"Maiden II" almost managed to break the record set by The-Race-Kat "Club Med" for crossing the Atlantic on the classic discovery route between Cadiz / Spain and San Salvador / Bahamas.
In just 10 days, 14 hours and 13 minutes, the sailing monster "Club Med", under skipper Grant Dalton, crashed over that stretch in the summer of 2000, setting the mark. Now the same giant kat has been skipped by the pioneer of women offshore sailing Tracy Edwards (39), but under the name "Maiden II" and with a mixed crew. "But light winds about 200 miles from the finish destroyed the run for the record," reports Router Dr. Meeno Schrader. The German meteorologist was almost constantly in contact with the crew and the on-board navigator and co-skipper Adrienne Cahalan via satellite. "When it was foreseeable that the Kat would not undercut the best time, the crew unceremoniously directed him in the direction of Antigu."
After all: Skipper Edwards had said at the beginning of the trip that the record was one of the goals of the trip, but not top priority. Because the ultimate goal of the "Maiden II" project is the Jules Verne Trophy, which is awarded for the fastest non-stop circumnavigation of the globe. Edwards wants to cross the starting line in Brittany with an all-women crew in early winter and set another milestone. The first official appearance of the project was definitely very promising.
