Transatlantic sailing record
Since the five-week voyage of Christopher Columbus in 1492, crossing the Atlantic, quickly and safely, between Europe and America 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 2,880 nautical miles (5,330 km; 3,310 mi).
Crewed [2]
| Time | Yacht | Skipper | Crew | Date | Average speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9d 17h |  Dreadnought |
Samuel Samuels | 1859[3] | 12.79 knots (23.69 km/h) | |
| 12d 4h 1m 19s | Atlantic |
Charlie Barr | 1905 | 10.20 knots (18.89 km/h) | |
| 10d 5h 14m 20s |  Paul Ricard |
Éric Tabarly | Éric Bourhis, Georges Calvé, Dominique Pipat | 1980 | 12.15 knots (22.50 km/h) |
| 9d 10h 6m 34s | Elf Aquitaine |
Marc Pajot | 1981 | 13.18 knots (24.41 km/h) | |
| 8d 16h 36m | Jet Services 2 |
Patrick Morvan | Jean Le Cam, Marc Guillemot, (Serge Madec) | 1984 | 14.29 knots (26.47 km/h) |
| 7d 21h 5m 42s | Royale 2 |
Loïc Caradec | 1985 | 15.76 knots (29.19 km/h) | |
| 7d 12h 49m 34s | Fleury Michon VIII |
Philippe Poupon | 1987 | 16.48 knots (30.52 km/h) | |
| 7d 6h 32m | Jet Service V |
Serge Madec | Marc Guillemot | 1988 | 17.07 knots (31.61 km/h) |
| 6d 13h 3m 32s | Jet Service V |
Serge Madec | 1990 | 18.97 knots (35.13 km/h) | |
| 4d 17h 28m 6s | PlayStation |
Steve Fossett | Stan Honey, Ben Wright, Dave Scully, Gino Morrelli, Peter Hogg, Shaun Biddulph, Dave Calvert, Paul Van Dyke, David Weir | 2001 | 26.26 knots (48.63 km/h) |
| 4d 8h 23m 54s | Orange II |
Bruno Peyron | Roger Nilson, Bernard Stamm, Ludovic Aglaor, Florent Chastel, Pascal Bidégorry, Jacques Caraes, Ronan Le Goff, Jean-Baptiste Epron, Yann Guichard, Clément Surtel, Jean-Baptiste Le Vaillant | 2006 | 28.54 knots (52.86 km/h) |
| 4d 3h 57m 54s | Groupama 3 |
Franck Cammas | Franck Proffit, Stève Ravussin, Frédéric Le Peutrec, Sébastien Audigane, Yann Guichard, Ronan Le Goff, Bruno Jeanjean, Loïc Le Mignon, Pascal Blouin | 2007 | 29.81 knots (55.21 km/h) |
| 3d 15h 25min 48s | Banque Populaire V |
Pascal Bidégorry | Ronan Lucas, Kévin Escoffier, Yvan Ravussin, Ewen Le Clech, Sébastien Audigane, Florent Chastel, Jean-Baptiste Le Vaillant, Emmanuel Le Borgne, Marcel Van Triest, Pierre-Yves Moreau, Xavier Revil | 2009 | 32.94 knots (61.00 km/h) |
Single-handed
| Time | Yacht | Skipper | Date | Average speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11d 11h 46m 36s | Explorer |
Bruno Peyron | 1987 | |
| 9d 21h and 42min | Pierre 1er |
Florence Arthaud | 1990 | |
| 9d 19h and 22min | Explorer |
Bruno Peyron | July 1992 | |
| 7d 2h 34m 42s | Primagaz |
Laurent Bourgnon | June 1994 | 17.47 knots (32.35 km/h) |
| 6d 4h 1m 37s | IDEC |
Francis Joyon | 6 July 2005 | 19.75 knots (36.58 km/h) |
| 5d 19h 29m 20s | Sodebo |
Thomas Coville | 15 July 2008 | 20.97 knots (38.84 km/h) |
| 5d 2h 56m 10s | IDEC 2 |
Francis Joyon | 16 June 2013 | 23.30 knots (43.15 km/h) |
From east to west
This crossing is made between Cadiz and San Salvador Island, for a distance of 8300 kilometres or 4,481 nautical miles (8,299 km). It was also called Road of the discovery in honor of Christopher Colombus and his 1492 crossing.
Crewed
| Time | Yacht | Skipper | Crew | Date | Average speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12d 12h 30m 27s | Jet Service V |
Serge Madec | 1988 | 14.91 knots (27.61 km/h) | |
| 10d 14h 53m 44s |  Club Med |
Grant Dalton | Franck Proffit, | 2000 | 17.58 knots (32.56 km/h) |
| 9d 13h 30m 18s | PlayStation |
Steve Fossett | 2003 | 19.52 knots (36.15 km/h) | |
| 7d 10h 58min 53s | Groupama 3 |
Franck Cammas | Franck Proffit, Stève Ravussin, Pascal Blouin, Loic Le Mignon, Bruno Jeanjean, Sébastien Audigane, Frédéric Le Peutrec, Ronan Le Goff, Marcel Van Triest | 2007 | 25.04 knots (46.37 km/h) |
| 6d 14h 29m 21s[4] |  Spindrift 2 |
Dona Bertarelli & Yann Guichard | November 2013 |
Single-handed
| Time | Yacht | Skipper | Date | Average speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11d 3h 17m 20s[5] | IDEC |
Francis Joyon | November 2004 | 16.76 knots (31.04 km/h) |
| 10d 11h 50m 20s | Sodebo |
Thomas Coville | 8 July 2005 | 17.79 knots (32.95 km/h) |
| 9d 20h 35m 3s | IDEC 2 |
Francis Joyon | 7 November 2008 | 18.94 knots (35.08 km/h) |
| 8d 16h 07m 5s | IDEC 2 |
Francis Joyon | 15 February 2013 | |
| 6d 23h 42m 18s[6] | Banque Populaire VII |
Armel Le Cleac'h | January 2014 |
Notes and references
- ↑ WSSRC ratified passage records
- ↑ WSSRC transatlantic W-E crewed
- ↑ "1859 Record Holds". The Cook County Herald. Grand Marais, Minnesota. August 19, 1905. p. 2. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
Capt. Samuels and the Dreadnaught in 1859 made better time than Capt. Barr and the Atlantic in 1905. This is a matter of history.
- ↑ http://www.sailspeedrecords.com/offshore
- ↑ http://www.sailspeedrecords.com/offshore/
- ↑ http://www.sailspeedrecords.com/offshore