SAILINGJONNY Malbon’s Artemis Ocean Racing II has broken the Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race IMOCA 60ft record, after six days, ten hours, 32 minutes and 27 seconds at sea.
The Cowes-based helm and his crew — Graham Tourell, Mike Ferguson and Gareth Rowley — finished around an hour faster than the record, set last year by Dee Caffari’s Aviva.
After reaching shore in the early hours of Monday, Jonny said: "The record has been in our minds from the start, and we’re all really chuffed about it. The team spirit was great, it all worked perfectly and we had a really good time, it was nice to push the boat hard at all times and get the best out of her.
"We had some spectacular gybes and a few hairy moments, with a lot of laughter as soon as the boat had recovered and was back on track.
"Graham, Mikey and Gareth know the boat inside out, and it was also great to have Simon Hiscocks on board with us."
Artemis came third overall behind Telefonica Azul, in second, and winners Volvo Open 70, Groupama, which crossed the Royal Yacht Squadron Line on Saturday night, taking both the race and course records at the same time.
It completed the 1,802-mile course in five days, 21 hours, 26 minutes and 55 seconds, smashing the course record by 14 hours, three minutes and eight seconds.
Their achievement was all the more remarkable given Groupama was the last to cross the start line, after they had been damaged on their mooring in a small collision with Tonnerre de Breskens III, from Holland.
Tonnerre de Breskens also did well, winning the IRC Zero class, crossing the line after more than eight days at sea. At the time of going to press, the boat was third overall in IRC.
Groupama skipper Franck Cammas said: "I definitely preferred the finish to the start.
"The course is like a mini Volvo Ocean race. It has all of the different conditions that we will encounter and it has been really good to race against Telefonica."
IRC One boats are still racing, with Encore ahead of Selene and Winsome, who are engaged in a close battle.
For more information, visit http://sevenstar.rorc.org