City - State - NEW ENGLAND Country - United States
About
Newport, RI - Newport Harbor
1/320th - f/7.1 - iso100 - 150mm
Bruno Peyron and his crew aboard Orange II have smashed Steve Fossett's transatlantic record by more than nine hours, finishing the course from Ambrose Light, USA to Lizard Point, Great Britain in just 4 days, 8 hours, 23 minutes and 54 seconds.
Of all the ocean sailing records, the Atlantic crossing is one of the most famous and most sought after. In 2001, legendary American adventurer FOSSETT sailed across the Atlantic faster than anyone else on PlayStation in 4 days, 17 hours, 28 minutes and 6 seconds.
That record stood until Orange II crossed the finishing line at the Lizard, off the south western tip of Great Britain, to complete her record breaking North Atlantic crossing. Setting out from New York on Sunday, PEYRON and his maxi catamaran with eleven crewmen crossed the North Atlantic in 4 days, 8 hours, 23 minutes and 54 seconds at an average speed above 27 knots via the theoretical route. The Orange II dream team improved on the record set by FOSSETT’s PlayStation by 9 hours 4 minutes and 12 seconds, a record that had been said to be unbeatable.
One big cat...
Length of the hull: 36.8 m / 120.7 ft Beam: 18 m / 60 ft. Length of the mast: 45 m / 147 ft. Headroom: 49 m / 160 ft. Draught with keelboard down: 5.5 m Draught with keelboard raised: 2.5 m Surface area of sail close-hauled: 800 m² / 2624 ft. Surface area of sail downwind: 1100 m² / 3608 ft
Construction : Sandwich made up of a honeycomb structure/ Nomex between two layers of ready-impregnated carbon. Baking at 120° in a 50-m oven for the larger parts and a 20-m oven for the smaller ones.
Engines : Two 100 CV Volvo motors, each allowing a speed of 12 knots in a calm sea.
An extremely powerful set of sails. The overall shape of Orange II’s sails, with the given proportions, is similar to a Tornado’s (lightweight racing catamaran), which gives the utmost importance to the mainsail. For the various foresails, the configuration is also inspired by the principle used on a 60-foot Open monohull. The challenge is always the same: to dispose of a maximum thrust, while being able to adapt to the sea conditions and wind strength. Orange II, a real 4-wheel drive of the seas, possesses an extremely powerful set of sails, where the strains can be measured in tonnes. For example, the 470-m² mainsail generates at the extremity of the boom a force of 22 tonnes on the sheet. During the forthcoming Jules Verne Trophy, the mainsail will be raised for 70 days and the foresails, even if they are replaced by one another on the rigging according to the winds, are there also for the same length of time.
To manufacture Orange II’s rigging, the Incidences company’s sailmakers had to deal with these two parameters (the extreme power of the sail and the time spent on the water) without losing sight of the sea conditions, which really put quite a strain on the clews and on the cloth itself. It was decided to use Cuden Fiber technology made in the U.S. This expensive solution brings together two qualities, which are difficult to unite: the light weight and performance. High quality Spectra 2000 is made up of a webbing of filaments stuck together, which is wind and seawater resistant. The panels are then assembled. To define the ideal weight, you need to know the strains involved on the whole of the sails and take into account the delicate areas, such as the tacking points (halyard, foot, luff and reefing points), where undergo particular stresses.
The maxi-catamaran Orange II’s rigging, raised on a 45 m mast, is made up of 6 sails: The mainsail (470 m²) disposes of a bulging hang in order to increase the thrust. It is held in place by eight carbon battens and fitted with three reefs for reducing it. The boom, which has a very wide base, allows the crewmen to move around. This shape also allows it to hold the sail, when it is brought down (it is folded up), but also when the boat is sailing with reefs. This avoids fraying and the risk of damage to the Spectra. The foresails are used in various configurations according to the wind speed and point of sailing. Downwind, it is possible to use one or other of the two gennakers (the large or small one) raised freely, which include on their leading edge a kevlar cable used as a stay. Sailing close-hauled, there is the possibility of sailing with a solent jib, staysail or flying jib.
0 
