Cork's Thunderchild II sets another world record 

The boat was designed and built by Youghal’s Safehaven Marine

Cork boat Thunder Child II achieved a world record following their Arctic Circle Voyage trip from Killybegs to Reykjavik Iceland which was successfully completed on Friday, July 10.

A boat designed and built in the heart of east Cork has set a new world record.

Thunder Child II, a product of Youghal’s Safehaven Marine, was the vessel of choice for the Cork-based crews Arctic Circle voyage from Killybegs in Donegal to Reykjavik, Iceland.

Skipper Frank Kowalski alongside crew members Ciaran Monks, Carl Randalls, Mary Power and Robert Guzik, travelled 866 nautical miles in just 32 hours, averaging just over 30 knots underway.

Thunder Child II crew off Vestmannaeyjar island south of Iceland shortly before crossing the finish line for their new world record

The team, who are now sailing on to Greeland, are waiting for the time to be ratified by the power-boating governing body, the Union Internationale Motonautique, to make it an official record.

The Thunder Child II is valued at over €1m and designed for high speed.

Measuring 23 m in length, it has a 5.3 m beam and boasts a Hyuscraft hydrofoil system fitted between the two catamaran hulls.

Hello Reykjavik pic.twitter.com/Qh8aRLk0wK

— Safehaven Marine (@SafehavenMarine) July 9, 2021

The crew have previously broken a record with the Thunder Child II when they sailed from Cork to Fastnet and back again with a time of 2:36:31.

In 2017, the original Thunder Child set a new world record for the ‘long-way around’ circumnavigation of Ireland (anticlockwise, via Rockall) in just over 34 hours.