Line honours winners for multihull and monohull are expected to finish the Antigua Bermuda Race tomorrow, Tuesday 16 May 2017. At 1000 ADT on the fourth day of the race, the US Merchant Marine Academy's Volvo 70, Warrior, skippered by Stephen Murray was 305 nautical miles from the finish in Bermuda, hitting a top speed of close to 20 knots.
At their current average speed, Warrior will pass the finish line at St. David's Light, Bermuda around dawn tomorrow, setting the monohull race record. Allegra, the Nigel Irens-designed catamaran with Paul Larsen, world speed sailing record-holder on board, is about 30 miles astern of Warrior and expected to finish the race before sunset tomorrow, setting the multihull race record.
Warrior's navigator, Will Oxley has raced around the world four times and is a graduate of marine ecology. Will emailed the media team describing the mood on board and to give us all a lesson before we discard that straw or plastic bottle after use:
"Another day of champagne sailing on the Warrior. As we rotate around the high, maximizing downwind VMG consumes the majority of our focus. Three freeze-dried meals to break up the trimming, driving and sail changes, keeps the time moving along. Every now and again a striking blow of reality reminds us all how privileged and fortunate we are to be out here. The full moon last night making a headlamp unnecessary or the pod of whales playing off our bow today! This is not our ocean, and to be a guest is a privilege well beyond the average. Amongst the sargasso patches, there is a constant shame in the form of plastic! Those of us that have sailed in different pieces of the ocean for the better part of the last decade can all agree that the plastic problem has gotten much worse. A sobering thought juxtaposed by the constant beauty of our environment," reports Oxley.
