Giovanni Agnelli’s 92ft Stealth crossed the finish line of the UBS Jubilee Round the Island Race at 1548:09 today, finishing in 4h 48m 9s. The existing record, held by Mike Slade’s Skandia Leopard, is 4h 5m 40m and although Stealth’s time is outside that, it is still a titanic performance by the Frers design and her crew.

There certainly has been some progress in the 150 years since America set the original record of 10h 37m. Stealth completed the 52-mile course in less than half the time the circumnavigation took America.

“Awesome. There’s no other word for it,” said Stealth’s helmsman Kenny Read. “It felt like we were in the Mediterranean today. Fantastic sailing conditions, and the boat was fast. The crew was great, and having Tom Whidden on tactics, we were in good shape.”

“There were more boats on the Solent today than I’ve ever seen, and that includes the Whitbread. It makes you want to win the America’s Cup. Man, all the excitement, all the hype, all the enthusiasm and the people?it was something I’ll never forget.”