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Jersey sailor Phil Sharp has been officially confirmed as the fastest man to sail single-handedly between Cowes and Dinard in his class of yacht.
The route distance of 138 nautical miles was covered on 24 November in 9 hours 3 minutes and 6 seconds with an average speed of 15.25 knots. The new record was nearly 3 hours faster than the previous time of 12 hours 01 minute and 31 seconds set on 85ft Adrien by Frenchman J L Van Den Heede in November 2004.
As well as breaking the record for an 'Outright Monohull', the World Sailing Speed Record Council has also confirmed an additional record as the fastest single-handed Channel crossing of any yacht below 60ft. Phil's yacht was the Class 40 Imerys.
Phil commented: "It's fantastic news and a great feeling to have an official World Record under my belt, and this cross-Channel route, so close to home, had been beckoning for a while... It was an adrenaline-packed crossing, but far from straightforward as I was faced with challenges right from the start.
"I had some serious electronic issues with my autopilot, which refused to steer straight and strayed Imerys off course when I left the helm to navigate and carry out sail changes. This caused the boat to lose control several times, where shortly after the start, Imerys ended up flattened by a heavy gust near the Needles, damaging the spinnaker. I was forced to helm for 95% of the journey, so I could only get my hands on two power bars during the entire record. Sadly there was no time for tea and porridge!
"Imerys was on fire in these windy conditions. These latest Class 40's are seriously optimised racing machines, averaging speeds of 15kts and surfing at over 20kts. It's incredible what you get used to, 10kts quickly starts to feel very slow! It is still difficult to believe that Imerys managed to carve 3 hours off the previous time. Hopefully this sets the bar high enough to hold on to the record for some time at least!
"All in all it is a great way to round off a successful first year in Class 40 and this would have not been possible without the invaluable support of our partners, and tireless commitment from our team".
