Lands End to John O’Groats in under 84 hours
(Press Release) British round the world yachtsman Alex Alley just set a new world record in his Class 40 ‘Pixel Flyer’ – sailing the Length of Britain from Lands End to John O’Groats in 83h 53m 15s
Hampshire sailor Alex, along with Phil Sharp from Jersey and Adventurer Sean Conway (the only person to have run, cycled and swam the route), set out from Falmouth early on Friday 11th December to cross the start line due east from Lands End at 08:55.15 in a strong WSW breeze. 24 hours of fast reaching saw them up by the Isle of Man, hitting speeds in excess of 20 knots. The strong breeze continued through the night and most of the following day but the weather changed significantly from when they left and by Sunday evening the team was becalmed off the West coast of Scotland. A restless night of trying to coax everything out of the boat, they passed Cape Wrath in the early morning and went on to cross the finish line off John O’Groats later that day, thereby establishing a new record for the Length of Britain. The record was ratified by Sail Scotland.
“So many people have run, walked, cycled and even swam from Lands End to John O’Groats, but there was never a record established for sailing it, so we decided that we should set the ball rolling and establish one. We hope that now other people will come and have a go to see if they have what it takes to sail the route. I’m sure that the time will be beaten at some point, it’s just a case of how long will it stand? It was also a great shakedown for the other records I am planning with the boat although most of that will be solo.” – Alex Alley
Once the boat is back in Gosport, Alex and the team will be getting ready for the next record attempt. In the meantime he will be at the London Boatshow in January to make an announcement with a supplier/sponsor.
Alex is aiming to break the solo non-stop around the world record for boats under 40’ in his specifically designed boat ‘Pixel Flyer’. Over the next year or so, Alex is also looking to set a further 7 sailing world records. However he needs your help – he is looking to involve literally thousands of people in the ‘PixelBoat campaign’. Using a crowd-funding model via his website, individuals and businesses can upload their picture to the website and also have it on the hull of the boat for as little as £25 and join him in his race around the world.
More information can be found at https://www.alexalley.com/
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