THEY’VE done it!
A team of Hampshire sailors have set a new world record for the fastest ever sailed on a boat.
After more than a month of trials, the Vestas Sailrocket 2 team sailed their futuristic boat at an average of 59.23 knots – more than 68 miles per hour – smashing the existing world record by more than three knots.
The team, led by Lymington skipper Paul Larsen (right), has been trying to beat the 56.04 knots average over 500 metres set by kitesurfer Rob Douglas in 2010 since arriving in Walvis Bay, Namibia, in early October.
“We are downloading the data now – there is 59.23 knot average with a 62.53 peak,” Larsen said last night after the record-breaking run. “I’m buzzing and I know it is just going to get better. I will have this for life now.”
The original Vestas Sailrocket hit headlines in 2008 when she reached 47.4 knots, setting a new Category B speed sailing world record.
The new record is pending ratification from the World Sailing Speed Council.
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