A weekend of Ascension at full speed from Marseille to Francois Gabart ! At the helm of maxi trimaran SVR Lazartigue, a 32 meter long boat capable of flying thanks to its foils (side appendages) and released from the yards in July 2021, the skipper joined the African continent this Sunday, May 29, 2022 with his crew in 13 hours 55 minutes and 37 seconds, i.e. the new record for crossing the Mediterranean Sea, at an average speed of 33.7 knots, around 62.5 km/h!
“Intensity, full throttle all the time during the crossing”
Party on Saturday night with its crew of 4 navigators from the port of Marseilles, the crossing was made mainly in the night from Saturday to Sunday. Arrived early in the morning in Tunisia, François Gabart and his partners “came through the right weather window. We jumped on it” says François Gabart to France Bleu Provence. Nearly 1,000 kilometers of crossing, experienced at the speed of a sprint according to the skipper.
“There was intense intensity all the time during the crossing. It’s crazy to get from France to Tunisia in half a day in such a short time!”
Paradoxically, this record was absolutely not planned in the program but François Gabart had to go with his team to Tunis. While noticing the mistral, which provided perfect weather for sailing!
François Gabart improves by 25 minutes the previous record, held by Pascal Bidegorry, who was in the crew of the maxi-trimaran SVR Lazartigue this weekend for the attempt by the skipper from Charente. Known for having won the 2012/2013 Vendée Globe, François Gabart also holds the record for a solo round the world race in 42 days 23 hours.