Sunday, July 2, 2006 - Bruno Peyron announced this morning that he would be crossing the starting line at around 11h GMT, and it was at 11h 00 mins and 06 secs precisely that the Orange II maxi-catamaran set sail off New York on her latest attempt at the crewed Atlantic record. 12 men on board to tackle this legendary record, which has been held since October 2001 by the American skipper Steve Fossett on board his maxi-catamaran PlayStation. Bruno and his men got off to a fine start as after hardly an hour after crossing the starting line the machine was already advancing at more than 30 knots. Fair wind to them.

Already racing full speed ahead - Bruno announced before the start that there would be no hesitation in pushing his machine to her limits. The tone was set in the first few minutes of racing, as the giant, which is almost 38 metres long was already sailing to the south of Long Island with an average speed of 32 knots being clocked up. The weather conditions are what they were expecting with a 25 to 28 knot north westerly, and Orange II set sail under the mainsail with one reef, the medium gennaker and the staysail.

Finishing before Friday at 4h30 GMT... To smash the Atlantic record, Peyron and his men will have to finish within 4 days, 17 hours, 28 minutes and 06 seconds. They will therefore have to cross the finishing line off The Lizard at the southwestern tip of England before Friday 7th July at 04h, 28mins and 12 secs GMT.

July 1, 2006 - Ventura Sailing Club - First and foremost, we want to thank every for participating in this years event. Unfortunately, this year's Rum Run didn't make it to Anacapa Island. Although a mark was successfully set in Frenchy's Cove for the race, the Race Committee decided to abandon the scheduled course to the island due to a small-craft advisory on the inner waters and a reported 25-35 knots of wind on the outer waters of the Santa Barbara Channel. Not wanting to push the limits of safety for the fleet, we decided stay closer to shore and in more friendly conditions with this alternate racecourse:

• Start at Mandalay Buoy
• Gina to starboard
• "A" mark (Fishsticks) to starboard
• VH Whistle Buoy to port
• "A" mark to starboard
• Finish in Ventura Harbor.
• Course length of 19.6 nm

Conditions on the course were ideal - brilliant sunshine, 2-3 foot white-capping seas, and a warm 15-18 knot breeze. The fleet of 18 racers included 6 PHRF Non-spinnaker, 4 ORCA, and 8 Beach Cat boats. The race began at 11:00.00 for the PHRF non-spinnaker, 11:05 for ORCA, and 11:10 for the Beach Cat fleets. Full Tilt, a 20 ft. Tornado catamaran skippered by Mike Dobbs, was the first boat to complete the course at 13:17.30. The last boat to finish was the SpitDog, a Del Rey 24, at 15:28.06. One PHRF Non-spinnaker boat did not start due to lack of an adequate crew, and 2 Beach Cat and 1 ORCA boat DNF'd.  This left 14 of the 17 original entries finishing the race.

Atlantic record attempt
Friday 30th June 2006
Press release N°9

This time they're off! After studying the latest weather charts during the night and talking it over once more with his weather unit, the skipper of the Orange II maxi-catamaran set off early this morning the long awaited green code alert. The start itself for Orange II on her latest attempt at the North Atlantic crewed record will take place on Sunday, in a time slot somewhere between 12h and 18h GMT. The crew is already flying and should be reaching the giant in Newport during the evening.

Everyone in the plane…en route for Newport !
It was at 8 o'clock this morning that Bruno Peyron and half of the crew of Orange II boarded a flight going from Paris to New York. Early this afternoon, the rest of the team followed suit. The aim is to get to Newport this evening in order to finish off the boat's preparation. They intend to cast off tomorrow (Saturday) afternoon to head for the starting line, which is located 150 miles north of New York, or around ten hours sailing, which explains why the pressure is on, as far as the schedule is concerned.

Statue of Liberty Marathon Sailing Race expecting record turn-out, about 100 Boats Expected to Race from the Sandy Hook Bay to New York Harbor… and back

ATLANTIC HIGHLANDS, N.J. - June 24, 2006 - For skippers and crew of catamaran sailing boats, the most exciting event of the year is approaching quickly. On July 2, the Sandy Hook Bay Catamaran Club, located in Atlantic Highlands (NJ), will be hosting its famous annual event, known among sailors as the "Statue of Liberty Marathon Sailing Race”. With just days to go till Independence Day weekend, an increasing number of teams are signing up to participate in what is probably the largest sailing event in New York harbor this summer.

“We are proud to host one of the largest annual sailing events in New York Harbor, and definitely the one with the most boats,” said Jacques Pierret, the club’s race director. “With more than 75 boats pre-registered, the race is well on its way toward a record attendance this year, and we are getting close to our goal of seeing a 100 boats that the starting line. Our race is the living proof that sailing off the New York & New Jersey coast is easily accessible and affordable to all.”

After a nail-biting final day in Rotterdam, the first Volvo Extreme 40 Grand Prix series has come to an end. Five brand-new 40-foot carbon multihulls competed worldwide on five locations during the Volvo Ocean Race 2005-06. The teams managed to convince the organization and the VO 70 sailors about the beauty and strength of the new class. The integration turned out to be an advantage for both sides and the Volvo Extreme 40 concept is to be continued. Mitch Booth, skipper of Team Holmatro and creator of the Volvo Extreme 40, talked in an interview about the first experiences and the future plans.

‘Not highly focused'
The American entry Tommy Hilfiger with Randy Smith on the helm took the overall victory, followed by the British crews Motorola-CHR and Basilica. Team Holmatro, representing the Netherlands, finished fourth. Booth: “We had some good racing and it was really close, but we were not highly focused on it.” As initiator of the VX 40 class, Mitch Booth and Herbert Dercksen also aimed at a smooth running of the events. Booth: “We changed crew members quit often for different reasons. That reflected on our results. We were not consistent enough.”