French skipper sets new round-the-world sail record

French skipper Loick Peyron and his crew of 13 on board Banque Populaire V set a new record for the Jules-Verne Trophy non-stop, round-the-world sail race on Friday. A crowd of thousands turned out to hail the success in the western French port of Brest.

Matt Dickens/onEdition/The Artemis Transat

Their vessel crossed the line in 45 days, 13 hours and 42 minutes, beating the previous best of Franck Cammas and Groupama 3 of 48 days, seven hours and 44 minutes, set in 2010.

The victory margin was achieved over the 52,220km race at an average speed of 48km per hour.

After spending the night sheltered from the media, Peyron and his team were greeted by a crowd of thousands, with Sports Minister David Douillet among them, in the Brittany port of Brest on Saturday.

“We had some tricky moments, for example when we sailed in front of icebergs,” Peyron told the i>TELE TV channel. “But, all in all, there were no problems.”

Peyron's record still needs to be confirmed by the World Sailing Speed Record Council (WSSRC).