Orange II. The Gilles Ollier Design Team and Multiplast congratulated !
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News of Orange II's technical performance has travelled the world. After 27 000 miles at sea in the incredible time of 50 days, the maxi catamaran completed her circumnavigation without having sustained any damage. Orange II's reliability and high average speed were the guiding principles throughout her design and construction and were noted by all commentators. Edited extracts...
Bruno Peyron / Skipper of Orange II
Brest, March 16, arrival harbour: "...First of all, a thought for those who were involved in the design and construction of the boat. Firstly, I'm thinking of the Multiplast yard.
They did more than 100,000 hours of work building Orange II.... After the builders, there are also the designers which are the Gilles Ollier Design Team and the gang that is here (in Brest) today. There has to be collaboration between the engineers and the pilots to get the most of any project. Together, we have managed to put together four projects since The Race and the previous Jules Verne. We can be proud of what they have achieved..."
François Goulard / French Secretary of State for Transport and the Sea
''...France, Brittany and – if you don't mind me saying so, Vannes too where Orange II was born - are all proud to have played a part in such a fine exploit, on both a human and technological level..."
Christophe Mary / Engineer at Ferrari Motor F1
''... The means made available so that Orange II could see the light of day along with the lack of foresight available which is not the case in Formula 1 car racing, are rather more akin to design briefs you tend to see in the astronautical field and rockets than in car racing. The result is all the more admirable for it. That said, whilst your ideas are progressive, they are also reasonable. A combination which is no doubt the key to your success. The standard is impressively high. I don't know if this achievement is likely to put the competition off, but one thing is sure: You have pulled off an incredible feat this time round – better than ever before...''.
Olivier de Kersauson / Skipper of Geronimo (built by Multiplast)
''... The bar of fifty days is not far off now. This shows the huge progress that our sport accomplishes each year. No other racing sport can claim to have achieved such a degree of progress, as each new generation of boat pushes back the limits still further. The Jules Verne Trophy remains the outright reference in terms of human endeavour and technological prowess...".
Gino Morrelli, Cheyenne's co-disigner (with Pete Melvin)
"...Congratulations to you and your team for Orange's recent success in destroying Cheyenne's Round the World Record! Outstanding reliability was evident... Very good Job, very difficult to better and certainly by that margin...."
Peter Harken / Harken Inc. CEO
"...A very big congratulations to the best ocean racing multihull builders in the world!!..."
Franck Cammas / Skipper of Groupama III (currently under work in Multiplast shipyard)
"...It's a great record with a large margin... It's going to be difficult to do better except in the Atlantic perhaps...''
Alain Prost / Orange II' godfather
"...I find it all really impressive. It's a fabulous record, achieved also in the preparatory stages... A few years ago, it would have been incongruous to talk about Formula Ones of the sea. But today that is no longer the case... I truly admire what has been achieved here... "
Jacques Vincent / Ex crew of Explorer, Cheyenne and currently racing aboard Doha 2006 (ex Club Med)
''...Cheyenne is clearly a boat from a different century. Our record was a miracle on a human level but also thanks to the gods (weather not being a science). Orange II's victory is a major conquest of modern times - the revenge of Goliath, the return of Caesar... Farewell to Cheyenne, who reduced the record by ten days. Well done to Orange II and her crew, who have placed the bar so high...