At 06:52.29 this morning Tracy Edwards’ maxi-catamaran Maiden II crossed the finish line on their Round Britain and Ireland record attempt, smashing the existing record by more than 24 hours. They completed the course in 4 days 17 hours 3 minutes and 23 seconds with an average speed of 15.8 kts over the 1,787 mile course.

Skipper Brian Thompson was clearly very happy this morning

“We are very, very pleased to have done the course, and feel we did a good job. The boat was really good and we only broke a few battens on the trip. The crew have been fantastic and it was great training for everyone. However, we can’t get too elated yet as we are waiting to find how the other boat that was attempting this record has done as we’d like to be holders of the record aswell. Right now we just know that we have beaten Lakota’s record and everyone is safe and sound.”

John Reed of the World Speed Sailing Records Council has just confirmed that they have indeed not only smashed the existing record but beaten the competition to do it. At this time Geronimo had not completed the course and were some four hours behind Maiden II.

By Nathalie Le Pen