French crew set round-the-world record

Monday, 9 January 2012 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Reuters : French skipper Loick Peyron and his crew of 13 have set a record for sailing non-stop around the world by cutting nearly three days off the previous mark to win the Jules Verne Trophy.

The 40-metre Maxi Banque Populaire V trimaran crossed the line of departure on Friday at 2213 GMT, circumnavigating the globe in 45 days, 13 hours and 42 minutes.

“To sail around the world in 45 days you’ve got to be at your limits very often,” Peyron told reporters shortly after his trimaran docked in the northwestern French port of Brest amid much fanfare and huge crowds.

Peyron, 52, said the weather had not always been favourable and that there had been nerve-wracking moments passing through zones with many icebergs in the southern hemisphere.

“We had to be very careful going very fast through the red zones and I had to furrow my brow to calm my young jedis who liked to go even faster,” he said. “I like to go fast but you also have to know how to go slow.”

French skipper Franck Cammas had held the previous record for crossing the globe in 48 days seven hours and 44 minutes in 2010 aboard the Groupama III. He is currently taking partin the multi-stage Volvo Ocean Race.

The Jules Verne Trophy is a prize for crews who set a record circumnavigating the globe on a sailboat.