than me, on a more demanding boat, and
he was battling against a reference time that
was a lot more difficult to reach! Thomas,
words cannot express what you’ve just
experienced, but you know… and you know
that I know. I have the utmost respect for
what you’ve just achieved. You’re a hero.”
Olivier De Kersauson also paid tribute to
the performance of his former crew on the
victorious Jules Verne Trophy campaign in
1997: “It’s the value of battles which counts;
victories are the icing on the cake. After that
it’s down to fate and there are things you
can’t fight against. You can’t fight against
a hostile weather system. Multihulls are
stressful boats to drive at high speed. There
are no second chances. If a mistake leads
to you flipping the boat over, it’s really over.
Given the time he achieved along the course
with the weather he had, he really pulled
out all the stops! That’s the nobility of this
sport. Nobody can be expected to do the
impossible! I am all for commitment and I
reckon that setting off on a multihull around
the world is a fantastic thing, though it is
risky, treacherous, dangerous, intelligent
and aggressive. At the point where you’ve
given something your all, you can’t be sad
about it.
What Thomas did in the Atlantic is the result
of real knowledge and a real mastery. Both
he and his boat are capable of the record;
they’ve had really unfavourable weather. It’s
not humiliating. Of course he’ll have to start
over again, but that’s how things become
more refined. That in no way prevents
me from paying tribute to his fine sailing,
especially given the hostile conditions.”
The Record 
Still To Beat
Record: Round the World, non stop,
singlehanded
Yacht:
IDEC, 90ft trimaran
Skipper:
Francis JOYON (FRA)
Dates:
December and January 2008
Elapsed time:
57 days, 13 hours, 34 minutes and
6 seconds
Distance:
21,769 nautical miles
Average Speed:
15.84 knots (this against the shortest
distance possible.)
Still the record holder – Francis Joyon and IDEC. Pic by DPPI
  FEBRUARY 2009 : MULTIHULL REVIEW  33
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