MOD70 Argo smashes 48nm Antigua 360 record in 35-knot blast

Jason Carroll’s MOD70 trimaran Argo set a new course record in the Royal Ocean Racing Club Antigua 360, completing the anticlockwise 48 nautical mile lap in an elapsed time of 2:29:20 and taking the Multihull class win on Feb 21, 2026. Argo’s new time cut the boat’s own 2023 mark of 3:14:23, an absolute reduction of 45 minutes 3 seconds.

Organised by the RORC in partnership with the Antigua Yacht Club, the multihulls left from beneath Fort Charlotte at 10:00 after the smaller IRC classes had started earlier. Conditions were a strong easterly trade of 18-20 knots with sizeable seas at the start, a setup Internationalmaxi said “created the perfect compromise, causing both monohull and multihull records to fall.” At the halfway point Argo had stretched her lead to about 3.5 miles and held it to the finish.

Final Final, sailing Zoulou under charter to Jon Desmond, crossed 18 minutes 19 seconds after Argo, with Sophia also finishing behind Carroll’s boat in the Multihull class. Sail-world photo captions and race coverage noted the 18:19 gap for Final Final-Zoulou and identified Argo as the clear race winner and record setter.

Crew on Argo, listed by Internationalmaxi, included Jason Carroll, his son Brian Thompson, Chad Corning, Sam Goodchild, Charlie Ogletree, Westy Barlow, Pete Cumming, James Dodd and Alister Richardson. Instagram coverage described the boat as “Jason Carroll’s North-powered MOD70 Argo,” and Internationalmaxi characterised Argo and Zoulou as “heavily turboed MOD70 trimaran sisterships.”

Peak speed readings and sailor reaction underscored how the record was achieved. Carroll said, “The boat's as fast as it's ever been. We saw 34 knots, but my eyes weren't glued to it [the speedo] – you’ve got to look out at the water not just at the instruments. A good fun experience, and my son came with us today, which was the first time for him.” Jon Desmond, who helmed Final Final on Zoulou, described the day as “pretty unbelievable” and added, “Antigua really brought it today; 20 knots, big waves at the start and proper trade wind pressure... Once you crack off on those reaches and the big gennaker goes up, the boat just lights up, we saw about 36 knots at times.”

Some reports framed the improvement as a 25 percent reduction in elapsed time; Internationalmaxi and a Facebook post used that figure. The explicit times show an absolute drop from 3:14:23 to 2:29:20, which is a reduction of 45 minutes 3 seconds, roughly a 23 percent decrease by elapsed-time calculation.

Photographs from the race carry credit to Tim Wright / RORC. With trade winds of 18-20 knots and instrumented bursts into the mid-30s, Argo’s 2:29:20 now stands as the benchmark around Antigua and a vivid example of what the MOD70 platform can deliver in proper trade-wind conditions.