Sir Richard Branson takes a final spin in the Virgin Atlantic Challenger II in Plymouth

Sir Richard Branson was in Plymouth on Tuesday (6 August) to be reunited with the Virgin Atlantic Challenger II and crew.

After failing in a first attempt to break the record for the fastest Atlantic crossing (the unofficial 'Blue Riband' accolade) in 1985 when the original Challenger sank, the businessman beat the record in the Challenger II boat the following year.

Virgin Challenger II History

In 1986, Sir Richard Branson undertook his second attempt to claim the record for the fastest transatlantic crossing for Britain.

Sir Richard and his team left New York at dawn on their 72 ft powerboat Virgin Challenger II for the 3,000 mile voyage and successfully broke the record for the fastest crossing – in just three days, eight hours and 31 minutes.

Until recently, the boat had been left in a Spanish marina, but has recently been rescued and earlier this week, Sir Richard Branson and the original crew of the Virgin Atlantic Challenger II returned to Plymouth to take the boat out for one last trip. The boat will now be restored to its former glory by its new owners.

Local project

The Challenger II was rescued and restored by Plymouth local Dan Stevens, owner of Mount Batten Ferries who discovered the boat languishing in a marina in Majorca. The boat enthusiast brought the Challenger II back to the UK and yesterday's reunion with its original owner brought to fruition an exciting stage of the project.

Aboard the record breaking boat for the first time in 27 years, Sir Richard and crew took the boat from Plymouth to Fowey in Cornwall.

Sir Richard Branson's blog

Writing in his blog, Sir Richard spoke of his day in "sunny Plymouth and Fowey":

"Meeting some the original crew who haven't seen each other for nearly 30 years, we had a little trouble recognising each other. As for the famous old boat, it looked as stunning as ever and has aged far more respectably than some of the crew!"

You can read Sir Richard Branson's blog here http://www.virgin.com/richard-branson/back-on-board-challenger-ii.

Image

The retail teams from Virgin Holidays stores in Plymouth and Exeter greeted Sir Richard Branson on 6 August when he returned to Plymouth with the original crew of the Virgin Atlantic Challenger II – in which he set the record for the fastest crossing of the Atlantic in 1986 – to take the boat out for one last spin.

The VACII was recently rescued from a marina in Spain and will now be returned to its former glory by its new owners, allowing it to unleash its mojo once more!