Roy Disney's Reichel-Pugh maxi yacht Pyewacket took line honours in the 2002 Newport to Bermuda Race having completed the 635-mile ocean race in an unofficial elapsed time of 53 hours 39 minutes and 22 seconds, shattering the previous record by three hours 52 minutes and 28 seconds.

That mark of 57 hours, 31 minutes and 50 seconds was set in 1996 by George Coumantaros' maxi Boomerang, who finished a close second at just after 9.17 p.m. – breaking her own record but still trailing behind Pyewacket.

Disney told The Royal Gazette: "We actually slowed down to basically keep everything in one piece and even then it was still terrible."

"The boat took a wind dive off of a wave and the microwave door opened up and sent the inserted glass turntable inside flying across the floor.

"It was just brutal. The first time I came down (1982) was on a boat which I used to own (Shamrock) before I donated it to the US Navy and they renamed it (Enterprise) and invited me to sail along as a guest.

"That was the year when organisers were forced to postpone the race for two days because of a hurricane. It was also brutal then. But for the moment, I couldn't be more pleased and it's just amazing how things worked out for us."