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Displaying items by tag: Discovery Route

#WorldRecord - Six days, 14 hours, 29 minutes and 21 seconds: that's the new time to beat after the crew of Spindrift 2 smashed the previous Discovery route record by more than 20 hours.

The world's largest racing trimaran crossed the finish line at San Salvador in the Bahamas in the early hours of yesterday morning (6 November) after a blisteringly fast Atlantic crossing from Cadiz in Spain.

Reaching speeds of up to 46.08 knots and covering more than 714 miles last Friday 1 November alone, it was expected that the vessel skippered by Dona Bertarelli and Yann Guichard would make an impact.

But even rough seas and technical mishaps going into the final stretch didn't put much of a dent in their incredible margin, almost a full day ahead of the time set by previous record holder Groupama 3 in 2007.

And this amazing achievement will surely erase memories of Spindrift's woes in Dublin Bay over the summer.

"This is huge," said Bertarelli after confirmation of their record. "The emotion was waiting for us the moment we crossed the line. I enjoyed this race a lot; my first crossing of the Atlantic, in a race, for a record, with a good result at the end.

"Any doubts I might have had about this boat have gone. It is an extraordinary machine, and was combined with a great crew, following superb preparation made by the team on the ground and a sound choice of route."

Published in Offshore

#WorldRecord - The world's largest racing trimaran is on standby awaiting the right weather window to launch their attempt at the Discovery route world record.

Spindrift 2 - the successor to the trimaran skippred by Yann Guichard that met an unfortunate fate in Dun Laoghaire this summer - has been in Portimao in Portugal since 7 October waiting for the perfect conditions to mount their challenge on the Discovery route from Cadiz in southwestern Spain to San Salvador in the Bahamas.

The record for the near 4,000 nautical mile transatlantic route is currently held by Groupama 3, a Franck Cammass-skippered vessel that's part of the same team that won the Volvo Ocean Race in Galway in 2012.

Groupama 3 set a record time of seven days, 10 hours, 58 minutes and 53 seconds with an average speed of 21.7 knots in May 2007, beating the previous time set by Steve Fossett's PlayStation by almost two whole days.

Meanwhile, Guichard and co-skipper Dona Bertarelli, last seen in action in the Rolex Fastnet Race, will be waiting for the trade winds to pick up pace and the Azores high pressure system into place creating the optimum conditions to set out from Cadiz.

"Once we have rounded the Canary Islands by the right it will be a matter of fine tuning our strategy and choosing the best possible course to join San Salvador," saus Guichard.

"The options are a more northerly course, closer to the direct route, or a more southerly course, further off the direct course but presenting better conditions."

Follow the team on Twitter @spindriftracing for the latest Discovery route news.

Published in Offshore

Whether you're a boat enthusiast, historian, archaeologist, fisherman, or just taken by the natural beauty of Ireland's waterways, you will find something of interest in our Inland pages on Afloat.ie.

Inland Waterways

Ireland is lucky to have a wealth of river systems and canals crossing the country that, while once vital for transporting goods, are today equally as important for angling, recreational boating and of course tourism.

From the Barrow Navigation to the Erne System, the Grand Canal, the Lower Bann, the Royal Canal, the Shannon-Erne Waterway and the Shannon Navigation, these inland waterways are popular year in, year out for anyone with an interest in rambling; flora and fauna; fishing; sailing; motorboating; canoeing, kayaking and waterskiing; and cruising on narrowboats.

Although most will surely identify Ireland's inland waterways with boating holidays and a peaceful afternoon's angling, many varieties of watersport are increasingly favoured activities. Powerboat and Jetski courses abound, as do opportunities for waterskiing or wakeboarding. For those who don't require engine power, there's canoeing and kayaking, as Ireland's waterways have much to offer both recreational paddlers and those looking for more of a challenge. And when it comes to more sedate activities, there's nothing like going for a walk along a canal or river bank following some of the long-distance Waymarked Ways or Slí na Sláinte paths that criss-cross the country.

Ireland's network of rivers, lakes and canals is maintained by Waterways Ireland, which is one of the six North/South Implementation Bodies established under the British-Irish Agreement in 1999. The body has responsibility for the management, maintenance, development and restoration of inland navigable waterways on the island of Ireland, principally for recreational purposes. It also maintains Ireland's loughs, lakes and channels which are sought after for sailing; the network of canal locks and tow paths; as well as any buoys, bridges and harbours along the routes.

Along the Grand and Royal Canals and sections of the Barrow Navigation and the Shannon-Erne Waterway, Waterways Ireland is also responsible for angling activities, and charges Inland Fisheries Ireland with carrying out fisheries development, weed management and ensuring water quality.

Brian Goggin's Inland Blog

Giving his personal perspective on Ireland's Inland Waterways from present-day activities to their rich heritage, Brian Goggin tells it like it is with his Inland Blog.

From recognising achievements in management of the waterways to his worries on the costs of getting afloat on Ireland's canals, Goggin always has something important to say.

He also maintains the website Irish Waterways History that serves as a repository for a wealth of historical accounts of the past commercial and social uses alike of Ireland's rivers and canals, which were once the lifeblood of many a rural community.