American Fossett beats 60-day mark
LONDON, England -- American adventurer Steve Fossett and his crew of 12 have become the first sailors to circumnavigate the globe in under 60 days.
Fossett's 38-meter maxi-catamaran Cheyenne crossed the finishing line off Brittany, France, in 58 days, nine hours, 32 minutes and 45 seconds.
That was five days, 23 hours, four minutes and 39 seconds faster than Bruno Peyron in 2002 and the Frenchman was among the first to congratulate Fossett.
Cheyenne left Plymouth on the south coast of England on February 7 and reached the Isle of Ouessant to cross the imaginary finish line on Monday at 1443GMT.
The 59-year-old Fossett said the atmosphere on board was euphoric although the former businessman's time is subject to official ratification. .
"Everyone is just so happy we are all emotionally drained," he told his team headquarters by satellite phone.
"Its quite a celebration. Everybody on this crew is absolutely delighted, this is a satisfying moment for all of us.
"When we started out I thought the chance was 50-50 that we would get around. Then I wondered that the boat might not be fast enough."
Peyron said: "I salute the sporting achievement of the entire crew of Cheyenne for this round the world voyage.
"This boat has once again shown its potential, which has culminated today in an impressive number of records."
Fossett's attempt nearly ended when a failed forestay almost brought down the 45-meter mast early in the bid.
His crew worked 16 hours to repair the damage and keep the attempt on course. The incident occurred while Cheyenne and her crew were nearing the completion of day 16.
The only woman on the crew is 39-year-old Australian Adrienne Cahalan. A 12-time veteran of the Sydney-Hobart race, she was also navigator on Fossett's 2002 Fastnet Course world record on PlayStation.
Fossett currently holds 10 of the 13 world speed sailing records, and made the first solo round-the-world manned balloon flight in 2002.
He has also competed in the Iditarod dogsled race in Alaska, swum the English Channel and raced in long-distance cross-country skiing events.
Fossett now plans to fly non-stop round the world and break the glider world altitude record.
