New Brisbane to Gladstone multihull record set

by Ian Grant on 7 Apr 2012 Team Australia broke the multihull Brisbane to Gladstone record before dawn this morning.

At the halfway point Skipper Sean Langman and crew on Team Australia seemed to hold a firm grip on the record after completing the initial 154 nautical miles with an average speed above 22.5 knots.

This was a remarkable performance considering Team Australia was held to a slow passage out of Moreton Bay.
However the trimaran reached away from the fleet, locking the boat speed recorder above the 25 knot range for long periods.

It takes a lot of skill and personal precision by the entire crew to achieve this remarkable result.

There were a high number of sail changes along the way but the workload diligently expressed by the crew, who had little time to enjoy the record breaking ride as they sailed at breakneck speed before their quest faced a serious challenge when the wind lost its intensity after they weathered Lady Elliot Island.

Their option to tack downwind over the final 80 nautical miles had race officials anxiously monitoring the progress as time ticked against the record challenge.

Team Australia finally crossed the finish line off Gladstone’s Auckland Creek shortly before 3.30 am to complete the course in 16 hours 28 minutes 21 seconds, 2 hours 26 minutes 48 seconds ahead of the previous record set in 2004 by the Melbourne ctamaran Raw Nerve.