English News
Jan
08
24 HOUR DISTANCE RECORD - RETIREMENT FOLLOWING DAMAGE
At 1245 UTC with 619.3 miles or 1115 kilometres covered at an average of 25.8 knots, Thomas Coville on Sodeb'O beat the 24 hour record distance sailing single-handed. In this way he beats the record held by Francis Joyon (616.03 miles) by 3 miles. The record is currently awaiting approval with the WSSRC.
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Jan
08
Thomas Coville retires
RETIREMENT OF THOMAS COVILLE FROM HIS SINGLE-HANDED ROUND THE WORLD RECORD ATTEMPT IN A MULTIHULL
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Jan
08
D+18 - THE LAND OF FEAR
Whilst sailing abeam of the Cape of Good Hope, at the gateway to the Indian Ocean at 48 degrees South, (NB: the town of Brest, NW tip of France, is situated at 48 degrees North), Thomas Coville has just been through one of the most stressful nights of his sailing life.
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Jan
08
THE FIRST SIGNS OF THE FORTIES
Return of a favourable weather system aboard Sodeb'O, which is sailing towards the forties
For the past two days, Thomas Coville has found fresh wind again and, what is more a good W'ly wind which is progressively shifting round to the NE, propelling the red and white trimaran along at over 20 knots towards the Cape of Good Hope. Installed abeam of Sodeb'O's course, the Saint Helena High will force the skipper from La Trinite, Brittany to make a detour of some 800 miles. A high price to pay, which the skipper estimates to be around two and a half days
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Dec
07
SAINT 'ELLEN' ACROSS THE ROUTE
The name 'Saint Helena High' has never been so fitting in the eyes of Thomas Coville, such is it currently protecting Ellen MacArthur's record. The immense 'high pressure zone' stretches right across the whole Southern Atlantic and is barring the course of the Trimaran Sodeb'O to the Cape of Good Hope and the Indian Ocean. The skipper has thus resolved to round to the West of the zone of high pressure, extending his course by around 800 miles, that is close to two days. Prior to his departure, Thomas recalled that on a record, solely the conditions for the first few days can be selected and that afterwards it's the meteorological sequences that set the tone. Here we have a perfect example of that.
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Dec
07
IN A FEW HOURS TIME, THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE
Despite a far from perfect weather sequence since the start, Sodeb'O is currently sailing at 2 degrees North and is likely to pass the equator tonight, after a little over 7 days racing, that is with a day and a half's lead over Ellen and a few hours extra than Francis Joyon's record time. It has to be said that Thomas Coville has been going flat out since Ushant despite harsh conditions and that it's at the cost of some intense physical effort that he'll pass into the Southern hemisphere this Christmas Eve.
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Dec
07
D+3: LIKE A FLYING FISH
At the latitude of the Canaries
In three days, Sodeb'O has been making an average of over 20 knots of boatspeed at the latitude of the Canaries. Indeed, Thomas Coville has pointed out to us how ephemeral the seasons are when you're at sea on a multihull. Setting out in an icy cold at the start of the week, Thomas has already removed his fleece. Today he is sailing in a T-Shirt in the knowledge that in three days time, he will be enduring the sticky humidity of the equatorial zones and in another ten the hat, gloves and furry boots will be out again with the entry into the Indian Ocean.
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Dec
07
'LIGHTNING STRIKE' THIS MORNING, GALES TONIGHT
Less than 24 hours after leaving Ushant, the maxi-trimaran Sodeb'O has already left Cape Finisterre in its wake and is currently skirting around a depression to the West of Portugal. At 1530 hours UTC, the trimaran had covered over 400 miles, at an average speed of 21.9 knots. The weather has kept its promise. After a bracing night and an unscheduled 'lightning strike' at dawn, Thomas Coville is preparing to tackle 45-50 knots of wind in the coming hours, with waves of 5 to 6 metres.
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Dec
07
Thomas Coville is off on his solo round the world aboard a multihull!
Thomas Coville crossed the official start line of the single-handed round the world record attempt this evening at 18 hours 43 minutes and 21 seconds UTC. The maxi-trimaran Sodeb'o set out with two reefs/ORC pushed by an E/NE'ly wind of nearly 30 knots, set to fill in overnight.
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Dec
07
An English Sodeb'O/Thomas Coville feature on the Helly Hansen website
Helly Hansen, Sodeb'O 's exclusive supplier for clothing outdoor and sports, whishes to be part of the Thomas' record attempt.
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par EMILIE : Bon Anniversaire Thomas ! Que les vents de révolte qui soufflaient au moment de ta naissance se transforment, cette année, en vents de victoireS pour tes tentatives de recordS. A+. Emilie (de Lille ;-)
