21.02.2004
End Day 14 - 2 Weeks at Sea
Finally turning East as Cheyenne nearly to 'Roaring Forties'
100+ nm ahead of Orange's 2002 record track
Saturday 21 February 2004 - 0510 GMT - 600 nm W/SW of Tristan da Cunha Island: The wind is now from the West, the air temperature has dropped. Wind speed and boat speed both picked up throughout Friday and into the night. The long drive South is now over and Cheyenne is turning towards the East.
As Skipper Steve Fossett and his crew aboard the 125' maxi-catamaran completed their first 2 weeks on their Round the World Sailing Record attempt this morning, they entered the next phase - the arrival at what Watch Captain Dave Scully calls 'the approach ramp to the Roaring Forties'.
At end of Day 14, having covered 445 miles SE in the past 24 hours (at 18.53 kts avg speed) Cheyenne is now at virtually the same longitude as were Bruno Peyron and Orange at the same point during their record run in 2002. But critically, Cheyenne is some 6 degrees of latitude to the South of Orange's track - and is thus in the shorter 'inside lane' - and over 100 miles ahead of the 'phantom' target (about 5 - 6 hours running) - in the race to pass the 3 Capes (Good Hope, Leeuwin, Horn) before turning back up the Atlantic.
David Scully's Day 14 report is below. Look for Steve Fossett's report on Cheyenne's first 2 weeks tonight.
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