12.03.2005
Jules Verne Trophy 2005
Morning press release
Paris, Saturday 12th March 2005 – 11.00 GMT
Due North
Since Friday lunchtime, the Orange II maxi catamaran has been heading northwards averaging 20 knots.
On the western edge of the high, the southerly wind has strengthened and the maxi catamaran has been able to put on some more speed again. To achieve this, they are having to carry out a series of gybes to head due north, rounding the wind hole in the centre, as best they can, before catching the low-pressure system that will take them back to France. Bruno Peyron and his navigator Roger Nilson now have a clear picture in their mind of what is likely to happen between now and Tuesday 15th March, which looks increasingly likely to be the date, when they cross the finishing line off Ushant. If they finish before 11.00 GMT on the 15th March their time will be 49 days and XX hours. Any later and they will be into their fiftieth day. A fabulous performance. That is why Bruno Peyron and his dream team don’t want to count their chickens just yet. In high performance sports, it’s not over until the finishing line is crossed.
Bruno Peyron, this morning at 10.00 GMT:
«Since this morning, we have been using the tail end of a front to sail on the starboard tack towards home. We currently have 1240 sq.m of canvas up: index gennaker, staysail, and it’s not possible to put up any more. We’re reaching 30-31 knots in a 17-knot wind, which feels good. We’re making the most of a 60-mile wide strip, where it is overcast and raining. We can see though that the blue skies aren’t far off. Within the next 6 or 7 hours, we’ll be moving out of this narrow strip and gybing again, heading northwards. A third ridge of high pressure will be passing over during the night and tomorrow morning, so there will be another calm zone to get through. In fact, it’s the Azores high that is building again and we’re right in the middle of this zone. However, we’re where we need to be, and by tomorrow afternoon, we should be hopping on to a nice low, which will take us all the way to the finish. What’s really impressive is that the boat is in perfect nick. Apart from the damage to the rudder, there’s not the slightest hitch in the sails or problem with the fittings. The boat can set off on another voyage again, and the men too. We’re in fine fettle, not the hint of a health problem. However, that is not going to change the way we sail. It’s always near home that you have an accident, when you’re in a car. So there’s no way we’re going to drop our guard now. Now is not the time to make any mistakes… »
<> Data:
Day at sea : 48th
Date : 12/03/2005
Time (GMT) : 10h10
Latitude : 30 47.60' N
Longitude : 42 03.12' W
Instantaneous speed : 22.2 knots
Instantaneous bearing : 72
Average speed : 26.0 knots
Speed over 24h : 14.4 knots
Distance over 24h : 347 nm
Speed since the start : 22.0 knots
Total distance : 24833 nm
Reindexing distance : 1980.90 nm
Lead on day 47 :
J.Verne record: +3425 nm (ahead)
Absolute record: +2701 nm (ahead)
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
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