Italian boat designer Fabio Buzzi yesterday demolished the record for the Bermuda Challenge.On a boat he designed himself, Col Moschin, Mr Buzzi set off from New York at 5pm on Thursday and arrived in St George’s shortly after 10am yesterday.His time of 17 hours and six minutes for the 780-mile open ocean transit was some four hours and 33 minutes quicker than the existing record, set just a month ago by Chris Fertig.The Italian military vehicle, weighing nine tons and measuring almost 40 feet long, was powered by two 650 horse power engines.Two members of the Italian army were on board.Official timekeeper John Trimingham told The Royal Gazette: “They were over the moon, doing backflips on the dock.“They put a lot of effort into this, and threw a lot of dollars at it. The effort has been a year in the making.“There was a lot of horse power and just enough diesel.”The Bermuda Challenge was set up in 1996 as an endurance trial for powerboats, beginning at the Statue of Liberty and ending at the sea buoy in St George’s.When asked why his team made the trip, Mr Buzzi said: “To find the most expensive and complicated way to see your beautiful Island.”He added that Italian technology had enabled his team to hit 40 knots, some ten knots quicker than the speed achieved by Mr Fertig.