The world’s fastest catamaran

May 25, 2006 At 36.8 metres, Orange II is a very large catamaran, designed that way so it can track straight and true at very high speeds. Almost certainly the fastest boat on the water, in August 2004, Bruno Peyron piloted Orange II in an attempt on the crewed Transatlantic record, missing the mark by minutes but setting a new 24-hour distance record by covering 706.2 miles at an average speed of 29.42 knots. In March 2005, Peyron and a 13-man crew completely blew away the around-the-world sailing record set by adventurer Steve Fossett onboard Cheyenne – Orange II’s new mark of 50 days, 16 hours and 20 minutes eclipsed Fossett’s record by seven days. The magnificent maxi-catamaran is now at the Newport Shipyard in Rhode Island, waiting for the appropriate weather window to begin another record transatlantic attempt. Interestingly, Fossett holds the transatlantic record too – set aboard PlayStation, Fossett raised the outright Atlantic crossing record to a point where it can in some ways be compared to the 100-metre dash in athletics. In order to beat the record, Peyron will need to bring all the ingredients together for a perfect race: smooth straight lines on a direct course for home, a strong and steady wind from the right direction… and a level of human endeavour befitting the ocean: a colossal effort! When he starts his endeavour some time in the next week or two, he will have four days, 17 hours, 28 minutes and six seconds to sail across the Atlantic. The pics take a bit of relating to - check out the image library of Orange II - and when you're looking at the images, you'll suddenly realise how big it is - massive.

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