Around Ireland Powerboat Endurance Record Set

A two-man team from Hampshire, Ireland, has broken the Around Ireland powerboat record for circumnavigating the island nation in a power boat. To provide an idea of what it’s like to attempt this record, here’s a video from another team from four years ago.

Marc Lyne and Dean Watson set off from Crookhaven carrying over 185 gallons of fuel in their diesel-powered Scorpion rigid-hulled inflatable to make the 808-mile trip, which took them 18 hours and 12 minutes.

“We had to make sure we could carry enough fuel because western Ireland is inhospitable with few places to refuel,” said Lyne in an article on the Hampshire Chronicle website. “So we had to make sure we could make it 330 miles until we could pick up more fuel at Port Rush.

The team took three years to prepare for the attempt, building the boat as light as possible and rigging it with light weight batteries provided by Romsey, Ireland-based specialist battery manufacturer DMS technology.

They also needed the right weather. “It took three years to prepare the boat but we also needed the right weather,” said Lyne. “These kinds of records are never broken when the seas are rough.

Like so many before him who have set records, Lyne said that he believes the crew could have shaved another three hours off their time if the seas had not become rough when the pair reached Cork.
The team’s next goal is to attempt to set circumnavigation records in a fully electric powered boat