Orange code green

Depart tonight expected

The giant catamaran, Orange II, skippered by the French yachtsman, Bruno Peyron, is due to set out tonight on an attempt to break the North Atlantic crossing record between New York (Ambrose Light) and The Lizard (the south westerly tip of England). The weather patterns are suitable for an imminent departure that Orange II's skipper thinks will take place between 0100-0600 (2300 Friday and 0400 Saturday GMT).

When he was contacted on the onboard satellite phone this afternoon, Bruno Peyron gave some details about his imminent start: "We cast off from Newport yesterday evening to come up to the official start area (Ambrose Light), which is just under half an hour or so from New York. The weather conditions here confirm the forecasts that we have been looking at for several days now.

"The weather opportunity isn't as ideal as the one Steve Fossett had, but we're here to have a go at the record and we can't hang around any longer. We should have some good conditions for the start (20-25 knots strengthening to 30-35 knots during the night) and for the first two days of the crossing. Afterwards, things aren't that clear for us, and some European weather forecasts are announcing a westerly after these two days, which wouldn't be the best angle for us and which would force us to take a longer route! Apart from that, everything is fine. The crew and the boat are both in top form. We shall be setting out feeling quite composed and with no real pressure on us, as we haven't had to hang around in New York for six months. Once the starting line has been crossed, we'll be heading towards La Baule [Peyron's home], to set foot back on dry land".

The crew of Orange II for this attempt is made up of 10 men, partly chosen from the crew that took part this winter in the attempt at the Jules Verne Trophy. The crew is as follows:

1 - Bruno Peyron, skipper
2 - Klabbe Nylof (watch leader)
3 - Halvard Mabire (watch leader)
4 - Lionel Lemonchoix
5 - Jacques Caraes
6 - Ronan Le Goff
7 - Sebastien Audigane
8 - Yves Le Blévec
9 - Ludovic Alglaor
10 - Clément Surtel

The record time for the Atlantic crossing, held since 10 October 2001 by the American Steve Fossett aboard the giant catamaran PlayStation, is 4 days, 17 hours, 28 minutes and 6 seconds, achieved at an average speed of 25.78 knots.