08.03.2004
ORANGE II REACHED LORIENT THIS MORNING
The Orange II maxi-catamaran has reached her technical base in Lorient at 10:15 this morning. Bruno Peyron explained that the boat will be taken out of the water within the next few days, thus allowing an inspection of the starboard S Drive, which suffered damage and forced the crew to give up on their Jules Verne Trophy attempt.
Bruno Peyron: "it's still too early to talk about the further developments of our campaign. For the time being, the Jules Verne clock stopped ticking as far as we're concerned, and the whole crew is concentrating on organising the repairs necessary to put our giant back on the tracks, at 100% of her potential. Our little trip to the Cape Verde Islands and back proved that the catamaran sails well, fast, and does not show any major flaw. She's well conceived and fulfils our expectations. It's too bad we had to turn back for such a minor problem, yet it was impossible for us to fix it at sea. It's the tough reality of competition, and we have to accept it, to start again with even greater motivation. Now just stay tuned !"
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
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