www.orange.fr
Press Release N° 18
Paris, Monday 7th February, 2005
JULES VERNE TROPHY 2005
ALMOST FOUR DAYS ADVANCE AT THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE...
Bruno Peyron's crew should set a new record time for the journey between Ushant and the Cape of Good Hope later today. The maxi-catamaran Orange II, which set sail on 24th January at 10.03 GMT should cross the longitude of the Cape of Good Hope sometime this evening (20° longitude East). Contacted by radio this afternoon, the skipper of Orange II looked back on the last 3 days of racing, when the boat managed to cover 1951 miles (650 miles per 24h) at an amazing average speed of 27.10 knots.
At this morning's positions at 10.00 (at the end of the 14th day of the race), Orange II was some 1790 nautical miles ahead of the absolute world record time (Steve Fossett).
The skipper of Orange II told us what he felt about these three intense and stressful days.
Bruno Peyron :
Trajectory: it was very fast with a great trajectory, as you can see on the website. They were days with 650 miles being clocked up, quite close to the 24 h distance record, even if we weren¨t after that. In the end the average speed was impressive. The efforts of the crew and helmsmen continue with each change of watch.
Broken windscreen : We have a windscreen to protect us from the spray. It literally exploded over the helmsman, when a huge wave crashed over the boat. Lionel was at the helm and got a knock on the head. Fortunately, nothing serious. He went back to the helm an hour later and finished his watch, during which he did extremely well for four hours. It was a warning we must not forget, reminding us we are in a hostile universe. With this 30-tonne monster zooming along at 35 knots into the waves, things get broken....
The 24 hour record :
the best proof that we were not out to get it was our zigzags and the time we spent at 22 knots. We weren't really looking at this record, as we were busy running technical checks. We're more attentive to intermediate records. The Cape of Good Hope record will be a good one, as it¨s the first and it should be impressive.
Tiredness on board:
It¨s a fine line to know how to spot tiredness, and differentiate between a tired look and deep down tiredness. The level of energy used up is enormous. We have to try to find an intermediary way of working, allowing us to build up our reserves. We also have to raise the level of the weakest by acting together, if we want to go all the way together.
Sudden stops:
the boat slammed to a halt in waves twice, but in general Orange II is so powerful that it parts the waves it hits. We¨re walking a fine line, when we accelerate away. We have to ease off, but it's not always easy to find the brake.
The weather: Yesterday, we were sailing with the front that we'd been looking at since starting out 11 days earlier. It¨s still accompanying us. It's not another system. We had to get on the right hand side of the front yesterday morning. But it didn't manage to catch us. Our speed differential was too high. The problem was we couldn't stay on the wrong side of the front. We had to slow down to cross to the other side. In half an hour, the wind had come around, so we were on the same bearing on the other tack.
Sails:
Last night we were sailing with two reefs and the staysail, but we were sliding along too quickly. This morning, it was difficult getting through the waves, so we put the storm jib up.
The Good Hope record :
We're the first to be surprised! We talk about the longitude of South Africa. We mustn't forget that we passed the latitude of Cape Town after 11 days, which is also quite extraordinary.
Indian Record :
It's still Innovation Explorer that has held this record since The Race. Roger Nilson was the navigator and they had a fine trajectory apart from a gybe to the south of the Kerguelens. We shall be doing our best.
Vendée Globe :
Jojo (Sébastien Josse) will finish in fifth place tomorrow in the Vendée Globe. That's great considering the conditions he encountered, even if he deserves better. He was our hero, as he has been part of the Orange team for three years.
Icebergs :
We'll be beginning radar watch tonight. We'll be on the edge of the convergence zone and not far from where they may be. It's starting to get fairly cold, especially when we're doing 30-35 knots and the waves at 6°C are crashing over us.
Data :
Day at sea: 14th
Date : 07/02/2005
Time (GMT) : 10h00
Latitude : 44 10.92' S
Longitude : 15 29.92' E
Recorded speed : 25.2 knots
Recorded bearing : 110
Average speed : 26.4 knots
24 hour average speed: 26.1 knots
Distance over 24h : 627 miles
Speed since the start : 22.2 knots
Total distance : 7454 miles
Reindexing distance : 17402.70 miles
Lead on Day 14 over :
- J. Verne record : +1743 miles (ahead)
— absolute record : +1790 miles (ahead)
Press briefing: Wednesday 9th February 2005 at 12h15 (local time)
Theme : Sound and pictures live from the Orange II catamaran thanks to 3G technology
Mobile broadband tested under the most extreme conditions
Place: Fédération Franēaise de Voile (French Yachting Federation) , 17 rue Henri Bocquillon 75015 PARIS. (Metro: Boucicaut)
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Internet : http://www.maxicatamaran-orange.com
Radio sessions: Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 1.15 p.m. GMT at Orange race headquarters and live on Internet. Wednesday's broadcast will be a live video link on Internet and on Orange mobile handsets.
PC Course Orange : Fédération Franēaise de Voile
17, rue Henri Bocquillon
75015 PARIS
(Métro Boucicaut)
Audio: Apart from the radio session three times a week, an audio recording is made every morning at 5 a.m. with the boat.
These recordings can be heard and downloaded in MP3 format in the press section of the website: www.maxicatamaran-orange.com
For any individual requests, please contact Bénédicte Etienne on 06 87 30 12 83
Boat's positions:
The position of the boat is updated every quarter of an hour on the website: www.maxicatamaran-orange.com
The records Orange II has to beat
— The Jules Verne Trophy, held since 29th April 2004, by Olivier de Kersauson and the crew of the trimaran Geronimo, in 63d, 13h 59mn.
— The absolute round the world record held since 5th April 2004, by the American Steve Fossett, in 58d, 09h, 32mn.
Orange II's most recent records
— The world 24 h 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).
DOWNLOAD THE PRESS RELEASE (PDF FORMAT) :
PR18_Orange.pdf
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