Corum Ambassador Ben Ainslie Sets Sailing Record


Corum Ambassador Ben Ainslie

On July 11th 2009, Corum ambassador Ben Ainslie set a new elapsed time record for monohulls in the Transpacific Yacht Race. Sailing Alfa Romeo II (Neville Crichton’s Reichel Pugh 100), Ainslie and crew made the 2,225-nautical mile crossing in 5 days, 14 hours, 36 minutes and 20 seconds. The crew beat the previous course record set by Hasso Plattner’s Morning Glory in 2005 of 6:16:04:11 by over a day.

The new record was the result of a very good team led by Neville Crichton. In addition to Ainslie, Crichton’s crew included Stan Honey, Michael Coxon, David Endean, Ryan Godfrey, Stan Honey, Andrew Hutchinson, Phil Jameson, Lance Jenkins, Gavin McPherson, Peter Merrington, Murray Spence, Craig Sattherwaite, Joao Signorini, David Rolfe, Tony Mutter and Alfa’s shore crew, Ian Goldsworthy. More than half a dozen members of the record-breaking team flew directly from the completion of the 2008/09 Volvo Ocean Race, having set 24-hour monohull records on Ericsson 4, a Volvo Open 70.

Transpac 2009 the first distance race in the open ocean that America’s Cup helmsman Ainslie (Team Origin) had sailed. Ben got the team off to an excellent start when he nailed the pin at the start of the race on July 5 off of Point Fermin, the southernmost point in Los Angeles. During the race, Ben wore Corum’s Admiral’s Cup Tides watch. Click the image below to view a larger version.

Ben Ainslie wearing the Admiral's Cup Tides

THE TRANSPACIFIC YACHT RACE

With 45 races starting in 1906, the Transpacific Yacht Race is one of the oldest ocean races in the world. The race starts off the bluffs of Point Fermin in San Pedro at the southern edge of of Los Angeles. The finish is off the Diamond Head lighthouse just east of Honolulu, establishing a distance of 2,225 nautical miles. The race is run biennially in odd-numbered years, alternating with the Newport-to-Bermuda race.

Leave a Reply