Tonight at 0:48 a.m., the Monstertri, the ex-"Banque Populaire V", crossed the finish line. She was around 20 hours faster than the previous record holder Franck Cammas with "Groupama 3". The boat was skippered by the duo Dona Bertarelli and Yann Guichard. The billionaire and the French professional skipper have been the glamour couple of the multi-scene for years and have been chasing records with the newly refitted boat since this summer.
The crew of 14 sailed the 463 nautical miles with relative ease, the best time of Camma's smaller ship was considered beatable from the outset, especially as he was unable to sail the shortest route when he set his record a few years ago. "Spindrift 2" is considered to be 15 to 20 per cent faster than the old "Groupama". Nevertheless, the record data is impressive: 24.5 knots average speed, 46.08 knots top speed, the best distance travelled 714.4 nautical miles. Watch the video below for some live impressions of the record.
Dona Bertarelli described the last few days, in which they alternated once again between two weather systems, first sailing in a storm and then getting stuck in the doldrums, as follows: "'Spindrift 2' seemed more like an old crate running out of petrol than a Formula 1 car of the seas. We got stuck in the storm, sometimes in the doldrums, with winds ranging from 2 to 25 knots, with no chance of escape. Nevertheless, the ship is a beast of a machine, its strength in strong winds is phenomenal." More information and videos on the Website of the team.
Andreas Fritsch
Editor Travel
