Cheyenne rounds Cape Horn at 2126 GMT Wednesday night

39 days 16 hrs 16 minutes after RTW start

Steve Fossett and team 2-1/2 days ahead of record pace - now heading into the South Atlantic for the long final push on their Round The World Sailing record bid

Steve: "We are filled with optimism that we can actually pull this off"

5 miles South of Cape Horn: A day of consistent northwesterly winds has finally powered American skipper Steve Fossett and his international crew of 12 aboard the 125' maxi-catamaran Cheyenne past Cape Horn on their Round The World Sailing record attempt. The world's largest racing catamaran crossed the longitude of the Cape Horn lighthouse (67-17W long) at 2126 GMT tonight - 39 days 16 hours and 16 minutes after their start in France on February 7th, the fastest RTW crew yet to this milestone - and 2-1/2 days ahead of the world record holder's pace.

Three days of low and adverse winds coupled with time lost Sunday and again Tuesday to repair broken mainsail mast tracks have cost Fossett's team nearly half of the 4-1/2 day lead over record pace they had managed to bank during the past 3 weeks here in the high Southern latitudes - where they registered record-breaking passage times from the Ouessant start to Cape Leeuwin (W. Australia) and across the Indian Ocean (Cape of Good Hope - Tasmania).

Cheyenne's crew have several times displayed an extraordinary capacity for effecting largescale running repairs in adverse conditions, including Sunday's mast repairs as well as averting the disaster of dismasting by repairing the detached forestay while racing towards Cape of Good Hope in the third week.

Having already sailed more than 18,000 miles, Fossett and his team now face at least 7500 further miles before they reach their official RTW starting point at the French island of Ouessant, where their target is the current world record of 64 days, 8 hours, 37 mins, 24 seconds, set by Bruno Peyron (FRA) in 2002 aboard the 110' maxicatamaran Orange I.

The coming challenges the crew face are substantial, both in maximizing speed while avoiding overstressing the powerful catamaran, and in course selection. High pressure systems coming off the Argentine coast are already forcing them to plan to speed Eastwards past the Falkland Islands before they can turn North. Another ridge of High pressure then awaits them - requiring careful route planning - and a possible trade of speed for position.

An optimistic Skipper Steve Fossett spoke briefly this evening:

"Everyone is in high spirits here. For 6 of us it is the first time around the Horn. For (Cheyenne watch captain) Jacques Vincent, it is the seventh time - which is the most ever of any racing sailor. More importantly it is a milestone in our campaign to break the RTW record. Despite an array of problems, we have reached this point faster than any other boat. We are filled with optimism that we can actually pull this off.

Now the focus shifts to our next challenge - navigating a course through the light and variable winds of the Southern Atlantic. It does not look easy"