NEW SOLO NORTH ATLANTIC CROSSING RECORD HOLDER

Since 2005, the young sailor from La Trinité, father to two children, has been committed to his loyal sponsor Sodeb’O in a single-handed record programme, which enabled him to become successively the fastest man around the British Isles, between Spain and the Bahamas and between Miami and New York.

This single-handed North Atlantic crossing on a 32 metre multihull is an amazing achievement, particularly given that Thomas didn’t benefit from exceptional conditions as was the case for Play Station. The latter completed the crossing in crewed configuration in 2001 in a time of 4 days 17 hours along the direct route without ever performing a single change of tack. Favourable for the first three days, manageable and without surprises between the currents, fog and dense shipping, the weather conditions over the last 48 hours proved to be particularly testing and tactical for Thomas. In order to get the boat making as much headway as possible, the skipper spent hour after hour at the helm, constantly trimming the sails “which enables you to keep optimal balance and gain speed and comfort. In this way you are sparing on yourself as well as being sparing as regards the wear and tear on a boat under extreme stress”. Over the last 48 hours, Thomas thus performed a series of gybes (to change direction with the wind on the tail and move the sails from one side of the boat to the other): “To gybe is not very difficult” explains the skipper, “it takes 10 minutes but those 10 minutes are extremely stressful as you can’t afford to make a mistake. If the mainsail, which measures 227 square metres, switches to the other side of the boat too brutally, you break battens, you reduce the boat’s performance and therefore your chances of victory. At these speeds, the slightest mistake is fatal. The North Atlantic record is something a lot of people think about but few people achieve". This victory is something Thomas has had to hunt down. "These records, he continued an hour after crossing the line, are also stories and voyages which associate a sporting challenge with a human adventure. I was looking for scale. Through sailing I found a personal balance. I understand who I am. At sea, we are who we are, beneath the cover” concluded Thomas who admitted having been at 100% for 5 days, devoted to driving the boat “almost slave-like”, snatching two to three minutes of sleep here and there, that is around two hours in total for the first three days. That’s not to mention the last 48 hours “during which I remained standing the whole time so as not to sit down and give it my all".

For the skipper of Sodeb’O, this maxi-multihull which is also the largest boat built for a single man “is a world, a dragonfly, a dream. This boat is a monster of technology, a dragonfly on the same scale as the sea, a dream of human proportions. It’s a guitar with tight strings, which works like a wind instrument. Inside it is monastic but concise, spatial and simple. Even if it’s a little pretentious, I would like everyone to look at this boat with the eyes of a child or an expert, and understand it. I want there to be no more questions, or if there are then solely those of the imagination”.

Designed by Nigel Irens and Benoît Cabaret, also the architects of Francis Joyon’s IDEC, the maxi-Sodeb’O has already traversed a fair amount of the world’s oceans. Built and launched in Australia in June 2007, this 32 m long three hulled machine (105 feet) and 16.55 m wide (55 feet) craft is equipped with a 35 m mast and can carry up to 650 square metres of sail area. Thomas, who has never hidden the fact that he is a fan of reliability, has not hesitated in racking up the miles since its launch. In order to benefit from the exceptional performance of his ‘dragonfly of the seas’ as much as possible and enable him to sail a succession of almost 600 mile days, he and his team have worked hard for the past 13 months, even making the boat nearly a ton lighter since its launch.

As for his partner Sodeb’O, which has been loyal for nearly 10 years, Patricia Brochard, co-president declared just a few minutes after the finish: “Emotion has got the upperhand. We are proud. It’s a victory for freedom, commitment and generosity, values which are dear to Thomas and Sodeb’O. For the past 10 years, we’ve experienced highs and lows, and some difficult moments that we’ve got through together. Another word springs to mind, that of loyalty, the spirit of a family clan, which enables you to go ever further”.