09.03.2002
Latest news from Nick Moloney to Dr Krumnacker
Segel.de
* ONLY A WEEK from the English Channel to the Equator...but Orange narrowly
missed the record for this segment of the Jules Verne by just a few hours!
Sir Peter Blake and his team on ENZA [7 days, 4 hours, 24 minutes in 1994]
hold this from their full JV record breaking run (since beaten by SPORT
ELEC).
* "LAST NIGHT WAS A REMINDER...OF HOW EASILY THIS TOUR COULD BE OVER" as
Gennaker halyard swivel breaks...with a noise not dissimilar to the mast
breaking sound...
* OUT OF THE DOLDRUMS AND IN TO THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE THIS AFTERNOON as
all minds onboard will switch to the big challenge ahead of them. As the
temperature will now progressively drop, thermals on and the latitude
increase...towards the Southern Ocean they fly. Nick - "I am sure I will
see some wild shit [down there] but I guess that's why I signed up for this
mission!"
* STILL OVER 1000 MILES Ahead OF THE JULES VERNE previous record run of
SPORT ELEC (Olivier de Kersauson)
POSITION REPORT
COMPARISON table / JULES VERNE TROPHY
Monday 9th march 2002 at 0800 GMT
POSITION ORANGE
Position : 02° 10' N / 26°29' W
Speed 24h : 16.68
Distance since departure : 3251.15 miles
Distance 24h : 400.32 miles
COMPARISON TO SPORT ELEC IN 1997
Position : 09°28 ' N / 20°42 ' W
Speed 24h : 15.97
Distance since departure : 2538.50 miles
Distance 24h : 379 miles
LATEST LOGBOOK FROM NICK
Not far from the Equator now. Very hot today. Hoping that there are not too
many squalls about tonight. We have not had any at all South of the Cape
Verde Islands - very strange. Night skies have been clear and full of stars.
Tonight we plan to work out how to use a planetarium that Vlad has smuggled
onboard.
Last night was a reminder of just how loaded these boats are and how easily
this tour could be all over in a second. We were cruzin along 15kts of wind
doing 20 knots when BANG!, the swivel on the top of the gennaker exploded
[gennaker is the large downwind sail that is hoisted to the top of the mast
on a halyard with a swivel at the head]. Very similar sound to that when the
mast failed. First thoughts were that the sheave had torn down the mast which
at the very least would have meant no more gennakers for the rest of the
trip. Fortunately the situation was less dramatic than the sound that burst
out of the darkness and within an hour the sail was back up and we were
hauling south again.
Learnt a new french phrase through it all 'chier dans mon pantalon' (Shit my
pants)
We think Florent has stashed his girlfriend up the mast because he seems to
spend half his watch aloft. We are still finishing jobs from the mast
failure and trying to prepare for the south. Thoughts are turning towards
the south which is healthy. This boat is going to be a hand full down there.
Just hope we keep the big picture in mind. Anyway I am sure I will see some
wild shit but I guess that's why I signed up for this mission.
Everyone is washing regularly with buckets of warm sea water. Bruno took on
the fire hose like spray streaming off the leeward bow.
Time for a bit of Munger and a sleep.
cheers team
nick
Nick Moloney is a member of Ellen MacArthur's Offshore Challenges Sailing Team
http://www.nickmoloney.com
*Images for media use of 'Orange' by Gilles Martin-Raget can be viewed at
http://www.martin-raget.com
*Find all the news about the megacat 'Orange' on the website http://www.orange.fr
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