Concise

-Oryx Quest 2005 starts 5 February.
-4 Giant Multi Hulls, 3 of which have held Jules Verne trophy are entered
-1st head to head race of big cats since The Race

Specific

The Oryx Quest has had an uncomfortable run up that included controversy, legal in fighting, funding problems and more. Now that the start is approaching the prospect of the worlds fastest multi hulls again racing is putting the bad images behind.

In addition to the unique vessels, the course is unique. With the start and finish in Qatar the fleet will transit the Indian ocean from North to South and then from South to North. A typical around the world course uses the southern part of the Indian Ocean from west to east.

The only previous time the new breed of big cats raced was in The Race. This was won by Club Med which will contest this race as Qatar 2006. Cheyenne the current outright world record holder will attempt to make up for the DNF she achieved in the The Race when known as Playstation.

Geronimo the French trimaran was built after The Race. Geronimo has proven to almost always come up short when setting records. Perhaps the head to head format will finally bring ultimate success.

Qatar 2006 will be skippered by Brian Thompmson. On board will be many members of the crew that sailed Cheyenne to the outright world record. This includes Jacques Vincent on his 8th circumnavigation.

Also entered is Daedalus skippred by Tony Bullimore. This boat started as an 80 footer and is now 102 feet.

Although this type of boat doesn’t have much history the Oryx Quest will match Qatar 2006 winner of the around the world race and Cheyenne the around the world record holder making it of great interest after a slow and negative start.

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