http://heinekenregatta.com/press_releases.php
Phaedo3 Blasts Around St.Maarten
Lloyd Thornburg's ballistic MOD 70 trimaran, Phaedo3 set a record for the new around St.Maarten anti-clockwise course, which included Tintamarre and Blowing Rock. Blasting around St.Maarten in 2 hours 7 minutes and 24 seconds, Phaedo3 averaged 20.7 knots on the 35-mile course, hitting an incredible top speed of 36 knots. At Tintamarre Phaedo3 was smashing through the waves, leaping like a marlin - an incredible sight!
“For sure we can go quicker, fast is fun!” commented Phaedo3 navigator, Miles Seddon, taking a break from his role as performance analyst for Team SCA in the Volvo Ocean Race. “There were a lot of yachts coming to take a look at 'the beast' at the start and there was a lot of traffic to get through, especially in Simpson Bay, with the bareboat fleet all around us. Once we had come around to the windward side of St.Maarten, we were on our own, pounding into the big sea state at 20 knots. It was a big bare away at Tintamarre, we touched 30 knots and trimmer Pete Cumming, was down to leeward easing the head sail, literally underwater getting fire-hosed. Pete was in full wet weather gear but we joked that he really needed a snorkel!”
“We blew out a clew fitting after the big gybe but slick crew work had us back in the groove and the reach across to Basse Terre produced our top boat speed of 36 knots. It sounds crazy but at 30 knots of boat speed, things are calm on board, but at 36 knots, the noises coming from the boat become a little more alarming, the winches, the sails and the rig are literally screaming under the loads.”
- read more here
A gallery of photos by Jesus Renedo is here:
No comments:
Post a Comment