Halfway through the race, it was already clear that the supermaxi "Comanche" could make it: to be the fastest monohull yacht to sail across the North Atlantic. Now it's done: at around 1 pm German time, the crew crossed the finish line at Lizard Point off the south of England. From the start at the Ambrose Light Buoy south of New York, the yacht took just five and a half days to cover the approximately 3000 nautical miles. The exact time has not yet been ratified, but should be delivered in the next few hours. The average speed of the "Comanche" was well over 20 knots - a speed at which the "Queen Mary 2" normally crosses the Atlantic.
At 0800 UTC in the morning, the yacht was still south of the Scilly Islands, with promising data on the displays. Speed: 20.5 knots. Distance travelled in the last 24 hours: 547 nautical miles. Distance to finish: 57.5 nautical miles. Sounded good. And led to honours: The 141-foot-long "Mari-Cha IV", which had held the record since 2003, has been dethroned. The 30.45 metre long "Comanche", built in 2014 for entrepreneur Jim Clark, is now the fastest monohull yacht to cross the Atlantic.
The "Mari-Cha IV" mastered the route in six days, 17 hours, 52 minutes and 39 seconds. The "Comanche" was probably almost a whole day faster. The ocean racing yacht had caught a good weather window from the outset, was built for sheer speed and managed to stay very close to the great circle course - thus (almost) actually sailing the shortest possible distance.
The last Facebook post (around 1.10pm German time) from the crew shortly before the finish read: "To everyone in this part of the world: We are just under four miles away from the finish at Lizard."
