Orange II sets sail

Jules Verne Trophy attempt will commence tommorrow morning announces skipper Bruno Peyron

Bruno Peyron and the crew of the maxi-catamaran Orange II set off this afternoon at 15:bound for Ushant and the Jules Verne Trophy start line where they hope to arrive early tomorrow morning.

Prior to leaving two crew changes were announced. Watch leader Hervé Jan is standing down for family reasons. He will be replaced by Frenchman Nicolas Pichelin, former crewmember aboard Grant Dalton's Club Med during The Race. In addition Swede Eduardo Valteras will become the 15th crewman, in charge of onboard computing systems.

Bruno Peyron indicated that the weather forecasts had been confirmed and that he expected Orange II to cross line tomorrow between 06:00 and 10:00 GMT. "We will take advantage of 20 knot easterly winds for the start. The weather conditions are good, and the wind is expected to increase during the second day. We will then aim for a low pressure cell positioned south of Portugal, which we should tackle in the right direction. The boat is 100% ready and the crew is very concentrated. I hope we'll do a good job".

To read more about Orange II see part one and part two of our review of her.