Francis Joyon passed the Cape of Good Hope on Saturday and since then his 95ft trimaran IDEC has continued to fly and is threatening the solo 24 hour distance record.

Francis Joyon reached the Cape 15 days, 7 hours after departing from Brest on his solo round the world record in attempt – 4 days, 2 hours and 30 minutes faster than the current record holder Ellen MacArthur who took 19 days, 9 hours.

The Cape of Good Hope is 6,200 miles on a direct theoretical route from Brest, but Joyon’s course had actually taken him over 7,400 miles – giving him an average speed of 20.12 knots for the first 15 days of his circumnavigation. Not only is Joyon’s time over four days faster than the current record, it is also quicker the crewed records set in 2002 and 2003 by the giant multihulls Geronimo and Orange.

The only boat to have reached the Cape faster is the current holder of the Jules Verne Trophy, Orange 2, skippered by Bruno Peyron, who recorded a time of 14 days, 05 hours, 21 minutes in 2005.

Since passing the Cape of Good Hope, IDEC has continued at across the Indian Ocean at a blistering pace, posting a 24 hour run of 595.6nm at the 07:56 UTC poll his morning. The latest polling at 10:58 UTC put his 24 run at 594.7nm and current speed at 25.3 knots.

With a favourable weather conditions set to continue for the next couple of days, Joyon looks set to have a genuine chance to better the current solo 24 hour distance record held by Brossard at 610.45nm, an average speed of 25.76 knots.

Joyon is still looking to maximize his current advantage at the moment he’s 1,703 nm ahead of the record pace. www.trimaran-idec.com