[paulk]

After you have read everything you can about the French woman Isabelle Autissier and her solo ''round the world races (note the plural) you should be aware that a Baltic 52 would be a LOT slower than her boats. A Baltic 52 is not going to plane much, so a top speed of around 16 knots or so could be possible. Average speed might be closer to 10 knots, depending on wind speed and direction. Please note that long-distance race courses are most often set up to take advantage of the prevailing winds. (e.g. westerlies around Cape Horn) Is this the case with your course? If not, beating into the wind will cut speed perhaps in half and and maybe double the distance sailed at the same time. There are a lot of variables in a sailboat race!