Isle of Wight sailor claims dinghy sailing record

Harry White completed his challenge in the Solent

A sailor is claiming the first world record for the greatest distance sailed in a single-handed dinghy in 12 hours.

Harry White, 21, from the Isle of Wight, covered 107.66km (66.9 miles) during the challenge on Tuesday.

Guinness World Records is yet to confirm the record but said the minimum requirement was 65.64km (40.8 miles).

Mr White, who set off from the Royal Victoria Yacht Club in Ryde at 07:00 BST, crowdfunded for the equipment needed to complete the challenge.

Harry White was followed by a support boat, carrying four official record witnesses

Sailing a ICLA 7 dinghy, he crossed the eastern Solent, taking in Stokes Bay, Bembridge, Portsmouth and Ryde.

He said: "At one stage, the wind died down quite a lot so we weren't making any progress and we were concerned we would have to call it off but, thankfully, the wind filled in again and we had perfect conditions."

He was accompanied by a support boat, piloted by one of his brothers and carrying two pairs of official record witnesses who took shifts to record video footage and make notes.

Mr White, who is one of triplets, has been working at Bembridge Harbour with his brothers since they graduated together from Portsmouth University.

He crowdfunded for a new mast and boom after the spars on his boat snapped.

Mr White crowdfunded for his mast and boom

He said: "I wanted the best shot I had so I was raising funds to cover the costs of the new sailing kit that I needed.

"I wanted to get faster boat speeds but everything in sailing is so expensive.

"I would love to progress into larger yachting - not just racing but other challenges - so doing an endurance challenge was quite appealing to me."

Guinness is expected to confirm the record next week.