
pic by Thierry Martinez
By Richard Crockett
Keeping to a similar theme from earlier this week, today I am able to share the ‘Mari Cha IV’ record. And of course there was a South African aboard too – this time it was Jan Dekker.
At 140-foot in length it was probably no surprise that ‘Mari Cha IV’ became the fastest monohull in history when they shattered the West to East transatlantic speed record.
Completing the 2,925 mile crossing in 6 days, 17 hours, 52 minutes and 39 seconds, they beat the existing record by over two days, and had the distinction of becoming the first monohull to cross the Atlantic in under seven days.
In breaking the record they also smashed the 24-hour distance record by sailing 525.5 nautical miles.
READ MORE HERE: Pages from 2003 11 – SAILING Magazine – OCR
