American adventurer Steve Fossett has demolished the Trans-Atlantic sailing speed record in his multi-million pound, 125ft catamaran ‘Playstation’.
He crossed the finish line, at the Lizard point Cornwall, at nearly midday on Wednesday the tenth of October. It took the yacht and its crew just four days seventeen hours and twenty-eight minutes to complete the 2,885 nautical mile trip, reaching speeds of up to 40knots. The crew, mostly American but including British citizen Shaun Biddulph, are said to be ‘Jubilant’ at the record.
The yacht passed Scilly during the mid morning and although the ‘Playstation’ didn’t sail close to the Islands, visitors and locals were looking out for the vessel as she passed.
Scilly has seen many boats attempting to break different records, most notably Richard Branson in his motor yacht Virgin Atlantic, which broke the record on its second attempt and moored up against St. Mary’s Quay.
The record was held up due to the tightened security in New York but Islanders were kept up to date with how the crew were doing with a regularly updated board outside Lloyds TSB Bank in Hugh town. This successful trip follows several failed attempts where the weather was not suitable to complete the voyage.
“smalldetail”bTop picture:/b Earlier in the year, locals cheered on the Fastnet racing yachts./span