Annals of Adventure–Leave It to The Poles: Polish sailor Roman Paszke and his 9-man crew are on their way to a new world record for sailing non-stop around the world in a fully crewed monohull….unless they sink the boat. As mentioned yesterday, no one has ever gone after this record so Paszke and his former Volvo Ocean racer, Bank BPH, will set the benchmark as long as they finish. If they get around in one piece they’ll probably get to enjoy their world record for about a year. Why? Because next winter Bob Miller and his massive 140-foot schooner, without doubt the fastest ocean racing monohull on the planet, will be sailing the same route and hoping to become the first monohull ever to best the Jules Verne threshold of 80 days. Paszke and Bank BPH have no hope of hitting 80 days, but they had better beat singlehander Michel Desjoyeaux’s 93-day solo, non-stop mark. The 60-footer Paszke bought for the attempt was designed to be at sea up to about 30 days in the Volvo Ocean races, so it has been modified to prepare it for a voyage three times as long. Paszke is a TWC favorite, the original Polish Wetass. He’s a world class sailor, and participated in The Race in the smallest multihull in the fleet. He and his Polish crew became fan favorites with their jolly take on temperatures in the Southern Ocean (“Have you ever been in Gdansk in February?” they laughed), their enthusiasm for the freeze dried food (which reflected poorly on their native cuisine), and their plucky determination to beat the odds (despite being nailed by an 80-knot gale off Cape Horn) and finish. Unfortunately, they hit something off Brazil and holed a hull, and had to put into port for repairs, ending their quixotic quest. So, if the past is prologue, this record attempt will be worth watching, if only for the exuberant spirit that Paszke and his crews always seem to exhibit…..



“Remember, Roman, I only promised to sit on this rail for 90 days if you bought French freeze-dried cuisine….”

(Photo: Thierry Martinez)