Speed sailing records are sanctioned, since 1972, by the World Sailing Speed Record Council (WSSRC). Records are measured either by average speed over a specified distance or by total distance traveled during a specified time interval. The three most sought after records are the:
Date | Craft | Skipper | Location | Speed (knots) | Speed (km/h) | Speed (mph) | Comment |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
24 November 2012 | Vestas Sailrocket 2 | Paul Larsen AUS | Walvis Bay, NAM | 65.45 [1] | 121.1 | 75.2 | First record above 60 knots |
18 November 2012 | Vestas Sailrocket 2 | Paul Larsen AUS | Walvis Bay, NAM | 59.23 [3] | 109.69 | 68.1 | |
28 October 2010 | Kitesurf | Robert Douglas USA | Lüderitz, NAM | 55.65 | 103.06 | 64.0 | |
28 October 2010 | Kitesurf | Sebastien Cattelan FRA | Lüderitz, NAM | 55.49 | 102.76 | 63.8 | 14 minutes before Robert Douglas' record. Homologated by the WSSRC. |
12 October 2010 | Kitesurf | Alexandre Caizergues FRA | Lüderitz, NAM | 54.10 | 100.19 | 62.3 | First record above 100 km/h |
4 September 2009 | l'Hydroptère - hydrofoil trimaran | Alain Thébault FRA | Hyères FRA | 51.36 | 95.11 | 59.1 | Nautical mile record broken on the same run. An instantaneous maximum speed of 55 knots was recorded. |
2008 | Kitesurf | Alexandre Caizergues FRA | Lüderitz, NAM | 50.57 | 93.65 | 58.2 | |
2008 | Kitesurf | Sebastien Cattelan FRA | Lüderitz, NAM | 50.26 | 93.08 | 57.8 | First record above 50 knots |
2008 | Kitesurf | Robert Douglas USA | Lüderitz, NAM | 49.84 | 92.30 | 57.4 | |
2008 | Windsurf | Antoine Albeau FRA | Stes.Maries, FRA | 49.09 | 90.91 | 56.5 | |
2005 | Windsurf | Finian Maynard IRL | Stes.Maries, FRA | 48.70 | 90.19 | 56.0 | |
2004 | Windsurf | Finian Maynard IRL | Stes.Maries, FRA | 46.82 | 86.71 | 53.9 | |
1993 | Yellow Pages Endeavour - proa | Simon McKeon AUS | Sandy Point, AUS | 46.52 | 86.15 | 53.5 | |
1991 | Windsurf | Thierry Bielak FRA | Stes.Maries, FRA | 44.66 | 82.71 | 51.4 | |
1990 | Windsurf | Pascal Maka FRA | Stes.Maries, FRA | 43.06 | 79.74 | 49.5 | |
1989 | Catamaran Techniques Avancées | Gérard Navarin FRA | Stes-Maries (France) | 42,12 | 78 | 48,47 | |
1988 | Windsurf | Erik Beale GBR | Stes.Maries, FRA | 40.48 | 74.96 | 46.6 | First record above 40 knots |
1986 | Windsurf | Pascal Maka FRA | Sotavento, SP | 38.86 | 71.96 | 44.7 | |
1980 | Crossbow II catamaran | Tim Colman GBR | Portland, UK | 36.00 | 66.67 | 41.4 | |
1977 | Crossbow II catamaran | Tim Colman GBR | Portland, UK | 34.40 | 63.70 | 39.6 | |
1977 | Crossbow II catamaran | Tim Colman GBR | Portland, UK | 33.80 | 62.59 | 38.9 | |
1975 | Crossbow II catamaran | Tim Colman GBR | Portland, UK | 31.80 | 58.89 | 36.6 | |
1975 | Crossbow proa | Tim Colman GBR | Portland, UK | 31.10 | 57.59 | 35.8 | First record above 30 knots |
1973 | Crossbow proa | Tim Colman GBR | Portland, UK | 29.30 | 54.26 | 33.7 | |
1972 | Crossbow (proa) | Tim Colman GBR | Portland, UK | 26.30 | 48.70 | 30.3 | First record above 30 mph |
Last updated: 19 November 2012.
Category | Date | Craft | Skipper | Location | Speed (knots) | Speed (km/h) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
D Class (Over 300 ft2) | 4 September 2009 | l'Hydroptère | Alain Thébault FRA | Hyères FRA | 51.36 | 95.11 |
C Class (Up to 300 ft2(27.88 m2)) | 2009 | Macquarie Innovation | Simon McKeon AUS | Sandy Point, AUS | 50.07 | 92.72 |
B Class (Up to 235 ft2(21.84 m2)) | 2012 | Vestas Sailrocket 2 | Paul Larsen AUS | Walvis Bay, NAM | 65.45 [1] | 121.1 |
A Class (Up to 150 ft2(13.93 m2)) | 1992 | Longshot | Russel Long USA | Tarifa, SP | 43.55 | 80.65 |
10 m2 (Up to 10 m2) | 2015 | Windsurfer | Antoine Albeau FRA | Lüderitz, NAM | 53.27 | 98.66 |
Kite Sailing | 2013 | Kitesurfer | Alex Caizergues FRA | Salin-de-Giraud, FRA | 56.62 | 104.86 |
Date | Craft | Skipper | Location | Speed (knots) | Speed (km/h) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
18 November 2012 | Vestas Sailrocket 2 | Paul Larsen AUS | Walvis Bay, NAM | 55.32 [2] | 102.45 | |
8 November 2009 | l'Hydroptère | Alain Thébault FRA | Hyères FRA | 50.17 | 92.91 | . [4] |
4 September 2009 | l'Hydroptère | Alain Thébault FRA | Hyères FRA | 48.72 | 90.23 | 500 metre record broken on the same run. |
Oct 2008 | l'Hydroptère | Alain Thébault FRA | Port Saint-Louis FRA | 43.09 | 79.80 | |
April 2007 | l'Hydroptère | Alain Thébault FRA | Baie de Quiberon FRA | 41.69 | 77.21 | |
October 2006 | Windsurfer | Bjorn Dunkerbeck ND | Walvis bay, Namibia | 41.14 | 76.19 | |
October 2005 | Windsurfer | Finian Maynard IRL | Walvis bay, Namibia | 39.97 | 74.02 | |
November 2004 | Windsurfer | Bjorn Dunkerbeck ND | Port Saint-Louis FRA | 34.44 | 63.78 | |
July 2003 | Windsurfer | Bjorn Dunkerbeck ND | Aringa, Grand Canaria | 33.96 | 62.89 |
A Day's run is the distance traveled by a vessel in one day, normally measured from noon to noon. This was the traditional measure used in the days of packet and clipper ships and varied in the actual time dependent on whether the vessel was sailing east or west. The records certified by the WSSRC since 1994 are based on a 24-hour distance measure irrespective of longitude.
Distance | Yacht | Skipper | Crew | Date | Competition | Average speed |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
436 nmi (807 km; 502 mi) [5] | Lightning | James Nolan "Bully" Forbes | 1 March 1854 | 18.16 knots (33.63 km/h; 20.90 mph) | ||
465 nmi (861 km; 535 mi) | Champion of the Seas | Alexander Newlands | 11 December 1854 | 19.375 knots (35.883 km/h; 22.296 mph) | ||
512 nmi (948 km; 589 mi) | Formule Tag | Michael Birch | 1984 | 21.33 knots (39.50 km/h; 24.55 mph) | ||
517 nmi (957 km; 595 mi) | Fleury Michon VIII | Philippe Poupon | 1987 | 21.54 knots (39.89 km/h; 24.79 mph) | ||
522.73 nmi (968.10 km; 601.55 mi) | Jet Services V | Serge Madec | 1990 | 21.85 knots (40.47 km/h; 25.14 mph) | ||
524.63 nmi (971.61 km; 603.73 mi) | Lyonnaise des eaux | Olivier de Kersauson | 1994 | 21.91 knots (40.58 km/h; 25.21 mph) | ||
540 nmi (1,000 km; 620 mi) | Primagaz | Laurent Bourgnon (singlehanded) | 1 | 1994 | 22.50 knots (41.67 km/h; 25.89 mph) | |
547.3 nmi (1,013.6 km; 629.8 mi) | Explorer | Bruno Peyron | 1994 | 22.80 knots (42.23 km/h; 26.24 mph) | ||
590.23 nmi (1,093.11 km; 679.22 mi) | PlayStation | Steve Fossett | 1999 | 24.59 knots (45.54 km/h; 28.30 mph) | ||
625.7 nmi (1,158.8 km; 720.0 mi) | Club Med | Bruno Peyron & Grant Dalton | 14 | 11 November 2000 | 26.07 knots (48.28 km/h; 30.00 mph) | |
629.5 nmi (1,165.8 km; 724.4 mi) | Innovation Explorer | Loick Peyron | 13 | 2001 | The Race | 26.23 knots (48.58 km/h; 30.18 mph) |
655.2 nmi (1,213.4 km; 754.0 mi) | Club Med | Grant Dalton | 2001 | 27.30 knots (50.56 km/h; 31.42 mph) | ||
687.17 nmi (1,272.64 km; 790.78 mi) | PlayStation | Steve Fossett | 2001 | 28.63 knots (53.02 km/h; 32.95 mph) | ||
694.78 nmi (1,286.73 km; 799.54 mi) | Maiden II | Adrienne Cahalan, Helena Darvelid & Brian Thompson | 2002 | 28.95 knots (53.62 km/h; 33.32 mph) | ||
706.2 nmi (1,307.9 km; 812.7 mi) | Orange II | Bruno Peyron | 2004 | 29.43 knots (54.50 km/h; 33.87 mph) | ||
766.8 nmi (1,420.1 km; 882.4 mi) | Orange II | Bruno Peyron | 3 July 2006 | 31.95 knots (59.17 km/h; 36.77 mph) | ||
794 nmi (1,470 km; 914 mi) | Groupama 3 | Franck Cammas | 10 | 20 July 2007 | 33.08 knots (61.26 km/h; 38.07 mph) | |
907.9 nmi (1,681.4 km; 1,044.8 mi) [6] | Banque Populaire V | Pascal Bidégorry | 11 | August 2009 | 37.83 knots (70.06 km/h; 43.53 mph) |
Note that the nineteenth century records are not strictly compatible as they measure a "Day's run" which was measured noon to noon regardless of longitude. The two entries above were both eastbound and therefore less than 24 hours.
During her Jules Verne Trophy record in 2011-2012, the Banque Populaire V skippered by Loïck Peyron covered 811.70 nautical miles in 24 hours on 3 December 2011 at 11:45 UT, posting 28 days over 600 miles, including 9 days over 700 miles and 1 day over 800 miles. [7]
During her Jules-Verne trophy record in 2009-2010, the trimaran Groupama 3 skippered by Franck Cammas covered 798 nautical miles in 24 hours on 13 February 2010 at 5 p.m. UT, showing 17 days over 600 miles, including 10 days over 700 miles.
During her Jules-Verne trophy record in 2016-2017, the trimaran Idec sport in the hands of Francis Joyon and his crew of Clément Surtel, Alex Pella, Bernard Stamm, Gwénolé Gahinet and Sébastien Audigane, covered 894 nautical miles in 24 hours, and 10 consecutive days at 809 miles / 24 h. Francis Joyon rounds Cape Horn, 16 days after riding off of South America, and after a course of nearly 12,000 miles above an average of 30 knots (730.16 miles / 24 h over 16 days). He then signs a performance increase of between 30 and 40% compared to the record to be broken by Loïck Peyron 5 years earlier. Leaving the southern seas with a lead of 4 j 06 h 35 min over Loïck Peyron's previous record, Francis Joyon, Clément Surtel, Alex Pella, Bernard Stamm, Gwénolé Gahinet and Sébastien Audigane regained the equivalent of 2,800 miles on the record during this episode.
During the aborted attempt of 2019, Yann Guichard sets a new record crossing the equator in 4 days 19 h 57 min and, thanks to favorable weather conditions, lines up 4,812.1 miles from the 11th to 16th day, or 802 miles / day for 6 consecutive days.
24 hour distance record for Armel Le Cléac'h on Banque Populaire VII: 682,85 miles in 24 hours singlehanded on 2014 January 26th (28,45 knots). [8]
During his record around the world Singlehanded in 2017, 24 hour distance record for François Gabart on Macif: 850,68 miles in 24h. [9]
During his attempt for the Jules Verne Trophy on December 5, 2020, Thomas Coville on fr:Sodebo Ultim 3 covered 889.9 miles in 24 hours (37.1 knots average, top speed 48.9 knots). [10]
During his attempt for the Jules Verne Trophy on December 21, 2024, François Gabart on SVR-Lazartigue covered 892.2 miles in 24 hours (37.2 knots average, top speed over 50 knots) [11] .
During the return trip after his victory in the 2021 Transat Jacques-Vabre, Charles Caudrelier broke two unofficial records on the fr:Maxi Edmond de Rothschild: in false solo training, he reached 50.7 knots, and covered 880 miles in 24 hours at an average speed of 36.6 knots. This last record cannot be approved for a lack of adequate equipment on board. [12]
The idea of an instantaneous speed record is not officially sanctioned by the WSSRC and is, therefore, not officially measured or documented. The highest speed ever reported is from the crew of Vestas Sailrocket 2 : on 24 November 2012 they recorded a top speed of 68.33 knots in a 25–29-knot wind. [13]
Previously, the highest speed ever reported was from the crew of l'Hydroptère. During an attempt on 21 December 2008 at Port-Saint-Louis-du-Rhône, they recorded a top speed of approximately 61 knots (speed not verified or registered on any onboard instrumentation) during a 45 knot gust of wind. This heavy gust of wind overpowered the sailboat, causing it to capsize at high speed. The crew sustained only minor injuries. [14]
"Sovereign of the Seas", 1852, 258 ft, the fastest and longest ship yet built when she was launched in New York, designed and built by Donald Mackay, America's foremost clipper designer. On her maiden voyage, she sailed New York to San Francisco in 103 days. This ship achieved the fastest ever recorded speed of a sailing vessel (22 knots).
Dame Ellen Patricia MacArthur is a retired English sailor, from Whatstandwell near Matlock in Derbyshire, now based in Cowes, Isle of Wight.
The Jules Verne Trophy is a prize for the fastest circumnavigation of the world by any type of yacht with no restrictions on the size of the crew provided the vessel has registered with the organization and paid an entry fee. A vessel holding the Jules Verne trophy will not necessarily hold the absolute round the world record. The trophy was first awarded to the first yacht which sailed around the world in less than 80 days. The name of the award is a reference to the Jules Verne novel Around the World in Eighty Days in which Phileas Fogg traverses the planet in 80 days. The current holder is IDEC Sport skippered by Francis Joyon in 40 days 23 hours 30 minutes 30 seconds in 2017.
Francis Joyon is a French professional sailboat racer and yachtsman. Joyon and his crew currently hold the Jules Verne Trophy for circumnavigation, on IDEC SPORT, nearly five days less than the previous reference time. He held the record for the fastest single-handed sailing circumnavigation from 2008 to 2016.
Speed sailing is the art of sailing a craft as fast as possible over a predetermined route, and having its overall or peak speed recorded and accredited by a regulatory body. The term usually refers to sailing on water, even though sailing on land and ice is progressively faster because of the lower friction involved. The World Sailing Speed Record Council is the body authorized by the World Sailing to confirm speed records of sailing craft on water.
Hydroptère is a French experimental sailing hydrofoil trimaran imagined by the yachtman Éric Tabarly. The Hydroptère project was managed by Alain Thébault, the design done by naval architects VPLP design and the manufacturing by a group of French high-tech companies. Its multihull hydrofoil design allows the sail-powered vessel to reach high speeds on water. The design is based on experience from a range of hydrofoil sailcraft that Thébault built in cooperation with Éric Tabarly since the 1980s. On 5 October 2008 she reached a record speed of 52.86 knots, however this was over a shorter distance than the 500m necessary to qualify for an official world record. On 21 December 2008, the Hydroptère briefly reached 56.3 knots near Fos-sur-Mer, but capsized and turtled shortly thereafter.
IDEC SPORT is a racing sailing trimaran designed for transoceanic record-setting. She is one of the world's fastest ocean-going sailing vessels and the current holder of the Jules Verne Trophy for circumnavigation of the world. She was originally skippered by French yachtsman Franck Cammas, with a crew of ten and sponsored by the French insurance company Groupama. She is currently skippered by Françis Joyon.
Banque Populaire V, is an offshore-racing trimaran which was originally run by Team Banque Populaire. It was Team Banque Populaire's fifth boat designed to set oceanic records. She was launched on 4 October 2008 in Nantes, France. She holds multiple records for sailing over set courses, as well as the record for distance sailed in 24 hours by any class of sailing boat, 908.2 nm.
Geronimo is a French trimaran designed to break great offshore records. It was skippered by the French yachtsman Olivier de Kersauson. It was launched on Saturday 29 September 2001 in Brest, France by Marie Tabarly. In January 2003, skipper Kersauson said that the Geronimo was attacked by a giant squid during an attempt to win the Jules Verne Trophy.
Pascal Bidegorry is a French sailor.
Daedalus is a maxi-catamaran, that participated in numerous open-ocean races under various owners and names.
The boat was initially launched "Code Zero" as its owners searched for sponsorship. It was soon renamed Innovation Explorer and is an ocean-racing catamaran. It was built for The Race, a no-limits non-stop crewed circumnavigation in which she took second place.
Warta Polpharma is a maxi-catamaran, that participated in many major offshore races.
The first around the world sailing record for circumnavigation of the world can be attributed to the surviving crew of Ferdinand Magellan's expedition, including the last captain Juan Sebastián Elcano who completed their journey in 1522.
IDEC 2 is an ocean racing trimaran skippered by Francis Joyon and sponsored by groupe IDEC. She is currently named Qingdao China.
Loïck Peyron is a French yachtsman, younger brother of the yachtsman Bruno Peyron.
The Vestas Sailrocket was built to capture the sailing speed record competing in the B-class for 150 to 235 square feet of sail. It is piloted by the project leader Paul Larsen and sponsored by Danish wind turbines manufacturer Vestas. In 2008 the first version reached a reported unofficial speed of 52.22 knots (96.71 km/h), before crashing.
VPLP design is a French-based naval architectural firm founded by Marc Van Peteghem and Vincent Lauriot-Prévost, responsible for designing some of the world's most innovative racing boats. Their designs presently hold many of the World Speed Sailing records.
Thomas Coville is a French yacht racer.
Alex Pella is a Spanish yachtsman. In 2014 he became the first Spaniard to win a transoceanic single-handed race, the Route du Rhum. Alex Pella made history once again, on 26 January 2017, when he broke, with the rest of the team, the absolute round-the-world speed sailing record, known as the Jules Verne Trophy, aboard the sophisticated maxi-multihull IDEC 3. They circumnavigated the planet in 40 days, 23 hours, 30 minutes and 30 seconds.
The Ultim class is class of offshore trimaran sailboats.