/world sport
(CNN) -- Francis Joyon is comfortably ahead of schedule in his attempt to regain the record for a solo circumnavigation of the world from British yachtswoman Ellen MacArthur.
Joyon leaves Brest at the start of his solo round the world record attempt.
The 51-year-old Frenchman reached the Cape of Good Hope only 15 days and seven hours after departing from Brest on his record attempt on the 95ft trimaran IDEC.
That is fully four days and two hours faster than MacArthur achieved during her epic voyage in 2005.
The Cape of Good Hope is 6,200 nautical miles on a direct theoretical route from Brest, but Joyon's course actually took 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.
Since passing the Cape of Good Hope, IDEC has continued across the Indian Ocean at a blistering pace, posting 24 hour distances of close to 600 nautical miles to threaten the distance record for this distance of 610.45 nautical miles.
Joyon held the record of 72 days, 22 hours, 54 minutes and 22 seconds which he set in 2004, but MacArthur trimmed a little over the day off this mark a year later.
He needs to be back in Brest by February 3 (00.23 GMT) to claim the record. E-mail to a friend 
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