Round the world record for Orange II & Multiplast
______________________________________________________________________

Wednesday 16th March 2005 à 03h23' French time (02h23GMT), Orange II crossed the finishing line to take the round the world record under sail in 50d 16h 20' 04" at an average speed of 22,20 knots over the official course of 21600 miles, knocking more than 7 days off the time set by Cheyenne in 2004 and quite 13 days off the time set by Geronimo in the Jules Verne Trophy.
The addition of this new reference time to the list makes Orange II the fastest ocean-going multihull in the world (but not the biggest, which remains with Cheyenne).

Credit for the performance to the skipper and crew of Orange II. Thanks also to extremely reliable boat, which came up to expectations in terms of speed and handling. Half way across the South Pacific on 22nd February 2005, Bruno Peyron : "The boat is sailing extremely well, even above the speed polars recorded in summer 2004. The boat's fantastic potential does not surprise me, but I did not honestly expect to be able to exploit it quite so much and be able to push her as hard as we have been able to. Conditions are such that we can permanently use the boat at between 90 and 100% of her potential.. ".

The result of 25 years of experience

The technical performance of Orange II is there, thanks to the unique and enormous experience acquired by the Gilles Ollier Design Team and Multiplast over the past 25 years in the design and/or realisation of maxi multihulls. That was what was decided two years ago when the skipper of Orange decided for the third time to commission the architect/shipyard team. The four-strong team of naval architects - Gilles Ollier, Yann Penfornis, Franck Martin & Jack Michel – and engineer Alan Catteliot put their savoir-faire to good use and put forward prototypes which are in accordance with performance stated, validated by tests carried out by the Ecole Centrale de Nantes.
In view of the result, the construction carried out by the yard's highly skilled 50-strong team of "prototypists" can be said to be pertinent and irreproachable. They stuck to the building schedule, taking just 12 months from start to completion. Moreover, the fact that the design office and workshops are all under the same roof means that communication and reactivity were omnipresent throughout the construction.

Genesis of a reference

Orange II's design brief was rather simple, based on all the data recorded by the design office in 7 circumnavigations sailed by boats built in the Vannes yard. Gilles Ollier : "...We leant a lot from the Club Med and Orange I generations and already knew what was required to sail fast. That is what was top of the list in the design brief for the skipper of Orange I. A finer boat which would be more efficient head to wind, a less voluminous stern to be lighter aft, and a sail plan without a masthead gennaker for a sail plan which would be easier to handle. Also, this boat has greater sea clearance to avoid impact from waves on the cross beams, an important factor in reducing speed. We quickly agreed on hull forms and the sail plan distribution. Only roof design was a little slower to define. In short, the general conception behind Orange II was to build a boat capable of high average speeds, whilst remaining reliable and safe for those sailing her... ".

The fastest ocean-racing yacht in the world

An express circumnavigation. Orange II has even knocked 10 days off Cheyenne's record. This maxi catamaran has literally driven the chronometers crazy ever since she was launched. The first reference time was the 24-hour speed record which she took form another Multiplast / Gilles Ollier Design Team boat, by the name of Maiden II, none other than the ex-Club Med, winner of The Race 2001, currently leading the Oryx Quest event under the name of Doha 2006. Proof yet again , whoever the skipper, that if the boat is well sailed, she still has great potential.
Then came second world performance on the trans-Atlantic record, falling a meagre 31 minutes short of PlayStation's amazing time of 4 days and 17 hours. A new demonstration of the speed of this maxi catamaran. Confirmation followed a few weeks later with the Mediterranean record and the Jules Verne Trophy where Orange II accumulated a great number of reference times. You perhaps recall 10 days at more than 600 miles.

Evolution

When a boat covers quite so many miles in such extreme conditions and puts on that sort of performance, analysis data recorded on board enables points which can be improved to be identified. Since Orange II was launched, one of the architects of the boat, Franck Martin has always been in close contact with the Roger Nilson, the yacht's navigator, and with Eduardo Valderas from the shore-based weather cell. These exchanges have enabled the boat's performance curved to be better interpreted and to assist in routing her more efficiently with data as precise as possible. The very quality of that data makes it possible to envisage going still further. One week from the finish, Bruno Peyron : " ... now we have really got to grips with what makes her tick and are able to push her hard whilst mastering her speed. She is an incredible machine. And the boat has not yet been developed...".
An opinion shared by the Gilles Ollier Design Team and Multiplast. Just like at the launch of Club Med before the start of The Race in 2000, it was already becoming clear what might be possible beyond for Orange II. The first boat built for The Race was of a similar size to Orange II.
So, if the development of Orange II is the next natural step, her architects have already got their sights set on what lies beyond. They have been thinking about it for the past few months. Gilles Ollier : " ...when we launch a new boat we are naturally very keen to validate what we have set down on paper. In fact we are not that surprised as we base our decisions on known elements, factors we have been working with for years. But our role is to imagine the next boat which follows, whilst remaining reasonable. We are currently thinking of something bigger still. I reckon we can still gain 10% in terms of performance with the next generation...".

References / Records held by Multiplast

Nouveau record du Tour du Monde et Trophée Jules Verne

Orange II / Catamaran 37 m / Bruno Peyron / 16 mars 2005 / 50j 16h 20mn 04s

Anciens records

Record du tour du monde / Cheyenne / Catamaran 38 m / Steve Fossett / 5 avril 2004 / 58j 09h 32mn
Trophée Jules Verne/ Geronimo/ Olivier de Kersauson / 29 avril 2004 / 63j 13h 59mn

8 attempts on the round the world record

1993 / Commodore Explorer / Catamaran 85 pieds Ollier-Multiplast / 79j 06h 15' 56"
1994 / Enza New Zealand / Catamaran 89 pieds Irens–Bombardier / 74j 22h 17' 22"
1997 / Sport-Elec / Trimaran 85 pieds / Van Peteghem-Lauriot Prévost–CDK / 71j 14h 18' 08"
2002 / Orange / Catamaran 109 pieds / Gilles Ollier Design Team–Multiplast / 64j 08h 37' 24"
2003 / Geronimo / Trimaran 112 pieds / Van Peteghem-Lauriot-Prevost –Multiplast / 68j 01h 58' 02"
2004 / Geronimo / Trimaran 112 pieds / Van Peteghem-Lauriot-Prevost –Multiplast / 63j 13h 59mn
2004 / Cheyenne / Catamaran 125 pieds / Morrelli-Melvin – Cookson / 58j 09h 32mn
2005 / Orange II / Catamaran 121 pieds / Gilles Ollier Design Team–Multiplast / 50j 16h 20mn 04s

24-hour world record

Orange II / Catamaran 37 m / Gilles Ollier Design Team – Multiplast / Bruno Peyron/ août 2004 / 706,2 milles, moyenne de 29,42 nœuds
Ancien record
Maiden II / Catamaran de 33,50 m / Gilles Ollier Design Team – Multiplast / Brian Thomson & Helena Darvelid / juin 2002 / 694,78 milles, moyenne 28,95 nœuds

Des références

Premier à Passer la barre des 500 milles / Crédit Agricole / Catamaran 20,50 m / Gilles Ollier-Multiplast
Premier à passer la barre des 600 milles / Club Med / Catamaran 33,50 m / Gilles Ollier Design Team – Multiplast
Premier à passer la barre des 700 milles / Catamaran Orange II 37 m / Gilles Ollier Design Team – Multiplast

Tour du monde Orange II / Plus de 10 journées à plus de 600 milles

641 / 05-févr, 688 / 06-févr, 624 / 07-févr, 652 / 13-févr, 621 / 15-févr, 641 / 19 févr, 659 / 20-févr, 678 / 22-févr, 654 / 23-févr....

Record of Méditerranée

Orange II / Catamaran 37 m / Bruno Peyron/ septembre 2004 / 17h 56' 13'', moyenne 25,53 nœuds

Intermediate Records

Orange II
Ouessant / Bonne-Espérance / 14j 8h 19' / Février 2005
Equateur / Bonne-Espérance / 7j 5h 22' / Février 2005
Bonne Espérance / Cap Leeuwin / 7j 5 h 35' / Février 2005
Ouessant / Cap Leeuwin / 21j 13h 54' / Février 2005
Équateur / Cap Leeuwin / 14j 11h / Février 2005
Cap Leeuwin / Cap Horn / 10j 23h 35'

Indian Ocean Record

Orange II / Catamaran 37 m / Bruno Peyron / Cap des Aiguilles / Tasmanie / 9j 11h 03'

South Pacific Record

Orange II / Catamaran 37 m / Bruno Peyron / Tasmanie / Cap Horn / 8j 18h 06'