GERONIMO SETS NEW EQUATOR RECORD, KINGFISHER2 ON STANDBY STATUS RED
Absender: "Team Kingfisher"
Datum: 18. Jan 2003 15:52
IN BRIEF
* STANDBY STATUS IS RED - NO GO FOR KINGFISHER2 FOR AT LEAST 5 DAYS -
POSSIBLE WEATHER WINDOW FORECASTED FOR NEXT THURSDAY...
Standby status will be updated first at http://www.teamkingfisher.com
* CREW TAKE OPPORTUNITY FOR SOME 'DOWNTIME' TO VISIT FAMILY, REST AND PREPARE
MENTALLY, WHILST THE DEDICATED SHORE TEAM WORK ON FINAL DETAILS ON BOARD
KINGFISHER2... See latest webcam images from this morning of Kingfisher2
dockside at Lorient. Visit http://www.teamkingfisher.com and click on WEBCAM
on menu bar...
* GERONIMO (skipper Olivier de Kersauson) SETS NEW RECORD TO THE EQUATOR
- 6 DAYS, 11 HOURS, 26 MINUTES AND 21 SECONDS...smashing the long standing ENZA 1994 record. An average speed, based on our theoretical route of 24712 miles around the world, of 19.79 knots...even faster through the water.
* ELLEN MACARTHUR COLLECTS SECOND PRIZE AT IMOCA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
PRIZEGIVING IN BREST LAST NIGHT...
* PERFORMANCE ENHANCEMENT NUMBER FIVE : Navigational, instrument and weather routing systems
* CREW MEMBER - FOCUS IN ON Jason Carrington bowman and on-board boat
builder. Jason missed out on a place on board Club Med in The Race now has
opportunity to settle some unfinished business with KINGFISHER2
http://www.teamkingfisher.com for all the latest news and images.
IN DETAIL
"30% CHANCE OF DEPARTURE THURSDAY"
Skipper of KINGFISHER2, Ellen MacArthur: "The weather window of opportunity
we recognised 2 days ago is still there on our weather models but at this
stage I would say there is only about a 30% chance of departure next
Thursday." The weather forecasts are hard to predict with any certainty when
looking at 7 or 10 day weather models. The decision for KINGFISHER2 to
depart on their Jules Verne record attempt would provisionally be based on a
48 hour forecast with a call for the team to make plans to return to the base
in Lorient. "At this stage it is a case of sitting tight and for the sailing
team to enjoy the downtime they have..." said MacArthur.
THE SAILING TEAM MIGHT BE RESTING, BUT THE SHORE TEAM WORK ON...
The majority of the sailing team are now taking time off to visit family
before the departure but KINGFISHER2's shore team are still working hard on
the final details on board...when one talks about a sailing 'team', the
sometimes unsung heroes are those working around the clock on the detail
preparation of the boat. Since September last year, Team Kingfisher has been
lucky to have some totally dedicated guys working very long days and nights -
managed by Technical Director Neil Graham, boat captain Jonny Mordaunt, Oli
Allard and Rudi Steines have been working around the clock with just one
focus, get KINGFISHER2 to the best possible level of readiness for when she
leaves. Supported in Lorient by Emma Westmacott (herself an accomplished pro
sailor), Charles, Kate and the OC team, KINGFISHER2 would simply not be on a
start line without the hard work of this team.
GERONIMO SETS NEW RECORD TO THE EQUATOR
GERONIMO, skippered by Olivier de Kersauson, set a new record from the Jules
Verne start line off Ushant to the Equator of 6 days, 11 hours, 26 minutes
and 21 seconds. GERONIMO crossed the Equator yesterday at 14:26:30 GMT, a
massive 1 day, 10 hours and 34 minutes faster than Peyron's time in 2002, and
breaking Sir Peter Blake's 1994 ENZA record time of 7 days, 4 hours, 24
minutes.
http://www.grandsrecords.com
ELLEN IN BREST FOR IMOCA PRIZEGIVING
Last night in Brest Ellen attended the IMOCA Open 60 Class MMA World
Championship prizegiving finishing in 2nd place for 2002 thanks to the points
secured in her win in the solo trans-Atlantic Route du Rhum race last year.
Overall victory went to Roland Jourdain for the second time whilst Mike
Golding, close runner-up in the Route du Rhum, completed the podium in 3rd
place. http://www.imoca.org
PERFORMANCE ENHANCEMENT NUMBER FIVE : KINGFISHER2 is equiped with a complete
B&G instrument system which measures and communicates to the crew everything
from boat speed and wind direction to the rotation angle of the big carbon
fibre mast. This data then passes in to the computer network onboard and
integrates with the Deckman performance software and Maxsea navigational and
routing systems onboard. Data accuracy is critical - decisions, be they split
second decisions of a helmsman going down a wave, or long term tactical
decisions of which way to point, are based on this data. Viewers should be
able sample some of this data on the website during the record attempt, as it
feeds back of the boat at hourly intervals...
http://www.teamkingfisher.com/b&g
CREW MEMBER FOCUS : Jason Carrington (UK) aged 33, will race his first
non-stop circumnavigation with KINGFISHER2 having been a key crew member on
board Assa Abbloy in the Volvo Ocean Race: "I was involved with Club Med in
the begining but didn't do The Race so was really keen to do a non-stop on a
big cat. Top of my wish list is to win the Volvo Ocean Race but this comes
pretty close - it is more of an adventure in a way and a pretty exciting one
too." Carrington, who was also bowman on Lawrie Smith's Silk Cut in the
Whitbread Round the World Race of 1997/98, will be a bowman and his
specialist boat building skills will make him the dedicated on-board boat
builder on Kingfisher2 - hopefully skills that he won't be required to use
too often...
jasonrace@kingfisherchallenges.com
For more information and images of KINGFISHER2 visit
http://www.teamkingfisher.com
For media enquiries please contact Lou Newlands lou@offshorechallenges.com
For images and stills, please contact Josie Robinson
josie@offshorechallenges.com
For TV feeds contact rsimmonds@appbroadcast.com
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