Two worlds in one : 1300 in the sunshine at the Parisian Press HQ, 2100 in the freezing dark night for the maxi-catamaran Orange which is sailing 518 miles off the south of New Zealand. They have just left the islands of Judge and Clerk to starboard and are brushing up against 54° of latitude South a short distance away from the Antarctic convergence zone. It’s night time and the crew have just reduced the mainsail in anticipation of the gale that is bearing down on them, that’s to say 50 knots from the NW forecast for tonight. "We’re really hauling !" exclaimed Bruno Peyron during the chat session today, which only lasted a few minutes, the reception was so bad. "We have done some sprints of 36/37 knots in the surfs today and we’re expecting quite a gale tonight because we’re going to be crossing an active front. We have just taken in the third reef"" And while 40 knots are currently blowing across the little orange dot on the chart, the boys are expecting 50 in the hours to come. Just imagine the surrounding environment : water 4°C, air temperature barely any warmer, liquid roller coaster waves, fire hose permanently aimed in the face, accelerations and decelerations sending you flying down below in the hulls pushing you a bit deeper in your bunk and of course the permanent anxiety of encountering a drifting iceberg or growlers ? "Sorry, problems with communications and no time to go into detail/ We’re attacking full on right now..." : was what could be read in the e-mail sent hastily by Bruno who we can imagine bent over the chart table, headlamp on trying clumsily to type these few words..

And while the night looks like being tough, the maxi-catamaran Orange is making the most of it to get ahead, devouring around 500 miles per day at an average of more than 20 knots. At this pace the Marseilles giant which is 280 miles further south than Olivier de Kersauson’s position at the same longitude should be rounding cape Horn in 8 or 10 days time. And it will be only then that after leaving the last great cape to port will we know how much of a lead the maxi-catamaran Orange will have over the holder of the Jules Verne Trophy. The greatest ocean in the world is today ahead of the bows of the Marseilles giant : Pacific here they come !

Pierrick Garenne / Mer & Média / Translation David Palmer - SeaSpeak / Orange

Map : Orange autour du monde