World Sailing Speed Record Council (WSSRC) has now ratified two outstanding records. Both have been achieved by the 125-foot (38.1m) catamaran PlayStation, owner Steve Fossett (USA) with a mainly American crew. PlayStation soundly smashed the 11-year west-to-east transatlantic record of Jet Services V (Serge Madec, France) which was 6d13h 3m. From Ambrose Light Tower, New York Harbor, to Lizard Point, southwest England (the established course of 96 years), the giant cat took 4d 17h 28m 6s, as WSSRC commissioner Mike Ellison clicked his stopwatch on October 10. This is an average speed of 25.78 knots.
During passage she logged, in full compliance with WSSRC checks, a 24-hour distance run of 687.17 nautical miles, 28.63 knots. The 24-hour period ended at 2200 UTC on 7th October. This beat Club Meds existing 655.13 miles of February 7-8, 2001. These are historic figures in the progress of world transportation, though the current world crisis seems to have pushed the achievements out of general news pages. The new transatlantic speed is a way above other ocean records on the current list and comparable to that of ocean liners and of inshore sailing sprints, which only have to keep it up for half a kilometer.
The WSSRC has been informally notified that PlayStations next targets are Cowes to St. Malo (any time after November 6), then Marseille to Carthage, followed by the Route of Discovery (Cadiz to San Salvador).
