Hannes Bohinc's FB80 Record! has taken nine hours - almost 25% - off the Round Britain record
“We have done three records in three months and this is the most special,” said Record! owner Hannes Bohinc. The 41-year-old Austrian casino magnate was speaking in Poole Marina after successfully completing their attempt on the Round Britain record.
Record! completed the 1,440 mile course at 1404.10 on 22 September, setting a new record of 30h 51m 40s – undercutting the previous record, set in August by Peter Dredge and Ian Sanderson in their production 38ft Sunseeker XS2000, by nine hours. Their average speed was 44.16 knots and their top speed was 60 knots, set with ten tonnes of fuel onboard.
“We had some small problems,” added Bohinc, “but refuelling was well arranged and organised then we dashed off south again.” The 15,500-litre Thurso refuelling stop – the only one of the trip – took 1h 20m and the refuelling crew were waiting, hose in hand, for Record! to arrive.
Skipper Simon Powell, like the rest of the crew, knew the weather was the critical factor. “The weather was absolutely superb. We were waiting for three weeks for a weather window which turned up yesterday. There were 150 miles of slightly choppy water but the rest was like this,” he added, gesturing over the calm waters of Poole Harbour.
“There were a couple of minor engine problems which happens when you run engines for hours on end,” he continued. “The engine manuals say you have to stop for a couple of minutes to check a few things, then we were off again.”
Dag Pike, navigator for the record, was feeling the exceptional pace. “I am absolutely knackered. This has got to be the last one.” Having recovered slightly, he too highlighted the factor that made such an amazing record possible. “We had unbelievable weather, you’ll never get conditions this good for the Round Britain again.”
Designer Fabio Buzzi, recent winner of the Cowes Classic in his hi-speed RIB Giancometti, was appreciative of the relative comfort. “Here we have toilets, hot water – everything! It’s comfortable for us older people.” He too recognised the importance of the weather: “It was like Italian weather. You cannot beat this record in rough weather. We had some waves in the northeast so we slowed down from 55 to 45 knots for a couple of hours.”
The home comforts proved extremely useful, as Buzzi pointed out. “We were washing the old fuel filters in the toilet – believe it or not, it’s true. It’s a low budget team!”
The next record attempt will be on the Miami-New York record and a transatlantic attempt is planned soon but according to Bohinc, the round the world record relies on sponsorship. “We are looking for sponsors, I don’t want to pay for everything myself.”
