A Belgian sailor has set sail in an ambitious bid to enter the record books, readily admitting that Lady Luck will play a part in him achieving his target.
Quentin Debois, who is aged 38 and from Liege, aims to cover 7,200 km to the island of San Salvador in the Bahamas in less than 30 days to become the first Belgian record holder for a solo Atlantic crossing on the smallest ocean-going racing boat, a 6.50m sailboat.
An official commissioner from the World Sailing Speed Record Council (WSSRC) launched the bid when the boat crossed the starting line, between Puerto Sherry and the port of Cadiz.
His spokesman said: “His speed is quite good for the moment and Quentin aims to arrive in San Salvador at the end of January.”
As he set off on his seafaring adventure, Debois told this site he was “completely ready and calm”, adding: “My boat is also completely ready, checked down to the smallest detail. All that remained was to give the hull a final clean to ensure that seaweed did not slow the boat down and to load the 110 litres of water I’ll need for the crossing.”
He said that the two weeks he spent on standby awaiting favourable sea and wind conditions had allowed him to “fine-tune everything and set off in optimal conditions, both mentally and technically speaking”.
As he set off to the open sea, he declared:” I can’t wait to take the helm!”
A spirit of adventure and a great deal of flexibility will be needed, he admitted, in order to succeed in his ambitious challenge ahead.
The boat was initially planned to be transported from Nieuwpoort on the Belgium coast to Cadiz by road, but this was ultimately done partly by sea. On December 5, the boat was launched in Argelès-sur-Mer near Perpignan and, after eight days of sailing in good conditions, Debois arrived at the port of Cadiz on December 13.
He said: “My navigator and I took advantage of this voyage to put ourselves in the conditions for the record attempt. This experience was particularly valuable for testing the new equipment such as the autopilot, wind sensor and sails, plus fine-tuning the settings, and validating the technical choices.
“This full-scale test gave me the opportunity to get a feel for the boat, get into race mode.”
Before setting off from Cadiz on January 6, he finalised the technical preparation of the boat and fine-tuned the new autopilot system, a key element in solo sailing. An official commissioner from the World Sailing Speed Record Council (WSSRC) also inspected the boat and verified the installation of the official Black Box: a GPS device that is essential for the record attempt to be certified.
He is currently heading south towards the Canary Islands to take advantage of the trade winds which blow from east to west, generally between 15 and 30 knots, and promote relatively stable and continuous sailing towards the Bahamas.
He told this site: “I will check in every day with my router Basile Rochut, who will be my co-pilot from land.”
“His role will be to analyse the weather conditions in order to find the best route to arrive as quickly as possible. Given the size and speed of my boat, we can only forecast conditions 15 days ahead. The goal is to get off to the best possible start because we do not know what lies ahead.”
Rochut said: “Every day, I will send Quentin routings and comments on the strategy for the day, the next day, and the medium and long term. Quentin will be able to view them, give his opinion, and make his choices. It is always the skipper who makes the final decisions on board.”
Debois said that to succeed he “want to stay close to the areas of strong wind, but always within reasonable limits. Every decision is made by weighing up the benefits and risks. It is the ‘good sailor’ who has the final say over the competitor. The first thing I have to think about is the safety of the boat and myself.”
He adds: “I am going to give it my all to break the record. I would like to do it in 27 days, but success depends on four major factors that I have to deal with: technical issues, such as breakages, wear and tear, boat failures, the human factor, routing strategy, and finally, luck. At sea, I know I can count on the support of my shore team, especially my coach Quentin Droneau, and my sponsors who will be following my progress on social media.”
“It is thanks to them that this adventure is possible.”
He goes on: “I will be alone on the boat, but ocean racing is a real team sport. You are never really alone. I have a whole team that has been preparing the project with me for a year and will offer me support and advice when I am sailing. If we break a record, it will be a team victory.”
Regardless of the outcome of the east-west crossing, he will attempt another world record in June: crossing the Atlantic from west to east, from New York to Lizard Point in England. This 5,300 km route, which is generally faster and more demanding, will test his ability to adapt to weather conditions and optimize every mile travelled to set a new record time of less than 17 days and 9 hours. After that, Quentin says he would like to continue his career as an offshore skipper.
He said: “For me, it is important to keep challenging myself, to push my limits. There are a few legendary races that I dream of, but for now I am taking it one step at a time.”
Debois grew up far from the sea – in Marchin in the province of Liège, and nothing predestined him for offshore racing.
He discovered sailing late in life, at the age of 31, thanks to a friend who invited him to sail in the North Sea. He was immediately hooked and took his first lessons the following week on the Belgian coast.
From 2021 to 2023, he underwent intensive training at the offshore racing training centre in La Turballe, in the Loire-Atlantique region.
In 2022, he bought his first boat, a Mini 6.50, the smallest racing boat in the world capable of crossing the Atlantic. His ambition was already clear: to take part in ocean racing. In November 2023, he completed his first solo transatlantic crossing, without assistance or means of communication, in 28 days.
