New York/San Francisco Record Attempt

Single-handed and in a proa!

Ryan Finn, an experienced 42-year-old skipper, is planning to celebrate the New Year in his own way: on January 1st, he’ll be embarking solo aboard a modest 36-foot proa, a Jzerro, designed and built by Russel Brown - identical to the one shown here.

Published 15/12/2020

By Emmanuel van Deth

Issue: 175

Published: jan. / feb. 2021

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Ahead of its bows, the Statue of Liberty will mark the starting point, with no less than 13,225 nautical miles to cover non-stop to reach San Francisco - via Cape Horn, just to spice up the challenge. This record is a first: the objective is to reach the goal without stopping! At first glance, the project may sound somewhat suicidal... but in fact, Ryan's proa has already made a round trip from the United States to New Zealand and is well prepared, with features such fiber standing rigging, and furlers from Colligo Marine. As for photos, we shouldn't be disappointed: Montreal-based Sailor Productions will be capturing images from this 60-day journey to produce a one-hour documentary, 2Oceans1Rock.