Catamaran Attempts Trans-Atlantic Record

Aug. 9, 2001 -- For skipper Cam Lewis and his 14-man crew aboard Team Adventure, the goal is simple: to sail across the Atlantic Ocean faster than anyone else before them.

After waiting all morning for the breeze to fill in, Team Adventurecrossed the starting line at the Ambrose Light Tower, which guards the entrance to New York Harbor, today at 3:03 p.m. ET. Their destination is Lizard Point on the southwest corner of England.

Since the current mark was set in 1990 by a French crew aboard Jet Services V, 23 boats have attempted to break the trans-Atlantic record. All have failed.

Team Adventure has been preparing for the record attempt for several months. It is widely considered to be one of the most daunting challenges in off-shore sailing. The treacherous waters and fickle winds of the North Atlantic have stymied several record attempts.

However, Lewis is skippering a new breed of sailboat — a maxi-catamaran capable of reaching top speeds of nearly 50 miles per hour and featuring dual hulls stretching 110 feet in length. It is roughly comparable to a floating tennis court or an ice hockey rink.

Given the right conditions, team members believe the question isn't whether Team Adventure will break the trans-Atlantic record, but by how much.

"The speed rushes are pretty amazing," says Team Adventure crew member Paul Larson. "The water's going up the back, the noise below decks, the bucking motion of the boat, in all of that you're trying to cook and sleep and do maintenance and keep the human element from falling apart."

"If you can imagine a weeklong NASCAR race where you put a caravan on the back [of the car] and you're not allowed to stop, I think you get a bit of an idea of what you put yourself through," Larson adds.

Danger Loomed at the Race

But, the sheer size and speed of these maxi-catamarans present new dangers for those who sail them — as was learned last winter, when Team Adventure and a fleet of five similar boats were first showcased at an event known simply as "The Race," a non-stop, around-the-world, fully crewed test of speed and endurance.

Before the event began on New Year's Eve in Barcelona, Spain, some of the skippers warned of the unique dangers inherent in these high-tech ocean racers.

"It is a risk. A multihull can pitch-pole, or flip upside down, and of course, they don't come back up," warned Chicago billionaire Steve Fossett, skipper of the Playstation catamaran. "It's possible one or two crew members would be thrown clear of the boat as it flips, and would not be recoverable. There's a risk of several crew members being caught under the trampoline nets and drowning, so I think there would be a loss of life if we flipped the boat."

While no lives were lost during The Race, and the Club Med catamaran shattered the around-the-world record by finishing in just 62 days, the other entrants were not as lucky. Team Adventure was the hardest hit.

While surfing down a 40-foot wave in the southern ocean, the boat buried its bow in an oncoming wave. The impact ground the boat to a sudden halt, breaking the front beam and severely injuring two crew members.

Team Adventure limped into Capetown to unload the injured and repair the boat. They re-entered The Race and finished in third place.

After Team Adventure's disappointing showing in The Race, sailing insiders say Lewis must break the transatlantic record in order to cement his reputation as one of the world's most accomplished skippers and to dispel the notion that he has a propensity for taking chances.

His limits are higher than most people's limits, said Larry Rosenfeld, Team Adventure's navigator, and Lewis' business partner. "He's the speed merchant … of the U.S. sailing circuit."

Life Aboard a Maxi-Catamaran

Aboard the Team Adventure, the crew must adapt to a new breed of high-speed sailing.

The crew will work and sleep in four-hour shifts, battling the elements, navigating around whales, icebergs, and man-made debris, and constantly monitoring the weather. Quarters are cramped: the crew must squeeze into triple-decker bunks and share two toilets — one in each hull. There are no showers on board, and any washing-up will have to be improvised.

Eating aboard Team Adventure is surprisingly civilized — even if they do eat out of dog bowls. But they're easy to hold and, more importantly, they don't break.

As Team Adventure made its way up the Atlantic Coast of the United States last month from Savannah, Ga., there was plenty of time for cooking, cleaning and tuning up the boat. But when they leave New York Harbor today and begin their assault on one of the most elusive records in off-shore sailing, the mood on-board will change.

The challenge ahead is not lost on anyone. But for Lewis, the cocksure skipper with a reputation for taking chances, the end of his dream lies on the other side of the Atlantic.

ABCNEWS' Andrew Morse will track Team Adventure's progress of the record attempt over the next week. Check back for latest.