Jules Verne Trophy 2005
Press Release N°5
Lorient, Sunday 23rd, January 2005
ORANGE II CASTING OFF THIS AFTERNOON
Things started to move a little faster last night, following the latest meeting between Bruno Peyron and his weather team. The skipper of Orange II announced that the giant Orange II and her 14 man crew will cast off from Lorient today (Sunday 23rd January) at 3 p.m. GMT.
Just after the final press briefing, which will take place at 2.30.
The boat will head for the starting line of the Jules Verne Trophy
off Ushant, which they plan to cross sometime on Monday.
The window in the weather that they have been studying for more than
a week looks good, and Bruno Peyron does not want to miss this
occasion. That is why he has decided to get to the starting area as
soon as possible. On Sunday afternoon, Orange II will set sail for
Ushant. Bruno Peyron : «We want to be ready to cross the starting
line at the right time. We don’t know exactly when that will be, but
I want us all to be ready in race mode, so we can set out when the
window is at its best.»
The final press briefing with the crew, today at 2.30 GMT (3.30 local
time) in Lorient.
While the whole crew will be present helping out with the final
preparations at 1 p.m. GMT, the press briefing will take place at
2.30 precisely with the presence of Bruno Peyron and the crew of
Orange II. This briefing will be organised at the boat’s technical
base (Défi Français base) in Lorient, half an hour before they cast
off for the Jules Verne.
The crew of Orange II
The 14 men taking part in this new attempt at the Round the World
sailing record (Jules Verne Trophy 2005), on board Orange II are :
Bruno Peyron (Skipper), Roger Nilson (navigator, doctor), Lionel
Lemonchois (watch leader - helmsman), Philippe Péché (watch leader -
helmsman), Yann Elies (watch leader - helmsman), Ronan Le Goff
(Bowman, in charge of rigging), Sébastien Audigane (helmsman, in
charge of safety), Jacques Caraes (adjustor, in charge of filming),
Florent Chastel (bowman, in charge of running rigging), Yves Le
Blévec (adjuster, in charge of the general organisation),
Jean-Baptiste Epron (adjuster, in charge of supplies and logistics),
Nicolas de Castro (Bowman, in charge of composites), Ludovic Aglaor
(helmsman) and Bernard Stamm (helmsman, in charge of mechanics).
Bruno Peyron
Pioneer of ocean multihull racing since the early 80’s, Bruno Peyron
has taken part in almost all of the major sailing events, both
single-handed events and with a crew. He has 37 Atlantic crossings
under his belt, 12 of which were single-handed. Twice record holder
of the single-handed crossing (1987 & 1992). Twice record holder of
the Pacific crossing with a crew (1997 & 1998), one major victory
sums up his racing career: he was in 1993, the first sailor to go
around the world in less than 80 days, thus winning the first Jules
Verne Trophy. He created The Race, which began at the end of 2000,
then repeated his exploit around the world in 2002, becoming the
holder of the Jules Verne Trophy for a second time.
Bruno Peyron is today the record holder of the greatest number of
miles covered in a maxi-catamaran (295,000 miles). He has beaten the
24 hour record on four occasions (1982 / 1995 / 2000/ 2004). He is
the only skipper to have covered more than 700 miles in 24 h, and
since last summer, has been the holder of the Mediterranean crossing
record.
The records Orange II has to beat
- The Jules Verne Trophy has been held by Olivier de Kersauson and
the crew of the trimaran Geronimo, in 63 days, 13h 59mins, since the
29th April 2004.
- The absolute round the world record has been held by the American
Steve Fossett, in 58 days, 09h, 32mins, since the 5th April 2004.
The most recent records set by Orange II
– The 24 hour world record (706.2 miles covered at an average speed
of 29.42 knots),
– The Mediterranean Record (17h 56mn and 13s, at an average of 25.53
knots).
Copyright free TV feed
A TV feed will be broadcast today at 5 p.m. GMT via Serte Paris. It
will include the latest footage of the boat and the crew of Orange
II, pictures of the atmosphere for the start in Lorient and an
interview with Bruno Peyron.
Follow the Jules Verne Trophy on Internet
The official website www.maxicatamaran-orange.com will allow you to
follow Bruno Peyron’s latest attempt at the Round the World record.
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).
Official partners : Orange, France Telecom
>> Institutional partners : Ville de Marseille, Communauté urbaine
>> Marseille Provence Métropole
>> Official suppliers : TD Com, International Peinture, Henri Lloyd,
>> Sony, UKHO, Lomac , Yamaha, Nera, Valderas Consulting, Telemar
>> Scandinavia, Aramid Rigging, Southern Spars.
>> Press Contact Maxi-Catamaran Orange :
>> Bénédicte Etienne - C Sports Communication / 06 87 30 12 83 -
>> benedicte.etienne@csports.fr
>> Press Contact France Télécom / Orange :
>> Sébastien Goalès - France Télécom / 01 44 44 93 93 -
>> sebastien.goales@francetelecom.com
>> Marie-Cécile Leprat - C Sports Communication / 01 58 47 84 58 –
>> mc.leprat@csports.fr
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