BBC SPORT | Other Sports | Sailing | Orange misses out on record

Maxi catamaran Orange has missed out on its bid to break the record for sailing around Great Britain and Ireland.

The giant 110-foot multi-hull, co-skippered by Frenchman Bruno Peyron and Britain's Neal McDonald, was becalmed three miles from the finish line off the Isle of Wight.

The boat eventually crossed the line at 0728 BST on Sunday, falling short, by just over one hour, of the record of five days, 21 hours, five minutes and 27 seconds.

We never took our foot off the gas, except after the Shetland Islands, where the sea was very rough

Orange co-skipper Bruno Peyron

The fastest time was set eight years ago by American adventurer Steve Fossett.

Orange, twice the size of Fossett's boat, set a new Jules Verne round-the-world record of 64 days in May and is capable of speeds of around 35 knots.

Orange breaks Jules Verne record

The boat will be handed to British yachtswoman Ellen MacArthur in October for her attempt at the Jules Verne record early in 2003.

MacArthur eyes record

Peyron told the Orange website: "What a funny experience this Round Britain and Ireland record attempt has been.

"There were just a few miles left to go this morning and we were still ahead of the record averaging a speed of just five knots.

"But we were stuck in an unforgettable dead calm and there was nothing we could do about it.

"That's the way the cookie crumbles. The clock decides and we've got no choice but to accept it. But we'll be back."

Gales

The crew, which included McDonald's wife Lisa, skipper of Volvo Ocean Race entry Amer Sports Too, set off from a line off Ventnor on the Isle of Wight at 0914 on Monday, heading in a clockwise direction around GB and Ireland.

They passed the Scilly Isles in the early hours of Tuesday morning three hours ahead of schedule but the pace slacked off on Wednesday as the winds dropped.

Neal McDonald
McDonald was sailing with wife Lisa

However, Force 8 gales hit the team late on Wednesday and into Thursday as they rounded the Shetland Isles, putting them 12-hours ahead of time.

But as the boat headed south down the North Sea, heavy seas and headwinds eroded the time cushion, which eventually ran out as they sailed into the Solent.

Peyron said: "It is an amazing and somewhat difficult course, with some tricky and highly tactical bits to it.

"We've got a great team and I don't think we made many mistakes.

"We gave it 100 % throughout, never taking our foot off the gas, except after the Shetland Islands, where the sea was very rough."

Orange beat the 71-day Jules Verne record for the 30,000-mile circumnavigation set by France's Olivier de Kersauson in 1997.

The voyage took the boat in an easterly direction around the globe, leaving the Cape of Good Hope, Cape Leeuwin and Cape Horn to the left, starting and finishing off Ushant.

Orange was formerly Innovation Explorer, sailed into second place in The Race - the brainchild of Bruno Peyron - by his brother Loick in 2001.

Club Med wins The Race


	Links to more Sailing stories