Century-old Transatlantic Record broken by two boats

June 2, 2005 Having established a new transatlantic race record between New York and the Lizard, UK, yesterday morning, the afternoon saw Robert Miller’s Mari-Cha IV making an unexpected 20 knots up the English Channel towards the Needles and the finish line of the Rolex Transatlantic Challenge race. The wind, forecast to drop off, held, and shortly before dusk, in a seascape so misty and overcast that it merged grey sky with grey sea, the high-tech schooner charged past the Needles Fairway buoy to the west of the Isle of Wight to take line honours, as well, in the Rolex Transatlantic Challenge. Mari-Cha IV crossed the finish line at 19:18:37 UTC, setting a course time between Ambrose Light (in the U.S.) and the Needles of 10 days, 1 hour, 8 minutes and 37 seconds. This compares with Atlantic’s time of 13 days, 10 hours and 15 minutes in the 1905 race for the Kaiser’s Cup. Up the Channel, in hot pursuit of Mari-Cha IV, was Maximus, the new sloop of New Zealanders Charles Brown and Bill Buckley, who had passed the four-mile long gate off the Lizard at 19:18:37 UTC yesterday (1 June), making it to the Needles finish line at 00:35:08 UTC this morning (2 June), 5 hours 16 minutes and 31 seconds behind Mari-Cha IV. While this was disappointing for the crew, the consolation prize was a handicap win in the Grand-Prix division.

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