Chasing Canguro

On Saturday 7th July, Alex Luther and the Chasing Canguro team celebrated their incredible World Record.

On Saturday 7th July, Alex Luther and the Chasing Canguro team celebrated their incredible World Record Mediterranean marathon, which finished in Cervia, Italy. On the evening of Thursday 5th July, Alex reached his objective to break the previously unbeaten World Record set in 1970 by his grandfather, Harry Luther, waterskiing from Tangiers, Morocco, and tracking the Spanish, French, Monaco and Italian coastlines to Pula, Croatia. “It feels surreal. I feel like I have been in a dream that started over seven years ago”, said an elated Alex Luther. Thanks to advances in marine technology, such as hull performance and increased fuel capacity, Alex was able to offset the rough sea conditions and adverse weather that slowed him down and may have otherwise threatened to ruin the attempt. These enabled a number of on-the-fly decisions to waterski further offshore and make a number of point-to-point leaps around the Mediterranean coast, something his Grandfather Harry would never have been able to do back in 1970. In the end, he skied a total of 3,571.8 kilometres from Tangiers to Pula in 10 days, then an additional 127.5km in 2 hours and 17 minutes on Saturday 7th July by making a final trip from Pula across the Adriatic sea to Cervia, commemorating the race that first brought Harry to Italy in 1969. The marathon’s full 3,699.3 km included a staggering 11-hour stint, covering 558km in just one leg through rough conditions from Barcelona to Monaco, where he was greeted by H.S.H. Prince Albert II. Jan-Erik Viitala from Axopar Boats said, “Axopar Boats would like to congratulate Alex and the devoted Chasing Canguro team on their amazing achievement. We would like to commend Alex on his strength and determination throughout the challenge, which is all the more impressive since he only began waterskiing 5 years ago specifically to undertake this quest. We are extremely happy that we were able to support the team by providing a boat as strong as Alex himself is, which we were fully confident would keep him and his crew safe in all conditions, remaining reliable and problem-free throughout the long journey. We wish Alex every success for the future and hope that we have an opportunity to join him again in his future adventures.”