Thomas Coville of France completed an astonishing solo non-stop circumnavigation of the World on his 31m maxi trimaran.
The record was once famously owned by British sailor Ellen MacArthur, but the 48-year-old Frenchman’s jaw dropping new mark is just 49 days, 3 hours, 7 mins and 38 secs.
Having set off from Brest on the Brittany coast November 6 Coville needed to make it back by January 3 to establish a new record.
Coville crossed the open seas finish line off the French Atlantic coast at 16:57 GMT, December 25, and was due to head back to Brest.
The previous record of 57 days 13 hrs 34 mins and 6 sec was established by another Frenchman Francis Joyon under almost identical conditions in 2008.
