A New Bermuda Challenge Record Is Set

Enlarge Photo

© Dennis Martins, Bernews

New Bermuda Challenge Record

Chris Fertig and Tyson Garvin crossed the finish line at 12:39 a.m. ADT, setting a new record of 15 hours and 48 minutes.

At 12:30 a.m. ADT August 22, 2013, 15 hours after powering past the Statue of Liberty, Chris Fertig and Tyson Garvin roared into Bermuda’s Town Cut Channel aboard their Cummins diesel powered Skater 399 and set a new Bermuda Challenge record… for the second time in just about a year.  Their official time of 15 hours and 48 minutes beat the old record of 17 hours and 6 minutes set by Fabio Buzzi’s team last September.

These guys have chuztpa. Here’s the dish, the scoop, a brief scorecard.

•It’s 720 miles from New York Harbor to Bermuda’s Town Cut Channel.

•The Bermuda Challenge was founded in 1996 by Boating’s very own Editor-At-Large, David Seidman.

•Two years ago, Americans Fertig and Garvin made an attempt at the Bermuda Challenge, but were thwarted by a freak storm that caused them to abort the record run and head for shore.  They vowed to try again.

•Last August, Fertig and Garvin ran a Statement Marine 37 to a Bermuda Challenge record of 21 hours and 39 minutes.

•Several weeks later, go-fast luminary, Fabio Buzzi, flew in a boat and crew from Italy. That 39-foot FB Design (Buzzi’s company) propelled by diesel surface drives, carried Buzzi’s crew to a new record of 17 hours and 6 minutes. Both Fertig/Garvin and the FB Design camps expressed public respect for each other, but remained silent about any future Challenge record attempts.

•Over the winter of 2012/2013, Fertig and Tyson confided to Boating that they were seeking sponsorship, raising funds and planning a new campaign with a new boat. Men of middle-class means, sponsorship offered their only avenue for such a venture.

•Tyson and Fertig are now two-time holders of the Bermuda Challenge Record, the only team to garner that honor.

Please join Boating in congratulating Fertig and Garvin by using the comments box below.

Editors Note: Boating does not sponsor the Bermuda Challenge. We simply keep the record and award the trophy. While independently wealthy individuals and factory teams have taken the Challenge in the past, Fertig and Garvin have relied largely on the largesse of their sponsors. Because of the support of these enterprises, the sport of power boating is advanced, marine propulsion’s reliability is confirmed, and the integration of digital navigation and communications technology such as real time tracking and live video streaming from the middle of the ocean aboard boats is proved viable.

For more Bermuda Challenge history, click here. Watch video of Fertig and Garvin crossing the finish line in Bermuda, here.