The Italian crew challenged last year but had to retire on the Cape Verde Islands because of rudder damage. On this attempt which started on the 26th of december 2004, they are just ahead of the record established in 1999.

Monday 3-january 2004 Andrea and Matteo encountered light winds during the weekend and are feeling emotionally tired. After the favorable trade winds of the first days, progress is slow. The wind is supposed to pick up on tuesday. Still 1120 miles to go as the Italians go into their 8th day of sailing. They have had good average speeds of around 220 NM a day (8.6 knots VMG average).

Second Week of the Bouscholte/Navarin Worldrecord Going back to the record, the second week is much harder than the first one. Wounds on hands, feet, arms and legs get bigger and bigger and the lack of sleep starts to affect reflexes. Also, a tropical depression where Bouscholte/Navarin broke a rudder and were in survival mode under bare poles for 24 hours in the final stages can be encountered. Two Germans and 1 Brazilian sailor lost their lives in previous attempts.
Despite the dangers, this down to earth and hard fought record without assistance inspires many sailors because a Belgian and an Australian crew are also preparing for the challenge

Challengers web site

Web site Hans Bouscholte

Source: Hans Bouscholte