The trio of Class40 Sogestran - Seafrigo (#197), Guillaume Pirouelle, Alexis Loison and Jules Ducelier, then in 10th position in the Transat Québec Saint-Malo, have broken the record for distance covered in 24 hours on a Class40*.
The Mach40.5 covered 440.2 nautical miles between Monday July 8 (16:30 UTC) and Tuesday July 9 (16:30 UTC) at an average speed of 18.34 knots.
This record had previously been held by Alberto Riva and his crew on Acrobatica. They sailed 433.53 miles at an average speed of 18.06 knots during the Niji 40 transatlantic race, which they finished in second place. The Franco-Italian crew, also racing in the Transat Québec Saint-Malo, unfortunately triggered their distress beacon yesterday, Tuesday 9th, and had to be airlifted out. The Sogestran - Seafrigo team and the entire Class40 fleet are eagerly awaiting news of the three sailors.
Guillaume Pirouelle: "It's a strange feeling, because first of all we're really pleased to have achieved this record. 440.2 MN in 24 hours is no mean feat, and Alexis and Jules and I really put our heart and soul into it! It's a huge satisfaction.
But after that, the conditions are very, very tough and we're sorry to have heard about Acrobatica's misfortune. It reminds us that it's the ocean that decides who goes through.
We're reassured that the 3 sailors are safe and sound.
For our part, we're staying focused, as things are going to remain complicated for the whole fleet for a few days yet. Anything can still happen, and the match will end in the Bay of Saint Malo."
*As a reminder, the definition of a 24h record is not the actual distance covered between 2 points in 24h, but the distance in a straight line between two GPS points in a maximum of 24.
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