Fastest crossing of the English Channel by an amphibious vehicle
Is it a car? Is it a boat?.....
.....well its both really! The world’s fastest crossing of the English Channel by an amphibious vehicle was dramatically completed on a beautiful sunny July morning in Sangatte, France.
Richard Branson's prized record was beaten by a good 26 minutes. The final time being 1 hour 14 minutes and 30 seconds.
The rules were fairly simple - the vehicle had to be licensed to drive on UK roads and be able to drive in and out of the water - and of course float and move in the water!
The Pinkgin team had been working on this vehicle for 3 years and their team were confident. The boat itself, 'Tonic', was a perfect cross between a speedboat and a sports car. The two lucky men in the boat were Henry Hawkins and Professor Hans Georg Näder. Guinness World Records adjudicator Michael Whitty, was in the rubber dinghy skippered excellently by Michael Oram of the channel swimming federation which guided the car/boat. As they sat in the water just off the Dover coast watching two men drive a sports car into the water at 5am, things were more than a little surreal. It got in the water without a hitch and flew out of the harbour as its wheels were tucked in under the bottom. Sadly, after 10 miles there were a few electronic issues and the crossing had to be started again. The 8:15am start was looking worse but the problem seemed to relate to over heating more than anything - a more sensible pace was adopted and they bounced from wave to wave in an exciting and daredevil manner, easily dodging container ships and ferries - pretty soon, French sand was in sight.
The car took slightly longer driving onto France itself but eventually made it without assistance. The certificate was passed overboard by Mr. Whitty (adjudicators don't like wet shoes) and some bemused locals and some French journalists got to witness a scene straight out of a James Bond film.
As if to emphasise the boat’s legitimate use as a car, a confused traffic warden then decided to do the right thing and issued it with a parking ticket while it sat outside the hotel as the team celebrated. A photo session followed with champagne and beer and everyone sailed back to Dover - a job well done!
02 July 2008