Over the past few days, we have shared with you the news of designer Dan Lenard’s exciting voyage on board a ILCA 7 Olympic Laser, a vessel only 4.23 metres long, with which he was hoping to beat the world record of 500 miles in solitary. Unfortunately, bad weather conditions in the evening of Monday 16 June forced the famous yacht designer to abandon the enterprise, taking shelter in a bay on the island of Hvar, in Croatia.

Even though the voyage did not go to plan, Dan Lenard is moe determined than ever to beat the record, and will soon get back on board the ILCA 7. Daily Nautica held an exclusive interview with him to understand how these four days’ sailing went and find out more about his next attempt.

SHARING THE TALE

“The main problem with this kind of adventure – says Dan Lenard – is the weather. It is similar to mountain climbing: you don’t always make it to the top, sometimes you have to turn back because of the weather. I had the right equipment, I had everything I needed for a voyage of this kind, and the boat had no issues. For challenges of this kind, however, it is normal to have to try more than once, and know when it is time to stop.”

“On the first day – shares the yacht designer – I hardly moved at all, only two miles, because there was no wind. As soon as it reached 6-7 knots I was able to travel 20 miles because the boat is very fast. On the third day, the problems began, because I knew a bad storm was coming in from the north. I was close to this small bay waiting for the storm, and the only thing I could do was leave the boat and swim to shore. The next day, I tried again, but the wind was gone and, with the supplies I had left, I would not have been able to cover enough miles.”

THE OBJECTIVE OF VELA CODE

In spite of the results, Dan Lenard was able to show that a new way of sailing is possible, with no plastic waste on board. It is important to note that this endeavour was part of an initiative for Vela Code, a foundation created by Lenard to help the boating industry adopt a more responsible approach on what is taken on board, in particular regarding single-use plastics.

“This is the result – notes Dan – that I am most proud of: an objective I was able to achieve during my four days of sailing. I showed that you can sail without creating plastic waste on a boat only 4.23 metres long. If I was able to do it, then certainly others can do it on boats that are bigger than mine.”

NEXT ATTEMPT

Dan Lenard plans to try again as soon as possible to beat the world record, which is currently at 283 miles. Then, he will decide whether or not to try and achieve 500 miles, depending on the wind. He is planning to leave by the end of July.

“I’m thinking of leaving – explains the co-founder of Nuvolari Lenard studio – for the next full moon, or the one after. This is because I need the light of the moon during the night in order to sail. I will be departing from around Zara, in the middle Adriatic, and from then I will not follow on a planned route, but will try and cover as many miles as possible by following the wind. During the night wind often comes up along the coast from the north-east, so I will try and get back on track by coming in closer to the coast, while, during the day, I will try and cover more distance.”