Jules Verne Trophy 2004
Press Release N° 18
Paris, Friday 27th February 2004
Race day : 1
Average speed fram the start : 20,6 kn knots
COMPARISON table / JULES VERNE TROPHY
Ranking of catamaran Orange II on Friday 27th February 2004 at 8hOO GMT.
Day 1
Breite - Länge - Meilen/24h - dist.to fin - kn/24h - akt.kn
Orange II 41 17.16'N 10 35.16'W 494 m nc 20,6 kn 26,3 kn
Orange I 42 12 N 11 11 W 454 m nc 18,9 kn nc
2002
ORANGE II FASTER OVER THE FIRST 24 HOURS!
After 24 hours at sea, Orange II has swallowed 494 miles at 20,6 knots of average speed. Bruno Peyron and his 14-man crew have covered 40 more miles than Orange I in 2002. Just as expected, the maxi-catamaran is currently sailing off the Portuguese coast, in 25 knots of unsteady northwesterly wind, under reefed index and storm gennaker. The passage of the feared cape Finisterre (north-western tip of Spain) was history this morning... Orange II "rounded" the cape during the night, with only the indexsail and two reefs taken. "I don't really like the area, anything can happen there", said Bruno Peyron today during the radio chat session. And the skipper knew he had some reasons to be anxious, since the cape lived up to its reputation, welcoming Orange II with 40 knots of wind and crossed seas. "The sea is still messy and does not allow us to take advantage of the boat's full potential, but the sky's clearing up ahead of us. We're not far from catching the fringe of the high we expected". Which means the crew will now have to play with light airs...
Even though it's less mythical than Good Hope, Leeuwin or the Horn, cape Finisterre is nevertheless a symbolic passage, since it marks the end of the Bay of Biscay and a farewell to French coasts. The Bay has been taken care of in some 15 hours, the cape rounded carefully under indexsail alone... with 2 reefs: "we deliberately were under-powered because we had to cope with squalls, and I don't really like the area". This first night at sea has been a tough one, with many sail reductions and a lot of deck work. "The manoeuvres are physically demanding, but our reward came this morning, with a nice sunrise and a boat sailing well" says Bruno. And the crew's spirits are high — they even had oysters up on deck after a couple of consecutive manoeuvres!
The wind is currently blowing from the north-west at 25 knots, but should weaken in the hours to come. "The squalls are less and less fierce, we have less hail. The weather's more clement, and we'll soon reach the fringe of the high pressure zone". Positioned 136 miles west of Lisbon, and 214 miles away from cape St Vincent (SW of Portugal) at 13:00 today, the Orange maxi-catamaran will enter a new weather system in the hours to come. The trick will be to sail as fast as possible along the Azores high, in order to catch the Trades at the latitude of the Canary Islands. "It will all depend on the high, explains Bruno. We will certainly have to gain in the East towards the Canary Islands. And we don't like to go this way..." In fact, 2 years ago Orange I had left the Spanish archipelago to port, but now Orange II may have to sail very close to it, or even have to go through it. And every sailor knows it's tricky, since you risk getting stuck, the islands blocking the wind...The coming 24 hours will probably be intense, since the crew will have to work hard in order to get the best out the this new G.Class catamaran. The Canary Islands are some 700 miles away...
Bruno Peyron's quotes:
Oysters and "foie gras"... "The sum of talents onboard Orange II is quite stunning, but there's also a great spirit and concentration. Earlier today, we performed 2 consecutive manoeuvres, which took us about an hour, and right afterwards, I saw the guys taking out oysters and a nice piece of "foie gras". We know these kind of treats won't last long, so we might as well enjoy them now".
Manoeuvres..."It's easy to tell, the boat is heavier and more powerful than Orange I. She requires more efforts, more anticipation. We really must be careful not to lose control!"
Crew : Bruno Peyron (skipper) ; Roger Nilson (navigateur) ; Halvard Mabire (chef de quart) ; Klabbe Nylof (chef de quart) ; Yann Eliès (chef de quart) ; Jacques Caraes ; Nicolas Pichelin ; Ronan Le Goff ; Sébastien Audigane ; Florent Chastel ; Yves Le Blevec ; Jean-Baptiste Epron ; Vladimir Dzalba Lyndis ; Nicolas de Castro ; Eduardo Valderas.
About Orange ...
Orange France is a subsidiary of Orange SA, which includes all the Mobile Phone activities of the France Telecom Group. Orange France is the leading mobile phone operator with a market share exceeding 48,8%, and more than 20,3 millions of customers (December 31th 2003 figure).
Maxi-catamaran Orange official suppliers :
France Telecom Mobile Satellite Communications, TD Com
Henri Lloyd, UKHO, Eduardo Valdéras, Nera SatCom, Telemar Sweden, International Peinture
Marseilles, Official Port
Copyright-free pictures (for press purposes) upon request :
Gilles Martin-Raget +33/(0)6 07 55 45 85 - gmr@martin-raget.com
Press Contact Maxi-Catamaran Orange :
Bénédicte Etienne - C Sports Communication : +33/(0)6 87 30 12 83 - benedicte.etienne@csports.fr
Pierre Giboire - Agence Mer & Média - pg.mer.media@wanadoo.fr
Press Contact France Télécom / Orange :
Sébastien Goalès - France Télécom : +33/(0)1 44 44 93 93 - sebastien.goales@francetelecom.com
Marie-Cécile Leprat - C Sprts Communication : +33/(0)1 58 47 84 58 - mc.leprat@csports.fr
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