pic: Steb Fisher

Dream of reclaiming sailing record falls to pieces
By Orietta Guerrera, The Age (theage.com.au)

 
Simon McKeon and Tim Daddo’s quest to reclaim their World Sailing Speed record was not to be.

The latest attempt by Victorian sailors Simon McKeon and Tim Daddo to break the world sailing speed record has ended in spectacular fashion.

Less than 30 metres into the 500-metre course, a rare structural failure saw the main wing of their craft shatter, showering hundreds of pieces across Sandy Point, near Wilsons Promontory, on Saturday.

“Leading up to it everything was just fantastic — we were very excited about our prospects,” Daddo said.

“I remember thinking to myself that if we can get to the end of the track, I think we’re about to make world history here — and just as I was finishing that sentence in my mind, there was a big bang and all the power came out of the rig and all of a sudden there were pieces flying through the air left, right and centre.”

McKeon and Daddo had been trying to reclaim their record from Irish-born sailor Finian Maynard. The pair from the Macquarie Speed Sailing team held the record for more than a decade with 46.52 knots, before Maynard broke it last year, and again in April with 48.7 knots.