Thomas Coville’s Sodebo and Francois Gabart’s SVR-Lazartigue set off this weekend in a race to break the non-stop around the world crewed record, and claim the Jules Verne Trophy.
Their target is to beat the current record time of 40 days, 23 hours, 30 minutes and 30 seconds, set by Francis Joyon on IDEC Sport in 2017, with a six-man crew in a non-foiling trimaran.
First away was Thomas Coville’s Sodebo which crossed the virtual start line off Brest, at 21:03 Friday 29 November. They will need to return by Thursday evening, 9 January 2025.
Then approximaitly 12 hours later Francois Gabart’s SVR-Lazartigue set-off Saturday morning 30 November at 08:51. Their target is to return by Friday morning, 10 January 2025.
The two teams have independent weather routing teams for their attempts.
They expect to overtake the Vendée Globe fleet in the southern ocean.
