Australia World Sailing Record Start Date Announced

Save Our Seas Ocean Racing will be setting off on Wednesday 11th May 2011 from Sydney on board the iconic Australian maxi-yacht Brindabella to break the World Sailing Speed Record for the fastest monohull Around Australia.

Leaving from Sydney’s Cruising Yacht Club of Australia at 8:30am, the crew of Brindabella will turn left through the heads after crossing the official start line at approximately 10:00am on Wednesday 11th May.

Save Our Seas Ocean Racing is an arm of Save Our Seas Australia and New Zealand. The campaign is designed to create awareness of the damage plastic bags and plastic are causing in our environment through competing in major offshore races and breaking world records. In May/June 2010 Save Our Seas founder Ian Thomson set out to break the world record for the fastest solo circumnavigation of Australia. He achieved this goal and in doing so beat the record by an excess of 26 days.

The record
·         Current record – 37 days, 1 hour, 23 minutes and 57 seconds. Average speed 7.31 knots.
·         Current record holder – Kaz, a 16.4m sloop skipper/owner David Pescud
·         Current record set – July 2003
·         Distance in nautical miles – 6536

The boat
·         Australia’s most famous maxi racing yacht, the 79ft Brindabella.
·         Current Rolex Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race record holder for a conventionally ballasted yacht.
·         Former line honours winner of the Rolex Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race.
·         Current race record holder, Sydney Gold Coast Race, Bird Island Race, Sydney Mooloolaba Race, Sydney Noumea Race and the Sydney Wollongong Race.

Crew
Fourteen individuals have been named as the crew for the attempt. With a core group of six of Brindabella’s racing crew on board, a further eight were selected through a rigorous process with applications from around the world. Over 120 applications were received from around the world which resulted in a shortlist of thirty.

Save Our Seas is especially pleased to welcome on board as a sponsor Captain Cook Cruises. Captain Cook Cruises are a family-owned Small Ship Cruise company with over forty years of cruising experience.

‘Captain Cook Cruises is proud to be associated with Save our Seas Australia and is committed to a phasing out of all plastic use as we recognise the enormously damaging impact they have on our precious ocean environment.’ Anthony Haworth, Managing Director, Captain Cook Cruises