Belgium Ocean Racing Sets New 24-Hour Globe40 Record

10th January 2026

Afloat.ie Team

Belgium Ocean Racing – Curium powers through the Southern Ocean during the Globe40, setting a new 24-hour distance record as the fleet prepares for heavy weather in the Pacific Credit: Jean Marie LIOT

Skippers Benoît Hantzperg and Djemila Tassin logged 459.78 nautical miles at 19.16 knots, recorded at 22:30 UTC on 9 January. The Belgian crew surpassed their own previous mark of 457.41 miles, set earlier in the race between Cape Verde and Réunion. Onboard data showed a peak run of 480 miles at an average of 20 knots, but this could not be validated for the official record.

At 07:00 UTC, the leader was positioned at 49°49.9 S, 154°28.8 W. By the 05:00 UTC ranking, Belgium Ocean Racing held a 19.3-mile lead over Crédit Mutuel, sailed by Antoine Carpentier and Alan Roberts.

Crédit Mutuel also posted strong figures, covering 443 miles in 24 hours.

Attention is now turning to a severe weather system forecast to hit the fleet. On Monday, the 12th of January, winds of up to 50 knots and seas with six-metre waves are expected near latitude 50° S. The depression is moving east and is set to impact the more southerly Class40 boats first.

Some teams may choose to head north over the weekend to avoid the worst conditions.

The Pacific crossing stage continues to underline the race’s intensity and demands.

Published in Class40

Tagged under

Ocean Racing

About The Author

Afloat.ie Team

Email The Author

Afloat.ie is Ireland's dedicated marine journalism team.

Have you got a story for our reporters? Email us here.

We've got a favour to ask

More people are reading Afloat.ie than ever thanks to the power of the internet but we're in stormy seas because advertising revenues across the media are falling fast. Unlike many news sites, we haven't put up a paywall because we want to keep our marine journalism open.

Afloat.ie is Ireland's only full-time marine journalism team and it takes time, money and hard work to produce our content.

So you can see why we need to ask for your help.

If everyone chipped in, we can enhance our coverage and our future would be more secure. You can help us through a small donation. Thank you.

You might also want to read...

About the Class 40

The Class40 is a kind of monohull sailboat primarily used for short-handed offshore and coastal racing. It is dedicated to offshore racing and has been around since 2004, serving as an intermediate oceanic boat between the Mini 650 (6.50m) and the 60-foot IMOCA (18.24m). The boat is strictly regulated, with a maximum length of 12.19 m. These boats are designed to sail in all weather conditions, and their performance has recently improved significantly. It is not uncommon to reach speeds of up to 26 knots (according to GPS), and planing up to 15 knots is normal.