Sea, Sail & Surf newsRound The World Sailing Record
Fossett and Cheyenne Halfway Round in Under 29 Days
4+ Days and1859 mile lead on 2002 Orange RTW Record Position
dimanche 7 mars 2004 –
As they ended their 29th day at sea and passed the longitude of South West Cape, New Zealand, the 526 miles logged over the past 24 hours (their fifth consecutive 500+ mile day) leaves them 1859 nm ahead of the 2002 position of the RTW record Record #sailingrecord -holder, Bruno Peyron’s 110’ maxicat Orange - and now looking some 4500 miles distant to Cape Horn as their next waypoint.
Cheyenne’s relentless pace, especially in these high southern latitudes, has been rewarded with 2 new intermediate passage records claimed this week :
On Wednesday Fossett’s team posted a new record Record #sailingrecord time from the official RTW start at Ouessant to Cape Leeuwin, Australia (25 days 14 hrs 8 mins) and yesterday they claimed a new best ever time for the crossing of the Indian Ocean - Cape of Good Hope to South East Cape, Tasmania (9 days 20 hrs 29 mins).
To break the existing official RTW record of 64 days, 8 hours 37 mins (Ouessant - Ouessant eastbound via the 3 Capes - Good Hope, Leeuwin, Horn) they still face the ongoing challenges of sub-Antarctic weather systems, icebergs, non-stop mechanical maintenance - and always problematic Atlantic weather for a fast passage back to the North after Cape Horn.
Steve Fossett commented on the attempt so far - and the challenges ahead : "Twice early on we have had problems which could have caused us to retire. Once when the navigation instrument system shorted out, and again when the forestay disconnected. In both cases we were able to make the repairs - but I constantly fear the "pop" of something that would end our record attempt.
Since leaving the Atlantic, the wind has never run out. It was a marvellous experience to be sailing over 20 knots day-in, day-out across the Indian Ocean. Half our Indian Ocean crossing was in the Roaring 40’s and half in the Furious 50’s. We love these conditions.
Although we now enjoy a 4 day lead, we are not relaxing. Matching the record pace becomes more difficult because Orange had a truly outstanding Pacific crossing in 2002. Our full concentration is now directed to maintaining our speed - while not causing stress to boat. We think of all the equipment problems we had in the first half, and know that we have many more problems to solve in order to get to the finish line."
Voir en ligne : Information / www.fossettchallenge.com
• The crew
Steve Fossett (skipper) USA
Adrienne Cahalan (navigator) AUS
David Scully (watch captain) USA
Brian Thompson (watch captain) GB
Jacques Vincent (watch captain) FRA
Guillermo Altadill ESP
Mike Beasley NZL
Fraser Brown NZL
Mark Featherstone GB
Damian Foxall IRE
Nick Leggatt ZA
Justin Slattery IRE
Paul Van Dyke USA
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