It looks like an aeroplane!' exclaimed a colleague when they saw a photograph of the starboard hull in full flight. It may not be cruising as we know it, but an invitation to go sailing on one of the fastest sailing machines in the world, the Extreme 40, was impossible to resist. The creators of this hi-tech catamaran took the fastest sailing boat in the Olympics, the Tornado, and made her twice as big, with an 18.9m (62ft) mast and 7.9m (26ft) beam. Currently, there are only 17 of these exotic beasts in existence worldwide. The event was a 'drag race' on the River Thames, between Greenwich Yacht Club and the O2 Arena, formerly the Millennium Dome. The aim was to set a new sailing record . A host of sailors, including Ellen MacArthur, the fastest woman round the world, were battling it out against the clock, sailing the iShares Extreme 40 with a crew of five. When the pros had finished, those in the media who dared won a privileged place on the rocketship. Within minutes, and after a brief caution about the sensitive nature of the beast, I was handed the lightweight tiller extension. The adrenalin rush started as the sense of raw power transmitted itself through this anonymous black stick - or was it a magic wand? We accelerated upwind like a bat out of hell. This was the marine version of squeezing into the cockpit of Lewis Hamilton's Formula 1. These hi-tech carbonfibre cats fly their hulls in as little as 8 knots of breeze and have a top speed of 40 knots (45mph) at full throttle.You need to hone a different set of seamanship techniques to tame this critter. The log was reading 15, 16, 17, then 18 knots - 22 was the highest speed of the day. The thought of the dreaded Extreme 40 cartwheel was never too far from my mind. Tacking and gybing up the narrow Thames, there was plenty of sprinting across 26ft of bouncy trampoline. You need the agility of a ballet dancer with bodies and limbs flying everywhere and plenty of 'trip lines' to catch you out. In the chaos, sailors have been known to run straight off the side of the boat - there are no stanchions! It was unforgettable. The fastest time was set by Oman Sail (skipper Pete Cumming), which stormed the course in 9 minutes and 14 seconds. Olympic rower Matthew Pinsent was second and Ellen MacArthur and Nick Moloney from the BT team came third, but only seconds later. If this isn't quite your cup of tea, turn to p108 for something more relaxed and quintessentially English - our review of kettles and toasters, which we've dubbed The Earl Grey Whistle Test!
It looks like an aeroplane!' exclaimed a colleague when they saw a photograph of the starboard hull in full flight. It may not be cruising as we know it, but an invitation to go sailing on one of the fastest sailing machines in the world, the Extreme 40, was impossible to resist. 
