The North Sails 3Di candles have promoted SODEBO 4, Banque Populaire VIII and IDEC Sport in the achievement of their historical records back to the world. We analyze why the three teams have agreed on their choice, how the candles have influenced their performance and why the 3Di has revolutionized offshore navigation

Among the many factors involved in the achievement of a record return to the world, the correct choice of candles is one of the most decisive. The teams are looking for material with the best commitment between performance, durability and lightness, outstanding qualities of the 3Di North Sails, and that convinced the three teams that managed to spray the circumnavigation records in four weeks for history, between December 25, 2016 and January 26, 2017.

• IMOCA Banque Populaire VIII, Armel Le Cléac:
• Solo monocasco cord - 74d 3h 35m 46s
• Ultim SODEBO 4, Thomas Coville:
• Absolute solitary cord - 49d 3h 4m 28s
• Ultim IDEC Sport, Francis Joyon:
• Absolute value - 40d 23h 30m 30s

North Sails worked with the three teams to select and design their sails inventories. Different work philosophies, with a common goal: to complete the 21,600 miles back to the world in the shortest possible time. "Banque Populaire is a long-range customer, is very well structured, and from the beginning Armel (Le Cléac) had very clear the type of candle he needed," explains Hugues Destremau, an ocean expert from North Sails. "SODEBO has had a very professional approach, with a lot of people involved and many ideas to get a very refined inventory. IDEC is easier, with limited resources, and they rely more on us to decide about the candles. It's been a lot of fun working with each of them."

Banque Populaire: monocasco, solitaire, nine candles
Banque Populaire VIII beat the circumnavigation record for a solo monocasco competing in the Vendée Globe 2016-17 under IMOCA rule, which states that each ship must incorporate nine candles.

Trimarans: More versatile veils
Both IDEC Sport and SODEBO 4 (both 120-foot Ultim trimarans) faced their challenges without inventory limitations. These are very large and fast ships, in which the sailing changes are difficult and penalize a lot (in time and distance), both in full and alone crew configuration.

IDEC Sport: Five candles, and not a problem
The sails on board the IDEC were the patron Francis Joyon and Alex Pella, officially the fastest Spanish navigator in history.