DOWN TO THE WIRE FOR THE ORANGE MAXI CAT RECORD BID

It is a nail-biting time for the crew on board the maxi-catamaran Orange on their attempt to beat the Round Britain and Ireland Record. During this morning's radio chat session, Bruno Peyron indicated that they were just 200 miles from the finish but that they had once again found themselves stuck in light wind (no more than 5 knots have been forecast in the English Channel for today, Saturday).

If the maxi-cat Orange is to beat the record, she has to maintain an average speed of 10.5 knots. As things stand, no-one is able to say whether or not they can pull it off. Come what may, the epilogue of this attempt will take place tomorrow morning as the maxi-catamaran co-skippered by Bruno Peyron and Neal McDonald has to cross the finish line tomorrow morning (Sunday 18th August) before four minutes past six and forty six seconds, if they are to beat the record of 5 d 21 h 5 m and 27 s held by Steve Fossett since 1994.

On an audio call with Bruno Peyron this morning he said, "We'll be biting our nails right through to the finish. The course we have sailed has been incredible, with lots of light winds and upwind sailing right from the word go! Last night was hard as we were glued in place without the slightest puff of wind. For several hours on end, the speedo indicated 00.00 knots. Thank goodness it was a beautiful night and everyone managed to remain fairly philosophical in our search for wind. "

He continued, "We picked up a bit of wind this morning, and managed a boat speed of 17-18 knots. But the suspense will be kept going right through to the very end as the wind is supposed to drop again and we're only sailing at 14 knots now as it is. Nerve-racking stuff as the wind strength forecast in the English Channel for today is barely more than 5 knots. It's horrendous to sail so slowly on board one the fastest boat in the world, but we can't do anything about it. We have to maintain an average speed of just over 10 knots to beat the record and we've got no idea if we are going to be able to keep up the speed we need. Winds are lightening and will be changing to a head wind before veering SE to SSE. There's no point changing tack all the time, which is why we are sticking steering a course in the direction of France rather than England in anticipation of the wind shift. Right now suspense is at its height as it is impossible for anyone to say whether or not we will beat the record. "

Download high-definition copyright free images on from on board Orange on : http://ocftp.com/images/orange/

Listen to or download the day's radio chat session: http://ocftp.com/audio/orange_uk_1708a.mp3

Press Office Maxi-Catamaran Orange : Mer & Média
Bénédicte Etienne : Mob : +33/(0)6 07 08 24 57 - be.mer.media@wanadoo.fr
Copyright free Images TV:
APP / Richard Simmonds : +44 (0) 776 886 6371 - rsimmonds@appbroadcast.com
2P2L / Gérard Supau : +33/(0)6 07 42 57 92 - gsupau@wanadoo.fr