25.08.2004
www.orange.fr
Press Release N° 14
Wednesday, 25th August 2004
NEW-YORK / CAP LIZARD RECORD
THE COUNTDOWN HAS BEGUN
Currently sailing in the Irish Sea, Orange II is speeding towards The Lizard in a wind, which although reindexing satisfactory in terms of strength, is becoming more variable in terms of direction. On a direct course — unless there is some damage — they seem to have won their bet... But if they have to tack, things could well turn out differently! The only thing that is certain: whether the record is smashed or not, it will all be down to a few minutes!
«In the end, it didn't work out to be that easy, but we didn't slow down during the night, in spite of the heavy seas», explained Bruno Peyron late this morning. «We continued to battle our way through, which was no easy task for the helmsmen, but they got through it pretty well». As for the craft, in spite of this « virile » handling, she is still showing no signs of weakness. «We'll have to carry out a complete check when we finish, but at first sight there's nothing to worry about», pointed out the skipper, before adding «we're keeping the pressure up, everyone is working all out ». As for her position, Orange II is now « close, really close to the finishing line, as, to be exact, it is only 128 miles away now! We're currently to the north of Land's End (the south-westerly tip of England — editor's footnote), but the wind keeps changing direction... if there is a small hiccup, we'll get through it anyway, but if things ease right off, we'll have to tack.
Down to the wire...
«The wind has got up again, but at dawn this morning we were slowed right down with some fairly weak winds. Having said that, we were still doing 22 / 23 knots. Things are better now, as our speed is varying from 28 to 30 knots, and if I place my little cursor on the finishing line, the computer calculates that we'll cross the finish in 4 hours and 32 mins (situation at 11.40 CET-editor's footnote). But it keeps on changing, so anything is possible for the better or worse. On a direct course, there won't be any problem, as our average speed is good enough to do it, but if we have to tack, things are less certain. I'm repeating myself but even if we're really channelling our efforts as we enter the Channel, it's all down to a question of minutes! Moreover, such a minuscule time difference is unheard of in the history of this record... But 120 miles isn't that far, and we'll soon know the outcome! »
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
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