697 miles in 24 hours, average speed 29 knots!

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World sailing record for maxi-catamaran Maiden II (formerly Club Med)designed by the Gilles Ollier Design Team and built by the Multiplast yard of Vannes (France.
Off Newport (Usa), in favourable weather conditions, Maiden II has just deposed PlayStation by improving the world record for the greatest distance covered under sail in 24 hours. Bought by English yachtswoman Tracy Edwards earlier in the year, Maiden II has just added a new record to her list of achievements and nabs this performance for the third time in her career.Indeed, under the name of Club Med, during qualification for..

The Race 2000/2001 along the Cadiz (Spain) / San Salvador (Bahamas) route, the catamaran from the board of the Gilles Ollier Design Team was the first yacht in the world to break the 600 miles in 24 hours barrier. And this just three weeks after her launching. During The Race, which she won in Mars 2001, Club Med reeled off 655.2 miles in the Pacific Ocean, on the approach to Cape Horn. Today, with this victorious attempt, Maiden II confirms the assertion by the Gilles Ollier Design Team in 1996: "our boats are capable of sailing 700 miles in 24 hours!".

700 miles in 24 hours?

Almost, just three small miles short. According to Christian Février, official observer for the Wssrc² that monitored the attempt hour by hour: "if the wind hadn't fallen for 2 hours midway through, the 700 miles could have been achieved without a problem". Maiden II held an average of 32.75 knots for 4 hours covering 131 miles, with a peak at 44 knots. And yet the performance is a sizeable one because Maiden II measures 5 metres less than PlayStation which held the record since October 2001. The skipper, navigator and watch captain on board Maiden II, Helena Darvelid, Adrienne Cahalan and Adrian Thompson, quickly got the measure of the boat to drive her to her full potential.

A boat already 2 years "old"

A sophisticated boat entirely built in carbon fibre and baked at 120°C in the biggest oven in Europe at the Multiplast yard in Vannes – Maiden II has already covered more than twice the distance round the world, or about 45,000 miles (83,000 km). And for this attempt, nothing specific had been done to the boat which is still in the configuration in which she finished The Race.

Maiden Team are speaking about

Tracy Edwards / Sailing Director / UK
"I cannot describe how I feel! This confirms my belief that this is exactly the right boat to do the job and confirms my obvious belief in the crew. They are have worked so hard and are now exhausted having been up for 36 hours with only five drivers, five people down and some crew that had never sailed the boat before. It is an incredible achievement."

Helena Darvelid / Co Skipper & Watch Captain / SWE
"We did some crazy speeds but everyone kept on the pressure under full control sailing this fantastic boat".

Adrienne Cahalan / Navigator & Co Skipper / AUS
"It was veryexciting, sitting with a calculator, looking at the Speedo going 32-36kts doing the same calculation over and over again and seeing that we only needed to do 26nm in the last hour to break the record. It was hard work, stressful but very satisfying".

Rodney Keenan / Crew / NZ
"For my first time on a racing MultiHull bigger than 30ft, I am on the right boat" I thought when we broke the 24hour Volvo Record on SEB last November that wewere flying... boy was I wrong! These boats can really fly and on a boat of this size you really know your doing something special".

Paul Larsen / Crew / AUS
"I've never heard of an offshore boat doing anything like a genuine 44 knots. For a few brief seconds everything was in fast forward and then one of the windows literally blew out. Wicked fun. The fact that we hit over 40 knots testifies to how hard we were pushing, the conditions and the performance capabilities of the boat".

Fraser Brown / Crew / NZL
"Being one of five drivers for a 24 hour World Speed Sailing Record attempt and being the one to clock the top SOG at 44 knots won't be something I'll forget...."

Lanee Butler / Crew / USA
"This has been a wild ride. Going fast on a windsurfer is one thing, but on a 110 foot catamaran is something else, especially up to 44 knots. I came aboard to see what I thought about these boats and I definitely picked the best ride, best team and best boat of them all".

24 HOUR SAILING RECORDS : BENCHMARKS

The 500 miles in 24 hours barrier
Two yachts were the first in the world to break the 500 mile barrier during the Transat Quebec/Saint Malo (North Atlantic)
August 1984 / catamaran Crédit Agricole (22.31 m) – Multiplast/Ollier / 508 miles en 24 h, average speed 21.16 knots
August 1984 catamaran Tag Heuer (24 m) – Irens/Canadair / 517 miles in 24 h, average speed 21.54 knots)

The 600 miles in 24 hours barrier
§ June 2000 / catamaran Club Med (33.50 m) – Multiplast/Ollier / 625.7 miles in 24 h, average speed 26.07 knots / Between Cadiz and San Salvador, North Atlantic
January 2001 / catamaran Innovation Explorer (33 m) - Multiplast/Ollier - 629.19 miles in 24 h, average speed 26.22 knots / South Pacific
February 2001 / catamaran Club Med (33.50 m) – Multiplast/Ollier / 655.2 miles in 24 hours, average speed 27.3 knots / South Pacific
October 2001 / catamaran PlayStation (38 m) – Cookson/Morrelli & Melvin / 687.17 miles, average speed 28.63 knots / Between New York and the Lizard (Uk), North Atlantic
June 2002 / catamaran Maiden II (33.50 m) - Multiplast/Ollier / 697 milles1, average speed 29 knots, off Newport (Usa), North Atlantic.

1 Pending ratification by the Wssrc
2 Wssrc : World Sailing Speed Record Council, the official body recording world sailing records.