A 34-metre revolutionary yacht has revolutionized offshore sailing, completing the 3,000 nautical mile Atlantic crossing in less than seven days. It won the'monohull line honours' and set a record for the 2026 RORC Transatlantic Race.

The MOD70 trimaran Argo won the overall line honors at Friday's race with a time of four days and 23 hours, 51 minute and 15 seconds.

Damien Durchon's Baltic 111 Raven crossed the finish at English Harbour in Antigua on Sunday, completing its journey from Lanzarote after six days and 22 hrs. The crew of the foil-assisted boat describes it as "a new chapter in offshore maxi yacht designs."

Durchon explained that at 30 knots or more, you are moving faster than the waves. You're working through the sea, rather than reacting. The boat is demanding but still manageable.

Raven is a foiler that generates incredible stability by using side?foils, while still remaining in the water.

Durchon said, "This boat has an incredible level of stability." The better the boat performs, then it is safer. The foils provide a huge 'righting moment, and are backed by 10 tons water ballast.

Claes Nyloef, the project manager at Claes Yachts, believes that the yacht is a sign of the future for ocean racing. He said that when she accelerates, the boat doesn't stop. "It's breathtaking. You could only experience that feeling on multihulls. "Now you can feel this sensation on a monohull that size and it is extraordinary."

Raven was awarded the IMA Transatlantic Trophy by Charles 'Max' Fernandez of Antigua's Tourism Ministry, who welcomed it as the first maximum to finish in the new Caribbean destination.

The RORC Transatlantic Race, first staged in 2014 in its current form, has quickly become one of the premier offshore sailing blue-water competitions.

The Royal Ocean Racing Club, in partnership with the International Maxi Association, the Yacht Club de France and other bodies has organized this event. It is known for its competitiveness and depth of field.

Recent editions are held every January and run on a bi-annual cycle. Fleets travel west from Marina Lanzarote, Canary Islands, to the Caribbean, covering a distance of around 3,000 miles.

The race attracts a?exceptionally wide range of boats and crews. These include multihulls with the latest technology, grand-prix monohulls as well as powerful IRC competitors and Corinthian Teams.

The way the sailing elite -- Olympic medallists and America's Cup veterans -- mix with determined amateurs is a defining characteristic. They are all tested in prolonged trade-wind conditions, where seamanship and preparation, as well as tactical judgement, matter just as much as speed. Toby Davis edited this article.

(source: Reuters)