With strong winds in the north this morning Team Icap Maximus were not looking forward to the sort of course likely to be set for Day 6 of Skandia Cowes Week. So with a bit of persuasion from Harold Cudmore, tactician, Charles St Clair Brown – co-owner of Maximus – was straight on the telephone to the race committee requesting the possibility of heading off round the island for a record attempt.

They agreed and at the allotted 11:17 start time the 98ft supermaxi with her 26-strong crew crossed the line, heading out to the west on their solo record attempt. According St Clair Brown he challenged Team ABN AMRO One but they decided against it. St Clair Brown commented: “It would have been fun, I challenged them to go but I think they were doing so well in the regatta this week they wanted to concentrate on that. We had a good race with them yesterday, we beat them round the track, not as much as I’d have liked because they were able to tack up the shore.”

On the subject of ABN AMRO One’s unbeatable performance here at Skandia Cowes Week St Clair Brown said: “I think nobody will beat her, it’s a complete anomaly, it’s extraordinary, I think it’s just evidence that none of these TP52s or any of these boats come near her, it’s just an anomaly, it’s just a disaster for IRC and crazy for yachting and I think Mike Sanderson would be first to admit that? When you get a situation like this with a boat such as ABN One that’s winning by such a ridiculous margin it does the sport no good at all.”

Interestingly it was 10 years to the day that Harold Cudmore broke the Round the Isle of Wight record aboard Mistress Quickly. Commenting on this bizarre situation Cudmore said: “When I did it 10 years ago it took six hours. Anyway, I woke up this morning and said to Charles it’s wide open, today’s the day? Today the conditions were perfect with none of the four major legs of the course on the wind; you need them free to the wind, and today they were. We had just a small bit of a beat from Bembridge to the Forts, just a couple of miles and the rest was free. It was a good as we could get for the conditions.”

Chatting about what lies ahead for the record-breaking Icap Maximus St Clair Brown concluded: “The next challenge is the Maxi worlds which will be great because this will be the first time we come up against Wild Oats, Alpha Romeo, Zana and Konica Minolta, and then of course there’s the Z 86s including Morning Glory so its going to be a great series. And of course we still want to get the 24-hour monohull speed record? watch this space.”