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Steve Fossett reports on Cheyenne's first 2 weeks on the RTW record course

- on decisions, the crew - and on the nature of the record attempt

"14 days into the record attempt we are running slightly ahead of the record pace of Bruno Peyron on Orange in 2002. We are very pleased with our position because we have recovered from our slow first 4 days.

The start decision on any record attempt is critical. I signed up my crew based on being ready for a start at 1 January. None of the weather patterns in January provided the opportunity for a fast first week. Due to prior commitments in late March, Stan Honey and Thomas Coville had to resign when we had not started by 1 February. Adrienne, and then Justin, have stepped in brilliantly, but the pressure was on to find a start as soon as possible.

I chose the start on 6 February. We successfully battled winds up to 59 knots to get to the official Start Line at Ouessant. But within a day of starting we were trapped by light winds off Portugal - which wiped out the advantage of a carefully chosen departure day. To our frustration, Olivier de Kersauson started just one and one half days after us and had a fine run before turning back due to sail problems.

Cheyenne's crew is in high spirits now. In part, they are pleased with the calibre of their mates. Every crew member is a superior performer and brings either great experience or special expertise to Cheyenne. Everyone works hard to earn the respect of their fellow crew members.

It is really about the record. My burning ambition is to break the official Round the World Sailing Record, set by Bruno Peyron on Orange in 2002. This is simply the most important record in sailing - and why Cheyenne was built. Despite all the world and race records we've set since 1993, my career in sailing would not be complete without one good attempt at this record. I am not doing it for the publicity, recognition, or any financial purpose. The only goal is the RTW Sailing Record - and our sole attention is focused on breaking it.

The problems of Geronimo and Orange II are a reminder that the hardest part of the Round the World is making it around at all. I constantly think about the risk of some sail or piece of gear breaking which would ruin our attempt. We are so vulnerable, but must have faith that our extensive preparations will pay off with a completed trip.

The competition from Olivier de Kersauson and Bruno Peyron is awesome, and three boats making attempts at the same time will be very exciting. However it is impossible for us to measure ourselves against a boat starting after us - because we cannot judge whether they will be able to reach our location. We have to sail with the sole objective of breaking the existing record of Orange from 2002. Of course it is possible that we might be successful, and then see our new record broken only weeks afterward. Such is the nature of Speed Sailing.

We have started the left turn in the South Atlantic and we eagerly await the challenges of sailing in the Southern Ocean. Cheyenne is in her best condition ever and the crew is prepared.

- STEVE"

Steve | © Claire Bailey 2004

End Day 14 - 2 Weeks at Sea

Finally turning East as Cheyenne nearly to 'Roaring Forties'

100+ nm ahead of Orange's 2002 record track

Fraser | © Nick Leggatt 2004

Brian Thompson's Saturday morning notes on Day 14:

"We have now just finished two weeks of sailing since we started at Ushant and are at 39.5S, just on the edge of the roaring 40s. We have 22 knots of wind and we're running with the big gennaker, full main and staysail. Unexpectedly good winds have slingshotted us around the South Atlantic High, and we should remain in good breeze for the following three days at least. Our position relative to Orange is fine, we are approx 116 miles ahead and look like we will gain more today. We might fall into a temporary area of high pressure that will slow us for a period but our goal is to be just ahead of Orange at the longitude of Cape Town. They have five good days after their slow day today so it will be a close run thing.

Since I last wrote the conditions have changed quite a bit from the beautiful trade winds of blue skies and sparkling blue seas to thick fog and grey seas. The tropical air being blown around the high is condensing on the cold water that we are now sailing though. Once we get colder air this fog should disappear and the radar can be turned off, but at present we can only see about 300 metres around us. However, it is unlikely that we will meet any other traffic, as this part of the world is less travelled than most. In fact, we have seen only one yacht and one ship since the Cape Verde's 8 days ago...

The sailing yesterday was quite steady, with consistent wind strength and a slow shifting of the wind direction to the north as we navigate around the high. We have been sailing downwind angles on port gybe and our course has been a steady curve towards the east.

The excitement of the day was repairing a tear in the big gennaker right in the middle of the sail, 80 feet in the air. I was walking around the foredeck, checking out the boat, and looking up, saw a foot long strip of daylight through the cuben fibre cloth. I immediately told our sail maker Whirly and he said, 'let's get this thing down!'

We could not roll it fully as we normally would because the rip would then be buried in the turns; we had to get the sleeping crew up to have the maximum number of people to wrestle the 6000sq feet, or 600 sq metres of sail to the tramp. The drop went smoothly, and we then hoisted the blast reacher as a temporary replacement. Whirly, Nick, Dave, Damian and I set to work to put Kevlar patches on the blown seam and then stitch up the edges of the patches. We found a couple of other seams that needed attention and strengthened those as well. The cuben gennakers are 4 years old and we have had problems with both of them this trip, despite their faultless history till now. Geronimo's gennakers were brand new and blew up on de Kersauson, so there must be a happy medium there somewhere. Probably like boats, cars and most things in general, they give problems when new, have a middle aged period of reliability and then start to fail.

To re-hoist the sail that was now draped over the entire forward trampoline we had to bundle up the sail with knitting wool ties every couple of metres so that it stayed in a rough roll during the hoist. We also bore right away, eased the main and strapped the solent jib on centreline to give the maximum wind shelter to the sail as it was raised.

Dawn is just now brightening the gloom around us and the repairs to the big gennaker are looking fine, but we are going to have to remain cautious with the sail to the finish. Traditionally most of the need for the big gennaker is in the trip down the Atlantic, and it is seldom used in the South. But like they always seem to say, 'it's not usually like this here', so we may need it later on too.

So far living conditions on board have been very good, food is fine, it's still dry down below and fairly dry on deck. Stress levels have been lower than normal, as we have always been close to achieving our target of staying with Orange's positions and taking the opportunities to gain when we can. We are pushing the boat to sensible levels for the conditions, and having an even pace between the watch captains of Dave, Jacques and myself - we are all on the same page, which is a great advantage as the settings from one watch continues on to the next.

It is certainly less strain being a watch captain on board Cheyenne, than having the responsibility of being skipper of Maiden II, or sailing shorthanded. My job is to drive the boat as safely and as fast as possible for 8 hours a day, to standby to help Dave's watch for another 8 hours and also to input any experience I have, to help in the overall decision making. The great thing about sailing with Steve as skipper is that he welcomes input, rationalizes the options and almost always comes up with an optimal solution in the circumstances. In this game you have always got to be looking at the big picture - is what we are doing at this moment, consistent with our goals for the entire 64 days? Steve is very good at that, you don't get to succeed, and survive, in so many adventure sports by making unbalanced decisions.

So I am off on deck for the 8 to 12 watch now and will keep you updated on our progress.

The new species spotted today is the Great Shearwater, and I'm looking forward to seeing the first albatross.

Brian"

Adrienne Cahalan writes from the nav station - a navigator looks at 40...

"Today we will reach the 40 South latitude also known as the beginning of the 'the roaring forties'. This normally creates a bit of apprehension amongst sailors not unlike approaching a 40th birthday. At 40S you expect to experience stronger winds and more sailing 'on the edge' which results in a few more sleepless nights as the boat picks up speed and starts to catch waves which can be up to 20 metres high. It also gets far too cold.

So I am going to take the example from all those 40 year old something's or just about to be 40 year old's out there (like myself) and introduce the new concept into sailing that is kicking around which says that: '40 is the new 30'. That way by considering 40S as 30S I can stay in my shorts in the nav station with the heater on for another 10 degrees without a problem. After all, its all a mind game.

Back to the real world and today was a significant turning point (psychologically and geographically) as we finished rounding the South Atlantic High and finally pointed east-south-east in the right direction for Cape Horn. We often talk about the sailor who one day will go for it and try to sail the shortest course point to point rather then the climatological route rounding the high and low pressure systems (eg head straight at the Cape of Good Hope from the Cape Verde Islands). However, the sobering thought is that thousands of people who have circumnavigated so far can't be that wrong and these ambitious plans tend to pop up after sailing a few days at 90 degrees to the mark (sailed towards South America rather than the Cape of Good Hope) as we have just done to to get around the South Atlantic High.

So as we head 120 True down into the Southern Ocean and as the wind slowly increases to 25-30 knots, we are planning a route somewhere between the latitudes of 45-55 S across the Southern Ocean depending on the sea state (which unlike monohulls is critical to a multi hull) and and taking into account the maximum wind speed where the boat is most efficient.

Adrienne"

David Scully Reports on Day 14 - and turning left

"We are in for a month of exhilarating misery..."

"We are on the approach ramp to the Roaring Forties! With bewildering speed, the weather has gone from tropical to chilly. Tonight, woolly hats and sweaters are coming out of seabags, and the brisk wind carries the smell of the cool south.

Busy day, starting with switching the clew reef lines from starboard to port. Bowman Justin did the honours, and Nic got some great photos of him dangling half way up the leach of the great sail. Then we changed out the mainsheet, replacing the worn one with one better suited to standing up to the abuse the next month will bring. Finally, a disaster was averted, or at least postponed, when Brian noticed a tiny tear high up in the big genaker. This sail has done the lion's share of the work to get us south, and we would be severely handicapped were it to burst. All hands were called to control the drop of the unfurled 6000 square feet of cloth, and Whirly got to work with the needle and thread, while we continued to sail under blast reacher. Within the hour, the big one was ready to go back up, and as I write, it is pulling us through the night at a steady 23 kts. Mileage wise, this could be the best day yet.

Within hours we will cross latitude 40, and make the big left turn on to the southern ocean highway around the bottom of the globe. Winds are increasing, and the forecast calls for some solid 35 to 40 knot winds as we duck the Cape of Good Hope, the first of the three great capes that mark the route. We are in for a month of exhilarating misery. The thrill of surfing the great swells must make up for the cloudy cold and wet. Today, we have probably said goodbye to the sun for the next month.

We are about 100 miles ahead of Orange at this point. All down the Atlantic we have only been able to match their speed. Now, in the building winds of the south, we hope to start grinding their record into history."

Friday Night on Day 14

Fossett and Cheyenne Cutting the Corner

Another 400+ nm over past 24 hrs as big cat continues SE to westerlies

"I am pleased. We are doing great getting around this High" commented Steve Fossett late Friday afternoon.

Commanders Weather Ken Campbelll added "They have sailed perfectly to get maximum speed and save miles while working their way around the High; their next goal will be to continue SE - getting far enough South to pick up the strong westerly corridor between 38 - 40 degrees S latitude generated where the Low coming down from Brazil meets the S Atlantic High. We're looking at a gradual windshift overnight, backing to the NW by Saturday morning and even more to the W by Saturday night."

Justin Slattery - just another Friday at the office
making adjustments to the mainsail | © Nick Leggatt 2004

End Day 13

Cheyenne and Fossett press still further South

Still 76 miles ahead of 2002 RTW record track of Orange

Watch Captain Brian Thompson reports from Day 13

Flirting with the High, bird-spotting - and running 1,350 sq metres of sail area downwind...

"An unexpectedly good day today (Thursday) as we notched up 454 miles by this morning and took a hundred mile lead on our 'ghost ship' Orange. It's the first lead we have had since the start and it feels good. Tomorrow Orange starts to turn SE for Cape Town and makes some miles in the right direction, whilst our routing is taking us in a more Southerly direction around the South Atlantic High. So tomorrow we will lose some miles and probably then stay level the day after. It's an incredibly close race. Only 5 hours difference in the first 13 days.

The push we had yesterday was from some 15-20 knot trade winds that came in, a little stronger than forecast. As I write this the winds are starting to fall to 10 knots, and the barometer is climbing slowly as we approach the High. We have the maximum sail up; the big gennaker, the full main and the staysail to push us downwind. That's 13,500 sq feet of sail area, approx 1350 sq metres...

Anytime you play with a high pressure you are taking a risk of it enveloping you, and stopping you dead in your tracks. It can unexpectedly change shape or move position, and is much less predictable than a low pressure system. We can expect a frustrating period ahead as we run into the light airs on the fringes of the High. Fingers crossed that the models run by the supercomputers in the US and Europe are going to accurately forecast this subtle situation..

Today we have made quite a few sail changes from blast reacher, to solent,to blast reacher to big gennaker, as well as dropping and hoisting the blast to fine tune the luff tension. Our crew work, and communication is getting much better with all these changes and they feel almost effortless now. It is still a good deal of grinding to get the sails up and down but after 30 times you get used to it. Added to each change of gennaker there are 4 furls/unfurls of the staysail and solent, so that we have the bigger headsail up for the time that the gennakers are down on the deck. Glad that we were going to the gym for the 6 weeks of standby before the start...

Justin went up to the masthead today and all seemed well up there. Meanwhile Nick is coming out as a 'twitcher', having been seen with a field guide to seabirds. We are allowed one book each and that was his choice, and it more than reinforces his position as ship's naturalist, a traditional position on round the world voyages - one taken on by Charles Darwin in his youth. Nick spotted a white chinned petrel, or Cape Hen, which nests in the nearby South Atlantic islands like Tristan de Cunha.

Otherwise we see flying fish by the dozens. They do seem better flight trained in the southern hemisphere as they avoid the kamikaze attacks we were subjected to near the Cape Verdes.

Now we are at 30S and it's still very warm, like the Caribbean. The cloudscapes are spectacular with the clear air down here. So could be a green flash tonight...

Brian"

Brian Thompson | © Nick Leggatt 2004

Watch Captain Jacques Vincent reports on Day 13 - en francais, comme toujours:

"Depuis notre depart de Plymouth au coeur d'une tempete hivernale, le decors a bien changer.

Nous naviguons dans des conditions de reve. une mer plate, une brise qui nous propulse sans effort a 20 noeud, toute voiles dehors et un ciel etoile sur 360 degres devant lequel on se pose l'eternel question sur la naissance de l'univers. Steve devore sa blibliotheque, controle le business a Chicago - et observe attentivement l'anticyclone de St Helene qui nous oblige a faire un grand detour avant de pointer nos etraves vers l'est. Il prend son quart avec Nick, Brian et Damien. Ces deux derniers se retrouveront a bord du trimaran Tachini pour la transat Quebec-St Malo en juillet. L'equipage est en pleine forme, bien nourri, bien repose et meme propre.

L'infirmiere n'est pas debordee, les coups de soleil (les anglo-saxons en rafolent) sont remplaces par un bronzage tropical, seules quelques pudiques fesses blanches sont parsemees de petits "boutons" (les miennes sont telle que ma maman les a faites le jour de ma naissance, ou presque...) Du linge seche un peu partout. Les outils circulent toujours d'une coque a l'autre mais sans stress, Justin n'a pas eu de mauvaise surprise en montant au mat pour une verification routiniere.

Les regards sont tournes vers le sud et ses quarantiemes rugissants. Les attaques terroristes des poissons volant ont cesse, comme dirait President Bush, nous naviguons dans un monde meilleur. Pour nous ce n'est qu'un repit car nous sommes deja par 32 Sud et nous continuons notre descente rapide vers les depressions "estivales" de l'hemisphere sud. Certains equipiers ont sorti leur "dry suit" pour en verifier les manchons etanches et les ajuster a leurs poignets et cou.

Cheyenne par 32 S 31 W jeudi 19 a 23h - Jac"

Day 13 Evening

Another good run South as Cheyenne chalks up 474 miles over past 24 hrs

News arrives that Orange II has returned to France

" I just talked to Steve and Adrienne - The next 36 hours will be tactically important as the High is basically coming at us. Wind speeds will come down and we'll see poor wind angles - we'll need to be smart and set up tactically for the new weather pattern - and say goodbye to tropical winds and hello to the westerlies around 38 degrees S."

Steve | © Nick Leggatt 2004

"What happened does not allow us to continue racing, and we're still close enough to home to come back quickly, have this problem fixed, and take another start. The real concern is that we were sailing in exceptional sea and wind conditions, downwind, and now we'll have to come back upwind against 35 knots of breeze".

End Day 12: Cheyenne drives ahead of RTW record track for first time

454 miles past 24 hrs

94 nm ahead of Orange's 2002 Day 12 position

"It is very encouraging to have recovered the lost time from our slow start. It shows that the record is achievable if we continue to sail well. We are now facing two or three days of challenging conditions, and might well fall back slightly over these next several days, but I am encouraged."

Brian Thompson reports on Day 12 (Wednesday 18 Feb)

"All well here, another day of trade wind sailing, but very different to yesterday. Today there has been an almost constant stream of weak squalls in comparison to the clearer skies yesterday. We have been playing these squalls, staying on the leading edge of them and using our speed to slide around their leading edges, and not falling into the light airs just underneath and behind them. It's been an interesting exercise and one that you need a fast boat for - your boat speed needs to be greater than their movement to pull it off consistently.

Up ahead we are looking at the constantly evolving forecasts for our imminent rounding of the South Atlantic High, and things are looking up. A few days ago we were forecast to park up for 2 days but now it appears that we will hold 10 knots of wind in the critical section where we are closest to the high and running downwind past the western side.

Today we passed 100 miles to the West of Isle de Trinidade, a tiny Brasilean island inhabited by their navy. As we passed by its latitude we started to see a number of terns. Our photographer and resident poet Nick Leggatt from South Africa recognized these as sooty terns, also called wide awake birds due to the squeaks they make as they follow ships at night. Added to Nick's other titles should be that of ship's naturalist...

We are enjoying the last few days of warm weather till we hit the south, water is in scarce supply as everyone takes the opportunity to wash their clothes and themselves..

- Brian"

Navigator Adrienne Cahalan surveys the RTW literary tastes of Cheyenne's crew:

"As Brian and Dave are doing the reports I have done something a little different and conducted a little survey (there are a couple of topics to do). - Weekly Crew Survey: by Ado C:

What books did you bring on the record attempt for those quiet spare moments and why?

Moose (Mike Beasley): 'The Brethren' by John Grisham and Captain Cook 'Into the Blue: Boldly going where Captain Cook has gone before' by Tony Horwitz. Why? One for fiction and one is a bit of history Moose can relate to.

Fraser Brown: Lance Armstrong 'Every Second Counts' Why? That's obvious Fraser tells me.

Jacques Vincent: 'The God of Small Things' Jacques says he is not sure who it is written by but everybody knows who, Jacques says. Why? He has been 2 years trying to read the book but he will not give up and thought he will have some time on this trip. He is currently at page 26.

Dave Scully: Jonathan Livingston Seagull. Why? Retro inspirational

Damian Foxall: No book brought due to weight constraints and everyone else will bring one anyway. (Well that's the wrong attitude we all think because what if no one bought a book?).

Mark Featherstone: No book brought either but says if he had he would have bought a book about venture capital he's reading as he is on the last chapter.

Brian Thompson: 'One Hit Wonderland' a comedy book. Why? Wants to keep it all light hearted.

Guillermo Altadill: Guillermo say he pulled some book off the shelf which is in Spanish - and about a drug deal. (G never likes to give away too much information).

Nick Leggatt: 'Seabirds: Identification and Guide' by Peter Harrison. Why? What little time he has spare he wants to spend on something educational. (!)

Steve Fossett: 'What Went Wrong, Western Impact and Middle Eastern Response' by Bernard Lewis, 'Round the World Flights' by C.V. Glines, and 'Wings of Madness: Alberto Santos Dumont and the Invention of Flight' by Paul Hoffman. No need to ask 'why' there.

Whirley (Paul Van Dyke): 'Sacred Hoops' Phil Jackson (it¹s about the Chicago Bulls, coaching and basketball).

Justin Slattery: Only joined the boat with 24 hours notice so didn't have time to get a book.

Adrienne Cahalan: 'A History of Western Philosophy' by Bertrand Russell. Why? Guaranteed never to get to the end of it and had it since 1989 so about time to try and get through it. After 11 days (actually 14 years really) I am still just into the introduction."

Adrienne | © Nick Leggatt 2004

Brian Thompson's Day 11 Description

"More beautiful sailing out here, wind is lighter than forecast, dipping below 10 knots for much of today. Seas are very flat now and between sail changes the team are catching up with their hygiene, washing themselves and their thermals from the first few days. Washing up liquid in a bucket seems the right 'setting'. Wearing the clothes to dry them out is the popular option as well.

In these conditions we are not straining any equipment although we are continuing our maintenance program. Nick went up the rig and with a new set of eyes he spotted a couple of very minor faults that need attention. Tomorrow Damian will go up and see if he can find anything the others missed - a 4 man quality control team with Justin and Dave.

Damian is up on the port topmast shroud changing the attachment for the bungee that takes up the slack in the stay when it is on the leeward side and is unloaded. These boats are flexible and added with the slight stretch in the Kevlar shrouds it allows the mast to fall to leeward so the shrouds on the downwind side flap in the breeze with up to a foot of slack. This could allow the terminals to fatigue over time so the bungee helps to keep the terminals stable. Damian is using a longer batten to spread the load from the attachment point over a longer section of the stay.

We found a slight leak in one of the rudder bearings so we are keeping an eye on this as well. Nick changed a bent bolt in the forward beam bearing, and otherwise all is good. Mark is busy running generators and water makers twice a day.

Great skyscape today, superb visibility with puffy trade wind clouds stretching into infinity in every direction. The water is a bright blue. Wildlife is sparse again - they must be keeping out of the sun like us..

Interesting to hear what Magnus Wheatley had to say in Scuttlebutt about how he is bored with Jules Verne attempts and why it would be more fun for the public for us to race around together. I cannot deny the latter, and next year he and the rest of us will have our wishes granted with the Oryx Cup. I for one am looking forward to that event. However the Round the World Record exists and is the ultimate challenge against the clock. I for one have always admired the exploits of Peyron, Blake, Knox-Johnston and de Kersauson, and it's a fascinating challenge to race those skippers and boats around the world, even in phantom form. I want to join the band that have held the record and for me the challenge has not disappeared with the repeating of it. The ocean is still the same and we have to push that bit harder every time we go around.

There will be maxi multihulls going around the world every year now. Plus fully crewed and single-handed races, the Vendee, the Volvo, 5 Oceans, Oryx Cup, Qatar Global Challenge. Personally I follow them all - even when we were at sea on The Race we were tuned in twice a day to every move in the Vendee. You either love it or you don't, and there is plenty of football to watch if it's not for you. If there was an annual global race for the maxi multihulls then that would be overkill. At present there will be pure JV attempts every other year and 2 races, one non stop, and one with stops every 4 years.

The boats leaving together on the JV may happen sometimes, as there are so few weather windows in a season, but all the boats are ready at different times, and we have different perceptions of what is and is not an acceptable departure window. It seems like Orange 2 is getting ready to depart. Fair winds and safe sailing to them. We will look forward to swapping stories about this adventure when we all return.. Brian

Day 12 Evening - Cheyenne nearly to Tropic of Capricorn

Over 400 nm progress South in past 24 hrs

Damian working on the rig | © Nick Leggatt 2004

End Day 11

336 nm logged past 24 hrs as Cheyenne picks up pace overnight

Cheyenne Day 11: Working South

Slowed progress on Tuesday as Cheyenne traverses ridge of High pressure

"They will just have to cross this ridge - there is nowhere else to go for now. We're expecting improved winds later tonight for a better run overnight, but Wednesday and Thursday will be 'tactical' - continuing to make progress South, but keeping away from the High itself."

Watch Captain David Scully reported late Monday on sailing conditions since the Equator - and the drive South ahead:

"Sail, eat, sail, sleep, sail, how can you beat it?" asks crewmember Damian Foxall. Well, it can take a little out of you, too. Since yesterday's festivities, we have been close reaching in stiffish trades. The boat is working hard, bucking like a mechanical bull as she drives through the frothy blue crests.

We are walking the fine line between making time, and pushing the boat beyond her limits. It was a beautiful night's sailing, the stillnes of the stars and the horned moon counter-pointed by the spray shattering rush of the boat's progress.

Reefing, unreefing, changing headsails, we need to get some longer daily runs in while the going is good.

At the moment we are 80 miles behind Orange's Jules Verne record. We have caught up over 500, but these last few are proving elusive. Adding to our concerns is a complicated development in the South Atlantic High, 20 degrees south of us. According to current progs we hit a wall of light air at about 30 S, right on the doorstep of the reliable 40s. Adrianne and Steve are sweating over a hot nav table to find the wormhole that will release us into the Roaring 40s. Too bouncy to write much today."

End Day 10 - Another Good Day South

472 nm - 19.7 kts past 24 hrs

Still 71 nm behind Orange 2002

Day 10 - Almost to Brazil

SE Trades continue to drive Cheyenne at 19+ kt average

"We're expecting a good breeze for the next 2 days - getting lighter midweek. The SE Trades will shift back to E, then E/NE over the next 24 hrs, as we continue to move a bit further to the West of the S. Atlantic High before the wind backs further N and the NW Wed and Thursday when we can head S again and then SW."

Brian Thompson's report on Day 9 - and the South Atlantic ahead...

"So we have entered the Southern Hemisphere, and with a spectacular ceremony of initiation for Mark. We crossed around midday and Mark was summoned from his position in the cockpit by two apparitions from below, King Neptune and his helper Badger Bag, alias Guillermo and Damian, who prodded him to the mast base with their tridents, strapped him to the netting and proceeded to persecute him most vilely. It was one of the funniest scenes you could imagine, men wrapped in toilet paper pouring slops and Tabasco over Mark's back, pushing a flying fish down his shorts and forcing him to put a squid soaked in yet more Tabasco in his mouth. I must say Mark took it very well and was a worthy initiate. We hope this has satisfied the gods and they will now grant us a safe passage.

The other event today was a sea change in fashion as most of the crew take on the moustache and goatee look sported by Guillermo. Even Adrienne joined in for a while with a black electrical tape equivalent. At the end of the trip we are planning a 'spot the Guillermo' competition.

Just before crossing over the line, we had the wind shift from the NE Trades to the SE Trades, the skies started to clear and a swell from the SE arrived. The doldrums passage was very smooth, only a couple of squalls that slowed us slightly, otherwise we kept up close to 20 knots of boat speed throughout. Last night the trade winds were up to 20 knots and shifting ahead with a lumpy seaway, so we reefed down to one reef and the staysail. As this morning has passed the wind is starting to back a little behind us and we have one reef and the solent up making good speed down the course.

We have at least 2 days good sailing ahead, perhaps 3, before we are forecast to run into the weak and expanding South Atlantic High. Between Adrienne, Steve and the shore router in the USA, Commanders Weather, we are trying to come up with an optimum route through this area. Fortunately for our record attempt Orange also had a slow run at this point so even with a mediocre run we should be able to stay up with the record pace. Currently we are 80 miles behind Orange, approx 4 hours sailing time.

Gear on deck is a mixed bag, some going for being hot in full foul weather gear, others going for the cool but wet option of shorts and t-shirts, and some with a combination of the two. Wildlife tally has been low again today, a couple of dolphins briefly visited us before the equator, and Nick spotted a bird he thought was a shearwater. As we get into colder water things should become more interesting..

Will keep you posted, Brian"

Special release from Nick Leggatt of equator crossing:

Exclusive from the International Enquirer: The attached photo is another remarkable one, never seen before. This one shows Mike battling to unhook the Equator after it became entangled on the rudder

Exclusive from News of The Around the World: As Mark crossed the Equator for the first time today he was forced to confront his personal demon, Geronimo the Giant Squid. this remarkable photo shows him grappling with the beast which he was able to force back

Mark, paying homage to Neptune and his retinue when we crossed the Equator at lunch time

And a report from Jacques Vincent - en français:

"L'equateur est dans le sillage et King neptune nous a rendu visite pour etudier le cas du novice "Mark". Le malheureux s'est aussitot retrouve attache nu dans le filet et entoure d'une bande de marins furieux et hirsutes. La listes de ses crimes n'en finissait pas et il a fait un beau coupable. Il a ete genereusement badigeone d'une potion nauseabonde, a du croquer un poisson volant loin d'etre frais mais le voila apte a entrer dans l'hemisphere sud.

En ce moment nous sommes malmenes par les alizees du SE, un ris dans la gv et la trinquette nous propulsent a 19 noeuds dans le sud sud-ouest. les grains nous font parfois partir sur une coques mais jusqu'a present ils ne sont pas mechant. Il semble que nous seront un peu ralentiau passage de l'anticyclone de St Helene. Les verifications quotidiennes du bateau portent leur fruits, un axe de charriot de latte nous a fausser compagnie et il a ete remplacer avant qu'il n'y ai des degats. Nous avons affale la gv pendant les 45 mn qu'ont dure la reparation.

Notre retard sur Orange diminue et le moral remonte. Voila c'etait un WE interessant, a bord sde Cheyenne lundi 16 a 10h par 7 S et 28 W."

Day 10 begins for Cheyenne

South, still South

76 miles behind Orange 2002 Record Track

Day 9 - Cheyenne crosses Equator just in time for Sunday lunch (11:38 GMT)

8 days 6 hours 28 minutes - Ushant to Equator

Steve Fossett recaps as Cheyenne enters Southern Hemisphere

"It will be a fair test..."

"Our first objective is now satisfied: reaching the Equator in less than 9 days (our crossing time was 1138z, so time to Equator was 8 days 6 hours 28 minutes). We experienced the frustration of a start pattern gone bad, which left us slow off Portugal and required extra miles south because we could not cut across an area of very light winds.

Now our weather fortunes have changed. We just made the easiest crossing of the Doldrums any of the crew has experienced -- good boat speed all the way. At one point our distance behind the record pace of Orange was approximately 650 miles, but now it is reduced to less than 100 miles.

Throughout Cheyenne has been sailed well and suffered no equipment problems - except the breakage of one gennaker - which was successfully repaired. The difference in results is remarkably dependent on the winds, but if we sail well the luck with winds should average out.

In the end, it will be a fair test whether we can sail around the world faster than the record held by Bruno Peyron on Orange.

- Steve"

15 Feb 1800 GMT - David 'Doc' Scully writes of shipboard dentistry, King Neptune - and the passage across the line late this morning...

Dave Scully | © Claire Bailey 2004

"Life on board continues to be both entertaining and instructive.

I was driving along yesterday. Mark was on the traveler. He is fiddling around with his fingers in his mouth, and suddenly pulls out a filling the size of a pea. "There, what shall I do about that then?" he asks me. I groaned, internally and externally. I hate dental work. As medical guy on board, I don't mind dispensing a few anti-inflamatories, bandaging a wrist, or dispensing band-aids, but this was going to be a nightmare. I do not even like having my own teeth worked on, let alone groping around in someone else's mouth with the packing and epoxy. Trouble is, no one else wants to do it either.

We maintained surprisingly good speed through the night, and I was wakened midmorning to hear that we would shortly entertain an important visitor. Sure enough, no sooner had we crossed the line, (Mike managed to clear it off the rudder), when King Neptune himself, and Badger Bag, appeared on the foredeck. Poor Mark was hustled forward, lashed to the tramp, and the litany of his sins reviewed. To the crews' shouts of condemnation, a ghastly mixture of food slops and dead flying fish was ladled over his head, while Mr. Badger lashed him with a dead fish. However horrible, the King was well pleased with his forfeit, and promised us safe passage through his kingdom. Mark also survived, so it was a good start to the day.

Now we are loping along, close reaching in the south east trades. The big genaker has been laid to rest, it's place taken by the solent. The comfort of VMG running has been superceded by the gut wrenching double bump of a catamaran bouncing over waves. Many of the crew followed Mark's example, and did a bucket bath and shave. Guillermo is the trend setter in facial hair styles, and the crew now sport his characteristic pencil thin mustache and a lip drip of growth at about chin central."

End Day 8: Nearly at Equator

Distance behind Orange 2002 on RTW track now only 3 hours

Batten car repaired Saturday

Mark Featherstone | © Stuart Radnofsky 2004

Justin Slattery | © Nick Leggatt 2004

Watch Captain Brian Thompson reports during Saturday night (Day 8) crossing the Doldrums - mostly at 20 kts...

"Here we have entered the doldrums tonight, and they have been fairly gentle so far, we have got into one small rain shower where the boat speed dropped to 7 knots briefly, but the rest of the time we have been sailing at 20 knots. Another good days run of 470 miles has seen our deficit to Orange shrink to just under 200 miles (ed. note - further reduced by Sun am, but possibly expanding later as BT describes). Adrienne expects this to expand a little tomorrow as at this point they were out of the doldrums, whilst we might be seeing showers and squalls down to 3S. After the doldrums we are looking at 3 days of good winds down the coast of South America, and then some potentially fluky winds near the south Atlantic high.

Yesterday morning in good flat water Justin went up the mast to check the gennaker halyard, change some bulbs on the masthead and do a regular rig check. We strapped him up with a head cam and DV recorder in a backpack and he got some great footage. On his way down he found that a batten car had lost its bottom pin and the receptacle for the batten was only hanging on by the top pin. This may have been broken for a while as it was on the 3rd batten and too high to see from the deck. But even so we needed to fix it right away in case the batten came adrift and started to spear into the mast.

It was at the time of a watch change so the whole crew was on deck as we furled the big gennaker, turned upwind and dropped the main fully down on to the boom, between the lazy jacks. Then we turned downwind again and sailed with just the solent for the 20 minutes it took to fix the batten car and make sure all the other cars were fine. It was a grub screw that had loosened and allowed the pin to fall out, so we added Sikaflex to the heads of the other grub screws to back up the Loctite that was already on the threads. Whirly was able to make a quick inspection of the mainsail at the same time. Then we ground the mainsail all the way up, a 15 minute operation. Hot work...

Other than that there has been a quiet move to collect noxious items for the infamous crossing of the line ceremony. Mark is the only one not to have been initiated by Neptune and his entourage, and he is well aware of the impending events, he is holding up well, but must be getting a little nervous right now. I would be too by listening to some of the stories Justin in particular is coming up with. Being flogged with dead flying fish and then having to eat it raw, is one of the memorable ones..

Wildlife tally again a little slow today, although there were 2 new entries. I saw a tropic bird in the morning, an elegant white seabird with a long single tail. Mike saw what looked like a 6ft thresher shark, passing a few metres from the boat, and darting off in alarm when it sensed the boat. Other than that a couple of storm petrels and the ubiquitous flying fish...

- Brian"