Summary: Immediate repairs avert mast disaster - again

370 miles in 24 hours (15.42 kts avg)

4 day lead over Orange 2002 position (based on latitude)

The maxi-catamaran Cheyenne and her crew under skipper Steve Fossett made a further 370 miles driving N/NW up the Atlantic at an average of 15.4s kts on Monday, leaving them some 2700 nm from the official finish line at Ouessant and 4 days ahead of the 2002 position of the current Round The World Sailing record holder.

But Monday was not all clear sailing, as a partial breakage at the front beam was discovered in the afternoon and immediate repairs were required to avert another major potential ’show stopper’. Steve Fossett describes the ‘close call’:
“When some crew heard a new creaking noise from the right front corner of the boat Monday morning, Nick Leggatt and I threw on our harnesses and ran up to see the cause. The carbon and steel bushing holding the front beam to the boat had broken in the middle and worked out halfway on one side. Another two hours of this upwind sailing and it would have finished coming out, the beam separated, and the mast fallen over from lack of support. That was a close call.

We slowed and the crew went to work trying to pound it back in to place. It only went part way back in. Then the drilling and bolting was started. The whole operation was completed in four hours. This temporary fix is likely to hold until the finish, but we have to take it easy on the boat. What a shame, because we have an excellent wind pattern into the finish and we would love to pour it on. Instead we are sailing slower and conservatively.

We will be relieved on Wednesday when we are done with this pounding from sailing upwind in the Tradewinds.”

This morning’s position at end Day 52 saw Fossett and crew at 9 20′ N Latitude, 31 43′ W longitude - just over 2700 miles minimum distance to the finish and some 4 days ahead of the existing RTW record holder’s 2002 position based on latitude (In 2002, Orange I had reached 9 20′ N, 28 48′ W at the end of their Day 56).

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