Solo Round the World Attempt - SolOcéane 2009

In May 2009 I became the first sailor ever to take the Monotype SolOceans out in solo race conditions, completing a 36 hour qualifying run from Brest to Cherbourg. Six months later, in November, I was ready to attempt the round the world record.

In November 2009 I set off from Caen on a solo round the world attempt aboard the Monotype SolOceans, a 16 metre carbon racing yacht. It was a scientific campaign as much as a sailing one, with the boat equipped with the OceanoScientific system, automatically collecting and transmitting oceanographic data by satellite throughout the voyage.

The Bay of Biscay had other ideas. In force 7 winds and a heavy sea state, the autopilot failed repeatedly, sending the boat into violent broaches. On 1 December, returning at 20 knots from a wave, we hit something in the water. I didn't see what it was, possibly a whale or something floating just below the surface. There was no water ingress but damage to the hull structure forced me to divert to Port La Forêt for repairs.

After a week ashore I set off again on 12 December. I crossed the Bay of Biscay at speed, covering 360 miles in the first 24 hours. Then on 17 December, 158 miles west of Madeira and in force 7 conditions, the mast came down.

I was alone, 619 miles southwest of Lisbon, in a demolished sea state. I cleared the rig from the water to protect the hull, rigged a jury mast from the boom and a storm sail, and sailed myself to Cascais over 600 miles at up to 10 knots, through force 8 winds and 5 to 6 metre swells.

It ended the record attempt. But it proved something more important.