Ericsson's 24 Hour Monohull World Record ratified

by Victoria Low on 18 Nov 2008 The World Sailing Speed Record Council (WSRRC) confirmed today that Ericsson 4 were the holders of the new Monohull 24-hour record.

Ericsson 4 recorded 596.6 nautical miles in 24 hours between a start position at 290 49.21 S; 230 42.41 W at18:55 on Monday, October 28,2008 and a finish position at 310 53.14 S; 120 22.21W at 18:55 on Tuesday, October 28, 2008, while sailing the first leg of the Volvo Ocean Race, from Alicante in Spain to Cape Town in South Africa.

The previous record 562.96nm was held by ABN AMRO TWO, skippered by Sebastian Josse in the 2005/96 Volvo Ocean Race.

The Volvo Ocean Race Race Headquarters had originally calculated that Ericsson 4 had recorded 602.66nm in 24 hours at 18:54 on Wednesday 29th October. The WSRRC received the time and position reports from the Volvo Ocean Race and have now ratified the the 24-hour Monohull World Record set by Ericsson 4 at 596.6 nm.

According to the WSSRC rules the Race Organizer may take on the task of monitoring positions, alerting the WSSRC to possible records and supplying them with the necessary data, which has been the case in this instance.

Commenting on the ratified record Volvo Ocean Race Chief Executive Knut Frostad says:

'This 24 hour record is a fantastic achievement - shattering the previous record by over 33nm, or 6%. As Race Organizers it is important to ensure that our data tracking systems are accurate and that the information we supply is stable. It is unfortunate that our calculated 24h distance in this case seem to not have been correct, we are looking into reason for this, however we are always aware of that any record are subject to ratification by the WSRCC before becoming official.
Nevertheless the ratified record proves that the Volvo Open 70 Class are the worlds fastest monohulls. It is a fantastic set by the crew on Ericsson 4.'

'We are not participating in this race to break speed records, still we are delighted that the crew of Ericsson 4 managed to set a new World Record and break the old record by some 33 miles. Although the conditions were not ideal, listening to the comments of the crew it was an intense experience to average 24.85 nm over the 24-hour period, and to have achieved this while the they were one crew member short is a great reflection on the quality and stamina of the crew of Ericsson 4 as well as the boat itself,' commented Richard Brisius, Managing Director of Ericsson Racing Team. 'While it has a symbolic value in having sailed more than 600 nm, in the right conditions we very much feel that it is something that Ericsson 4 is capable of.' he concluded.

Both Ericsson 3 and Ericsson 4 are now racing the second leg to Cochin in southern India.