Fossett's perfect voyage

madforsailing editor James Boyd met the crew of PlayStation in Plymouth after their record shattering voyage

A classic and impressively short ocean racing adventure concluded in Plymouth today when the 125ft catamaran PlayStation arrived in Plymouth having shattered the 11 year old record from New York to Lizard Point, setting an incredible new time of 4 days 17 hours 28 minutes and 6 seconds for the 2,900 mile voyage. For this passage they averaged almost 26 knots.

"I'm really elated because it went so well," commented PlayStation's skipper, record breaker extraordinaire Steve Fossett. "We ended up with the perfect weather pattern. PlayStation is very well prepared and the crew is experienced sailing her and made virtually no mistakes. It was like a perfect sailing voyage."

As always with this record the weather played a critical role. Fossett, his long term navigator Stan Honey and George Caras of Commander's Weather - Bob Rice, the meteorologist the team normally work with was unavailable - had been keeping an eye on suitable weather conditions for almost seven weeks prior to their departure.

Honey says this involved looking at the progression of weather systems crossing the north Atlantic and the upper air prognosis to find a system travelling at the right speed and one which would take them all the way to the finish. "We waited a long time, but that is what this trip is all about - getting the right weather. We wanted to go out on the leading edge of a cold front, in a south westerly wind," explains Honey.

They had been tracking the depression they were eventually to follow for a week prior to their departure. Initially, Honey says, the system did not look right, but 48 hours before they set off it had taken on the perfect characteristics. "I decided to pull the crew together thinking we might be in for another practice weekend in New York," Honey told madforsailing.

Contined on the next few pages...