Banque Populaire breaks transatlantic record

Averaging 32.94 knots, achieving a maximum speed of 47.15 knots, the French trimaran Banque Populaire has shattered the previous record for sailing across the Atlantic Ocean, with a time of 3 days, 15 hours, 25 minutes, and 48 seconds.  A second French maxi-tri&mdashGroupama 3, skippered by renowned sailor Franck Camas&mdashcrossed the finish line 12 minutes later.  
From the ISAF’s Sailing.org:

Skipper Pascal BIDÉGORRY (FRA) and his 11 crew onboard Banque Populaire V crossed the finishing line at Lizard Point at 14:13:30 UTC on Sunday, smashing the four-day barrier for the North Atlantic. They covered the 2,921 nm at an average speed of 32.94 knots, including an incredible peak speed of 47.15 knots. The new record time is 12 hours, 32 minutes and 6 seconds faster than the previous record set just two years ago by Groupama 3. It is the first world record claimed by the new Banque Populaire V, one year after its launch.

During the crossing the Banque Populaire V team also set a new 24-hour distance record, again subject to WSSRC ratification, of 908nm – an average speed of 37.8 knots.

“I do not even realize what we have done,” said BIDÉGORRY just after the team crossed the finishing line at Lizard Point. “It was already hard to imagine that we could go so fast in 24 hours but this record leaves me a huge split between emotion and surprise. This record victory is rewards for three years of work by the whole Team, preparers, the office, architects and all the teams in the Banque Populaire. I’m really very pleased to offer these two gifts: the crewed speed record of 24 hours and the new reference time for the North Atlantic.”

By Ocean Navigator