27.02.2005, 23:30
Orange II hits a whale at 30 knots...
Port daggerboard and rudder damaged. The boat is not in danger...
Bruno Peyron called Race headquarters this evening to announce that the
maxi-catamaran Orange II had just had a violent collision with a whale
or an orca whilst making between 25 and 30 knots off the Argentinian
coast. It was between 1700 and 1800 GMT, when the boat hit a big sea
creature, initially with the port daggerboard, then with the rudder.
Contacted shortly after 1900 GMT, Bruno Peyron confirmed this double
impact, adding that the boat was continuing on course downwind. The
appendages do not seem to be broken and all of them will be carefully
tested in two days time, as soon as the weather conditions enable the
boat to be brought to a stand still and a diver to be sent under the
hull. Contacted by telephone at 1935 GMT this evening, the skipper of
Orange II had the latest information on the incident: « The two
successive impacts were fairly severe. The first one involved the port
daggerboard, then just after a second impact with the rudder. The boat
is not in danger. There doesn’t seem to be any leakage, but from the
outside, you can see that some bits of material have come away. There
is a vibration coming from the port rudder and for the time being we
have the wind on the aft quarter to keep the boat flat and not put
pressure on the appendages. We’re going to have to slow down and then
bring the boat to a stand still as soon as we can, doubtless within the
next 2 days, so as we can send one of the crew down to inspect under
the hull. I think we hit a whale or perhaps an orca. We must have cut
it in two given the speed we were going... Just goes to show, the race
is never over... ».
Bruno Peyron, by email, at 1745 GMT: « I did a talk this morning about
the dangers behind us and those that still lay ahead, including the
most hazardous, the most unpredictable, a collision with a floating
object or a whale...And there you go! We’ve done it...to the max! We
were all in the windward cockpit and the boat was going flat out,
between 25 and 30 knots, when we felt the impact with the daggerboard
and then the rudder... Behind us was the sorry sight of the fin as it
flicked up behind the transom! No doubt about it! Initial assessment:
daggerboard, apparently intact but certainly damaged. Rudder, more
serious... considerable impact on the leading edge...leaks, rudder
stock inspections etc underway. ...".
What’s to be done?
Aboard Orange II, the debate is on as to what decisions to make and
when? Bruno Peyron: "Remove and repair the rudder? ... possible but how
will we get it back on? Finish the record attempt with a single
rudder? ... possible but at a reduced pace! It’s a shame that it’s the
port rudder which was hit as 3/4 of the round the world is on port tack
(with the starboard rudder being more important than the other)... and
the final quarter of our voyage must be raced on starboard tack, that
means with the port rudder! ... ».
Next news tomorrow morning, following the radio session with the boat,
at 0400 GMT.
Press Contact Maxi-Catamaran Orange :
Bénédicte Etienne - +33/(0)6 87 30 12 83 - benedicte.etienne@csports.fr
Jules Verne Trophy 2005
Orange II maxi-catamaran
Press release N° 33
Paris, Sunday 27th February 2005
The race up the coast of Argentina
The Orange II maxi catamaran is continuing to climb back up the South Atlantic at an average speed of 26 knots. Currently off the coast of Argentina, she is heading towards the north east, accompanied by favourable winds, which have been following her since she rounded the Horn on Friday night. On Saturday, Bruno Peyron’s crew passed the Falklands, and today (Sunday) on their 35th day at sea, are more than a week ahead of the outright round the world record.
Gusts up to 80 knots...
«As soon as we made it out of the Lemaire Straits, we headed east to leave the Falklands to port. We went by almost touching the islands, just half a mile from the tip of the island. There were gusts of 40-45 knots,» explained Bruno Peyron this lunchtime. The giant catamaran is accompanied in her climb by a low-pressure area generating fairly strong winds. It was the same low that reached The Horn a few hours after Orange II with gusts of 80 knots blowing at the tip of South America. It is taking the same route as the cat, who should be able to take advantage of it for the next few hours. «It should be sticking with us for the next two days. However, the wind will be easing off a bit. For the moment, we have 30 knots after 40 yesterday.» The low will leave the cat off Cape San Antonio in Uruguay. Orange II will then be sailing off Brazil trying to get through a ridge of high pressure with more erratic winds. That will be a good time to give the boat a good check over. Bruno Peyron was intending to carry out this inspection after rounding the Horn, but postponed it, because of the violent winds.
Returning after mid-March...
While the boat is continuing on her voyage in excellent condition, the men are starting to feel the effects of tiredness having accomplished quite an exceptional sporting achievement. The skipper, like Roger Nilson, the navigator, is not part of the watch. Both are also feeling tired after 34 days of a crazy race against the clock. «The difference when you are not part of a watch is that you don’t have any regular pattern» explained Bruno Peyron. The twelve-man crew changes every 4 hours: 4 hours on deck, 4 hours on stand-by for manoeuvres and 4 hours rest. Bruno and Roger have to adapt their schedule to life on board, which continues all the time. «It’s a bit like racing single-handed, even if when you are alone, there is a little more of a pattern. I have been helping out during all the manoeuvres on deck except for a few days. I must have participated in 95% of the manoeuvres since the start. We feel just as tired as everyone else. When you are out on deck, it requires a lot of physical effort, and for Roger and me, that’s not really our task. However, we do reindex on alert all the time.» The skipper and navigator are now concentrating on finding the best route to bring them home to Brittany sometime in the second half of March.
Log
Yves Le Blévec :
« We rounded The Horn yesterday in fairly clement conditions. The day today was characterised by a much stronger wind and an extraordinary journey alongside the Falklands. We were less than a mile from the coast on the leeward side. At one point, there were rocks just 200 metres to our right and 200 metres to our left too. All of that in a steady 40-knot wind (force 8 to 9), as we travelled along at more than 30 knots in seas that were fortunately calm, thanks to the shelter of the land. This all took place in brilliant sunshine, and we passed by between two squalls. Some extraordinary pictures have been fixed in the minds of the crew, who were out on deck. I think this leg will reindex for us one of the magic moments in our life as a sailor. This brief timeless moment has not stopped us from continuing on our way. If everything goes as planned, in two or three days time, we may be able to think of taking our first shower for more than three weeks. I think we have forgotten that it’s possible to sail without boots, oilskins and wet and smelly fleeces. The boat and crew are in fine form. We continue to head towards Ushant.
Data:
Day of the race: 34
Latitude : 46 43.56' S
Longitude : 53 46.08' W
Speed over 24 h : 23.1 knots
Distance over 24 h : 554 nm
Speed since the start: 23.9 knots
Total distance: 19479 nm
Reindexing distance: 6376.80 nm
Lead on day 34 :
- J.Verne record: +3910 nm (ahead)
– Absolute Record: +2774 nm (ahead)
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Website: 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.
Orange Race headquarters: Fédération Française 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
Press contacts for 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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