Francis Joyon is now 24 hours into his Atlantic record attempt

After leaving New York yesterday, 30 June, on his attempt on the solo transatlantic record Francis Joyon is falling behind the current record, set by Laurent Bourgnon in 1994. Joyon, sailing Idec, the same trimaran in which he set the solo round the world record, currently held by Ellen MacArthur, has been experiencing light winds putting him 2 hours and 46 minutes behind the record. However, in the last couple of hours his speed has picked up closer to the 18 knots he needs to average if he is to take the record.