ON THE WATER -- Faster than a speeding boat

June Casagrande

They set out to break a world sailing record -- but things didn’t turn

out as planned. They broke two.

Newport Beach resident Gino Morrelli earlier this month was part of a

crew under skipper and internationally known balloon navigator Steve

Fossett that sailed from New York City to Lizard, England in four days,

17 hours.

Morrelli and partner Pete Melvin of the Newport Beach firm Morrelli &

Melvin designed Fossett’s catamaran, PlayStation, which broke the

previous transatlantic record by 44 hours. Without even trying, they

scored another world record: the longest distance sailed in a 24-hour

period -- 687.17 nautical miles.

It was his fourth attempt at the New York-to-England record on the

boat with Fossett.

Along with Fossett and eight other professional crew members, Morrelli

set sail from New York on Oct. 5. Their strategy was to harness nature.

“We started out of New York in front of a storm system,” Morrelli

said. “If you stay ahead, you get the winds from the storm, but it hasn’t

made the water too rough yet.”

Crew members worked in four-hour shifts against tough odds. Many have

set out to break records for the trip, but the first one set in 1905

stood until the 1970s. The most recent record, about 6 1/2 days, had gone

unbroken for 11 years.

The transatlantic trek is particularly tricky because weather patterns

in that part of the sea are exceptionally hard to predict.

Their first few days brought beautiful weather and an advantage of

about 400 or 500 miles, but the storm propelling them from behind was

catching up.

“From early on, we knew we were on track for the record, but it was

stressful, just hoping we didn’t hit something or break the boat,”

Morrelli said.

By the third day, the sailors knew the race was in the bag, barring

any unforeseen catastrophes.

“I wasn’t counting my chickens until they hatched,” Morrelli said.

That moment came as PlayStation passed the “finish line” at Ambrose

Light near Plymouth, England. There, television crews and cheering

spectators awaited as the timer stopped on 113 hours, 28 minutes, 6

seconds.

“It felt great,” Morrelli said.

FYI

WHAT: Gino Morrelli will speak about his recent record-breaking

transatlantic sailing voyage

WHEN: 7:30 p.m., Nov. 15

WHERE: Orange Coast College School Sailing and Seamanship, 1801 W.

Coast Highway, Newport Beach

PHONE: (949) 645-9412