Orange II battles Mother Nature

by OrangeII media on 10 Mar 2005 For the first time since Thursday 17th February, the average speed since the start of Orange II’s quest to wrest the around the world speed record from Steve Fossett’s Cheyenne, has dropped off to below 30 knots.

As on a motorway, any hold up can cost you dearly, but that is what sailing is all about and that is what is happening right now to Bruno Peyron and his 13-man crew.

The Orange II crew is still battling it out with a ridge of high pressure lying in their path. So this morning, they were still off the Cape Verde Islands having notched up a measly 170 miles over 24 hours instead of the 650 mile days they became used to.

This is tough on the nerves, when you are used to flying along on the ocean at more than 30 knots, but it is, after all, part of the game. The whole crew knows this sort of situation only too well.

They are therefore keeping calm about this tricky section, the slowest part in their round the world voyage.

As Bruno Peyron explained, the exit isn’t far off, even if they can’t make any forecasts yet about an exact ETA at the finish. In spite of everything, it should occur sometime between 15th and 17th March at the latest.

From Bruno Peyron this morning at 04.00 GMT, ‘we’re right in the middle of the ridge of high pressure, but on the right side of it.

‘We’re going around the high, which is sliding towards us and tomorrow evening we’ll be to its west. We should then be able to give an ETA. We still have 2,500 miles to cover, and normally that would take four days. The lads are used to this sort of situation and we all know that having the fastest boat in the world isn’t much good in these conditions.

‘Life isn’t that unpleasant. Setting the mainsail and code zero under the stars. There are worse things, especially when you know that in just a few hours, things will be looking up.

‘For the moment, we’re going to miss the low situated over the Azores, but we’re going to pick up the next one. However, it is located so far south, that according to the forecasts, we’ll be finishing sailing upwind. We’ll get by; especially when what lies ahead isn’t very certain. We have known since crossing the Equator that this stretch wasn’t going to be easy.’

DATA

Day at sea: 44th

Date: 9th March 2005

Time: 06.58

Latitude: 16 22.08’ N

Longitude: 38 10.48’ W

Instantaneous speed: 4.4 knots

Instantaneous bearing: 302

Average speed: 5.9 knots

Speed over 24 hours: 7.1 knots

Distance over 24 hours: 170 nm

Speed since the start: 22.6 knots

Total distance: 23,790 nm

Remaining distance: 2516.70 nm

Lead on day 43:

J. Verne record: +4014 nm (ahead)

Absolute record: +3475 nm (ahead)

Website: http://www.maxicatamaran-orange.com