Paris heading for Bermuda

Stanley Paris is on his way to Bermuda to begin his world record attempt.

Paris, 76, will try to become the oldest and fastest person to sail around the globe by beating the current mark, which  stands at 150 days set by the late Dodge Morgan.

Former Bermuda hotelier Paris — he ran the Deepdene Manor Hotel in the early 70s — set sail from his home town of St Augustine on Sunday after his departure was initially delayed by bad weather.

He told the Sun he was  aiming to be in Bermuda waters five days after leaving Florida. 

You can follow his progress by logging on to www.stanleyparis.com and clicking on the yellowbrick on-board tracker.

The start line for the record attempt is east of St David’s Light and will see the New Zealand-born sailor come around Kitchen Shoals.

The voyage has been three years in the planning and Paris will be sailing his  63-foot multi-million dollar yacht called Kiwi Spirit.

Speaking on the delay in leaving St Augustine, Paris said it was his tow boat that decided to postpone his departure over concerns about the conditions in the St Augustine inlet.

Paris said: “Though much higher waves will be expected on the voyage, these 10-foot waves over shallow water on the inlet could cause the boat to slam down on the hard inlet sand with devastating results to the integrity of the vessel. 

“There was no other choice. Of course I am frustrated and disappointed, especially for those who have come to see me off and had to leave to catch their flights.”

Paris staged a launch ceremony — check it out on YouTube at www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9WlrbEBXjY — where he explained his delay and thanked all his supporters.

He added: “The other thing I’m trying to do... if you look carefully at the boat, you’ll notice it has wind generators, solar panels and four hydrogenerators.

“With those I hope to generate power so the diesel tanks that are now tied off and sealed by the World Sailing Speed Record Council, they will never be used except in an emergency. So I will attempt to become the first person to attempt a circumnavigation entirely green and I think that’s in keeping with our concerns about the environment — and the city of St Augustine, I know, is concerned with being green.”