World Record Attempt - NYC to Bermuda
 

Ok guys – this project has been a long time in the making but I am proud to finally introduce Team TDI CLEAN DIESEL and our upcoming attempt to break the current Bermuda Challenge© World Record from New York City to Bermuda, non-stop. The rules of Boating Magazine’s challenge are simple, your boat must be trailerable, less than 40’ in length, and you must make the 780 mile trip from the Statue of Liberty to St. Georges, Bermuda without refueling.
The current record, set by Neil Burnie in a 306 Prowler back in 2002, stands at 22 hours and 23 minutes. We hope to break that record later this summer and we will be streaming live video and audio to the web during our run so you can cheer us on as we make our way across the gulf stream, through the Bermuda Triangle towards the finish line in St. Georges!
Our boat is a 37’ Statement Marine center console with air-ride suspension and she is powered by twin Cummins Mercruiser Diesel TDI 350 engines and XR drives. We have Turtle-pac fuel bladders installed in the boat to increase our range to make it to Bermuda and allow for a modest safety margin incase we run into heavier weather than predicted.
Over the next several weeks our team will be preparing for the race and we look forward to providing regular updates on our progress as we get ready for race day.
For more information, please friend us on Facebook (TDI CLEANDIESEL), and visit our webpage at www.boatingmag.com/bermudachallenge.

Thanks for your support!

Chris Fertig
TDI Clean Diesel

Good luck!

Very cool. Good luck.

Nice boat and good luck!

Sounds exciting, looking forward to it!

Question... Wouldn't Arneson drives have been a better option for such an endeavor? I would think their greater reliability and efficiency would pay off for this sort of thing.

Sounds great..let me know the dates when you're coming down to the rock..we can meet up and i can show you around the island..

Q

Good luck!

Gaberdeen - We will be having a reception at the Royal Hamilton Amature Yacht and Dinghy Club for everyone who can make it to Bermuda the day we arrive - hope to see you there!

SS930 - Arnesons would have been great but we went with XR's with a little work done to them. We will need to take care of the drives on the way over as they are probablly the weak link on the boat.

After we reach Bermuda, we will be bringing the boat back to Virginia Beach and will have a reception for anyone who can make it at Chick's Oyster Bar on the water in Lynnhaven Inlet - hope to see everyone there!

have you ran the boat yet? what sort of numbers are you seeing, i have the same hull but with the Yanmar's.

Good luck!

That is GREAT and we wish you all the best of luck and hope that you crush the record. GO DIESEL POWER!!!

Here is a recording from our streaming video system which shows the air ride suspension in action:
http://swampjaw.com/temp/download/BC_HighSpeed.wmv

Pstorti - The biggest difference I have seen between the Cummins Mercruiser Diesel TDI 350 engines and the 315 Yanmars in this hull is acceleration. The 315 Yanmar turbolag is significant. With the twin VGT turbo's, the TDI engines bring the boat on plane very quickly.

We are still dialing the boat in and will report our final performance numbers shortly.

Marathon Around Long Island
 

Nice set-up...why not try the 'DON ARONOW 271 mile MEMORIAL MARATHON Around Long Island' on Sept 24th...

Awesome! Good luck!

Were still hoping to make our Bermuda Challenge World Record run this year - the weather just hasn't cooperated this last month to allow us to take a shot. We are all dialed in and ready to go and monitoring the weater daily hoping for a window to make the run.

While we have been waiting, we have continued to make adjustments to the boat and make sure she is as ready as she can be. Right now, our best cruise is at 32kts getting 2.08 MPG. We changed the gear ratio in the lower units to 1.81 to allow the engines to run lightly loaded at our desired cruise speed. It slowed our overall top speed down to 53mph, but it will help ensure we don't overwork the engines during the long run with an extremely heavy load of equipment and fuel. The new Cummins Mercruiser Diesel TDI engines we have are very impressive. In fact, the boat actually comes on plane like an outboard powered boat, thanks in part to the variable geometry twin-turbochargers.

The air ride suspension system is also dialed in and working great. It takes all the vibration out of the boat and really reduced crew fatigue.

Hopefully the weather will cooperate soon so we can put all our hard work to the test

Looking forward to this !!! :)

Big Blue Water
 

Not knowing a lot about the conditions out there between New York and Bermuda I would suspect that even in average good weather that the wave heights and wind wave conditions might require a cruise speed more like maybe 25kts on average, but thats just my educated blue water cruising expierence. I think I would plan on an average cruise speed more like this and use the any encountered good water conditions to see speeds closer to 32-40kts.
Like the old big water boaters mantra, go as fast as you can while you can and go as fast as conditions will allow when you can't!
Hopefully the laws of averages will give you the record!
In any event Best of Luck and Conditions and be safe out there!

Best Regards,
Ray @ Raylar

Sweet.
Whats your total fuel capacity? 400 gallons or so?
Lot of weight.

Best of luck
MD

Good lock with the trip, and with that air ride suspension it should be a great ride. The only CC i know where you can
sit up front and not get beat up in the rough water.

Raylar,

I love your quote:

"go as fast as you can while you can and go as fast as conditions will allow when you can't!"

That sumis up our game plan perfectly! We will have 560 gallons of fuel onboard to take advantage of calm weather if were lucky or to counter bad weather and poor fuel economy if it's rougher than forecasted.

On race day, everyone will be able to follow along from the comfort of your recliner as we will be streaming live video from the helm of the boat to Boating Magazine's website at the following link: www.boatingmag.com/bermudachallenge.

cwfdive...

I was wondering if u guys were still going to make the attempt..i believe someone did it a few yrs ago.. give me a call..i'll b glad to show you around the island..

[email protected]
441-535-2428

SS930 - Arnesons would have been great but we went with XR's with a little work done to them. We will need to take care of the drives on the way over as they are probablly the weak link on the boat.


You still have time to change over to the ASD6. Bolts right up...

I didn't see the driver do any squatting or knee-bending. Must be nice not to have any spinal compression. You guys are gonna have a nice soft trip over there and back. :)

You choice of engines was right on too. Are they 350hp? The truck engine would make 500hp with twin turbos.

Catmando,

Yes they are 350's. at only 810 pounds a piece, they pack a mean punch, especially getting on plane with the twin VGT turbos.

Looks like we might finally get a break in the weather in the next couple days. Stay tuned....

:drink:

if not do you have the time to run long island race? next week if you have issues with the mercs konrad has a nice drive, thats what Iwent with the xfactor ace. we have 1100 hp and \1000tq right now but can be lowered with less boost. good luck.

I cruise from NY to Bermuda fairly often ( 5 times in the last 7 years ). It def gets pretty rough. Sometimes I forget how rough it gets, but this year I cruised from Puerto Rico way down to the Southern Caribbean and back, hitting many Islands during my journey, and it was so calm in comparison. I'm not sure if I mentioned that I did these journeys on a 1100 foot cruise ship,but like I said, NY to Bermuda was way way rougher than the south caribbean. LOL. I amuse myself.

Awesome stuff!
Please keep us posted and be careful!

Looking forward to it, good luck!!! :cool:

Some Pics of Beautiful BDA

Some More

Been there in May. It is beautiful and Q is a GREAT tour guide. I highly recommend him! Whats up Quincy! We had fun in Jamaica, but we havent forgotten about Bermuda....:)

qaderdeen,

Thanks for those pics, brings back fond memories of when I lived there in 84.

cwfdive,

Best of luck with the record attempt!!

Dave

Thanks Guys,

Kev, everything things cool, we had a few storms come this way, but nothing serious..next time u come we'll have that water tour..

Very cool. Good luck and be safe.

Some action shots..:drink:

Good Luck! Sounds like a great trip!

Beautiful pics , thanks for sharing