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13 Sep 2012, 08:07UTC

Coville just can't get enough

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IAN ROMAN/Volvo Ocean Race
The insatiable Thomas Coville is sailing another record attempt across the Mediterranean Sea. The French watch captain won the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12 with Groupama before going on to start the MOD70 European Tour… Yet still, he can't get enough.
Thomas Coville, Helmsman/Trimmer, Groupama Sailing Team. Photographed at the finish of leg 7, in the Lisbon Race Village, during the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12. IAN ROMAN/Volvo Ocean Race Thomas Coville steering onboard Groupama Sailing Team during leg 7 of the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12, from Miami, USA to Lisbon, Portugal. Yann Riou/Groupama Sailing… Thomas Coville celebrates rounding Cape Horn, onboard Groupama Sailing Team during leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12, from Auckland, New Zealand to Itajai, Brazil. Yann Riou/Groupama Sailing… Groupama Sailing Team's Thomas Coville from France, lifts the Volvo Ocean Race trophy, claiming first place overall, at the final public prize giving, in Galway, Ireland, during the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12. IAN ROMAN/Volvo Ocean Race

"I sailed a lot lately, but always with a crew. Single-handed sailing isn’t that easy and I’m looking forward to it" - Thomas Coville

Coville left Marseille, France, on Wednesday at 1448pm CEST on his maxi trimaran Sodebo. His goal is to sail the 458 miles to Carthage, Tunisia in less than 24 hours to establish a multihull solo record across the Mediterranean. 

“It's a bit more than a year since I last sailed Sodebo alone,” said Coville before leaving the French port. “I've sailed a lot lately, but always with a crew. Single-handed sailing isn’t that easy and I’m looking forward to it.

“The more you sail, the more your experience helps you to be vigilant and modest. To jump from one boat to another improves your seamanship, and your technical and sporting level. If I haven’t sailed for six months, I’d be like a bike rider or a runner, I’d have lost my sensations and I wouldn’t be at my very best, even though I rounded I don’t know how many times Cape Horn.”

Luckily that's not the case for Coville, who followed up victory in the Volvo Ocean Race by sailing the first leg of the MOD70 European Tour.

On board his 32-meter multihull, he sailed overnight in 35 to 40 knots of wind and hit something with his rudder. “It isn’t that easy,” he confessed during a live call this morning. "For a while, I thought I'd broken it."

The seven-time circumnavigator is still sailing at above 25 knots with some 100 miles to cover before Carthage. 

Follow Coville’s record attempt on http://www.sodebo-voile.com. 

 

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IAN ROMAN/Volvo Ocean Race

Thomas Coville, Helmsman/Trimmer, Groupama Sailing Team. Photographed at the finish of leg 7, in the Lisbon Race Village, during the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12.

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Yann Riou/Groupama Sailing Team/Yann Riou

Thomas Coville steering onboard Groupama Sailing Team during leg 7 of the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12, from Miami, USA to Lisbon, Portugal.

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Yann Riou/Groupama Sailing Team/Volvo Ocean Race

Thomas Coville celebrates rounding Cape Horn, onboard Groupama Sailing Team during leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12, from Auckland, New Zealand to Itajai, Brazil.

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IAN ROMAN/Volvo Ocean Race

Groupama Sailing Team's Thomas Coville from France, lifts the Volvo Ocean Race trophy, claiming first place overall, at the final public prize giving, in Galway, Ireland, during the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12.