Parlier smashes 24 hour record

Great news for radical French catamaran skipper

Today Yves Parlier sailing his radical 'hydro-foiler' catamaran Médiatis Région Aquitaine smashed the singlehanded 24 hour record.

Parlier set off his solo attempt to break Francis Joyon's outright solo 24 hour record of 543 miles (read about this record here)at midday yesterday and over the course of the following 24 hours he sailed a very impressive 585 miles (awaiting, of course, ratification) at an average of 24.33 knots. This is an improvement of 45 miles over the previous record for a 60ft multihull - Laurent Bourgnon's time set during his solo transatlantic record in 1994 (and for a long time faster than any fully crew records).

This record is the first real prize for Parlier since he launched his radical catamaran with its twin rigs, one mounted in each hull and its unusual stepped hulls, a shape taken from sea plane underbellies (to read our feature about Parlier's catamaran see part one here, part two here) back in January 2004. It is a fantastic reward for his team down in the Canary Islands, from where the record was set, including Stephan Herve, Lalou Roucayrol, Christophe Gouineau, Romaric Neyhousser and Remi Beauvais.

This morning, the team could not hide their emotion: “we've fought for this since we first launched Médiatis Région Aquitaine," said one. "This record rewards all the team who worked on this Aquitanian project”.

This afternoon Parlier gave his reaction: “I am tired but it went well. Towards the end, the wind weakened, but the waves weren't bad. It is true that I was a little apprehensive after the capsize of last year, so I therefore remained vigilent… ”.

Azamingly Parlier feels that he could have sailed a lot faster and the boat has yet to realise all her potential: “the weather was good but it could have been much better. I think that one can go even more quickly. Sailing her with a crew will make it possible for us to know the boat better and how to get the best out of her”.

Meanwhile in the short term Parlier now has to get the boat back to the Canaries: “I will put the autopilot on and sleep because I have not slept for 48 hours. It will take me at least two days to reach the Canary Islands”.

Médiatis Région Aquitainehas already covered 597.81 miles in 24 hours fully crewed. ABN AMRO Two's fully crewed Volvo Open 70 record at present stands at 562.96 miles in 24 hours. Alex Thomson's solo Open 60 24 hour record stands at 468.82 miles.

Bravo Yves, we're pleased you have finally proved your boat.