{"id":651,"date":"2026-03-04T14:44:52","date_gmt":"2026-03-04T14:44:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/yachtersworld.com\/?p=651"},"modified":"2026-03-04T14:44:52","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T14:44:52","slug":"the-slow-slow-road-to-becoming-flat-out-fastest-matt-sheahan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yachtersworld.com\/?p=651","title":{"rendered":"The slow, slow road to becoming flat-out fastest \u2013 Matt Sheahan"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ocean racing tech seems to be developing at breakneck pace \u2013 but it takes years to get these complex beasts up to speed<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Thomas Coville and Sodebo, racing in the Arkea Ultim Challenge 2024. Photos: Alexis Courcoux<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When Francis Joyon<\/a> and his crew aboard IDEC Sport set a ground-breaking record for a non-stop lap of the planet in 2017 it was clear their trip had been an exceptional one.<\/p>\n

They hadn\u2019t just beaten the record set five years earlier, but smashed it \u2013 taking five days off the previous best. IDEC Sport\u2019s record stood for nine years.<\/p>\n

This January, Thomas Coville and his crew aboard Sodebo nudged the bar up once more<\/a>, taking 12 hours off Joyon\u2019s time. And while Sodebo\u2019s performance was impressive, it\u2019s interesting to reflect that, since Joyon\u2019s record, design and technology have taken a big hike and yet the winning margin was relatively small.<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s Ultim tris<\/a> are massively more powerful and sophisticated than their predecessors, thanks largely to the fact they can fly. And yet Sodebo only managed to take hours rather than days off the record.<\/p>\n

To be fair, they had to slow down towards the finish to avoid Storm Ingrid. If they hadn\u2019t it\u2019s likely they could have taken more than a day off the record.<\/p>\n

They\u2019d also travelled much further to search out the best conditions. In all, Sodebo sailed around 2,000 miles more than IDEC Sport.<\/p>\n

Still, there\u2019s no question the world of high-performance sailing is going through a revolution as foils start to show what they can do offshore and in waves.<\/p>\n

The giant 34m Baltic 111 Raven<\/a>, with its huge canting foils, set a very impressive recent new course record in the RORC Transatlantic Race, crossing in just 6 days, 22 hours.<\/p>\n

Not only had they set a new time, but they took the record from a boat that has long been widely regarded as the fastest supermaxi in the world: Comanche<\/a>.<\/p>\n

According to some of Raven\u2019s crew, who\u2019d also sailed aboard Comanche, the most impressive thing was to be sitting at record-breaking pace at just 6\u00b0 of heel. Aboard Comanche it would have been 23\u00b0.<\/p>\n

For me, this is a big pointer to what might be in store for racing and perhaps cruising: fast and flat.<\/p>\n

Article continues below\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

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Have you ever seen rudders like that before? Radical top-secret Gitana 18 Ultim unveiled<\/a><\/h2>\n<\/header>\n
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When the Rothschilds and Gitana team unveil a new boat, they do it properly \u2013 and last night the huge\u2026<\/p>\n<\/div>\n