Transatlantic sailing record explained

Since the five-week voyage of Christopher Columbus in 1492, quickly and safely crossing the Atlantic Ocean between Europe and the Americas has always been an important issue. Today, the route has become a classic one among skippers. The record is one of the most prestigious, next to the Jules Verne Trophy, for which it is often a good preparation.

This record can be achieved both ways: from west to east or from east to west. It can also be homologated single-handed or crewed, on monohulls or on multihulls.It is homologated, since 1972, by the WSSRC[1]

From west to east

This route is the fastest, as it follows the prevailing westerlies. It is the one that meets the most interest among skippers. The crossing must be made from Ambrose Light of New York to an imaginary line linking Lizard Point, Cornwall to Ushant. The distance is around .

Crewed [2]

TimeYachtSkipperCrewDateAverage speed
12d 04h 01m 19s Atlantic 1905 10.2kn
10d 05h 14m 20s [Multihull] Paul Ricard (trimaran) Éric TabarlyÉric Bourhis, Georges Calvé, Dominique Pipat1980 12.15kn
9d 10h 06m 34s Elf Aquitaine 1981 13.18kn
08d 16h 36m Jet Services 2 Jean Le Cam, Marc Guillemot, (Serge Madec)1984 14.29kn
07d 21h 05m 42s Royale 2 1985 15.76kn
07d 12h 49m 34s Fleury Michon VIII 1987 16.48kn
07d 06h 32m Jet Service V Marc Guillemot1988 17.07kn
6d 13h 03m 32s Jet Service V 1990 18.97kn
6d 17h 52m 39sMari-Cha IV[3] Robert Miller2003
4d 17h 28m 6s [Catamaran]PlayStation ,
Ben Wright, Dave Scully, Gino Morrelli, Peter Hogg, Shaun Biddulph, Dave Calvert, Paul Van Dyke, David Weir
2001 26.26kn
4d 08h 23m 54s Orange II,
,
Ludovic Aglaor, Florent Chastel, Pascal Bidégorry,
,
Ronan Le Goff, Jean-Baptiste Epron, Yann Guichard, Clément Surtel, Jean-Baptiste Le Vaillant
2006 28.54kn
4d 03h 57m 54s Groupama 3 ,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
2007 29.81kn
3d 15h 25min 48s Banque Populaire V (fastest multihull),
,
,
,
Sébastien Audigane, Florent Chastel, Jean-Baptiste Le Vaillant, Emmanuel Le Borgne, Marcel Van Triest, Pierre-Yves Moreau, Xavier Revil
2009 32.94kn
Monohull
5d 14h 21min 25sComanche (fastest monohull[4]),
,
,
,
,
,
Chris Maxted, Jon von Schwarz, Juggy Clougher, Julien Cressant, Nick Dana,, Pepe Ribes, Peter van Niekerk, Phil Harmer, Richard Clarke
201621.44kn

Single-handed

TimeYachtSkipperDateAverage speed
11d 11h 46m 36s Explorer1987
9d 21h 42m Pierre 1erFlorence Arthaud1990
9d 19h 22m ExplorerBruno PeyronJuly 1992
7d 02h 34m 42s PrimagazLaurent BourgnonJune 199417.47kn
6d 04h 01m 37s IDECFrancis Joyon6 July 200519.75kn
5d 19h 29m 20s SodeboThomas Coville15 July 200824.72kn
5d 02h 56m 10s IDEC 2Francis Joyon16 June 201327.47kn
5d 02h 07m IDEC SportFrancis Joyon13 July 201727.65kn
4d 11h 10m 23s Sodebo UltimThomas Coville15 July 201728.35kn

From east to west

This crossing is made between Cadiz and San Salvador Island, for a distance of 3884nmi. It was also called Route of the discovery in honor of Christopher Columbus and his 1492 crossing.

Crewed

Time Date Boat Boat Type Crew Notes Ref.
Outright
12d 12h 30m 27s 1988 Jet Service V Skipper -,
,
,
,
14.91kn
10d 14h 53m 44s 2000 Club Med Skipper -,
Franck Proffit,
17.58kn
9d 13h 30m 18s2003 PlayStation Skipper -,
Dave Scully,
Pete Melvin,
,
Peter Hogg,
Mark Featherstone,
Dave Calvert,
Mikaela Von Koskull,
Will Howden, Tim Zimmermann,
Nick Leggatt,
Simon Fisher,
Dave Thomson
16.92kn
7d 10h 58min 53s2007 Groupama 3 Skipper -,
,
,
Pascal Blouin,
Loic Le Mignon,
Bruno Jeanjean,
Sébastien Audigane,
Frédéric Le Peutrec,
Ronan Le Goff,
21.7kn
6d 14h 29m 21s2013Spindrift 2 Skipper -
Co-Skipper -
Xavier Revil,
Jean Baptiste Le Vaillant,
Antoine Carraz,
Thierry Douillard,
Christophe Espagnon,
Sébastien Marsset,
Nicolas Texier,
Erwan Tabarly,
François Morvan,
Thomas Rouxel,
Simone Gaeta,
Erwan Israel
24.5kn
Singlehanded
6d 23h 42m 18s Jan 14Banque Populaire VII23.16kn
8d 16h 07m 05s 2013-02-15IDEC 2 18.66kn
9d 20h 32m 23s 2008-11-07IDEC 2 16.42kn
10d 11h 50m 46s 2005-07-08"Sodebo"15.42kn
11d 3h 17m 20s Nov 04"Idec" 14.53kn
Monohull. Initial benchmark time
10d 23h 9m 39s Feb 11"Maserati" Giovanni Soldini ITA
60 ft. Initial benchmark time
11d 08h 55m 29s Mar 19"Arkea Paprec" Simon Sebastien FRA
40 foot. Initial benchmark time
21d 11h 18m 25s Mar 15"Extreme Sail Academy" Sergio Frattaruolo ITA

Bermuda to Plymouth

2,870 nautical miles

Time Date Boat Boat Type Crew Notes Ref.
Outright
5d 11h 57m 17s May 16Phaedo 3 Lloyd Thornburg USA
14d 06h 12m 50s Aug 04 "Mollymawk" Ross Hobson GBR
Monohull
13d 05h 19m 38s June 17Talanta Mikael Ryking/Irina Gracheva SWE/RUS

Dakar to Guadeloupe

2,551 nautical miles

Time Date Boat Boat Type Crew Notes Ref.
Open 20ft
11d 01h 09m 30s Apr 17 Feel Good Vittorio and Nico Malingri ITA
11d 11h 25m 42s Dec 07Ocean Express Lequin/Moreau FRA

Plymouth to Newport

2,800 nautical miles

Time Date Boat Boat Type Crew Notes Ref.
Outright
9d 08h 05m 20s Jun 94"Primagaz" Laurent Bourgnon FRA
Singlehanded
9d 23h 54m 36s Jun 00"Eure et Loire" Francis Joyon FRA
Female
14d 23h 11m Jun 00"Kingfisher" Ellen MacArthur GBR
Monohull
13d 12h 47m Jun 12 "Vento Di Sardegna" Andrea Mura ITA

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Ratified Passage. www.sailspeedrecords.com.
  2. Web site: WSSRC transatlantic W-E crewed.
  3. Web site: Historical list of Passage Records. www.sailspeedrecords.com. 2019-03-14.
  4. Web site: Comanche Crushes Transatlantic Record >> Scuttlebutt Sailing News. 28 July 2016.