The crew of the Orange II maxi catamaran skippered by Bruno Peyron has every right to be beaming as they approach the Horn. Having set out from Ushant on 23rd January to attempt to smash the absolute crewed round the world sailing record, the 37-metre giant will be rounding the mythical Cape Horn tonight at around 22.00 GMT, after only 32 days at sea. This is an astounding feat, when you know that they will be entering the Southern Atlantic Ocean 7 days ahead of the amazing record set last winter by the American Steve Fossett (Cheyenne) during his victorious circumnavigation in 58 days.
As Orange II rounds the Horn, she will also be setting a new record time for the Pacific crossing between Cape Leeuwin and Cape Horn, set by Peyron’s previous boat, Orange I, in 2002.

This will be the third time that Bruno Peyron has rounded Cape Horn. Previously he passed the infamous cape on his two winning journeys for the Jules Verne Trophy, in 1993 on board Commodore Explorer and in 2002 on board Orange I.

The weather conditions forecast for tonight’s rounding of the Horn look clement with 25-knot westerly winds. However, this weekend the story is likely to be very different. On Sunday, Orange II looks like paying dearly for rounding the Horn with rough seas, strong 40-knot winds gusting to 70 knots.

Extracts from today’s radio session with Bruno Peyron:

The state of mind before the Horn: We’re just keeping focussed, as the weather is a little bit unpredictable. The wind is fairly unstable blowing between 20 and 28 knots. It’s difficult for us to find the right sail combination. We’re making between 22 and 34.5 knots. The sea is choppy. Now is not the time to do anything stupid. We’ve just seen a first patch of blue sky, which is really nice. We’re 230 miles from The Horn. We decided to tack a little further up, as the winds may not be so favourable closer to the Chilean coast, because of the likely effect of the coast.

Ushant - Cape Horn in 32 days: Honestly, it is a bit difficult to realise, as in general after thirty days, we would be off New Zealand. In the Whitbread, they reached the Cape of Good Hope in thirty days. I’m more surprised by the fact that we’re managing to get almost the maximum possible out of the boat. We’re pushing her all the way almost all the time, except in the periods, when we ease off, when we’re down to around 92% of her capability.

The relief of reaching the Horn: You have to be careful about this idea. In 1993, it was really a moment of relief, as on the previous day we had 85 knots of wind. You have to be cautious, because it could well be the same on the other side. However, it’s certainly a sort of symbol when you reach the other side, as it means you have left behind the hostile environment… even if it could be like that on the other side. This will be the third time I have rounded the Horn after the previous two Jules Verne Trophy races. I hope to be as successful as on the previous two occasions. It’s a place that is really magical. It can be violent or very beautiful and peaceful. Between the storms, there are calm zones. The islands around the Horn and the Patagonian channels are fabulous places. On board we have a lot of experience. Together we have more than thirty round the world trips under our belts, so I don’t need to point out the symbolic value of this exceptional spot. We’re already looking ahead to the North Atlantic. We can see 5-6 days ahead.

Crossing the road: In 1993, we did the Jules Verne Trophy in a dragster, which was low in the water. We therefore established some safety rules, such as asking the helmsman, whether we could “cross the road” (to go from one hull to the other). This morning it was manageable, with smallish waves. Ludo wanted to go to the Right Bank to have a coffee without putting on his oilskin. When he returned, he asked the helmsman for permission. Bernard Stamm reasonably let him go across, and then the next thing was Ludo stuck in the middle of the net, soaked to the skin, so everyone burst out laughing!

Physical well-being: From time to time, there’s a queue to see the boat’s doctor. They go into his surgery. Roger Nilson is the doctor, and looks after the navigation and loves taking pictures too. We’re not on board a toy, so we can’t let the excitement get out of control. We’re naturally focussing on our work, and know we’re happy with each other, without having to make any comments such as telling each other that it’s going well. Let’s just hope it continues like that. But it will be down to each of us, if it does continue or not. You can’t get through a journey like this one, without pushing hard at times. When I look at the faces, I think back to 93.

Around the world in 50 days? That really annoys me. It’s like back in 93, when everyone kept saying after we rounded the Horn that we would be finishing in less than 80 days. Get it into your head that that is not the goal. The objective is to finish in less than 58 days. In 1993, during the whole climb back up, the pressure was on us… Firstly, we’ll be trying to keep things under control, as best we can, working hard to try to bring the men and the boat home in good condition.

How things have changed: What has happened in our sport over the past half century is quite impressive. Sailing is a sport that has undergone an extraordinary evolution in just a short time, rather like car racing in the early days. In 93, we thought we could sail for 11 or 12 weeks non-stop without damaging anything, but we had no idea how to get a boat ready for such conditions. We sailed very conservatively, and set ourselves a rule of always sailing below 20 knots. Since then, we have acquired experience about the strength of the materials and the boats, and we have started to design racing boats specifically for this voyage.

The traps in the Atlantic: the first trap is that of breaking something. Then, there are the traps in the weather. We know them: the St. Helena high, the trade winds, etc… Then, there are other traps: we zigzagged around whales, ice and weed in the deep south. In the Atlantic, there aren’t many difficulties like these, but as we get closer to civilisation, there are other traps with all the rubbish floating around in the water. In the North Atlantic, you can see something floating around every 300 metres! If it’s a branch, that’s one thing, but if it’s a plank, that’s quite another. If it’s a container… I can remember our first night after the start, when we received a message telling us that there was a container floating around in the Bay of Biscay…

Data :
Day at sea: 33rd
Date : 25/02/2005
Time (GMT) : 10h10
Latitude : 57 19.24′ S
Longitude : 77 10.04′ W
Instantaneous speed: 25 knots
Instantaneous bearing: 74
Average speed: 25.9 knots
Speed over 24h : 23.8 knots
Distance over 24h : 572 nm
Speed since the start: 23.8 knots
Total distance: 18289 nm
Remaining distance: 7455.80 nm
Lead on day 32:
- Jules Verne Trophy record: +3594 nm (ahead)
- absolute record: +2636 nm (ahead)

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