Transatlantic sailing record attempt poised to begin (live on the web)

July 2, 2006 Five weeks ago we ran a story on the World’s fastest sailing boat, the 36.8 metre Orange II catamaran (amazing image library here) which holds the round-the-world record (50 days, 16 hours, 20 minutes) and the world 24 hour record (706.2 miles at an average speed of 29.42 knots), indicating the boat and crew were on stand-by for an attempt on the trans-Atlantic record of four days, 17 hours, 28 minutes and six seconds. In terms of sheer speed, it is certainly the fastest sailing record in the world. To beat Steve Fossett’s time, skipper Bruno Peyron’s men will have to keep up an average speed of almost 26 knots throughout the Atlantic crossing. That means that the boat will have to be sailed continually at 30 knots to ensure this average is kept up throughout the voyage. The news is that after five weeks of waiting for the ideal conditions, Orange II is now making final preparations to leave New York today. Having a sponsor such as France Telecom enables the whole world to sail with Bruno and the boys during the four day sprint, and not only is it possible to follow the attempt live , there is a live video streaming conference planned for the mid-point of the voyage at the attempt web site. This story includes an interview with Bruno Peyron and is written on the eve of his Atlantic record attempt.

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