Just feeeel the alliteration. Sometimes fate, weather and human ambition present the rest of us with a grand spectacle, an unexpected diversion…an excellent excuse (I’m really rolling with this alliteration thing….) to travel via computer to a time and place that is far, far from our cloistered cubicles (he scores again…). And today we have the happy coincidence that two extraordinary sailing machines have left Cadiz, Spain and set out on Route Of Discovery in search of speed, satisfaction and, possibly, a world record for the fastest crossing of the Atlantic, east to west. They are bound for San Salvador in the Bahamas, and machine #1 was introduced to you last week: the ever-interesting, ever-fragile, foil-freak known as Hydroptere. (In case you missed it, click here for an awesome video of Hydroptere at speed). Machine #2 is a more traditional, yet still awe-inspiring, ORMA 60 trimaran, one Sodebo, skippered by world-class French skipper Thomas Coville. Coville is after Francis Joyon’s solo crossing record of 11 days, 3 hours, seventeen minutes. Hydroptere is after the outright record of 9 days, 13 hours, 30 minutes. Sodebo appears to be averaging about 20 knots, and Hydroptere looks to be doing about 15. This should be a spectacular match race (though my money is on Sodebo). Some web wizard out there should do us all a favor and set up a chart that tracks both these boats together…
Sizzling Sodebo: “Forget it, Hydroptere. Real records require real boats…”
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The Earthist Chronicles 