www.orange.fr
Jules Verne Trophy 2005
Press release
Sunday 6th March 2005 - 8h00
Orange II entered the North Atlantic at 05.08 GMT
- Orange II crossed the Equator (0° latitude) at 05.08 GMT this morning.
– She has set three new records, including the record for the Equator to the Equator
– At the Equator, she has a lead of 9 days 8 hours over Steve Fossett’s world record time.
Orange II and Bruno Peyron’s crew crossed the Equator for the second time on their round the world voyage on Sunday 6th March at 05.08 GMT. So they are back in the North Atlantic and about to tackle the final stretch towards Ushant. The maxi catamaran, sailing at 16 knots, as she crossed the line still has 3400 miles left to cover to complete her round the world voyage on her attempt to improve on the outright record held by Cheyenne since last year. As she crossed the Equator, she set three new intermediary records, including an official one for the journey from the Equator to the Equator.
The French catamaran, which set out on 24th January 2005, is back in the North Atlantic after 10 days, 19 hours and 5 minutes of sailing at an average speed of 22 knots. She was thus 9 days and 8 hours ahead of the record time set by the American catamaran for the journey between Ushant and the second Equator crossing.
Orange II was also faster than Cheyenne on the leg from Cape Horn to the Equator. Bruno Peyron’s crew took 8 days, 5 hours and 36 minutes between these two points, improving by 2 days and 5 hours on the time taken by the American crew last year.
Finally, there is a third record that has been set by Orange II, according to the WSSRC rules 2005-2008. After the Indian and South Pacific crossing records, the orange catamaran should be given the new reference time between the two Equators via the three capes (Good Hope, Leeuwin and the Horn). This new time, which should be validated by the WSSRC is 33 days, 16 hours and 9 minutes, or 8 days and 5 hours better than Cheyenne on the same stretch.
So it is with a lead of 9 days and 8 hours over the outright record that Orange II is tackling the final leg between the Equator and Ushant this morning. A year ago, Cheyenne covered this distance in a record time of 8 days and 6 hours in exceptional weather conditions. The Americans were able to take the direct route to reach Ushant, while Orange II, this year, looks like having to take the long way around via the north west, as a high-pressure area is blocking their path.
Equator crossing times
Ushant – 2nd Equator
Record time : Orange II (Peyron 2005) in 40 days 19 hours 05 minutes
Previous : Cheyenne (Fossett 2004) in 50 days 03 hours 02 minutes
- Cape Horn – Equator
Record time : Orange II (Peyron 2005) in 8 days 05 hours 36 minutes
Previous : Cheyenne (Fossett 2004) in 10 days 10 hours 47 minutes
- Equator – 2nd Equator (WSSRC Equator record)
Record: Orange II (Peyron 2005) in 33 days 16 hours 09 minutes
Previous : Cheyenne (Fossett 2004) in 41 days 21 hours 34 minutes
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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
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 latest records
- The world 24 h record (706.2 miles covered at an average of 29.42 knots) - August 2004.
– The Mediterranean record (17h, 56 mins and 13s, at an average of 25.53 knots) - September 2004.
- The Record between Ushant and the Cape of Good Hope (14 days, 8h and 19 mins) - February 2005.
- The Record between the Equator and the Cape of Good Hope (7days, 5h, and 22mins) - February 2005.
- The Record between the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Leeuwin (7 days, 5 hours and 35 minutes) - February 2005.
- The Record between Ushant and Cape Leeuwin (21 days 13 hours and 54 minutes) - February 2005.
- The Record between the Equator and Cape Leeuwin (14 days and 11 hours) - February 2005.
- The Record between Cape Leeuwin and Cape Horn (10 days 23 hours 35 minutes) – February 2005
- The Record between Tasmania and Cape Horn (8 days 18 hours 06 minutes) – February 2005
The Record between Cape Horn and the Equator (8 days 5 hours and 36 minutes) in March 2005
The Record Equator-Equator (33 days 16 hours and 9 minutes) – March 2005
About Orange ...
Orange, a subsidiary of France Telecom, is one of the global leaders in mobile telephony. Orange France is the leading operator in mobile telecommunications in France with a market share of 47.7% and more than 21.3 million clients on 31st December 2004.
index partners: Orange, France Telecom
Local authority partners: City of Marseilles, Marseilles Metropolitan Authority
Official supliers: TD Com, International Peinture, Henri Lloyd, UKHO, Lomac, Yamaha, Nera, Valderas Consulting, Telemar Scandinavia, Aramid Rigging, Southern Spars.
Freely available photos (for free press use) : www.maxicatamaran-orange.com (press section)
Video production for the Orange Maxi-Catamaran:
Arnaud de Belinay : +33/(0)6 84 84 14 71 - debelinay@therace.org
Official Photographer: Gilles Martin-Raget : +33/(0)6 07 55 45 85 - gmr@martin-raget.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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