Two known french sailors are going to try for the atlantic crossing record for beachcats again. Talk about sailing in comfort and style <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Ref: http://www.ocean-express.org/

Seriously, the boat looks like a nice design for their trip over the pond.

Well, as much fun as it sounds like that would be a horrible trip. And when you got there you would be miserable.

I think the first ones barely survived, at least they went straight from the boat to the hospital. Some people want to test their limits, and we all have different limits.. It is too long for me as well, by far.

But look at that boat! It looks much more suitable than a TheMightyHobie18, which I think was the boat first used. Just look at the volume in those hulls and how it is set up. Great boat.

At this angle I can't see the mini-fridge or the TV. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

On an expedition like that, you can probably choose between a mini-fridge and TV, or food <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

True.
But if you were to stay local,

you could have both, and a projector TV picking up satellite and viewed on the mainsail.

I bet you fit a keg in the hulls too!

sleep on the wing strapped in or something?

I believe the previous boat used for the record had a small pup tent at the mast base. There is one video on their website that shows a portion of it. It is blue and on the starboard side of the tramp. It looked only large enough to either have only your upper half of your body into it, or possibly be able to curl up into a ball inside of it.
Ocean Cat website

Here's the video on the present boat's website that shows a cover over one of the bench seats.

Video
Click the play arrow and give the guy a minute to dig the fiberglass out of his eyeball socket. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

GARY

Ok, these guys aren't sailing, but they are crossing the open ocean in a very small boat - a kayak to be preicise. They are crossing "The Ditch" from Australia to New Zealand as we write, and giving live updates and reports. Some of the technology may be useful for a cat in open water. Anyway, thought you might find it interesting.

http://www.crossingtheditch.com.au/index.html

Good luck to them. The last person who tried this sadly perished within sight of the NZ coast.

http://www.andrewmcauley.com/

The team is still on track to break the record, hope they'll succeed. www.ocean-express.org

I think this is one of the things that is wrong with us catsailors. Two guys are on the way to setting a new trans-atlantic record on a beachcat, and we can't seem to be bothered to get excited. Instead of whining about how much easier is is to start skateboarding and BMX, celebrate achievements and build heroes. For god's sake, Pierre-Yves Moreau and Benoit Lequin have spent a year and a half building their own boat in their free evenings and now are out on the Atlantic. What do they have to do to get our attention?

My problem is the language. I dont understand french and the english version of their website is not very good.

They buildt the boat themself? Whow! If they had a good english version of the site I think interest would be very high.
They did get some coverage in norwegian sailing media, if that is any comfort.

http://www.trackwave.fr/ocean-express/ was cool.

I think the project is extremely interesting, and them building their own boat adds an extra dimension, but when you dont understand much of their media channel, it is hard to follow and get excited.

on their video

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3n2gn_archi-factory-octo-finances-le-reco_extreme

i like their sprung loaded daggers, 1'25", and their flashing sail battens for night navigation, 4'10"

Bonne nuit de navigation à bord du cata skippé par Benoit et Pierre-Yves… Les deux hommes sont désormais à 794,4 milles de l’arrivée et sont attendus dans environ 3 jours en Guadeloupe. Les Alizés du Nord-Est sont à nouveau bien installés et le voilier spécialement construit par les Lorientais peut s’en donner à cœur joie dans les vagues Atlantique. Pym et Ben sont dans les temps du record ! Il faudra tout de même rester très vigilant ces derniers jours notamment dans l’approche souvent capricieuse de la Guadeloupe.

Zoom : comment font les deux marins pour voir leurs voiles la nuit ?

« Nous avons rencontré un cargo la nuit dernière » relatait Benoit à la dernière vacation « Notre système d’illumination des voiles « Sail Light » nous a permis d’être repéré ! » Plébiscité par de nombreux coureurs, ce système permet de visualiser le profil de voiles de nuit et optimiser ainsi les performances du bateau. Il contribue également à renforcer la sécurité de la navigation de nuit dans la mesure où le bateau est mieux vu par les autres navires. Enfin, cette technologie peut être utilisée pour éclairer un logo ou une marque sur une voile ou un lazy bag. Rappelons que 50% des arrivées de courses océaniques ont lieu la nuit ! Les chiffres du jour :

date depart=Wednesday 28th of November 2007 10:50:00 AM date inst=Thursday 06th of December 2007 08:00:00 AM info inst=200712060800 ;16 32.96 N ;47 38.98 W ;9.00 ;292;2537.4 ;794.4 ; distance totale=2537.4 milles distance restante=794.4 milles

calculs

distance parcourue=1743 milles vitesse moyenne=9.2140969162996 milles/heure date total=Sunday 09th of December 2007 10:12:56 PM duree totale=991376.59208262 secondes duree totale=11j 11h 22’ 56’’ duree restante=310376.59208262 secondes duree restante=3j 14h 12’ 56’’


Ok here's my stab at translating the last update, please bear in mind that neither English nor French is my native language:

A good night of sailing on board of the cat skippered by Benoit and Pierre-Yves the two men are now at 794.4 miles from the finish and teir ETA is about three days from now. The NorthEast tradewinds have established themselves again nicely, and the catamaran that was custom-built by the two men from Lorient can zoom along happily in the Atlantic waves.Pym and Ben are within the timeframe for the record! Nevertheless they have to stay vigilant for the last days, especially during the often tricky approach of Guadeloupe.

Zoom: How do the two sailors see their sails at night?

"we have encountred a cargoship last night" Benoit told in the last update "Our 'Sail Light' sail illumination system made it possible for us to be noticed!" This system chosen by numerous racers, allows one to see the sails' profile at night and therefore optimize the boats' performance. It also contributes to the safety sailing at night by making the boat more visible to other vessels. This technology can also be used to illuminate a logo or trademark on a sail or lazybag. Bear in mind that 50% of ocean race finshes are at night!

the numbers of the day:
date depart=Wednesday 28th of November 2007 10:50:00 AM date inst=Thursday 06th of December 2007 08:00:00 AM info inst=200712060800 ;16 32.96 N ;47 38.98 W ;9.00 ;292;2537.4 ;794.4 ; total distance=2537.4 milles remaining distance=794.4 miles

Calculations

distance covered=1743 miles average speed=9.2140969162996 miles/hr ETA=Sunday 09th of December 2007 10:12:56 PM total time=991376.59208262 seconds totale time=11j 11h 22’ 56’’ remaining time=310376.59208262 seconds remaining time=3j 14h 12’ 56’’

There you go, you found a video..

Spi looks very similar to a Tornado spi, but the boat is just brutal (in a positive meaning).

thanks for the translation Genealex

Thanks Genealex! Sounds like they are having a nice trip, but I guess there must be some drama and two very tired sailors?

Now, Sail Light, what is that, how does it work and who sells it? Price?

BTW: What IS your native language Genealex?

Rolf, the system is used to illuminate the sails at night. It is manufactured by Sierra Echo http://www.sierraecho.fr/
http://www.sail-light.com/
The system comprises batten style light bars. It also can illuminate logos created with Light reactive inks.
Pretty cool. You can also do that with fiber optics, I guess it actually uses fiber optics. Don't know for sure.

Talking about customizing Robi's new Blade ? Pretty cool.

I'm glad you appreciate it, I'll try to translate some more tonight. My native language is Dutch. By the way, I've read about the boat you're building, looks cool!