Bouwe Bekking, the boat’s Skipper, speaks of the joy of the crew when their feat was made official: “Everybody on board has received the news of the confirmation of the record as if we had set it all over again. We know what you do in the water is meaningless until it is made official, so today we will celebrate again”.

“From my position as Navigator, I have two reasons to rejoice – added a proud Andrew Cape -. With the confirmation of our record, WSSRC is also confirming that the data collected by the boat’s measuring equipment are correct, because the difference between our information and the official data is a mere 0.2 miles”.

John Reed, Secretary to the WSSRC, was in charge of the official announcement of the confirmation of the record achieved by the VO 70 “movistar”. “I am very pleased to be able to write confirming ratification of movistar’s performance. Many congratulations to all concerned”.

Onboard logbook: the setting of the World record

“The last two hours were slow and conscientious – wrote Skipper Bouwe Bekking on the ship’s log – not in the boat’s speed, but in Capey’s – “ movistar”’s navigator – reading of the numbers. When we reached 525 miles, we knew the record was close; in order to break a record, you must sail at least one mile more than the previous record, so when we knew we had sailed 527 miles everybody on deck started shouting with joy. On the screen, this figure increased to 529.9 miles according to our data, but it was great to receive confirmation of 530.19 miles by the Volvo office”.

Stu Bannatyne, Watch Captain on the VO 70, was the only one on board who had previous experience of a world record, when he was Watch Captain on board the Mari Cha IV. “When we set the previous record with the Mari Cha, the feeling was different, just as both boats were different. Here I have been able to see very clearly that the bigger the boat, the greater the comfort. Mari Cha is 143 feet long, whereas this boat is just 70 feet long; there were 24 people on board the Mari Cha, and only 10 on the “movistar”. But the emotion has been greater. It’s tough, but it is worth it nonetheless.”

During one of the satellite communications with the boat after achieving the record, Xabi Fernández, gold medallist and jib trimmer, emphasized the still-untapped potential of the “movistar”: “We have the feeling that we can improve this record. When we set the record, we were not following the ideal course, and the current was not helping; we think we can push the record a little bit further. I don’t know when, but we’ll do it”.

“How do I feel?” – continues Bekking on the boat’s log -: First of all, happy for our sponsor; this can be considered as a token of appreciation to “movistar”; without them, we wouldn’t have made it. But, most of all, I am happy for the team; all the hours we have spent have helped us a lot, which is why we have been able to sail so fast so early”.

The day after setting the record, the wind gave a break to the “ movistar” crew. “The pace has slackened slightly, and we have been forced to lower the spinnaker because of the headwind; however, we are still sailing at a good clip, at an average of more than 500 miles a day”.

“A side note: it’s wonderful to lay down on your bunk and sleep peacefully knowing that the guys on deck have everything under control…”

The record confirmed by the World Speed Sailing Record Council for the VO 70 “movistar” replaces the former record set by the British monohull two-mast 143 ft Mari Cha IV, skipped by Robert Miller, which sailed 525.7 miles in 24 hours, at an average speed of 21.9 knots between October 6 and 7 2003 .

Source: Melendy Britt