There was at least one sporting achievement for France to cheer yesterday when one of its more enigmatic yachtsmen, Francis Joyon, sliced a massive 22 hours, 33 minutes and 5 seconds off the single-handed transatlantic record.
The Frenchman has once again made life more difficult for Ellen MacArthur, who isplanning an attempt on the same record later this year.
Joyon was the man who chopped 20 days off the round-the-world record, which MacArthur went on to beat by over 24 hours earlier this year.
Joyon covered the near 3,000 miles from Ambrose Light, New York, to the Lizard, off Cornwall, in six days, 44hrs, 1min and 37sec to break the 1994 record of fellow Frenchman Laurent Bourgnon.
"It was as if the boat wanted the record even more than me," he said as, tired but elated, he sailed the 90-foot trimaran Idec to its home port of La Trinite in Brittany.
"To break the record by this much is an amazing achievement, I am in awe of what he has done," said MacArthur. Her 75-foot trimaran crosses the Atlantic after the Fastnet Race next month and will be on standby for up to two months from 1 September.
