Baranson record attempt fails

Hats off to Richard Branson and his son and daughter for having the guts to kick off their record breaking attempt on the Atlantic ahead of one hell of a storm that wrecked the bid.

Yes, they were in the hands of an extremely experienced crew, headed by Mike Sanderson, director of Team Origin, and it was the weight of that experience that probably led to them taking a risk with the weather that, had they pulled it off, would have ensured a fast crossing.

But on a boat built for speed, like Virgin Money, there is nowhere to hide and nowhere to find any comfort; so, if they didn't know what they were in for before hand, they certainly do now.

"We have had an eventful trip with waves up to 40 feet, gale force winds between force 7 and 9. We got taken by one massive monster wave, which approached us from behind and took one of our life rafts. Fortunately all the crew were harnessed in, so everybody was safe," said Branson.

The storm blew out a spinnaker and ripped the mainsail beyond an easy repair so the team had no option but to abandon the attempt. The boat is heading for Bermuda.

The team hasn't ruled out another attempt this year if the conditions allow. "The boat will be ready to sail again in the next few weeks, and it’s possible that there might be one week left this season, " says Branson "otherwise it will be spring before it can go again. But everybody on board the boat is committed to get the record. The boat did well but the conditions were too bad for the boat to bear."

I heard the other day that Alex Johnson, the 42-year-old hedge fund manager who owns the 99ft Virgin Money, formerly called Speedboat, ordered the £7.4m yacht without mentioning anything to his wife until he had taken delivery. I can believe it. If you're reading this Mrs Johnson, he's in Bermuda!

All at sea, nearly

So much is happening in sailing just now it's difficult to know where to start. The Volvo Ocean race has started and Ericsson 4 has taken an early lead from Puma. Follow their progress here.

Meanwhile Pete Goss is counting down to the start of his voyage to Australia in his Cornish lugger, The Spirit of Mystery. His web site tells the whole story. I featured him a while back here.

The Vendee Globe boats are making their final preparations. Boats are beginning to gather at Les Sables d'Olonne for the race start on November 9. More about the race here.

While all this is happening, members of Team Origin, the America's Cup challenger, are in New York with the yacht, Virgin Money, waiting for favourable weather systems to sail with Sir Richard Branson in a new attempt to break the transatlantic mono-hull record, which stands at 6 days, 17 hrs, 52 minutes and 39 seconds. It's going to be a busy few weeks.