Peter Cunningham’s MOD70 ‘PowerPlay’ Sets Fastnet Course Record

There’s been a shortage of fleet racing in the past year, but ‘the clock’ is one competitor that never left the course. Lloyd Thornburg’s MOD70 Phaedo3 has held the record for the 595-mile Fastnet course since 2015. Like all records, it sat there waiting to be broken. Peter Cunningham and his crew aboard the MOD70 PowerPlay thought this week was a good time to give it a shot. Their not-yet-ratified time of 25 hours, 4 minutes and 18 seconds took two hours off the record set by Phaedo3 and now awaits the next challenger.

They took off this past Monday morning, a little after midday, with a cold northerly blowing. For most people, sailing in a cold northerly in April in the Northern Hemisphere is worth skipping. However, if you’re trying to break a record on a primarily east/west course, those are just the right conditions. Sailing the 595 miles in 25 hours takes an average speed of about 24 knots, although top speeds reached the 30s — surely the MOD70 crew didn’t get much rest until they returned to Plymouth.

The MOD70s Phaedo3, Maserati, Concise 10 and PowerPlay have been a powerful force in the record-hunting world. PowerPlay has just knocked off one of the tougher records on a very challenging course.