Branson trans-Atlantic bid confronts 'brutal' seasBillionaire Richard Branson Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson (born 18 July 1950 in Shamley Green, Surrey, England), is a British entrepreneur, best known for his Virgin brand of over 360 and his giant sailing yacht Virgin Money confronted "brutal" seas Thursday in a quest to break the world record for crossing Atlantic. "Brutal, but amazing," the tycoon wrote in his blog, 24 hours after leaving New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of with a crew of champion sailors and his two children Sam and Holly. "The winds have been up to gale force eight and we've had sea swells up to 10 meters and seen speeds of 30 knots," Branson wrote. "As the breast of the ship crashes over every wave a loud shudder runs down through the whole boat." Video footage relayed from Virgin Money showed the 30-meter yacht plunging through heavy spray under stormy skies. The course runs 2,925 nautical miles through some of the world's roughest ocean, starting from New York and finishing at Lizard Point Liz·ard Point or Liz·ard Head A cape of southwest England at the southern tip of The Lizard, a peninsula extending southward into the English Channel. It is the southernmost point of Great Britain. . Virgin Money is racing to beat the existing record for a monohull A monohull is a type of boat having only one hull, unlike multihulled boats which can have two or more individual hulls connected to one another. Uses This is the most prevalent form of waterborne vessel. It is the most straightforward and intuitive design. sailing boat of six days, 17 hours, 39 minutes and 52 seconds. Mike Sanderson Mike Sanderson (born May 29 1971 in Auckland) is a New Zealand sailor. In 2006 Mike Sanderson married British round-the-world yachtswoman Emma Richards in Cowes, UK. , who achieved that record in 2003, aboard the yacht Mari Cha IV, is now skipper of Branson's attempt. Also joining the crew is British dinghy racing hero Ben Ainslie, winner of three Olympic golds and one silver. Virgin Money left New York ahead of schedule on Wednesday to dodge a big storm descending on the area. However, the bad weather and high winds are exactly what the boat's navigators want to exploit in their bid to push the boat to maximum speeds. "If we keep up this pace, we'll break the record," Branson told CNN CNN or Cable News Network Subsidiary company of Turner Broadcasting Systems. It was created by Ted Turner in 1980 to present 24-hour live news broadcasts, using satellites to transmit reports from news bureaus around the world. by phone. "The first 24 hours was better than we expected and the forecast ahead is good. There're really strong winds." 
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