Thomas Coville and his crew aboard Sodebo have been forced to abandon their attempt at the Jules Verne Trophy after suffering damage to the starboard rudder.
After 16 days at a blistering pace that has taken them to the bottom of the world, the team is being forced to return.
It's a disappointment for speed sailing enthusiasts who this month were enjoying the spectacle of not one but two 80-monster foiling tris doing 40 plus knots in search of a new sub 40-day world record, but now, unfortunately, both are out.
As the repair no longer allows the boat to sail at 100% of its capacity in an attempt to beat the Jules Verne Trophy record, they have stopped their attempt which began on November 25 at 2:55 am.
While the team enjoyed record-breaking weather in the Atlantic, building a lead of more than 600nm over record holder Idec Sport, the forecast in the Indian Ocean was far less favorable. The team lost miles each day, falling behind the needed pace yesterday.
At the end of November, after only three days at sea, on their first-round, the world record attempt, Franck Cammas and Charles Caudrelierhave took the decision to abandon as Afloat reported previously here
