Mari Cha announce program

Schedule to include attempt on Jules Verne Trophy

The team behind Mari Cha IV, Robert Miller’s record breaking 140ft schooner, today announced plans for an exciting international three year racing campaign. The highlight of the programme, which includes some of the most high-profile races and regattas in world sailing, will be an audacious attempt to become the first monohull to sail around the world in less than 80 days.

Mari Cha IV took the world of sailing by storm in October this year when, on its maiden ocean voyage, it crossed the Atlantic in only six days. The 50 tonne super-maxi completed the 2,925 mile transatlantic crossing from New York to the UK in 6 days, 17 hours, 52 minutes and 39 seconds, demolishing the previous record by more than two days. The Mari Cha team also made sailing history during the transatlantic voyage when they smashed the monohull 24 hour distance record, sailing 525.7 nautical miles in a 24 hour period.

The yacht will spend the rest of the winter at JMV boatyard in Cherbourg, France, before beginning its racing campaign in April 2004 with an attempt to become the first monohull to sail 600 miles in a day. Over the course of the next three years, Mari Cha IV will take part in the Pacific Cup, the Round Gotland Race, the Rolex Transatlantic Challenge, and Tracy Edwards’ two new round-the-world races, the Oryx Cup and the Qatar Sports International Challenge. In addition to these, the team is also hoping to compete in the Sydney-Hobart Race, however their entry is yet to be negotiated with the race organisation.

The highlight of the three year programme, however, will be an attempt at the blue-ribbon event in ocean sailing - the Jules Verne round-the-world speed record. No monohulls have previously attempted this record. The only comparisons at present are the times of 93 days, 3hours, 57 minutes and 32 seconds set by Michel Desjoyeaux when he won the 2001 Vendee Globe, but that was singlehanded. The present outright record for the Jules Verne Trophy currently stands at 64days 8 hours and 37 minutes, but this was set in a maxi-multihull.

The Mari Cha IV team are setting their sights on rewriting sailing’s record books by completing the 21,760 nautical mile voyage in under 80 days. They are currently in discussions with a number of leading international companies to secure sponsorship for the campaign. They are aiming to raise in excess of $5 million in sponsorship, and are confident of having agreements in place by next summer.

Robert Miller said: “The next three years will be very exciting. Mari Cha IV was made to be the fastest monohull yacht in the world. We have already proved this to be true, and we are now looking for a sponsor to share in the success that we hope to achieve over the next three years. We believe this to be a unique marketing opportunity for major international companies which can offer the kudos of being associated with one of the greatest boats on the water and, in marketing terms, a guaranteed return on investment.”

Jef d’Etiveaud, Project Manager for Mari Cha IV added: “We have chosen this schedule to ensure that Mari Cha IV not only breaks every major record in the book, but also competes in all the most prestigious races and regattas that we can. We want as many people as possible to see Mari Cha IV.”

Mari Cha IV’s proposed schedule is as follows:

2004
April 600 miles in a day record attempt
Antigua Race Week
July Pacific Cup
Autumn Voiel de St Tropez
TransMed record

2005
Jan to April Jules Verne round-the-world record attempt / Oryx Cup
May Rolex Transatlantic Challenge
July Round Gotland Race
Autumn Sardinia/St Tropez
December Sydney Hobart Race (Pending negotiation with the race's organisers)

2006
November Qatar Sports International Challenge