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Following the madforsailing poll on Tracy vs Ellen in the Jules Verne Trophy we have had responses from supporters in both camps. In reality it should be pointed out, there is some doubt over whether or not this match might ever take place. Tracy Edwards has yet to secure sponsorship to ensure that the Maiden II campaign continues, while Offshore Challenges have yet to secure one of the giant multihulls necessary for Ellen to make a Jules Verne attempt and, no, it is most unlikely they would join forces.

From the US, Denis Inman writes
I like the fact that Tracy has set up her boat, for the time being with a mixed crew. I think that her plan to limit her crew to only females for The Race or a Jules Verne attempt, while Ellen will be sailing with some of the top multihull distance racers in the world, is short sighted.

From Anne O'Racke
Given that Tracy has always banged on about how women, and particularly Ellen, owe her their success; if Tracey is now finding it easy to get into boardrooms, it is only because MacArthur has open the doors to all sailors. Sailing has arrived as a high profile business. Great!

Andrew Banks believes Tracy's campaign is far more advanced
I was interested to see the that the majority of madforsailing readers that have voted on the question 'Who's your money on for Jules Verne 2003' have chosen Ellen MacArthur over Tracy Edwards. I find this a bewildering choice, given that we have yet to hear from Offshore Challenges exactly which boat Ellen will be sailing next winter; more so given that prior to the launch of the Maiden II campaign most journalists seemed to think it would ex- Club-Med.

A good point. There is also the added factor that Steve Fossett and PlayStation are angling for an attempt. But knowing Mr Fossett's track record it is unlikely he would line up against anyone else. so we may yet to find out whether the nimble Ollier designs are quicker than the brutal might of PlayStation.

Ian McKay of Balham has his money on someone else entirely
Bad Question at the top of the madforsailing site because it fails to mention the most likely to get round at this stage: Olivier de Kersauson. Any betting person putting money on the Jules Verne would have to say that he is the favourite having had the boat longer, been in a position to correct faults and he has done it before. Out of the two on offer in your question heart and head point in one direction only but the question needs rewriting! Thanks. Well worth the subscription. Come on everyone cough up the fiscals!

I feel certain we could put you on commission Ian. You can never discount Monsieur de Kersauson. Geronimo (sponsored by Ernst & Young/Schneider Electric) will certainly be packing in the miles this season and one gets the impression that given the choice Olivier would be quite happy to never stop sailing his Ernst & Young/Schneider Electric sponsored trimaran. Again it will be interesting to see how Geronimo (brought to you by Ernst & Young/Schneider Electric - okay enough of this) would compare on the round the world race track compared to the cats. Most experts seem to think the tri faster in the Atlantic, the cats faster in the Southern Ocean. But we all know that at the end of the day it's all about who is luckiest/cleverest with the weather and who breaks least.

Nick Moloney's recent observations about an Ellen/Alain Gautier skippered cat hauling arse a little more than Bruno Peyron is on Orange were interesting. If your boat is well prepared and the crew well trained in sailing her then theoretically there should be less chances of breaking it? Similarly sailing slowly or quickly will make little difference to the odds of running over something in the water.

Reports on the progess of Orange sparked the questions ' What are the chances of Orange capsizing?' and 'How much will Orange break the record by ?'

This response from a reader who believes Orange is in no danger of capsizing:
60ft multis have been turned over but as far as I know no larger ones. No doubt someone will correct me! The stability of a 110ft cat is so huge that one would assume a dismasting would preceed a capsize and thus save the boat, much as happened to Royal&SunAlliance. However, racing sailors being testosterone fuelled, it's not impossible a wild surf on a 'big one' while overcanvassed, could coincide with with a ferocious gust. Helmsmen can lose control when dynamic forces multiply as in chaos theory whose best examples are found at sea! Bruno Peyron is a sensible man and I'd be extremely surprised if he let this happen.

Bruno seems to be happy to get Orange around in one piece and snipping a small piece off the record in process. While it is tempting to criticise him for this approach you cannot forget that he has more big cat miles under his belt than anyone on the planet and understands the primary difference between sailing hard in cats and monohulls - cats will let you sail them to destruction. I am certain it is possible to flip one of these boats although they do have huge buoyancy forward. The only big racing cat I can remember capsizing was Royalewhile she was being sailed singlehanded in the Route du Rhum. Tragically her skipper, Loic Caradec, was lost although it is not clear whether Caradec overboard prior to the capsize or was lost as a result of the capsize.

On the subject of the record:
At the moment Orange is only about a day and a half ahead of Sport Elec's time, so can still not be completely sure of breaking it. However we would also like to see comparisons with Club Med. I know it's not exactly the same course but it's still a good marker. Orange needs few problems during the second half of the trip to be sure of success.

We'll see if we can dig out the figures on Club Med...Watch this space

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