Thomas Coville and Sodebo retire again, after further damage

Launched in a second attempt to beat the round-the-world sailing record since December 20, the French boat decided to stop its effort on Monday.

Thomas Coville’s maxi-trimaran Sodebo Ultim 3, launched since December 20 in the crewed round-the-world sailing record, announced on Monday January 6 that it would abandon its attempt after serious damage off the Kerguelen Islands. “While sailing between Kerguelen and Cape Leeuwin, at more than 30 knots, Thomas Coville and his six crew noticed the loss of the central rudder”which is part of the rudder, the team announced in a message sent to the media.

At the time of the damage, the seven men on board were sailing only a few hundred kilometers behind on the trail of Francis Joyon, holder of the Jules-Verne Trophy since 2017 (40 days, 23 hours, 30 minutes and 30 seconds). A few days earlier, they had passed the Cape of Good Hope a day early. But “this damage no longer allows the giant trimaran to sail at 100% of its capacity”specified the Sodebo Ultim 3 team.

Thomas Coville and his teammates (Frédéric Denis, Léonard Legrand, Pierre Leboucher, Guillaume Pirouelle, Benjamin Schwartz and Nicolas Troussel) headed north for a stopover. They are heading to Australia at this point, according to Coville. “Everything is going well for us. We cannot continue in record mode and we do not think we should enter the southern seas without a central rudder”estimated the navigator who was on his 10th trip around the world.

The Sodebo crew had already set off for the first time on November 29, but finally abandoned off the coast of Cape Verde after already suffering rudder damage. They left Ouessant (Finistère) on December 20 for a second attempt around the world.