Newport , R.I. (July 3, 2006) – “I never want to go out on the water and not be prepared.” That was the resounding sentiment expressed by 25 junior sailors after completing the Storm Trysail Club's Junior Safety-at-Sea Seminar in Newport, R.I. on June 28. The one-day program's mission was to arm juniors with the skills and confidence needed for an on-the-water emergency and instill in them the importance of safety on the water. Guest speakers included Volvo Ocean Race sailors Ken Read of Ericsson Racing Team and Jerry Kirby (both Newport ) of Pirates of the Caribbean , who together shared their first-hand stories of offshore racing and safety preparation.

“Our goal was to attract a group of kids ages 13-18 with advanced racing skills to the program and then give them the safety skills needed for big boat sailing or really anytime they go out on the water,” said Latimer Spinney (Newport) of STC's Newport Station, organizer of the day's program. “We have an incredible group of experienced sailors and marine industry companies within our community. All we had to do was ask and they willingly volunteered to give back to the juniors. Ida Lewis Yacht Club hosted the event and the local U.S. Coast Guard station at Castle Hill sent a team. Ralf Steitz came up from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and enthusiastically led the kids through the whole day from onshore talks to on-the-water drills.”

Monday 3rd July 2006. - Bruno Peyron's crew covered 752 miles on their first day! No sailboat has ever been so fast until now. Having set out at 11h00'06 GMT on Sunday from New York to attempt to snatch the incredible Atlantic record from Steve Fossett (4 days, 17 hours 28 minutes and 6 seconds), Bruno Peyron's crew has already achieved something on this voyage. Orange II has just demolished their own 24-hour sailing record by covering 752 miles in one day. This is already something that will enter the history books and it may just be the start. At a mind-blowing average speed of 31.3 knots, the maxi catamaran is ahead of where PlayStation was on the charts. No sailboat has ever sailed more quickly over 24h...

Living up to her good habits, Orange II is sailing much faster than the wind. Setting out from New York, Bruno Peyron's crew have already accomplished one historic victory: at 11h 06 GMT today (Monday) the maxi catamaran setting out to conquer the Atlantic record had already clocked up a monumental distance on the log: 752 miles covered in 24 hours: a new outright speed record for a sailboat over one day. An average speed of almost 31.3 knots, obviously reaching peaks in excess of 35 knots.

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.