Skipper Kevin Escoffier and his Team Holcim-PRB have shattered the existing 24-hour distance records in the monohull class.
First to fall was The Ocean Race 24-Hour Speed Record Challenge sponsored by Ulysse Nardin, previously set at 602 nautical miles by Simeon Tienpont’s Team AkzoNobel in the last race.
A few hours later and the outright monohull record, 618 nautical miles, set by the 100-footer Comanche in 2015, had been eclipsed. Both records are pending ratification by the World Sailing Speed Record Council.
As of 0630 UTC on Friday morning (26 May), Team Holcim-PRB had peaked at 640.9 nautical miles. And by Friday evening UTC they’d taken the lead in Leg 5 from 11th Hour Racing Team too.
Conditions have been near perfect for making a record run — downwind reaching, in 25-27 knots of wind, with a relatively flat sea state.
Escoffier commented on their success: “It’s a great boat and I’m really pleased! It’s not every day you break a record like this.
“I’m really happy for the whole team after what happened on the fourth leg [when the team retired after dismasting]. We don’t know what’s going to happen next, even if we’re going to do everything we can to win this leg. In any case, I think it’s a great reward for the whole team.”
The previous race record holder, Simeon Tienpont, was effusive in his admiration for the new achievement.
“Big congratulations to the Holcim-PRB crew,” he said. “When I woke up this morning it brought a big smile to my face… For me personally it’s great to see these boats crushing the race record but also the 24-hour record by beating a 100-foot maxi yacht. That is just insane! I think It’s really good for the sport; it shows what we are capable of these days, with all the foiling techniques and innovations.
“It must be unbelievably exciting for those guys — I think this is a record that will be hard to break.”
Team Holcim-PRB hasn’t been alone on this record-breaking mission. In fact, the first into the favourable conditions was 11th Hour Racing Team which was also the first to push past the existing race record.
But the boat topped out its run at 611.9 nautical miles, all the more remarkable considering the team reported a collision with what the crew suspect to be “a marine mammal or megafauna”.
As previously reported on Afloat.ie, the boat came to a sudden stop and according to the team, trimmer Charlie Dalin suffered a suspected mild concussion, while media crew member Amory Ross injured his shoulder.
After consultation with the onshore race doctor, who has prescribed rest and monitoring, the team is continuing to race towards Aarhus. The boat does not appear to be damaged and remains at the front of the fleet.
Now within 50 miles of the front IMOCA pair, Team Malizia was the last of the leading trio to enter the ‘record run’ conditions and the team has been posting impressive stats throughout the day.
Further back, Paul Meilhat’s Biotherm crew is still battling different conditions to the leading trio, and although their boat speed is rising they are now nearly 500 miles behind.
The ETA for the finish in Aarhus has moved forward with the record-breaking conditions to this Monday 29 May.
Leg Five Rankings at 1900 UTC, 26 May
- Team Holcim-PRB, distance to finish, 1,009.2 miles
- 11th Hour Racing Team, distance to lead, 3.1 miles
- Team Malizia, distance to lead, 46.1 miles
- Biotherm, distance to lead, 487.1 miles
Find the latest fleet positions on the race tracker at theoceanrace.com.
