NEW YORK—He’s done it once in 1986, and he hopes to do it again. Armed with a sleek single hull sail boat and a world-class team, Virgin Group chairman Sir Richard Branson wants to break the world’s trans-Atlantic sailing record, he announced Thursday, Sept. 4.
The current record of six days and 17 hours was set by the Mari Cha IV in 2003. The 140 ft. twin mast sailboat bested the previous record by two days.
Branson will be joined by a 24-person crew from TeamOrigin, the British America’s Cup sailing team; and his children, 26-year-old Holly and 23-year-old Sam, both experienced sailors. Holly is a certified doctor and will serve as medic on the grueling trip.
To optimize the yacht’s operating capacity, the crew will run it to the limit 24 hours a day.
The crew will be split into teams for four-hour shifts each, navigating and communicating with a land-based team. Branson and his co-skippers will monitor the navigation system. The crew is expected to eat freeze-dried food and get what sleep they can in shared sleeping bags. (Holly, being the only female on board, will have a separate sleeping bag.)
The crew is expected to run into a storm en route. “Part of the big role of these guys is to keep this thing in one piece, otherwise it gets pretty tricky out there,” said TeamOrigin team director Mike Sanderson, who will be a co-skipper on board the yacht.
On Thursday, at North Cove harbor in downtown Manhattan, Branson debuted the yacht; dubbed “Virgin Money” after Virgin’s financial services branch. The 99-foot maxi-race yacht runs at a maximum speed of 45 knots (about 51 miles per hour). It is equipped with a touch-panel navigation system that includes, GPS, a satellite phone, and detailed information about wind conditions.
Branson the Record-Breaker
When asked about the origins of his daredevil streak, Branson responded: “I guess it started around age four, when my mother dumped me on the curb and told me I had to make my way to my grandmother’s house, which was three miles away.”
If Branson takes record, it will be another on his impressive list:
—1986: Fastest person to cross the Atlantic in a boat. (Vehicle: Virgin Atlantic Challenger II)
—1987: First and fastest person, along with Per Lindstrand, to cross the Atlantic in a hot air balloon. (Vehicle: Virgin Atlantic Flyer)
—2004: Fastest person to across the English Channel in an amphibious vehicle. (Vehicle: The Gibbs Aqua)
