Friday, December 5, 2014

  Longest distance sailed in a Laser dinghy: Robert Suhay breaks Guinness World Records' record (VIDEO)

NORFOLK, VA, USA -- Robert Suhay, age 51, from Norfolk, Va., father of four boys, has been confirmed by The Guinness Book of World Records as the new Long Distance laser Dinghy World Record holder (male); this summer, Robert Suhay, a designer for The Virginian-Pilot, sailed 283.5 nautical miles – 326.25 miles – in a small boat called a Laser, setting the new world record for the Longest distance sailed unassisted in a Laser dinghy (male), according to the World Record Academy: www.worldrecordacademy.com/ .

  Photo: This summer, Robert Suhay, a designer for The Virginian-Pilot, sailed 283.5 nautical miles – 326.25 miles – in a small boat called a Laser. Robert Suhay, age 51, father of four boys, has been confirmed by The Book of World Records as the new Long Distance laser Dinghy World Record holder (male). Photo: Robert Suhay ( enlarge photo )

The Guinness World Records' record for the longest single-handed distance sailed in a dinghy by a male is 283.5 nautical miles (525.04 km, 326.24 miles) achieved by Robert Suhay (USA) in Maryland, USA, on 2 July 2014.

  Guinness World Records also recognized the world record for the longest single-handed unassisted journey in a dinghy by a female is 282.78 nm (523.7 km; 325.41 miles) and was achieved by Tania Elias Calles Wolf (Mexico) who sailed from Los Cabos Baja California Sur to Bahia de Banderas, Mexico, between 28 February and 3 March 2010.

    He could not have done it without the support of Magellan GPS data and the US Coast Guard's Mid-Atlantic Division, The Sand Paper reported.

   Suhay said he would have been unable to do this without his wife because of her support, from pushing aside fears of sailing's dangers to acting as her husband's public relations director.

   He also credits all of his friends for their support. To this point, he doesn't even own a boat. He borrows boats and the associated gear. For this particular journey, Suhay also received sponsorship from Magellan, a GPS producer.

    The existing Guinness World Records' record was 282 nautical miles, and he went 283.

    He left Norfolk on June 29 with plans to sail without stopping up the Chesapeake Bay to an island near Baltimore and back. He abandoned the trip on the way back because bad weather was approaching.

    He worked on the route for three years; the first year was a trial run to test equipment. This ended with his falling a bit off course, following his compass home and spending 30 hours on the water.
   The second year, he made it from Norfolk to Annapolis, Md., in just over 30 hours, but a strong south wind and short food supply ended that trip at the Naval Academy's home.
   So in the third year, 2014, Suhay was ready to go the distance from June 29 through July 2.