Sea, Sail & Surf newsNo Limit
Ellen MacArthur has bought Bruno Peyron’s Orange
Goals : Trophy Jules Verne 2002 and The Race 2004
lundi 3 juin 2002 –
Led by Ellen MacArthur, Team KINGFISHER plan to set off around the planet next winter to attempt to become the fastest sailors on earth. They will sail one of the giant 110ft (33m) ’megacats’ on the 25,000 mile course. The record of 64 days 8 hours 37 minutes and 24 seconds was set just a few weeks ago by Bruno Peyron on the same boat that MacArthur will use for her attempt.
Although official handover of the catamaran will not take place until October after the completion of the current charter to ’Orange’, Team Kingfisher members will sail onboard during the summer, enabling a good preparation and training period prior to the winter start.
The catamaran will be renamed ’KINGFISHER 2’ and will be re-branded in the colours of B&Q and CASTORAMA the key DIY brands of Kingfisher plc. [ computer generated image (Martinez/Mackay) downloadable at http://64.23.31.215/cgi-bin/ftp/download/3456low_im.jpg ].
A team of 10 international sailors, handpicked by Ellen, will set off on a date dictated by the weather patterns, but at some point between December 2002 and February 2003.
Speaking just after stepping ashore from her latest race, Ellen was excited by the news of the acquisition ; "We now have an excellent boat for our challenge on the Jules Verne record next winter. She’s come back in great shape, and I look forward to enjoying some spectacular and challenging sailing on her at the end of the year."
Questioned about the new record set by Peyron, Ellen was in confident mood - "There is no doubt Bruno has set a fast record, but there will probably be 4 campaigns out there next winter all with a good chance of breaking it by as much as another 5 days. We’ll have time for some small improvements to the boat compared with the recent attempt, notably in the sail inventory, and we’re all going to be pushing that bit harder as well. That said, just to complete the Jules Verne course is in itself a big thing - history shows that less than half the attempts have even made it around the globe. It’s a tough challenge !"
When will Ellen first sail the big catamaran ? "Until November my personal focus is firmly on the monohull ’Kingfisher’ and preparations for the solo Route du Rhum race in November - that is the big one for me in 2002. We have a great team to prepare the catamaran at the same time, and as soon as I have finished the Rhum I will be flying back to join the team"
Mark Turner and Ellen MacArthur has also a strong team who have already managed every aspect of the successful Kingfisher Vendée campaign and are now looking at other areas of the sport of sailing. THE RACE 2004 will bring together all the big record breaking boats in existence for a flat-out fleet race around the planet. Whilst not part of Ellen MacArthur’s personal programme, Offshore Challenges plan to enter an international team with a global sponsor yet to be secured.
Information Offshore Challenges
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