A sailing world record has been broken during the 2016-17 Vendee Globe race.
Great Britain's Alex Thomson set a new high water mark for the most distance covered by a solo sailor in a 24 hour period on his yacht Hugo Boss.
The Welshman managed 536.81 nautical miles during the Vendee Globe race.
"It feels like a long time coming," he said in a video message from his boat, although he added that he is not catching the race leader as much as he would like.
The record distance he set put him second in the standings.
🎥 @AlexThomson99 reacts to the record he broke earlier today ! @HUGOBOSS @ATRacing99 #VG2016 pic.twitter.com/oH4v0z4I3K
— Vendée Globe (@VendeeGlobe) January 16, 2017
The event, which features sailors racing 26,000 around the world on their own, has around 1,000 miles left to go.
The 2016-17 race began in November 2016 and Enda O’Coineen was the sole Irish challenger on yacht, Kilcullen Voyager.
The 60 year old Galway man saw his mast break on New Year's Day, which required his boat to be towed to safety from the southern ocean.
However, he told The Irish Examiner that he intends to complete the round the world non-stop race nevertheless, even though he is out of the race.
"It’s a personal goal and I would never live with myself for not at least trying to complete the objective," he said.
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