>This New York Bermuda challenge record, held be the Prowler 306 for >boats under 40ft fitted with outboards seems to me an institution and quite >an achievement and something to be upheld in that class. > >Where does this Tarjan come from with a 46 foot boat, inboard >motors and surface drives to challenge this great record? Gregor Tarjan monitors the List so perhaps he will chime in with his own comments. I'm almost certain he knows that what he'll be gunning for will be an entirely separate record from that held by the Renaissance Prowler 306 at 22 hours 23 minutes. The Prowler, powered by twin 225-hp Honda outboards, was racing for the Bermuda Challenge Trophy awarded by Boating in what the magazine bills as Bermuda Challenge. The Tarjan run, as the BluBay measures 44 feet 7 inches overall, is clearly outside the rules for the Bermuda Challenge Trophy. Here's what magazine says about its rules for the event: "The Cup is offered to production boats of 40' and under. There will be two classes. One for outboards, the other for inboards and stern drives. The run is from the Hudson River, just off the entrance to the Liberty Harbor Marina in New Jersey, to Bermuda off Gates Fort on the Town Cut Channel to St. George. Boating magazine will be the official timer. Besides this, there are no other rules." That's a distance of 690 nautical miles. > I think the Prowler 306 record could survive for quite sometime yet. That is a safe prediction for the under-40-foot Bermuda Challenge. Earlier this year, I had a chance to experience the Prowler 306 at speed in bouncy conditions off Fort Lauderdale. At the helm was Bill Ratlieff, builder of Renaissance cats, half of the two-man crew that set the record in 2002, averaging 30.9 knots. http://www.renaissancecats.com/ To average 30.9 knots, one must cruise at 40 knots or more for much of the distance during daylight hours. Which would be easy if one was faced with a calm seas all the way to Bermuda. At that speed in any sort of seas, the boat will take off every 15 seconds or so--and slam back into the Atlantic. And launch and land, and launch and land . . . for hours on end, if the record run is to succeed. Personally, I could take it for about 10 minutes. How Bill and Neil Burnie, owner of the record-setting cat, could keep the pedal to the metal all the way to Bermuda boggles the mind. http://www.popularmechanics.com/outdoors/boating/1277161.html Sure, the BluBay is a bigger and heavier boat and it's equipped with a hydrofoil, but speed is speed and on the open ocean that translates into punishment for the crew and the boat. Tarjan and the BluBay better be ready. --Georgs -- Georgs Kolesnikovs Power Catamaran World launches in January 2007 http://www.powercatamaranworld.com