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Ellen MacArthur Dreaming big on a big boat
08:04 a.m. EST Jan 25, 2004
Ellen MacArthur, the record-breaking sailor, who shot to fame when she became the fastest solo woman to sail round-the-world in 2001’s Vendee Globe, now has her sight set on breaking the world solo speed record over the next two years in a brand new £1.5million trimaran designed by Nigel Irens.
Ellen commissioned Nigel to build the 75 ft long triple-hulled boat, (named Castorama B&Q, after its sponsors) and he delivered a beautiful boat built for speed. Said to reach over 35 knots, Ellen is eyeing several records including the 24-hour distance record as well as making it round-the-world fastest. Typically, trimarans are fast boats, but trickier to handle in high winds.
For now, she’s content in taking Castorama B&Q on its maiden voyage, which she launched on January 8. Now, she’s out on trials down in the Southern Hemisphere, having left Sydney for Auckland on January 19th. After last year’s dismasting on her catamaran Kingfisher 2 in the Jules Verne Challenge and everything it took to come this far, Ellen is thrilled to be on the water again.
Image of Ellen aboard Castorama B&Q on launch courtesy and copyright Andrea Francolini, DPPI, offshorechallenges.com
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