On this fifth day of racing, the Orange II maxi-catamaran is sailing 350 miles off Nouadhibou (Mauritania). The next waypoint marked on Roger Nilson’s navigation screen is off Santo-Antao and Sao Vicente, the two most westerly islands in the Cap Verde archipelago. After the Canaries, the next little group of islands, which were some 250 miles ahead of the maxi-catamaran early this afternoon, should be passed in the middle of the night. For the moment, it is still under full sail with the staysail and main gennaker that Orange II is cruising along, averaging 18 knots in a wind varying between 11 and 15 knots from the north / north east. After a long 600 mile starboard tack (wind coming from the right), Orange II gybed in the middle of the day, and again in mid-afternoon. The giant is having to deal with this wind, which is almost directly aft to head for this waypoint in the Cape Verde Islands.

Great satisfaction…
«In the end, we managed to thwart the traps in the high-pressure area and the passage through the Canaries » explained Bruno Peyron during today’s radio session. «It cost us a fair amount, as we were parked up for three hours after the Canaries. Since then, there hasn’t been much wind, but the boat does well in these very light winds. It’s what makes the difference from the old boat!». It should be pointed out that the average speeds achieved over the last 48 hours are quite astonishing. Managing to achieve these speeds of between 15 and 20 knots over 24 hours in winds of less than 15 knots is certainly one of the main advantages the maxi-catamaran has acquired since last year. Bruno and his men are taking advantage of the results of the months of hard work preparing for this moment!

The Equator in less than 7 days?
“As far as the Doldrums are concerned, we’re aiming at between 26 and 27° West. On the other side, there were forecasts announcing the dream scenario, but it may be a trap. We’ll see in a few days with the evolution of the weather and are remaining cautious for the moment. In theory, we have taken the right decisions, but we have to know how to adjust our plans and adapt to the situation.»

Adapting to the situation is indeed what is required at the moment. Thus, Bruno and Roger are working on what lies ahead, in other words the approach to the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone, the Equator and in the longer term the St. Helena high. «Of the various windows we were looking at between Monday and Thursday, we preferred the first one. By chance, it wasn’t that good. But in the virtual race against our friends, things are going well. If we manage to reach the Equator in less than seven days, it would be quite reasonable, as it’s not on this stretch that the result will depend.”

Bruno Peyron : «We arrived to the north of Lanzarote during the night. With the large gennaker. That wasn’t good enough. We had to gybe three or four times to get as far east of Gran Canaria as possible. We were 60 miles away, but that wasn’t enough to stop us being becalmed. Orange II is a great machine for making the wind, as it looks for air 50 metres up!»

«At the moment, it’s rather dull. It was fairly cold until last night. We’ve still got our fleeces and waterproofs on, which is astonishing at these latitudes, as we’re down level with Mauritania. That can be explained by the northerly winds caused by the anticyclone. It’s the first time I have ever seen that.»

«Orange II is a craft capable of impressive performances even on a millpond. When we say it’s a 4×4, it’s because it’s a boat that can get through all sorts of seas. We tried her out this summer. With the previous generation, the arms were lower on the water. When you’re flying along at 30 knots on the water, the sea is like concrete.»

«We follow closely all the time where the others had reached. We also have a third virtual opponent and that is Orange I. As far as the weather is concerned, it’s not as good as in 2002, as in a boat that wasn’t as fast, we were more or less in the same position. It is a little better than for our second start last year. But it’s not as good as if we had set out two days later!».

Sébastien Audigane : «We’re starting to get into the rhythm of the watches. We started to get our books out yesterday. We grant ourselves two or three minutes of reading now and then. I’m currently reading “L’Enchanteur” by Barjavel. Our first two days went well. The boat is in finer form than last year. She sailed well during the records, but this time with a load on board to go around the world, she is sailing even better.»

The data from 10 this morning GMT:
Date/start time: Monday 24th January 2005 at 10h 03 mins and 07 seconds GMT.
Position : 21° 23.76’ North / 23° 05.28 West
Current bearing: 262°
Current speed: 23.5 knots
Average speed over 24 hours: 21.1 knots

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