22.06.2004
LAST MINUTE MODE CHANGE: ELLEN SETS OFF ON FIRST SOLO TRANSAT RECORD
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IN BRIEF:
* <>TRIMARAN CROSSED THE START LINE LATE LAST NIGHT AT 22:10:00 HRS GMT [21/06/2004 ] TO START HER FIRST SOLO TRANSATLANTIC RECORD ATTEMPT.
* LAST MINUTE IMPROVEMENT IN WEATHER FORCAST FOR THE SECOND PART OF THE CROSSING MEANT A QUICK MODE CHANGE FROM “DELIVERY” TO “RECORD ATTEMPT”
*12 HOURS INTO THE RECORD <> IS JUST 42 MILES BEHIND LAURENT BOURGNON’S 10 YEAR OLD RECORD…
*FIRST NIGHT FULL OF HARD WORK FOR ELLEN…
* MACARTHUR LOOKING TO SET NEW SOLO WEST-EAST TRANSATLANTIC RECORD THAT CURRENTLY STANDS AT 7 DAYS, 2 HOURS, 34 MINUTES, 42 SECONDS SET BY LAURENT BOURGNON IN 1994...
*<> WILL HAVE TO CROSS THE FINISH LINE BY 00:34:42 GMT ON TUESDAY 29th JUNE 2004 TO SET A NEW RECORD FOR THE FASTEST SOLO SAILOR TO CROSS THE ATLANTIC…
IN DETAIL:
In south south westlerly winds, gusting 20-25 knots, Ellen MacArthur, skipper of the new 75-foot trimaran <>, crossed the start line to begin her first solo speed sailing record attempt. MacArthur will be striving to set a new west-east solo transatlantic record from Ambrose Light off New York to the Lizard Point off the south-west coast of England. The current record stands at just 7 days, 2 hours, 34 minutes, 42 seconds set by Frenchman Laurent Bourgnon in June 1994 on board his 60-foot trimaran, Primagaz.
The <> trimaran will have to cross the finish line off Lizard Point by 00:34:42hrs GMT on Tuesday 29th June 2004 to secure a new record for this distance.
David Roth, Marketing Director B&Q commented: “We wish Ellen the very best of luck with the transatlantic record attempt. All of us at B&Q will be closely following Ellen’s progress and eagerly awaiting the news of her success. We believe ‘Ellen can do it’ and wish her a safe passage.”
ELLEN’S THOUGHTS JUST BEFORE LEAVING:
" I’m very excited that after two months in the USA, and ironically just before leaving on delivery, the weather turned good! The boat is ready, I have been away from the water for a while now so can't wait to get back into it!! The weather pattern looks promising however I am quite realistic about our chances. The weather has to be just right - so all fingers crossed for the record. We just have to get out there, go for it, and see what we can do. It’ll be tough leaving the team behind but a great motivation to get to Europe."
BRIEF CONVERSATION WITH ELLEN:
The first night at sea was not an easy one for Ellen: “At most 14 minutes sleep…8 sail changes since have left New York and now I have something on the rudder acting like a giant break on the boat, until daylight there is not much I can do .I also broke part of a winch during the night so its not been an easy start. I am just about hanging on to the average speed I need to stay with this weather system.”
NOTES:
MacArthur currently holds three previous solo sailing race records set on board her 60-foot monohull Kingfisher:
- Plymouth (UK) to Newport (US) east-west transatlantic 14 days, 23 hours, 11 minutes (fastest female and winner of Class 1).
- Fastest female to race solo around the world in the 2000/2001 Vendée Globe in 94 days, 4 hours, 25 minutes, 40 seconds and finishing 2nd overall.
- Route du Rhum race (St Malo, France to Guadeloupe) new course record 13 days, 13 hours, 31 minutes, 47 seconds
The objective for this new record attempt on is to break the outright west-east transatlantic record set by Bourgnon. The fastest female to cross the Atlantic from west-east is Florence Arthaud set in 1990 on board the 60-foot trimaran Pierre 1er of 9 days, 22 hours, 5 minutes.
Solo west-east Transatlantic existing records:
Laurent Bourgnon Primagaz (60ft trimaran)
June 1994 7d 2h 34m 42s 2925 miles
Average speed 17.15 knots
Florence Arthaud (fastest female) Pierre 1er (60ft trimaran)
1990 9d 22h 5m 2925 miles
Average speed 12.25 knots
Visit http://www.sailspeedrecords.com for further information.
For latest information, please go to http://www.teamellen.com
http://www.teamellen.com will be updated regularly throughout the record attempt. To change frequency of email updates selecting daily, weekly or major, please click here http://www.teamkingfisher.com/uk/popup2.asp
For further information, please contact Offshore Challenges:
Kate Steven or Lucy Harwood
T: +44 (0)870 063 0210
E: kate@offshorechallenges.com or lucy@offshorechallenges.com
B&Q has over 350 stores in the UK, China and Taiwan and employs about 40,000 people. With its sister DIY company Castorama which has stores in France, Italy and Poland, B&Q is the biggest DIY retailer in Europe and third biggest in the world.
http://www.diy.com
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