Mike Sanderson reports onboard SPEEDBOAT

[Source: Team Origin] Mike Sanderson onboard SPEEDBOAT in the Newport to Bermuda Race :

Position as at 2222 EDT time on Sunday 22 June, 80.2 miles to go doing 10.8 knots in 9.1 knots of wind; Il Mostro (PUMA) 45 miles behind and Rambler 14 miles behind them

If a race record is surprisingly slow there is often a very good reason for it.... it usually means that the race is sailed in a pretty tricky piece of water rather than the fact that not fast boats have competed in the race previously.

Once again the 2008 Newport to Bermuda race is showing why this record is one of the toughest ones to nail. A distance of 630 miles one day is a number that we hope we can boast about as being a daily run on Speedboat, and so to be settling into day three with still 150 miles to go just doesn't seem right for such a speed machine, considering the fact that we have never totally parked up.

In fact I am sure that the averages through the water will not be too bad, the big problem has been the fact that the weather just hasn't let us spend very long pointing at the mark! In saying all that though we are all really happy, the boat is performing really well on its targets, it’s all in one piece with no damage ( he says touching the lovely piece of wood mounted in the nav station at Stan and my request...) and so what else can we ask for, this thing is going to be a machine when reaching.


It will just be a matter of pointing and shooting, and so to have the time now to play around with sail combinations and sailing modes in lighter airs with the luxury of having the designer Juan Kouyoumdjian on board is priceless. In fact it will be a shame to reach Bermuda as that will bring an end to a couple of amazing weeks pre race and race of sorting this cool yacht out.

Fingers crossed that we get a weather window soon so that we can get back out here and have a shot at the Trans-Atlantic record.

In the meantime its back to the 7 knot beat...

From all of us out here that make up the crew of Speedboat, thanks for checking in on us.

Talk soon

Mike