Record SNSM : 1 day, 3 hours, 23 minutes and 29 seconds for Ellen MacArthur

Tuesday April 3rd : Ellen MacArthur and her 4-man crew on board the trimaran B&Q finished the Record SNSM at 18:32:16 GMT (19:32:16 BST) today (Tuesday, 3.5.05) after completing the 284 mile passage from St Nazaire to St Malo, France. They have established a new record for the Maxi class category of 1 day, 3 hours, 23 minutes and 29 seconds.

B&Q started the record yesterday off St Nazaire at 15:08:47 GMT in light conditions which increased to around 15 knots of breeze approaching Belle Ille. Then east of Belle Ille an unexpected big increase in wind and direction forced an about turn : « The wind increased to 40 knots in just 8 minutes and shifted by 60 degrees as we made a transition through a front caused by a small complicated low to the west of us. We had no choice but to go back the way we came and run with it while we reduced sail, » said Ellen.

Through the night the wind strength was inconsistent demanding between 8-9 sail changes by the crew although a good wind direction from the south-west allowed B&Q to sail a pretty direct course towards Ushant. By 0800 BST this morning, B&Q was rounding Ushant sailing deep downwind at around 14 knots before gybying to reach along the north coast of France to St Malo : « It has been a great day’s sailing today with either a full sail or 1 reef and gennaker but conditions last night weren’t ideal for record pace. It’s good to have arrived in St Malo. It’s been a great experience and well worthwhile doing to help promote the SNSM. »

The Record SNSM is a 284 miles passage, passing the coasts of Loire Atlantique in Pays de Loire then the coasts of Brittany. This course highlights the 56 SNSM stations between Saint-Nazaire and Saint-Malo. The Socient Nationale de Sauvetage en Mer (SNSM) is the equivalent of the RNLI in the UK, and just like the RNLI is funded solely by public donations.

Thomas Coville on Sodebo established a new Record SNSM for the ORMA 60 class on the 20 April in a time of 1 day, 1 hour, 37 minutes and 17 seconds at an average speed of 11.04 knots.

Ellen MacArthur prepares SNSM, Cowes-St Malo and the round the Island records

The 75-foot trimaran, B&Q, takes to the water again for her first boat test following her post-round the world refit in Lorient. At the same time, Ellen MacArthur is honored at Buckingham Palace…

DAME ELLEN MACARTHUR. Today at Buckingham Palace the Queen honored 150 recipients during the investiture ceremony including Ellen who was appointed The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire to be Dame Commander. At 28 years of age, Ellen became the youngest person to be named a Dame. « It was a very special occasion and bought back memories of receiving my MBE after the Vendée Globe in 2001 - a lot has happened since that time which has culminated in receiving this honour today. And although it was just me attending the investiture, I am definitely here on behalf of all my team who deserve to be recognised just as much as me for all their effort in achieving the new world record. » The appointment came at the finish of Ellen’s solo round the world record attempt in February when she set a new record of 71 days, 14 hours, 18 minutes and 33 seconds.

TRIMARAN B&Q BACK IN THE WATER FOR FIRST SAIL TEST. Since the 75-foot trimaran returned to Lorient in France at the begining of March, the trimaran has undergone a comprehensive seven-week check and refit. The six-man shore team headed up by Project Manager, Oli Allard, have been working flat out to get B&Q back in the water for her first boat testing period since the finish of the record attempt : « The refit has gone really well - there were not too many unwelcome surprises and the repairs and improvements have gone to plan so Ellen can go back out racing again very soon, » said Oli today.

The refit focussed on the key areas of overall boat structure, mast and rigging, sails, deck gear and electronics as well as many other miscellaneous jobs involved with any boat refit. « The overall structure of the boat was good considering she has over 48,000 miles on the clock already only 15 months on from her launch in January 2004. We have had to work on the back of the boat following the movement of the starboard cassette rudder box which we have hopefully eradicated by increasing the size of the ’shims’ [think doorstop wedges !], » said Oli. He continued : « The deck gear was as we expected after that kind of mileage and this has now all been repaired or replaced as required and all the winches serviced. But the main area of work came with the mast and, more importantly, the ball at the base of the mast and the supporting cup it sits in [the entire mast sits on this small ball approximately 80 mm in diameter, up to 60 tons of load]. We discovered a 4mm crack in the supporting cup and with the advice of our engineers at HDS have replaced the ball and cup and reinforced that area. »

The full sail inventory has undergone a refurb at North Sails in Vannes, France and Future Fibres have replaced 99% of the rigging and all the rigging pins.

« We had our first sail yesterday in around 15 knot medium conditions so pretty good for what we wanted to do. We completed the rig tuning and set up so we are happy with that. Now we are waiting for Ellen to arrive back in Lorient at the end of the week so we can complete our boat testing programme, » concluded Oli.

PROGRAMME FOR MAY & JUNE. Ellen had some well-earned down time over March returning to work in April and a whirlwind tour of Lorient, Geneva, Dublin, Cowes, Derby and London to undertake a round of boat, sponsor and media commitments. Ellen will rejoin the team in Lorient by the end of the week to complete the final boat testing programme.

A series of short ’standby’ periods have been allocated in May and June to allow Ellen and the team to complete two to three smaller record attempts subject to the weather conditions. The first will be a crewed record attempt between St Malo and St Nazaire and could happen next week in the first standby period between 1st and 10th May. The Record SNSM is a 284 miles race, passing the coasts of Loire Atlantique in Pays de Loire then the coasts of Brittany. This course highlights the 56 SNSM stations between Saint-Nazaire and Saint-Malo. The Socient Nationale de Sauvetage en Mer (SNSM) is the equivalent of the RNLI in the UK, and just like the RNLI is funded solely by public donations.

Only last week three of the ORMA multihulls skippered by Thomas Coville, Sodebo, Michel Desjoyeux, Geant and Thierry Dupré, Gitana X set out on 19th April to establish the record. Both Gitana X and Geant were forced to abandon only a few hours into the record attempt due to gear failure but Coville went on to cross the finish line off St Malo at 17h54’04« on Wednesday 20 April setting a new first record of 1 day, 1 hour, 37 minutes and 17 seconds at an average speed of 11.04 knots. »It’s not an easy record because we start and finish in very different regions - starting in south Brittany and then finishing in northern Brittany so the wind will be very different at the start and at the finish. And, of course, there is always the risk of gear failure," concluded ellen.

Also during May and June, Ellen and her team may attempt solo and crewed records such as the Cowes-St Malo and the round the Island (of Wight).

More details of Ellen’s programme for the second half of the year will be announced in the next few weeks.

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