During a press conference this Wednesday at the Paris headquarters of the Macif Group, François Gabart and his sponsor talked about his next competitive target: to try to beat the single-handed round the world record on a multihull (currently held by Thomas Coville since December 2016, of 49 days, 3 hours, 7 minutes and 38 seconds). This is a significant challenge, only ever achieved by three sailors to date (Francis Joyon, Ellen MacArthur, Thomas Coville), and the skipper of the MACIF trimaran is preparing accordingly. He will be on standby as of 22 October.
The idea of attempting this single-handed round the world on a multihull emerged during the Vendée Globe, which François Gabart won (2012-2013), and has since gradually became concrete with the design and then the build of the MACIF trimaran, followed by its launch in August 2015. Then came a period of two years during which the skipper and his team familiarised themselves with the boat. This was interspersed with important wins in the Transat Jacques-Vabre 2015, the Transat Bakerly 2016 and The Bridge last July.
“François has always thrown all his energy and skills into his performance, reflecting our goal at Macif”, stressed the group’s Managing Director Jean-Marc Raby. “We and our 10,000 employees we would like to assure him of our full support in this considerable challenge and we hope that he is successful.” Read more.
