January 2003

On 23rd January Ellen MacArthur called the crew back to Kingfisher 2, moored in Lorient, France. The announcement had gone out that the weather was about to improve to the point where an attempt on the Jules Verne record looked possible. Ellen herself had to travel back from Hamburg where she was studying weather patterns, and the rest of the 14 crew had to travel from as far afield as Spain.

The waiting must have been frustrating, especially considering that success of the ongoing Olivier de Kersauson and Geronimo attempt, then in it's 11th day.

Once at sea, the fourteen crew will all fall into a watch system. This means each team member will be on watch, (driving the boat for 4 hours). On standby, (still working but below decks for 4 hours), or off watch where most will be asleep!

The crew members are: Guillermo Altadill, Benoit Briand, Kevin McMeal, Damian Foxall, Neal McDonald, Bruno Dubols, Anthony Merrington, Jason Carrington, Herve Jan, Ronan Le Goff, Andrew Henderson, Nigel King, Andrew Preece and of Course Ellen herself.

Disaster struck however on 28th January when Kingfisher, full crew aboard, had to abandon plans to start their own attempt and limp into Plymouth to effect repairs to the mast track. The problem itself did not stop the boat sailing, but when facing 26,000 miles of gruelling ocean the boat had to be in optimum shape.

Interestingly enough, Maiden II, Kingfishers sister ship and a potential rival, came to the rescue and donated the necessary length of track, this meant that repairs could be made in a matter of days rather than weeks as the track was custom built to a gauge only Maiden and Kingfisher use. Other small problems however meant that the crew had to meet up with the boat maintenance team off Plymouth sound for longer than expected, while that precious weather window slipped away.

The Jules Verne Record in 64 days, 8 hours, 37 minutes and twenty four seconds set last year by Bruno Peyron on Orange. Out of the I I record attempts made, only four have been successful.

February 2003

At 7am on the 6th February, Kingfisher were already 29 minutes ahead of the Orange record, but still 14 hours behind the field leader Geronimo, skippered by Olivier de Kersauson.

The last seven days had been especially tough, with freezing weather conditions and winds exceeding 57 knots, interspersed with light winds and a 28 degree water temperature, really putting both crew and vessel through it's paces.

With over 100 miles to go to the equator, Ellen and team have beaten the time set by the record holder Orange, but are still behind Geronimo, showing some text book sailing.

The gruelling South East Trade winds were yet to be faced however, and the crew were already feeling the effects of sleep deprivation. The next challenge would be negotiating the South Atlantic High Pressure system, and then on to the Southern Oceans.

On the 13th February Kingfisher is now 31 hours and 26 minutes behind the Orange record, and 77 hours and 34 minutes behind Geronimo. With 20096 nautical miles left to completion anything is still possible.

Past the equator Kingfisher has had to face a series of depressions and very little wind, and is now in the 30's of southerly latitude with it's mercurial weather changes. Geronimo has already passed the 180 degree meridian, with a lead over the Orange record of over 2 days. Spectacular stuff.