Francois Gabart set a new world record for the fastest non-stop solo navigation of the globe on Sunday when he completed the odyssey in 42 days, 16 hours, 40 minutes and 35 seconds.

The 34-year-old sailor and father of two, Gabart  became just the fourth title-holder for a world record of sailing the globe solo without stopping. He crossed a virtual finish line drawn between the island of Ushant off France's northwest tip and Lizard Point in southwest England at 0145 GMT.

He broke the previous record which was made by compatriot Thomas Coville last year by six days and 10 hours.

However, before confirming the award, the World Sailing Speed Council will check the boat's black box and its GPS data before final confirmation.

The first record for fastest solo navigation around the globe was held by Frenchman Francis Joyon who completed the journey in 72 days and 22 hours. A year later, British female sailor Ellen MacArthur set to sail, racing against time to break that record by just a day and a half (71 days, 14 hours).

She held the record till 2016 when Coville set a new record of 49 days and three hours which was almost 30 days less than the previous record. Many predicted that this record would be difficult to topple.

Gabart set out to sail in a 30 metre (98 foot) long new generation maxi-trimaran . He was fortunate to experience good weather throughout much of the voyage, particularly during the long and arduous Pacific section.

He set a number of new solo race records along the way, including the fastest navigation of the Pacific (7 days, 15 hours, 15 minutes) and the longest distance covered in 24 hours (851 miles or 1,576 kilometres).