Sea, Sail & Surf newsJules Verne Trophy
24.69 knots average for an hour at the 1200 position report...
lundi 8 avril 2002 –
What’s so good about the figures is that they speak for themselves : 560 miles covered, 24.69 knots average at the last position report, average heading 100°. Clearly and in plain language the maxi-catamaran Orange is really hauling, nudging 30 knots in the surfs and hustled along by a steady 30 knot north-north-westerly. For the last 24 hours she has been following a SE heading (about 100°) and should continue to curve her route southwards to skirt round a low that is forming exactly over her current position, and which should drift away to the north. No question of passing over this one, so the heading is SE to continue to benefit from the NNW flow generated by another low further south... When one talks of the Southern Ocaen and its succession of low-pressure systems, this is it ! And if we look carefully at the wind charts for the days to come, what do we see ? 30, 35 knots even 40 to 45 knots of wind on the maxi-catamaran’s estimated route towards the Horn. So plenty of "air", but thank goodness, the sea should stay at about the same rhythm, that’s to say a nice westerly swell to push the boat in the right direction without causing her any stress. No need to guess what sailing conditions are like right now : "smoking" bows slicing through the icy waters of the Pacific, the waves exploding through the trampoline net flooding the cockpits and the men on watch wrapped up in their hooded dry suits with ski goggles on their noses, hanging onto the wheel and with all their senses on the alert.
The only snag to the situation is that by plunging down south, Bruno Peyron and his men will be re-crossing the Antarctic convergence zone again exposing themselves to possible drifting ice. So their eyes will be glued to the instruments indicating the sea temperature that can suddenly fall announcing ice, not forgetting the radar screen, coupled to a powerful sound alarm, scanning the horizon in the search for the slightest threatening echo...
But the Horn is now not so far ahead of their bows and if we come back to some more earthly data, we note that if the maxi-catamaran Orange reaches it before 0033 on April 18th, she will collect her third reference time, Ushant/Cape Horn. A record Record #sailingrecord held for the time being by Olivier de Kersauson in 46 days 16 hours and 57 minutes. A Cape Horn that will be playing the umpire by indicating the giant’s real lead over the actual holder of the Jules Verne Trophy. As it stands right now, Bruno and his boys must cross the imaginary line that stretches away from the foot of the Créac’h lighthouse on the island of Ushant in less than 34 days time. It’s getting clearer by the day...
Pierrick Garenne / Mer & Média / Translated by David Palmer / SeaSpeak / Orange
Map : Orange autour du monde
Dans la même rubrique
Jules Verne Trophy : Orange is once again heading back down towards the deep south
Jules Verne Trophy : Orange is slaloming between two lows
Jules Verne Trophy : Passage of the International Date Line, passage of the Pacific, passage of the front...
Jules Verne Trophy : Orange halfway round
