Orange II to take part in Round the Island race

Orange II beats the 24 hour record with 703 miles in a day © G. Martin-Raget / Orange

THE GIANT CAT ORANGE II OFF ONCE AGAIN TO ATTEMPT NEW RECORDS

After two months spent in dock having work done on her to improve her technical capabilities, the ORANGE II maxi-catamaran, skippered by Bruno Peyron, sets sail once again to take part in the Isle of Wight race. This sailing event in the Solent may be followed by an attempt on the Channel crossing record between Cowes and Saint-Malo. The rest of the 2004 sporting programme is currently being set up and will be presented within the next few weeks. The boat should be present at Brest 2004, before heading off towards New York to be ready to attempt the North Atlantic crossing record (New York - The Lizard), weather conditions permitting. Orange II will be back in her homeport of Marseilles in September, to continue her schedule of training and record attempts in the Mediterranean.

ORANGE AROUND THE ISLE OF WIGHT

The first meeting for the Orange team will be the traditional, popular "Isle of Wight Race", which opens the summer season in England. 1,200 boats are expected to line up at dawn on Saturday morning (26th June) for the start of this historic event, which was behind the creation of the America's Cup. This location is well known all over the world, and all the ingredients come together here to make this meeting a spectacular event. Orange II, which will be moored alongside the famous Royal Yacht Squadron, will compete for the first time in the waters of the Solent on a difficult route, where the work of the riggers and trimmers never stops.

Bruno Peyron : "Orange II was designed and built to become the fastest yacht in the world over the next five years, and it is by sailing and making progress that we will achieve our goal, which still remains for me winning back the Jules Verne Trophy. This trip around the Isle of Wight isn't really suited to our giant, but more than beating the clock, our aim is above all to sail and continue with the process of perfecting and developing the boat. That's also the reason why we may be making an attempt on the North Atlantic crossing record this summer ".

Just to remind ourselves, the record time for the Isle of Wight Race is still held by Francis Joyon from 2001 (3h,10mn,11s). The absolute record (established within the conditions for a record) belongs to the American Steve Fossett aboard PlayStation and stands at 2h, 33mn, 55s (2001).

A GIANT UNDERGOING SOME FINE-TUNING...

The couple of months the boat spent in dock this winter have allowed some of the technical points, which forced her to give up on her attempt at the Jules Verne Trophy earlier this winter, to be ironed out. The boat's propulsion systems have been changed and today give cause for complete satisfaction. The handling of the boat has also been improved thanks to some painstaking work on her appendages. Finally, the fitting of a new generation of rudders (to be delivered at the end of August) should settle the steering problems the boat has encountered.