On track for 60 days

More optimistic feeling on Steve Fossett's Cheyenne

Day 53
Position at 0510GMT: 16deg 07.362N 34deg 06.719W
Course/speed: 001deg/20.5 knots
TWS/TWA: 16.0 knots/071deg

For skipper Steve Fossett and the crew of the maxi catamaran Cheyenne they now have 2,390 miles to sail as the crow flies before they reach the Ushant finish line.

Thus if they average 350 miles per day VMG to the line they will arrive next Wednesday morning (7 April), 400 miles per day Tuesday morning, 450 miles per day Monday afternoon, 500 miles per day Sunday night. Making predictions such as this is begging for trouble, so we won't dwell on it. However to break Orange's round the world record they need to finish on Sunday week (11 April) at 13:46:59. This equates to roughly 11 days 8 hours 34 miles to cover 2,390 miles or an average of 210.5 miles per day or 8.77 knots - in short, highly achievable in a 125ft maxi-catamaran.

This of course assumes that the boat holds together. Having a broken pin attaching the forward beam (and anchor for the forestay) to the hull, despite a repair means that the crew should be driving the boat reasonably gently - yet yesterday they will averaged 430 miles.

Despite a large area of high pressure barring their way north at present, the forecast over the next few days is lining up to be peachy. A depression is forming at 31degN 40degW to the west of them and this will cause the wind to veer round to the south from tomorrow night. The depression will also have the effect of pushing the area of high pressure out to the east providing a fantastic lane of favourable winds allowing Cheyenne to head to the east of the Azores. This is still way off the great circle back to Ushant, but a considerably shorter route than say Orange sailed in 2002.