Wing foiler in seven-hour glide from Plymouth to Roscoff

At one point, near the French coast, the wind nearly vanished, said Gavériaux, who was born in Yeovil, Somerset. “I had, I would say, five knots wind speed, maybe less, so I was completely stopped,” he said.

The conditions mostly held on the day of the challenge, 9 May, and there were moments of magic too, including close encounters with dolphins.

“I passed very, very close from two of them,” he said.

Gavériaux said he had completed several other long-distance journeys around the north western coast of France, prior to the latest challenge.

“I am in the water most days,” he said. “I like long distance sailing, to go from one place to another one.”