French sailor Francis Joyon already holds the solo round-the-world record; the 24-hour distance record; and the Columbus Route record. This spring he is set to tackle the North Atlantic record. If he achieves that, he will become the only sailor in the world to have managed “the Grand Slam,” or holding the four most prestigious sailing records simultaneously.
On board his maxi trimaran IDEC, Joyon managed to sail around the world alone in just 57 days. Last summer, once again sailing solo he covered 668 miles in just one day, setting the 24-hour distance record at an amazing average speed of 27.83 knots. Finally, in February, he smashed his own record on the Columbus Route (Cadiz-San Salvador), taking more than one day off the record by completing the voyage in 8 days, 16 hours, 7 minutes and 5 seconds.
So what else is there for Francis Joyon to achieve aboard his 95-foot trimaran? Only the North Atlantic record remains.
