Luther
20.04.2021 19:02:51
Alex Thomson, currently second in the Vendée Globe, has clocked a new 24-hour monohull solo speed record of 536.81 miles as he sails flat out in a bid to catch race leader Armel Le Cleac’h in the final week of competition
See full version: Yachting World
Alex Thomson, currently second in the Vendée Globe, has clocked a new 24-hour monohull solo speed record of 536.81 miles as he sails flat out in a bid to catch race leader Armel Le Cleac’h in the final week of competition
While this edition of the Vendée Globe has been consistently faster than all previous – the foil-assisted IMOCA 60s repeatedly setting new times to the Equator and on each Cape to Cape leg of the course compared to their ‘conventional’ canting-keeled predecessors – this 24-hour run is made all the more impressive by the fact that the sea state, some 550 miles west of Spain, was far from ideal, with big variations in wind strength giving the Hugo Boss autopilot plenty to content with for such a fast 24-hour stretch. It is also notable because Thomson’s Hugo Boss smashed its starboard foil early in the race, so can only achieve full power on starboard tack. here
Watch Alex talking about the record here:
Thomson is currently in second place in the Vendée Globe and is clearly throwing everything he has at this, his fourth attempt at winning the solo round the world marathon. [links]
However, this race has a history of just denying the runner-up by the slimmest of margins – Le Cleac’h himself was just three hours and 17 minutes behind the last winner, Francois Gabart in 2012. In today’s video, Thomson comments that he is concerned about his steering and has had some near-miss crash gybes going downwind at high speeds, and also says he is “struggling a bit” with his AIS system (Automatic Identification System). Both factors could yet prove to have a huge impact on this final full-on push to Les Sables. As Thomson signs off “I’m going to fight to the end!”
The Hugo Boss skipper has reclaimed his crown as king of speed by covering 536.81 miles in 24 hours, maintaining an astonishing average pace of 22.36 knots. This takes the record back from Francois Gabart, set in the last edition of the Vendée Globe at 534.48M or an average speed of 22.27kts, in 2012. Thomson himself held the title of fastest man in an IMOCA60 before that, having set a 468-mile record in 2003 which stood unbeaten for almost a decade. more
Alex Thomson, currently second in the Vendée Globe, has clocked a new 24-hour monohull solo speed record of 536.81 miles as he sails flat out in a bid to catch race leader Armel Le Cleac’h in the final week of competition
Watch Alex talking about the record here:
Reese wore a prototype suit from FirstGear-USA. With overnight lows of 39F degrees and daytime temps of 77F. The wind gust were between 18mph during the ride. Reese’s secondary mission was to prove the comfort of the suit in varying weather conditions. The FirstGear-USA suit is in development for a future release. [links]
Witnesses that observed the starting odometer of 24649 and the finish reading of 26768 were the following: Deena Mastracci, Glenn Stasky, Ryan Sorensen, Jay Carson, Darlene Stasky, Dan Clark, William Rugemick, Hank Arriazola, and Steven Brown. These volunteers worked through the event helping everything including pitstops.
Reese affectionally calls his motor bike “The Spirit of Cannonball Baker” after the famous Erwin “Cannonball” Baker. That set 143 records in his life time . Baker was a endurance legend that started the famed “cannonball run” from Los Angeles to New York City on a motorcycle back in 1922! more
In this case, noted long-distance rider Carl Reese set a Guinness World Record for the greatest distance traveled on a race track in a 24-hour period, traveling 2,119 miles at the Continental Proving Grounds in Uvalde, Texas. This breaks the previous record of 2023.5 miles previously set by Matthew McKelvey in 2014.
Reese totaled 2119 miles in less than a 24 hour period. Breaking the existing Guinness record of 2023.5 miles held by Matthew McKelvey in 2014.
Gabarts’ record is only about 50 miles less than the all-time 24-hour distance record of 907.9 miles, set by Banque Populaire V in 2009 with a crew of 11. here
François Gabart has set a new solo 24-hour speed record of an extraordinary 851 miles sailed in 24 hours on his 98′ trimaran MACIF. Gabart set the new record sailing in the South Atlantic, averaging 35.4 knots. more
As reported by Yachting World, Gabart is trying to break the solo round the world record set by Thomas Coville on Sodebo last year. This stands at 49d 3h, and to better it MACIF must arrive back at the finish line between The Lizard and Ushant by Christmas Eve.
Wow! I used to sail on a lot on multihulls, a lot of cats but most of my time (I think) was on trimarans. None were really hi tech, no fully battened sails, no rotating masts, not even roller furling foresails. Dick Newick tri’s are about as exotic as I like. I don’t particularly care for overly hi tech boats. I really don’t care for hydrofoils. A matter of taste. But that’s pretty awesome, a tri making 800+ miles in 24 hours.