Sailing: Bermuda To Lorient Record Broken
Two boats have smashed a record crossing time between Bermuda and Lorient that has stood for over 40 years, as part of this year’s Pure Ocean Challenge.
A spokesperson said, ”Jean-Pierre Dick’s JP54 monohull ‘The Kid- ‘Notre Méditerranée – Ville de Nice’ and the TS42 multihull ‘Banzai’, skippered by Vincent Willemart, both beat the longstanding record by over 34 hours.
“The JP54 crossed the Lorient finish line in a time of 11 days 8 hours and 38 minutes with the TS42 coming in just over five hours later [11 days 13 hours and 53 minutes] having set off from St George’s Island, Bermuda, on 8th May. Professional sailor Jacques Valente in the 42-foot epoxy wood multihull Be Creative will be third to finish.
“The previous crossing time of 12 days 23 hours and 16 minutes was set in 1983 by Eugène Riguidel and Jean-François le Menec, in the catamaran William-Saurin.
“Jean-Pierre Dick was trailing behind the TS42 for much of the race in what he described as a ‘fierce battle’ before taking control in the latter stage of the race.”
“The Pure Ocean ambassador and four-times Transat Jacques Vabre winner said: “The conditions were very good for the first four days and we were close behind Banzai but towards the end we made a strategic decision to push toward a big high in the Irish Sea and that made the difference. I’m very proud to have broken a long established record and hope that other boats will try and beat my time next year.
“It is important to also use this race to raise awareness of the vital work being carried out by Pure Ocean and to raise money for the scientific ocean research projects they fund.”
The spokesperson added, “The event is organised by the Pure Ocean Foundation, Absolute Dreamer and Advanced Tracking to raise awareness of the urgent need for ocean conservation.
“Pure Ocean raises funds to support state-of-the-art applied research projects to conserve marine biodiversity, protect and restore fragile marine ecosystems and increase knowledge of the ocean.”
Pure Ocean founder David Sussmann, said: “We’re absolutely thrilled with the 2023 edition of the Pure Ocean Challenge. After last year’s complications, we were proud to have three boats participating this year. Jean-Pierre, Vincent and Jacques and their teams really made the challenge exciting and gave it their all!
“We are honoured that the two new records were made in Pure Ocean’s name and are convinced that next year we will be able to attract even more teams to help us spread the message about ocean protection.”
