VIDEO: Breaking the Newport to Bermuda speed record

Renaud Laplanche, CEO of Lending Club, co-skipper Ryan Breymaier, and the crew of the 105-foot trimaran Lending Club 2 established a new world sailing speed record on April 20 for the 635-nautical mile course from Castle Hill Lighthouse, in Newport, Rhode Island, to Kitchen Shoal Beacon in Bermuda. The new record, subject to ratification by the World Sailing Speed Record Council (WSSRC), is 23 hours, 9 minutes, 52 seconds at an average speed of 27 knots.

The Lending Club Sailing team had been on standby at Newport Shipyard for a week while the crew prepared the boat and waited for suitable conditions. They crossed the starting line at Castle Hill Lighthouse on April 19 at 05:34:40 UTC (1:34:40 EDT), arriving in Bermuda at 04:44:32 UTC (1:44:32 EDT) on April 20, bettering the previous record by 15 hours.