Branson to Go for Atlantic Sailing Record
Associated Press reports that British billionaire Sir Richard Branson is back in the business of chasing speed records on the high seas - this time with his family. The chairman of the Virgin Group announced Thursday that he'll attempt to break the record for a trans-Atlantic crossing in a single-hulled sailing boat.
'Virgin Money sai ling in the Hudson River -photo by AP'
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He'll be accompanied by his 26-year-old daughter, Holly, a physician who will serve as the team's medic, and 23-year-old son, Sam. The 99 foot boat will be co-skippered by Mike Sanderson, Team Director of TEAMORIGIN, the British America's Cup challenger.
The crew will sail the 99-foot yacht 'Virgin Money' from New York Harbour to the most southwesterly point in Britain.
He called the record of six days, 17 hours, 52 minutes and 39 seconds, 'the greatest sailing record of all.'
'I realized I couldn't resist,' Branson said of the call he got a few weeks ago to participate in the adventure.
They plan to set sail sometime in the next few weeks when the weather is right. They are watching to see whether a hurricane comes far enough north to help power their sails.
The airline and music entrepreneur made news in 1986 when he powered a speedboat across the Atlantic Ocean in record time, breaking a mark that had stood for 34 years.
He went on to set records while piloting hot air balloons across the Atlantic and Pacific, and tried for years to become one of the first balloonists to circumnavigate the globe.
The daredevil tycoon also has jumped out of planes and climbed astride elephants to promote his Virgin Atlantic Airways.
by BW Media 
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