After crossing the finish line in San Salvador in the Bahamas this morning, November 6th, just before 0600hrs GMT, Dona Bertarelli and Yann Guichard’s maxi trimaran, Spindrift 2, has beaten the previous record for the Discovery Route, held since 2007 by Franck Cammas and his maxi trimaran, Groupama 3, by more than 20 hours (20 hours, 29 minutes and 32 seconds).
Spindrift 2 left Cadiz (Spain) on October 30 at 1519hrs and 34 seconds GMT. The crew of 14 on the largest racing trimaran in the world, now holds the record time for the 3,885 miles route after setting a new time 6 days, 14 hours, 29 minutes and 21 seconds at an average speed of 24.5 knots. Spindrift 2’s actual distance traveled was 4,503 nautical miles at an average of 28.41 knots.
It is an achievement full of astonishing statistics with Spindrift 2 traveling 714.4 miles in one day last Friday, at the extraordinary average speed of 29.7 knots. One burst of speed was recorded peaking at 46.08 knots.
While the great white, black and gold bird is heading to Miami without a pit stop, and still enjoying a good breeze, Bertarelli and Guichard are celebrating with the crew this first beautiful page in the history of Spindrift 2, written without error and with great seriousness and professionalism.
Dona Bertarelli:
A tough last night: “Passing through the transition zone was marked by numerous storms, we entered without transition or virtually in strong north-east winds. We had 30 and 35 knots all night and the sea state got worse rapidly, with troughs of 5 to 6 metres and with short and crossed waves. It was like in the Mediterranean! It was pretty exhausting. The boat accelerated quickly down the waves and the helm was pretty stressful. We had to head west fast without putting too much strain on the equipment. We were racing against the clock and that times goes very quickly.”
Crossing the line: “It was a rare moment and a little strange because as San Salvador is a small island surrounded by beaches we had to approach very close to shore to distinguish the boat which had the official from the World Speed Sailing Record Council on board. It was a little stressful because of the proximity of the sandbanks. Then there was an eruption of joy on board…a beautiful moment.”
For more, including a video, visit www.spindrift-racing.com