www.orange.fr
Press Release N° 7
Newport, Friday, 20th August 2004
NEW-YORK / CAP LIZARD RECORD
GREEN FOR GO: THE START FROM NEW YORK IS IMMINENT FOR ORANGE II
—The giant catamaran, Orange II, skippered by the French yachtsman, Bruno Peyron, is due to set out tonight on an attempt to break the North Atlantic crossing record between New York (Ambrose Light) and The Lizard (the south westerly tip of England). — The weather patterns confirm an imminent departure that Orange II's skipper thinks will take place between 1 a.m. and 6 a.m. (CET)(i.e. between 11 p.m. on Friday and 4 a.m. Saturday 21st August, GMT).
—The entire crew is now aboard (10 people) and the boat is currently sailing off Ambrose Light, waiting for the best moment to cross the starting line.
ON THE STARTING BLOCKS
When he was contacted on the onboard satellite phone this afternoon, Bruno Peyron gave some details about his imminent start: "We cast off from Newport yesterday evening to come up to the official start area (Ambrose Light), which is just under half an hour or so from New York. The weather conditions here confirm the forecasts that we have been looking at for several days now. The weather opportunity isn't as ideal as the one Steve Fossett had, but we're here to have a go at the record and we can't hang around any longer. We should have some good conditions for the start (20-25 knots strengthening to 30-35 knots during the night) and for the first two days of the crossing. Afterwards, things aren't that clear for us, and some European weather forecasts are announcing a westerly after these two days, which wouldn't be the best angle for us and which would force us to take a longer route! Apart from that, everything is fine. The crew and the boat are both in top form. We shall be setting out feeling quite composed and with no real pressure on us, as we haven't had to hang around in New York for 6 months. Once the starting line has been crossed, we'll be heading towards La Baule, to set foot back on dry land".
10 MEN ON BOARD!
The crew of Orange II for this attempt is made up of 10 men, partly chosen from the crew that took part this winter in the attempt at the Jules Verne Trophy. The 10 men on board are as follows:
1 - Bruno Peyron, skipper
2 - Klabbe Nylof (watch leader)
3 - Halvard Mabire (watch leader)
4 - Lionel Lemonchoix
5 - Jacques Caraes
6 - Ronan Le Goff
7 - Sebastien Audigane
8 - Yves Le Blévec
9 - Ludovic Alglaor
10 - Clément Surtel
THE RECORD TO BEAT: The record time for the Atlantic crossing, held since 10th October 2001 by the American Steve Fossett aboard the giant catamaran PlayStation, is 4 days, 17 hours, 28 minutes and 6 seconds, achieved at an average speed of 25.78 knots.
TO FOLLOW THE RECORD ATTEMPT:
A chart showing the record attempt and a positions board will be available each day at 6 a.m., 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. at the following web address: http://www.maxicatamaran-orange.com
COPYRIGHT FREE PICTURES: Available in high resolution in the press section of the website.
TV ALERT: Copyright free TV pictures of the Orange II maxi-catamaran sailing off New York, the start of the attempt and an interview with Bruno Peyron will be broadcast tomorrow, Saturday 21st August at 10 a.m.(CET), from SERTE Paris.
Orange Maxi-Catamaran Press Office:
Bénédicte Etienne - C Sports Communication / +33 (0)6 87 30 12 83 - benedicte.etienne@csports.fr
http://www.maxicatamaran-orange.com
WEBSITE: www.maxicatamaran-orange.com
http://www.maxicatamaran-orange.com
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