Great American II struggles....

...to stay ahead of the record schedule needed to beat the New York to Melbourne time set in 1856

Sailing through storm conditions the 53-foot trimaran Great American II was barely 400 miles ahead of the track of the extreme clipper ship Mandarin, the vessel that has held the sailing record for the 14,000-mile voyage from New York to Melbourne for nearly a century and a half. The 400-mile lead is equivalent to about a day and a half of sailing time.
Rich Wilson and Bill Biewenga are out to beat Mandarin’s record of 69 days 14 hours, set as she carried prospectors to the Australian Gold Rush in the winter of 1855-56.

Speaking by satellite phone today, Wilson reported: "We’ve been thrashing along through the night with three reefs in the mainsail and a small staysail and we have been pushed 30 degrees off our course. Now, with daylight, conditions are improved and we only have one reef in the main. We’re on course for the mouth of Port Phillip Bay and making some time."

Wilson described today as a memorable Thanksgiving at sea. Eleven years ago on Thanksgiving, he and a crew member capsized off Cape Horn in an earlier trimaran named Great American while attempting to break the sailing record from San Francisco to Boston. They were rescued, and three years later claimed the record on Great American II.

Wilson said that during recent days of the current record attempt, emotions and attitudes on the boat had been up and down as they struggled with light, adverse weather conditions and watched their lead over the Mandarin dwindle from over 800 miles to less than 400.

"The last week has been a real struggle," he said. "What a yo-yo! "We were stymied by a high pressure system. We tried to go north of it but faced very strong headwinds. It wouldn’t work. We faced 1,800 miles of sailing into the wind and would not have got to Melbourne in time."

"Then we tried going south but were almost buried in the light winds of the high. We were able to save ourselves by heading back north, first crawling, then walking and finally running out of there."

"Five days ago, I didn’t think that we still had a shot at the record, but now we have the opportunity to ride the strong winds of a storm system that is building to the south of us. We have a chance to make it."

After entering Port Phillip Bay, Great American II will complete her voyage off the Royal YC of Victoria in Williamstown where her finish will be officially recorded by the club’s race officer.

To beat Mandarin’s record, Great American II must arrive off Williamstown, before 5:21 pm, summer time, on November 28.