The crew of the MOD70 Trimaran PowerPlay has completed the original Fastnet Course in a new world record time.
The crew, led by Peter Cunningham and skippered by Ned Collier Wakefield completed the 595 nautical mile (nm) course in 25 hours four minutes, and 18 seconds – subject to ratification by the World Sailing Speed Record Council.
“It was kind of ambitious, but the conditions were right, and the team was ready to go,” commented Peter Cunningham.
“The PowerPlay crew was fantastic. Miles (Seddon) did a brilliant job navigating, we had two wonderful drivers in Ned Collier Wakefield, who set up the boat and runs the programme, and the fastest sailor on Earth, Paul Larsen, who drove in some incredibly bad conditions.”
Shortly after midday on Monday 05 April, in a bitterly cold strong northerly wind. PowerPlay started their Fastnet record attempt on the Squadron Line at Cowes. PowerPlay made short work of racing to Lands’ End and powered across the Celtic Sea at speeds in excess of 30 knots.
PowerPlay rounded the famous Fastnet Lighthouse and raced through the night. On Tuesday 06 April, at 13:42 and 19 seconds BST, PowerPlay reached the Plymouth Breakwater, where the team celebrated their amazing run of 25 hours, 4 minutes and 18 seconds.
The historic 595nm route starts from Cowes IOW and rounds Lands’ End before crossing the the Celtic Sea to round the Fastnet Lighthouse off the coast of Ireland. Then it is back across the Celtic sea keeping south of Bishop Rock in the Scilly Isles to the finish at the Plymouth Breakwater.
PowerPlay’s run is over two hours quicker than the record set by Phaedo3 in 2015. The first Fastnet Race was in 1925 and won by Jolie Brise which took over six days to finish the course.
The PowerPlay Crew for Fastnet Course Record was: Peter Cunningham, Ned Collier Wakefield, Tom Dawson, John Hamilton, Paul Larsen, Jack Trigger, Miles Seddon, and Martin Watts.
Main image © Lloyd Images