Pontoon bridge unprecedented 730-meter, fortified pontoon bridge across the Scheldt river at the Siege of Antwerp in 1584 to close off water access to the city. In the battle of Saraighat in 1671, the Ahoms spanned the river Brahmaputra at Saraighat over an improviso bridge of boats. In the 1670s, the French devised the copper pontoon; after this point, rivers and canals ceased to present significant obstacles. The early modern period in pontoon use was dominated by the wars of the 18th and 19th centuries during which the art and science of pontoon bridging barely changed. This however did not stop all
Trimaran feat, Francis Joyon held the world record for solo circumnavigation of the world, set on January 20, 2008. The 51-year-old Frenchman circled the planet alone in 57 days, 13 hours, 34 minutes, 6 seconds in a trimaran. He beat British sailor Ellen MacArthur's record set in February 2005 for which she spent just over 71 days at sea. Francis Joyon and crew of five sailors; Dec 2016–Jan 2017; the Maxi trimaran "IDEC SPORT"; current absolute (wind or mechanically powered) fastest maritime circumnavigation, in 40 days 23 hours 30 minutes 30 seconds of sailing. Average speed of 26.85 knots (30.71 MPH),