ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Transatlantic sailing record

Hi there! So you know how people love to race each other to see who can run or swim or bike the fastest? Well, some people also love to race each other across the ocean in big boats! And the transatlantic sailing record is all about who can do it the fastest.

The transatlantic sailing record is basically a challenge to sail as quickly as possible across the Atlantic Ocean, which is the big ocean that separates North America from Europe. People have been trying to do this for a very long time, but it wasn't until the early 1900s that people really started to make it a big competition.

Nowadays, sailors use big, fancy boats called racing yachts to try to set the record. These boats are really, really fast and they have lots of high-tech equipment that helps them go even faster. They also have special crew members called navigators who use maps and computers and all sorts of tools to figure out the best possible route across the ocean.

Setting the transatlantic sailing record is a big deal in the sailing world, and lots of sailors and teams have tried to do it over the years. The current record is held by a boat called the "Comanche," which sailed from New York to England in just under five days. That's really fast!

So, in short, the transatlantic sailing record is a fun and exciting challenge for sailors to see who can sail across the big ocean the fastest. It's a bit like a race, but instead of running or swimming, they do it in big boats!