At 0630 UTC tomorrow, Phil Sharp will aim to cross the start-line off the Royal Yacht Squadron, Cowes, in an attempt to make the record books for the fastest crossing of the English Channel by a monohull.
Phil Sharp, aboard Class 40 Imerys will be undertaking the 138nm Cowes-Dinard cross-Channel Record solo, in an attempt to break the existing monohull time of 12h 01m 31s held by Frenchman Jean Luc Van Den Heede. A record attained in an 85ft boat, over twice the length of Class 40 Imerys, Phil will need to average at least 12kts in order to break the current benchmark.
Phil comments: “Trying to break a record in a boat half the size is never going to be straightforward, but Imerys is light and responsive, and one of the fastest 40ft monohulls in the world. It will be blowing seriously hard all day tomorrow for the attempt, pretty much throughout the entire course, but it is definitely better to have a bit too much wind than too little.
“I’m looking forward getting out there and giving it everything, but aside from sailing fast I need to keep things under control. The sea state is currently set to be around 3-4m out in the Channel, and I’m hoping this doesn’t kick up too many breaking waves in the Alderney Race, which can get seriously nasty in strong winds.”
Meteorologist Jure Jerman said: “There is a lot of wind tomorrow, and conditions will be tough, but should be good for record-breaking and Phil has solid experience in these hard conditions. Weather windows like this from the northeast do not come around that frequently, and I have every confidence that as long as he manages the boat well, stays safe, and has no breakages, then a new World Record is definitely in reach.”
Follow Phil throughout the record on social media and through the Official Record Tracker
