race course in the southern Indian Ocean, it has been an unremittingly hard slog for Dongfeng Race Team as Charles Caudrelier and his crew battle to keep Xabi Fernandez and his team on MAPFRE behind them.
Over the last 12 hours Dongfeng Race Team has executed no less than 12 gybes as the boat has zig-zagged along the new edge of the Antarctic Ice Exclusion Zone.With each gybe requiring all hands - seven on deck and two re-stacking the gear below - and taking up to 40 minutes, you can quickly work out that there will have been precious little time for sleep or food as the crew work their way towards Australia.
This morning they are heading southeast again in 20 knots of northwest breeze and navigator Pascal Bidegorry is keeping them glued to the imaginary wall on the southern edge of the course. This is the shortest route and the best way to stay in the breeze as light winds spread across the ocean to the north of the fleet.
The latest position reports underline that the boats behind Dongfeng have all made ground on the leader as Dongfeng experiences a situation in which the “rich get poorer,” with stronger breeze behind and lighter conditions ahead.
The red and white Volvo Ocean 65 sponsored by Dongfeng Motor Corporation of China is now just seven miles ahead of MAPFRE, with Vestas 11th Hour Racing having cut their deficit to around 50 miles in third place. In fourth place Team Brunel is only another 10 miles back.
And where exactly is Dongfeng? Well she is now 2,560 nautical miles from Cape Town and 3,190 miles from Melbourne. She is 315 miles north-northeast of the Kerguelen Islands and 2,000 miles west-southwest of Cape Leeuwin.
Position report at
Latest position report at 0936 UTC:
1. Dongfeng Race Team. DTF: 3, 161nm
2. MAPFRE. DTL: 3.1nm
3. Vestas 11th Hour Racing. DTL: 42.0nm
4..Team Brunel. DTL: 58.8nm
5. Team Sun Hung Kai / Scallywag. DTL: 70.2nm
6. Turn The Tide on Plastic. 119.2nm
7. Team AkzoNobel. DTL: 263.6nm
