ERICSSON RACING TEAM’S 24-HOUR MONOHULL WORLD RECORD RATIFIED
Monday 17th November
The World Sailing Speed Record Council (WSRRC) confirmed today that
Ericsson 4 were the holders of the new Monohull 24-hour record.
Ericsson 4 recorded 596.6 nautical miles in 24 hours between a start
position at 290 49.21 S; 230 42.41 W at18:55 on Monday, October
28,2008 and a finish position at 310 53.14 S; 120 22.21W at 18:55 on
Tuesday, October 28, 2008, while sailing the first leg of the Volvo
Ocean Race, from Alicante in Spain to Cape Town in South Africa.
The previous record 562.96nm was held by ABN AMRO TWO, skippered by
Sebastian Josse in the 2005/96 Volvo Ocean Race.
The Volvo Ocean Race Race Headquarters had originally calculated that
Ericsson 4 had recorded 602.66nm in 24 hours at 18:54 on Wednesday
29th October. The WSRRC received the time and position reports from
the Volvo Ocean Race and have now ratified the the 24-hour
Monohull World Record set by Ericsson 4 at 596.6 nm.
According to the WSSRC rules the Race Organizer may take on the task
of monitoring positions, alerting the WSSRC to possible records and
supplying them with the necessary data, which has been the case in
this instance.
Commenting on the ratified record Volvo Ocean Race Chief Executive
Knut Frostad says:
“This 24 hour record is a fantastic achievement - shattering the
previous record by over 33nm, or 6%. As Race Organizers it is
important to ensure that our data tracking systems are accurate and
that the information we supply is stable. It is unfortunate that our
calculated 24h distance in this case seem to not have been correct,
we are looking into reason for this, however we are always aware of
that any record are subject to ratification by the WSRCC before
becoming official.
Nevertheless the ratified record proves that the Volvo Open 70 Class
are the worlds fastest monohulls. It is a fantastic set by the crew
on Ericsson 4.”
“We are not participating in this race to break speed records, still
we are delighted that the crew of Ericsson 4 managed to set a new
World Record and break the old record by some 33 miles. Although the
conditions were not ideal, listening to the comments of the crew it
was an intense experience to average 24.85 nm over the 24-hour
period, and to have achieved this while the they were one crew member
short is a great reflection on the quality and stamina of the crew of
Ericsson 4 as well as the boat itself,” commented Richard Brisius,
Managing Director of Ericsson Racing Team. “While it has a symbolic
value in having sailed more than 600 nm, in the right conditions we
very much feel that it is something that Ericsson 4 is capable of.”
he concluded.
Both Ericsson 3 and Ericsson 4 are now racing the second leg to
Cochin in southern India.