Record breaker: Fastest voyage around Ireland

American sailor Lloyd Thornburg has set a new world record for the fastest sail around Ireland.

His crew, which included Ireland's Damian Foxall and co-skipper, the UK's Brian Thompson, beat the previous record by more than one hour and 45 minutes.

They departed from Dún Laoghaire on Wednesday afternoon, returning there at 4am this morning – an impressive 36 hours and 52 minutes later.

Back ashore, Thornbug said the crew were exhausted. But it was “worth every second.”

“You really appreciate how beautiful this island is when you see it from the coast side. The first time we came here was when we took part in the Volvo Round Ireland Yacht race last June. We had to come back and do it again and setting a new world record made it all the more worthwhile,” he said.

Cowes regatta

“It was intense but we’d do it again tomorrow. And we will be back!”

The crew said it had been “quite the week for the skipper”, with the latest record coming just weeks after after winning the Round Island Race in the UK.

The Phaedo 3 crew smashed the previous time set by Sir Ben Ainslie, clocking in with a new best of two hours, 23 minutes for going around the Isle of Wight.

They’ll be hoping for similar, record-setting success in the 2016 Cowes regatta which begins on Saturday, August 6th, in the UK.