Bermuda Challenge champion Chris Fertig had to adapt his 37-foot centre console to make the crossing from New York to Bermuda in record time.He and crew mate Tyson Garvin broke the speed record last week, travelling to the Island from New York Harbour in 21 hours and 35 minutes.The previous record, held by Bermuda’s Neil Burnie, was 22 hours and 33 minutes.They used 530 gallons of diesel fuel along the way.Said Mr Fertig: “Conditions varied throughout the trip. We encountered the roughest sea conditions crossing the north wall of the Gulf Stream where we saw five- to eight-foot seas, and we had to slow our speed to 30mph.“About two hours after crossing through the eastern limit of the Gulf Stream, the seas laid down to three feet; the moon, which was mostly full, rose, and we were able to increase our speed to 49mph and really cover some ground. The last 125 miles coming into Bermuda was fairly rough and we had to pound our way into the finish line at Towne Cut Channel.”Many centre console boats are not equipped to make trans-Atlantic voyages. Mr Fertig had to make a few modifications to get his Statement Marine ready for the journey.“I increased the fuel capacity from 327 gallons to 680 gallons and I added a satellite streaming video system,” he explained.“I have an integrated Simrad NSS/NSE navigation system including radar and satellite weather which allowed me to safely navigate the 780-mile trek from New York City to Bermuda. I also had a thermal night vision camera which helped to augment my radar during the night-time portion of the run, to ensure I didn’t hit any floating debris in the water.”Mr Garvin was a huge help, he added.“[We] drove and throttled the boat continuously throughout the entire trip. We occasionally switched helm and throttle positions, but I primarily drove and he primarily throttled.”