While on their quest for the Jules Verne trophy, the crew of Orange has broken the Ushant to Cape of Good Hope record. Their time of 18d 18h 40m breaks the previous time, 19d 17h 53m, set by the late Peter Blake on Enza in 1994.
Orange is well on pace for the Jules Verne so far, running ahead of the distance sailed by Sport Elec in 1997 by over 2,000 miles. Look for some more record setting as Orange tries to get a velocity push from a developing storm. “It appears that the low that has been hunting us has slowed a little as we should have already seen its fury. We have not escaped and should be sailing in 40 kts tonight,” says Nick Moloney, a member of Ellen MacArthurs Offshore Challenges team and the only non-Frenchman aboard Orange. We are awaiting the wind to shift left a little more then we will gybe onto a course that will place us deeper South. Theres a fine line….The closer you skirt Antarctica the shorter the distance to Cape Horn. But there is alot of Ice about and we hope to minimise the risk of a possible collision for as long as possible.
Looks like we will hang onto some nice strong winds after this storm passes in the next 24 hours. May even hang for long enough to ‘sling shot’ us half the way to Australia which is now about 4000 miles away.”
http://www.nickmoloney.com
http://www.orange.fr
In her new role with the K-Yachting International Challenge group, Dawn Riley, along with Thierry Peponnet, and Alain Fedensieu won the Cassis Cup 2002, sailing K-Yachting’s Corel 45. In second place was David McLean’s Babbalaas. 8 races were held off Cassis, a town just southeast of Marseilles on the Gulf de Lion and conditions the first two days of the event were challenging, with 20-plus knots of breeze.
http://www.k-yachting.com
In order to qualify for transoceanic races, racers need to complete Safety at Sea Seminars. Gateway to Hawaii, Inc. is working with Pacific Cup to promote their Safety at Sea Seminar which qualifies the participant for either the Gateway to Hawaii Race (which leaves from San Diego) or the Pacific Cup Yacht Club Race (which leaves from San Francisco). Both races finish in the Hawaiian islands.
The Safety at Sea Seminar on March 30, 2002 at Fort Mason in San Francisco, will cover all aspects of getting the most out of your “human capital (or assets).” Included will be crew overboard/recovery, life raft inflation, provisioning, driving at night, tactics, weather, watch schedules, emergency navigation, staying healthy/getting help, and communications.
For further information, contact Charles L. Cunningham, Director/Seminars, 59 Washington St. #129, Santa Clara CA 95050, Fax: 831-423-5098, Email: charles@clcunningham.net
Gateway to Hawaii is also providing a weather seminar that is geared towards racers. Weatherguy.coms President and Meterologist, Rick Shema will be discussing weather patterns and tactics on April 13th at Silver Gate Yacht Club at 2091 Shelter Island Drive from 1-3pm. The cost of the seminar is $10.00 per person.
