MOD70 Trimaran PowerPlay, led by Peter Cunningham and skippered by Ned Collier Wakefield, has completed the original Fastnet Course of 595nm in a new world record* of 25hrs 04mins 18secs.
PowerPlay’s run is more than two hours quicker than the record set by Phaedo3 in 2015.
Shortly after midday on 5 April, in a bitterly cold strong northerly wind PowerPlay started their Fastnet record attempt on the Squadron Line at Cowes. The trimaran made short work of racing to Land’s 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 6 April, at 13:42 and 19 seconds BST, the team reached the Plymouth Breakwater, where they celebrated their amazing run of 25 hours, 4 minutes and 18 seconds.
“We did not leave much out there, we were pushing really hard and everything aligned,” said PowerPlay Skipper Ned Collier Wakefield. “I am not going to lie, it was pretty full on, especially in April with an arctic northerly with snow around. With the apparent wind we saw 50 knots over the deck, and we hit a top speed of just under 40 knots. The lads did a brilliant job, changing sails about every half an hour. It was rough, physical and very cold. As a crew we have done cumulatively over 50 Fastnet Races, we love the course and to do it faster than it has been done before is really cool.”
PowerPlay Crew for Fastnet Course Record: Peter Cunningham, Ned Collier Wakefield, Tom Dawson, John Hamilton, Paul Larsen, Jack Trigger, Miles Seddon, Martin Watts.
*Subject to ratification by the World Sailing Speed Record Council.
