Day 20 Evening Report
First Icebergs Observed
Steve: "Maybe we have gone far enough south for the time being!"
537 miles logged over past 24 hours
26 February 2004 -1710 GMT - 105 nm South of Marion Island (Prince Edward Islands, South Africa): Halfway through Day 20 on their Round the World Sailing Record attempt, Steve Fossett and crew aboard Cheyenne continued to press eastwards at 21-24 kts throughout the day Thursday along a direct course just south of 48 degrees South latitude. They have logged 537 miles over the past 24 hours (an average of 22.4 kts), keeping them 750 miles (1-1/2 days) ahead of the 2002 RTW record track of Bruno Peyron's Orange.
Wind conditions remained steady and strong from the W/NW at 19 - 20 kts - and the wind chill factor is increasing. They know they will soon be nearer to Antarctica than to Africa. This morning they caught sight of one tangible reminder of the essentially inhospitable nature of the Southern Ocean - late summertime icebergs.
Steve Fossett wrote this afternoon:
"We got a close look at our first icebergs of the trip this morning. This one is at 3 miles. Maybe we have gone far enough south for the time being!
These full sized icebergs should be easy to avoid hitting. The danger are the growlers - which are chunks of ice of mere 'truck' size. If we hit one it would be -- well, catastophic. The theory is that growlers will be found up to 3 miles downwind of an iceberg. This means we must divert course to assure that we pass upwind of icebergs. We have tuned up the Radar for constant monitoring at nighttime.
The winds are bit better to the south but we are pleased with our progress and we must not get greedy. - Steve"
Ken Campbell of Commanders Weather added:
"They should be looking at good winds for the next 4 or 5 days, moving them across the Southern Indian Ocean very quickly. The breeze will back a little on Friday and they'll need to make a decision then whether to push further south or to go a bit to the north - where the winds may get a little lighter."
For detailed maps, photos, stories by the crew, plus all position data & media support information, please see www.fossettchallenge.com
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All of Steve Fossett's record-setting adventures and challenges are supported by Michelob ULTRA, the new low-carbohydrate premium beer from Anheuser-Busch, the world's largest brewer
Supporting Cheyenne and crew on the RTW record attempt are NOBELTEC Admiral electronic charting solutions and MUSTO Performance clothing
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Media contact: Stuart Radnofsky at Project 100 Communications /
Steve Fossett Challenges
Tel: +44 1727 836238 / 844616
Mob: +44 7860 612367
Fax: +44 1727 869142
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