Speed's The Name Of The Game

Well, the twin-hulled giant Orange II is now halfway, and still has a 4-day lead over Fossett's record. From Good Hope to Leeuwin, it only took 7 days and 5 hours - the previous reference time had been established by Bruno's Lil'Bro Loïck in 2001, during The Race. Loïck sailed Innovation Explorer at the time, a ship that became Orange I, and captured the Jules Verne Trophy in 2002. basically, most of what's happening today can be traced back to the pre-2000 era : all things considered, modern giant multihulls emerged for The Race… That's sure the case for PlayStation, the first to be launched, current holder of the RTW record (and first boat to sail around the planet in less than 60 days)

Orange II is a natural evolution based upon the experience gathered on the 3 Ollier cats (ie Club Med, Innovation and Team Adventure), which not so long ago were looked at as if they were coming out of a demented designer's mind. OK, that's exagerated, but when Club Med first set sails in Brittany (year 2000, not so far), and lifted her windward hull above sea level like a 100' Tornado, most of us thought "gotta be crazy to take this thing down to the roaring 40s". On the other end, it was a progress, cause if you look at Commodore Explorer (former Jet Services V), which took the first ever Jules Verne… Now that was crazy - ask Cam Lewis, he was on board. He'll tell you the nice story of guys who thought they were about to die, caught in 80+ knots of wind off the Falklands.

So Orange II's the heir, probably safer but also more demanding. During the Med record (last summer), the crew sustained more than 25 knots of average speed, with peaks at more than 42 knots. Helmsmen took turns, not steering more than 2 hours in a row. At speed, the beast needs an actual pilot - and maybe it's no coincidence if Alain Prost christened the machine, and is one of Bruno's friends.

But while we're talking and talking, some are wet and cold (hmm… on the other hand, they chose to be), so here's the end of the story. All this to say what, guys ? Well, don't break anything, keep your eyes on the weather charts, and come back home with a nice tropical suntan… and a major record.

A quick reminder : Orange II was the first sailing vessel to cover more than 700 miles (706.2 is the actual record) over 24 hours. Bruno Peyron was the first skipper to sail around the world in less than 80 days (that was in 1993, aboard the former Jet Services V catamaran, which held the Atlantic record for 11 years, before PlayStation smashed it in 2001).

Jocelyn Blériot - Course Au Large

2/21/05