New solo Channel record

Thomas Coville demolishes existing time for Cowes-Dinard passage

The World Sailing Speed Record Council have now confirmed the record Thomas Coville set at the week for the solo crossing of the Channel at the weekend.

Coville's red 60ft trimaran Sodebo set sail on Saturday at 14:40:12 and arrived off the line at St Malo at 22:35:59 after a crossing time of 7 hours 55 minutes and 47 seconds, covering the 138 nm course at an average speed of 17.40 knots. This demolished the previous 12h 1m 31s record held by Jean-Luc van den Heede in the 75ft monohull Adrien, although VDH still holds the solo monohull record for this course. The outright crewed record for this course remain's that of the G-Class cat Maiden 2 at 5 hours 23 minutes and 38 seconds.

In comparison in the lighter conditions for RORC's St Malo's departing only 48 hours earlier Jean-Philippe Chomette's Nacira 60 Solune made the crossing in 15 hours 7 minutes and 2 seconds in RORC's race only a day earlier. Even Ellen MacArthur's B&Q Castorama trimaran on her last race made the passage in 13:47:31. The RORC race became a small boat affair eventually won by Noel Racine's JPK 9.60 Foggy Dew (a smaller version of the French Rolex Commodores' Cup boat Guyader L'Esprit de la Mer.

Sodebo's run was carried out in brisker conditions and saw the red trimaran passig Guernsey at 33 knots. “What a fabulous run!” commented Coville on his arrival of his third solo record-breaking passage after the Route of Discovery course from Cadiz to San Salvador and the Record SNSM from Saint Nazaire to St Malo.

“People who like to make records, are the eternally dissatisfied ones," continued Coville. "They always need to do better and this philosophy is highly appropriate to me. To beat the record brings true happiness, but I want already to better it and to make up the lost minutes there were here and there! ”

These solo records Coville is using as preparation for this November's Route du Rhum which starts in St Malo. Next up for the French skipper is an attempt on the Round Britain course.

To read our interview with Thomas Coville about his new 100ft singlehanded record breaker - click here . -