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How Fossett smashed Transatlantic record

LONDON, England -- It took him four attempts, but millionaire adventurer Steve Fossett finally shattered the transatlantic speed sailing record.

The American and his international crew of nine aboard the 38-metre (125 feet) maxi catamaran Playstation -- the world's largest racing catamaran -- crossed the start line at Ambrose Light, New York, on October 5 2001.

After maintaining an incredible average speed of 25.78 knots across the Atlantic Ocean, they arrived at the finish line off Lizard Point, Conwall, south-west England, four days 17 hours, 28 minutes and six seconds later.

They broke the 11-year-old record set by Frenchman Serge Madec in Jet Services by almost two days.

Fossett's prize of $200,000 French francs ($27,000) was a drop in the ocean of his wealth.

Along the way, Playstation also set a new 24-hour speed record of 687.17 nautical miles (average speed of 28.6 knots). That particularly pleased Fossett because it broke the mark set by Grant Dalton on Club Med in The Race, an event in which Playstation failed miserably, retiring even before reaching the Southern Ocean.

The west-east Transatlantic record is one of the most highly prized in sailing because it is so hard to break.

During the record, Playstation managed to ride the same low pressure cold front all the way to Britain, sailing on starboard tack the whole time with a south-southwest wind.

The wind speed peaked at 40 knots during the crossing, but mostly stayed around 25 to 35. The top speed was around 34 knots, four knots less than her best.

The crew sailed such an accurate course that they only exceeded the shortest rhumb line route by 16 miles, sailing a total of 2,876 nautical miles.

There was no damage except a small winch on the last night, a testament to their preparation considering that Playstation had to pull out of the non-stop Race around the world in 2000 with sail, batten and daggerboard damage.

Playstation was using her three-year-old 30,00 mile North Spectra mainsail. In 2002, Fossett will be setting a new Cuben fibre mainsail that should save 350lbs of weight. Fossett added another record to his collection on 9 November 2001, taking more than half an hour off the circumnavigation of the Isle of Wight, off the south coast of England. Following the Transatlantic triumph, Fossett planned an attempt on the Cowes-St. Malo record across the English Channel. When this had to be abandoned because of unfavourable conditions, he went for the Round the Island record, which had been set in the summer by Rodney Pattison and Francis Joyon on the 18-metre (60 feet) trimaran Eure et Loire. Playstation's new mark is two hours, 33 minutes and 55 seconds -- 36 minutes less than Pattison and Joyon. Fossett has held this record before, when he took nearly an hour longer, on board Lokata.