Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Calling the Guinness Book

It’s no secret that Bermuda is a quick hop from NYC—about 90 minutes by plane, actually—but boater Chuck Arnold wants you to know that you can get here pretty fast by sea, too. The Contender Boats salesmen is planning to attempt breaking the New York to Bermuda high-speed record with a nonstop run on his 37-foot center console Contender this spring (it's like the blue-hulled boat above, but about ten feet longer). The current record stands at 29 hours 30 minutes from shore to shore, so to break it, Arnold plans on running his boat 44 knots from the Statue of Liberty to Bermuda nonstop. If he does it, he’ll be in the record books for sure, but I have a feeling it’s less about the record and more about the free swag: In addition to three passengers also aboard the boat, Arnold will be hauling a full complement of electronics, navigational equipment, underwater lighting and other gear supplied by Win-Tron Elelctronics. Said Arnold in a recent press release, “This kind of trip places maximum demands on everyone on board, as well as the equipment needed to accomplish the task. We know we could count on Win-Tron Electronics to provide us with the best electronics systems on the market to help ensure our success.” And what if you don’t make it to Bermuda, Chuck? “Well, then it’ll be totally Win-Tron’s fault.” No, he didn’t utter that last sentence—after all, the guy sells Contenders not nautical electronics—but you see what I’m saying, right? A boatload of free navigational equipment will make a man do anything—even motor through the night to reach pink sand paradise. So to you Chuck, I say best of luck! If I see you on the shore I’ll be the first guy to buy you a Dark n Stormy, because after 29 hours at sea, I have a feeling you’ll need one.

1 comment:

  1. It is my understanding that the current Bermuda Challenge record of 22 hours and 23 minutes was achieved in July 2002 in a Renaissance Marine Prowler 306 catamaran run by Neil Burnie (Bermuda owner) and Bill Ratlieff (the boat's builder). They started out on 17 July 2002 from Liberty Landing Marina, New Jersey, which is about a mile north of the Statue of Liberty (which I understand is the starting point). The 29 hours and 30 minutes record refers to the July 1999 run done by Forrest Munden (CEO of World Cat), Del Lippert and Matt Connery using a World Cat 266 SF.

    If Arnold's team can maintain an average velocity of 44 knots it will not matter whether the record is the time from 1999 or 2002 because it should only take them about 15.5 hours to cover the 678 nautical miles!

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