Adapted from article by: James Scanlon

Thomas Coville has bested the previous single handed round the world record in the high performance 105 foot trimaran, SOBEDO. Colville’s time was 49 days, three hours and 10 minutes. This was 8 days and 10 hours faster than Francis Joyon’s 2004 time in MAXI catamaran, IDEC. Impressively, the time logged by Coville is the third best of all crew configurations.

Coville had good luck with the Atlantic weather, experiencing low sea state, favorable angles and strong flow throughout the sail. Colville’s good fortune continued as he enjoyed a once in a decade, albeit extreme conditions for a circumnavigation.

Colville took an unconventional southern route through the Indian ocean, completing the crossing in 8 days, 12 hours.  He then continued into the Pacific where he was met with challenging conditions, 30-40 knot winds and 10 meter seas. Sailing much of the race with a three reefed main and a J3, Coville stayed on deck through often overpowered conditions. With help from weather router Jean Luc Nélias, Coville picked his way through southern ice before riding tailwinds north to Ushant.

Coville’s accomplishment is especially triumphant considering his three previous attempts which ended in breakdown or narrow misses of Joyon’s record.

Outfitted with Zero drag GORI Race Propeller

Coville’s trimaran, SOBEDO, originally owned by Oliver de Kersauson was almost completely revamped by himself and his designers, VLAP. It features foils from USA 17, Oracle’s 2010 America’s cup winner, and other modifications to the original platform. The hull was also outfitted with GORI folding propellers. Compared with traditional fixed propellers and competing folding props, GORI Race creates zero drag.  Competing folding props produce 3 to 10 Newton of drag.  Competing fixed props produce up to 200 Newton of drag. On average, this advantage allows for an additional knot of boat speed. However in the case of Coville’s blistering 23 knot average speed, the advantage was likely much more significant. Over the course of Coville’s 27,325 nautical mile course, this increased speed would account for a 2 day, 2 hour time improvement. In his previous completed attempts, similar windows of time were the difference between the record and failure.

GORI’s on board Bermuda Race

The Multihulls competing in this years Bermuda race also choose to utilize the advantages offered by GORI. An example of the importance of small boost in boat speed, such as allowed for GORI propellers, played out in the multihull division. Jason Carroll’s Elvis turned a small but contested lead into a horizon job by narrowly escaping an expanding high pressure which captured the rest of the fleet. All though the other boats in the multihull division were also using GORI three blade propellers, this scenario is a classic example of how a small advantage in boat speed which results in a small lead can often evolve into an expansive lead in sailing.

Photo Courtesy of CatSailingNews.com