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Fossett strives for Brit record
RAMSGATE, Britain -- American adventurer Steve Fossett has set off to reclaim the Round Britain and Ireland sailing record he lost six weeks ago. The crew of Maiden 2 trimmed more than 24 hours off Fossett's 1994 record, setting a new time of 4 days, 17 hours, 4 minutes and 23 seconds. Fossett said his multinational crew of 14 had been on standby for the last 20 days waiting for the right weather. They set off on Sunday afternoon from Ramsgate, Kent, sailing the 38m (125ft) PlayStation. Heading in an anti-clockwise direction, they averaged over 25 knots on their first night at sea. To beat the record, PlayStation has to cross the line on October 24. "When we set this record eight years ago on the 60ft trimaran Lakota, we knew that the next generation of giant multihulls would eventually break it," Fossett said. "So this is turning into a real classic test for these boats, and we're motivated to get it back. It is a complex test, planning, meteorology and precise sailing all wrapped up together -- and we do expect to see some pretty big winds." Despite the recent record set by Maiden 2, Fossett believes that the Round Britain record is still slow. "We don't have to be extraordinarily fast. It's not like the trans-atlantic where we did average 25.78 knots. This one we only have to average 15.8 knots to beat the record," Fossett said. Fossett acknowledges that he is driven by the need to break records. "It was a frustrating summer for me," admits Fossett. "As of May when we broke the Marseilles-Carthage record, we held the six fastest outright passage records. And now Maiden has encroached on that." Maiden 2 this summer has taken his Cowes-St Malo, Round Britain and Ireland and 24-hour sailing records. "So while I've been tied up with my balloons and my gliders, I've lost considerable ground in terms of maintaining longevity in sailing records," Fossett said.
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