Our latest challenge
ThunderChild II and the 54Knots team attempted Seven UIM Offshore Class Long Distance World Record Endurance voyages covering 4000 nautical miles over 17 days and achieved 5 provisional UIM records in 14 days, a world record in itself.
Supported by the Union Internationale Motonautique (UIM.sport), the Federation Monegasque Motonautique, the Malta Powerboat Federation and the UK OCRDA and BPBA, endurance powerboat racing is a test of man and machine over significant long distances. The timing starts when the boat crosses the start line and finishes when they pass the finish line with no time allowances for fuel stops or mechanical or weather challenges.
The 54Knots team use their record attempts to collect vital data for work on developing seawater-based fuel cell systems. Sea water forced through a fuel cell delivers electricity, meaning that the oceans could be a carbon-zero source of marine fuel. In addition to this vital Research and Development the team also raise money for a variety of charities, which have included Great Ormond Street Hospital in London.
THE BIG ONE... and the first time this has ever been attempted -
Races Five, Six and Seven will run concurrently
Races Five, Six and Seven
On the 20th June at 05:00am CET ThunderChild II with its crew of five will be leaving Malta and heading via Sardinia, Palma and to Gibraltar and then on to London via Sines, La Coruna and Guernsey. This multiple UIM world record attempt has never been tried before and the last 4 record attempts have been our build up sequences.
During this 2400 mile passage which is non-stop bar fuelling stops, the 54knots team is aiming to attempt three separate records, the first, the passage from Malta to Gibraltar, the overall journey from Malta to London, and finally the passage from Gibraltar to London.
The aim is to arrive in London on Friday 23rd June 2023, and if we achive this we will have attempted 7 UIM world records in just 14 days, a record in itself!
Race 5 COMPLETED in 38 hours, 39 minutes and 24 seconds
A DAB (Damn and Blast) moment then halfway across the Bay of Biscay as the starboard inner propellor sheared off at 42 knots… so our speed dropped to a crawl at 12 knots…
Race 6 and & were then abandoned, as we headed back to Jersey for repairs.
Now awaiting feedback from UIM on our 5 Record attempts
Race Four
Conditions permitting we will also try to set a fourth record circumnavigating Malta, Gozo and Comino. With a top speed of 54knots (101 kph) and a range of 750 nautical miles, over the combined 4000 mile distance, stopwatches will be ready! ThunderChild II will be moored at the Grand Excelsior Marina in Malta during its stay.
Complete.
Race time of
1 hr 16 mins, 16 secs
Race Three
After arriving in Malta, ThunderChild II will attempt to set a new record around Malta record, its third race, for its +50Ft class,
Complete.
Race time of
55 mins, 17 secs
Race Two
On the 12th June the team left Monaco for Malta for race two, and arrived in Malta on the 13th June.
Click here to view Transport Malta's 'Not_22_of_2023.pdf' directorate.
Complete.
Race time of
18 hrs, 52 mins (awaiting ratification)
Race One
Holders of multiple World Records, ThunderChild II arrived in Monaco on the 9th June and moored at the Yacht Club de Monaco. ThunderChild II left Monaco on the 9th June for race one to circumnavigate Corsica and Sardinia before returning to Monaco on the 10th June.
Complete.
Official recorded race time of
21 hrs, 42 mins, 2.99 secs
All the sectors are UIM Offshore Class Long Distance routes. ThunderChild II competes in the over 50ft category. More information can be found on uim.sport
Who we support
ThunderChild II and the 54Knots team are supporting a fundraising event this weekend at the Excelsior Hotel in Valletta, the capital of Malta, supporting the Community Chest Fund, see https://www.mccff.org.mt/
The Malta Community Chest Fund Foundation supports individuals and entities to improve the health, quality of life and well being of people in their time of need.
ThunderChild II will be on display in the Marina and visitors will be able to donate to the charity in exchange for a chance to win a ride on ThunderChild II after its two UIM world record attempts on Monday 18th.
Our Challenges
London to Monaco: 2200 nautical miles
Leaving London’s Historic Tower Bridge the team will headed to Monaco, briefly stopping in Guernsey and La Coruna on their way to the finish line in Monaco, attempting to set a new UIM world record. As normal the team were raising funds for charity, and the designated UK charity was Great Ormond Street Hospital.
Unfortunately 25 miles off the coat of Portugal, whilst wave piercing in a Fiorec 7 at 34 knots, Thunder Child II developed a gear box issue and made its wasy to Sines In Portugal. It transpired that an internal seal had failed in the starboard inner gearbox and the team withdrew from their record attempt.
For this attempt, the 54 knots team operating Thunder Child II were Nick, Ben, Tristan, Alex, and Max
Spring 2023 - UIM world record attempt from Gibraltar to Monaco.
Our plan is to go light ship for maximum speed so we will be refuelling in Cartagena and Barcelona
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Summer 2023 - UIM world record attempt from Monaco to London
Charity Cystic Fibrosis Trust
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Summer 2023 - UIM world record attempt around the British Isles
Charity - Blood Cancer UK
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Winter 2023
We are planning to head to Canada and the USA - Sign up to 54knots on Instagram for our latest news
Cork to Jersey: 302 nautical miles
On 6th June 2022 , Thunder Child II sailed from Cork to Jersey , a distance of 302 nautical miles, to trial her endurance before attempting the London to Monaco UIM endurance record. For the challenge, we ran a competition - first prize: A Thunder Child II trip around the island of Jersey for the winner, and a friend.
Entrants submitted a guess for the time it would take for us to travel from Cork to Jersey, as well as making optional donations to the amazing Jersey Hospice.