B&Q trimaran launched today in Sydney
by Team Kingfisher 8 Jan 2004 14:47 GMT
ELLEN MACARTHUR'S NEW RECORD BREAKING SOLO 75-FOOT 'B&Q' TRIMARAN LAUNCHED TODAY IN SYDNEY... "It has been a culmination of many years of dreaming and many months of hard work by an amazing team..." said MacArthur. The new trimaran has been built with one objective - to set new solo speed sailing records. "For me, racing against the clock is as rewarding as racing against others, and there is always the continuous race - the race against yourself."
LAUNCH OF TRIMARAN AT 1100GMT COINCIDES WITH OFFICIAL OPENING OF SCHRODERS LONDON BOAT SHOW... The spectacular launch of the new B&Q trimaran was beamed via satellite link into the heart of the opening day of the Schroders London Boat Show. On the same day but on the opposite side of the world to MacArthur another record was being set as the largest ocean liner, Cunard's Queen Mary 2, was launched in Southampton by HM The Queen... Two record breaking boats launched on the same day, two very different sizes but very similar speeds!
THE NEW BOAT IS PURPOSE BUILT FOR OFFSHORE SOLO SAILING...at 75 foot [22.9m] in length and 56 foot [16.2m] in width the trimaran weighs just 8.3 tonnes carrying a mast of nearly 100 feet [30.6m]. Constructed entirely out of carbon fibre, over 30,000 hours of work have gone into the build project to date.
RACING UNDER THE COLOURS OF DIY GIANT B&Q - PRINCIPLE TITLE SPONSOR to the new boat... "We've been involved in this boat from the beginning and our range of Power Tools has played such a vital role in helping to build the new B&Q trimaran," said David Roth, B&Q Marketing Director...
MACARTHUR AND CREW TO SAIL NEW TRIMARAN TO AUCKLAND FOR BOAT TESTING... In a few days time Ellen MacArthur and her shore crew will sail 'B&Q' from Sydney to Auckland, New Zealand to begin period of boat testing before MacArthur's maiden solo voyage back to Europe, provisionally scheduled for March...