Orange dans les alizés

Photo : JB.Epron / Orange

Orange II will thus have taken 14 days, 8h and 19 mins to go from the tip of Brittany to the southernmost tip of South Africa (new absolute record Record #sailingrecord ). She has smashed the record Record #sailingrecord held by Olivier de Kersauson (16 days 14h, 35mins - 2003) by 2 days, 06 h 16 mins.

Orange II will have taken 7 days 5h and 22mins to go from the Equator to the Cape of Good Hope (new absolute record). She has beaten the record held by Steve Fossett (9j 16h, 27mn, en 2004) by 2 days, 11 h 05 mins.

As she passed the Cape of Good Hope this evening, Orange II had a lead of more than four days over Geronimo’s time (Olivier de Kersauson) and Cheyenne’s time (Steve Fossett) set in 2004. Orange II’s two virtual opponents crossed the longitude of the Cape of Good Hope last winter after 18 days of sailing.

A LOOK BACK AT TWO WEEKS OF EXCEPTIONAL RACING

Sunday 23rd January : Orange II left Lorient Lorient L’actualité du port de Lorient et de sa région. to head for the starting line
 Bruno Peyron made his intentions clear : « Two records lie ahead. There are the two major ones, which are the Jules Verne Trophy held by Olivier de Kersauson and the absolute round the world record held by Steve Fossett. There are also all the partial records, some of which are important between the three capes and in the south. So in all we have ten goals, two of which are more important than the others. »

Monday 24 January : Start at 10 h 03’ 07’’ GMT
 Orange II crossed the starting line between the Lizard and Ushant at 10h 03 minutes 07 seconds GMT on Monday morning. The start was certified by Claude Breton of the WSSR.

Tuesday 25th January at 10H03’ GMT
 Getting off to a lightning start, Orange II covered 646 miles during her first day of racing.

Thursday 27th January : Third day of racing and only 371 miles
 A sluggish third day for Orange II and her crew, who were slowed down by having to cross through the Canary Islands. The distance clocked up fell off to 371 miles in 24 hours, nevertheless averaging more than 15 knots. It was a lot less than the 646 miles covered on the first day.

Saturday 29th January : Orange II crosses through the Cape Verde Islands after five days of racing
 After five days at sea, Orange II reached the Cape Verde Islands. Less than a year ago, on 3rd March 2004, the catamaran had to turn home at this latitude during her first attempt at the round the world record. She left the other two competitors, Cheyenne and Geronimo, finish the race without her.

Monday 31st January : The Equator in 7 days and 3 hours
 It was 13.00 GMT, when Bruno Peyron announced that the two hulls of his boat had crossed the Equator. « We crossed the Equator fifteen minutes ago. We still have very light winds and are only making very slow headway at 10-12 knots, but we checked on the satellite pictures to see that we were in the right place. »

Thursday 3rd February : Coming around in the Tropic off Capricorn
 Orange II has just finished her tenth day of sailing at the level of the Tropic of Capricorn. Off Rio de Janeiro, the maxi catamaran managed to clock up 529 miles more in her descent, bringing the total distance covered to almost 4900 miles since the start. Her average speed over 24 hours was 22 knots and more than 20 knots since the start off Ushant.

Friday 4th February : Orange II hops on to the front they had been aiming at since the start
 Orange II managed to catch the cloudy system that the team had been aiming at for more than ten days. « It is this little front that we have been aiming at since the day before the start ! We chose to set out at a time that wasn’t necessarily the best and were willing to lose ground in the North Atlantic to pick up this system in the South Atlantic. This is indeed the system we have picked up today and the window in the weather closed just after we set sail. It should take us along to the westerly flow. Afterwards, with the weather systems we’re going to pick up in the south, we could be taken along as far as the Crozet Islands ! »

Saturday 5th February : Peaks at 38 knots towards Tristan da Cunha
 Averaging 30 knots over more than 600 miles over 24 hours, Orange II accelerated away as they approached Tristan da Cunha. « This morning we reached a peak of 38 knots ! At the moment, we’re doing 32, 32.5... Sébastien Audigane is at the helm. We sailed faster during the Mediterranean Record, reaching 42.7 knots at one moment. »

Monday 7th February : the record to the Cape of Good Hope
 « The record to the Cape of Good Hope would be nice, as it’s the first leg and would be impressive. However, it’s not the most important thing, as it’s lasting the course that is vital. » Bruno Peyron reminded us. « On board, we’re the first to be surprised. We’re talking about the longitude of the Cape of Good Hope, but it should not be forgotten that we passed the latitude of Cape Town after 11 days, which is quite extraordinary too. »

Info Mer & Media