Banque Populaire V Matchraces Groupama and Sets New Atlantic Sailing Record.

Hats of to both crews.

The Eastbound North Atlantic sailing record has fallen. Pascal Bidegorry, skipper of the enormous maxi-trimaran Banque Populaire V, is now not only the fastest man under sail over 24 hours, covering an amazing 907.9 miles, he has also become the fastest man across the pond, smashing Groupama 3’s previous sailing record by a whopping 12 hours 32 minutes and 6 seconds.

It took Pascal and his 11 crew a mere 3 days 15 hours 25 minutes and 48 seconds to rocket from Ambrose Lighthouse to Lizard Point, averaging 32.94 knots.

It all started on Wednesday, when Franck Cammas and his 9 crew members passed the line at the Ambrose Lighthouse off New York at exactly 20:12:16 UTC onboard his record breaking trimaran Groupama 3, hitting 30 knots straightaway. Pascal Bidegorry crossed the line 2h 35m26s later, at 22:47:42 UTC, quickly gaining speeds of over 35 knots.

The first few hours of their record attempt kept them close to the schedule – based on Franck Cammas’ record – and then the wind started to build as predicted. Both Groupama 3 and Banque Populaire V revved up, and the more they advanced, the higher the average speed became.

Banque Populaire V, the new Atlantic sailing record holder*, crossed the line near Lizard Point at exactly 14:13:30 UTC, followed only 11 minutes and 42 seconds later by Groupama 3. Franck Cammas crossed the North Atlantic in 3d 18h 12m 56s, bettering his own record by 9h 44m by averaging 31.92 knots. Cammas of course wishes that he could hold onto his Atlantic sailing record, but didn’t seem surprised that his record fell to his friend Pascal on the largest racing trimaran in the world.

Crew:
Pascal Bidegorry: Skipper, shift manager
Ronan Lucas: No. 1, trimmer
Yvan Ravussin: Helmsman, trimmer
Jean Baptiste Le Vaillant: Helmsman, trimmer
Pierre Yves Moreau: Number 1, trimmer
Ewen Le Clech: Number 1, trimmer
Manu Le Borgne: Helmsman, trimmer
Sebastien Audigane: Helmsman, trimmer
Florent Chastel: Number 1, trimmer
Xavier Revil: Helmsman, trimmer
Kevin Escoffier: Helmsman, trimmer
Marcel Van Triest: Navigator