Sailing his Mach 2 foiling International Moth Nano Project Andy Budgen completed the Mount Gay Round Barbados Race at a record pace of 4h 23m 18s, establishing the Absolute Foiling Monohull record for the 60nm course. Budgen broke his own personal record time from a few years ago when he sailed his VO70 Monster Project into the record books for the Absolute Monohull Record.
Chatting as he stepped ashore after a testing day on the water, a delighted Budgen said, “It wasn’t as bad as I thought, and actually I think the conditions were pretty ideal all round for a foiling Moth, and I am extremely happy to have achieved what I set out to do. I tried to pace myself and not put too much into it early on to conserve energy. It took about an hour and a half to get up to the North Point.
“It was a bit choppy by the time I got to the East Point, which had its challenges. The wind then dropped off and it was getting to the point it was becoming marginal for me. There is also a reef there, which I didn’t notice until I’d gone inside it! Coming down the east side was lovely. I had a couple of capsizes when I started thinking about something else for a moment, but it only took about an hour and a quarter to get back down from the East Point in 10kts of breeze, which was perfect for foiling, so all in all a really nice day out.”
There was only one absolute record broken this year (the Singlehanded Monohull record) and that went to Andreas Berg from Germany, aboard his Dufour 44 Luna. Berg managed to sail at a consistent speed and complete the course in 8h 7m 31s, trimming an impressive 1h 39m 11s off the previous record.
“I am thrilled to have come all the way from Germany for the first time, sailed solo around Barbados and won my weight in rum – a healthy 88 kilos of it,” Berg said. He added, “The wind was fairly light so that suited the boat well and I didn’t mess it up. I did think about hoisting the spinnaker but I decided, as I was sailing solo, I wouldn’t take the risk. I am happy but exhausted because I had to concentrate solidly for eight hours.”
The only other new record to be established was the Multihull Doublehanded. This went to Bryn Palmer – commodore of the Barbados Cruising Club – and Evan Walker on the RC30 catamaran Silver Bullet.
“We had a great sail and we are particularly pleased to have established a new division for record breaking opportunities in the multihull class. In general it has been a fantastic regatta for Silver Bullet because we’ve broken nothing.”
The Mount Gay Round Barbados Race always attracts crowds of spectators and this year was no exception. With the foiling Moth, the three-masted 65m schooner Adix, and last year’s record-breaking MOD70 MS Barbados Concise10, plus a host of other world class racers challenging, it was particularly special for the thousands who turned out to watch the race unfold.
The wind was generally light from the ENE, reaching no more that 12-15kts, so it was never going to be a big record breaking day but those who took part raced hard for a chance to smash one of the 14 records up for grabs.
This year’s fleet included a good mix of yachts ranging from Classics including Matt Barker’s Alfred Mylne-designed The Blue Peter that won CSA Cruising class in the Coastal Series; cruising boats, race boats, dinghies and windsurfers.
For full results, visit: http://yachtscoring.com/event_results_detail.cfm?Race_Number=1
