Google Translation of their site

7/12/07 16h11 : Problème de hauban
vendredi 7 décembre 2007

Pierre-Yves et Benoit ont connu un souci de hauban (câble qui retient le mât) ces dernières heures. Ils ont donc arrêté le bateau afin de réparer. A priori la réparation tient. Les deux marins évoluent dans 20 à 25 nœuds de vent. "Nous cassons la croute et nous repartons" déclarait Benoit il y a 5 minutes au téléphone.

7/12/07 16h11 : Shroud trouble

Pierre-Yves et Benoit had trouble with a shroud (a cable that supports the mast) these last few hours. So they have stopped the boat to repair it. For now the fix will hold. The windspeed is 20 to 25 knots. "We'll take a bite and we'll be off again" Benoit said 5 minutes ago over the phone

Jake you're right. While the google translation may not be perfect (neither is mine, but i like to think it's better) it's enough to follow the gist of the story if you're really interested.

8/12/07 11h52 : Plus de peur que de mal !
samedi 8 décembre 2007

Pierre-Yves Moreau et Benoit Lequin ont chaviré cette nuit. Les deux navigateurs Lorientais, qui tentent de battre le

record de la traversée de l’atlantique sur un petit catamaran, ont redressé leur voilier « Archi-Factory / Octo Finances

» et font à nouveau route vers le but final à savoir Pointe à Pitre.
Benoit Lequin : « Nous nous sommes retournés cette nuit. J’étais à la barre et Pierre-Yves faisait la sieste sous la

petite tente que nous avons installé sur notre banc. Le vent est monté d’un coup et a pris de la droite. Je n’ai pas

contrôlé cette hausse soudaine de pression et le bateau a empanné puis nous nous sommes mis sur le toit ! Il nous a

fallu 1 heure pour redresser le voilier. Nous étions attachés et avec nos gilets de sauvetage. Nous avons eu un petit

moment de panique chacun de notre côté car nous étions loin l’un de l’autre. Nous avons perdu notre panneau solaire et

une caméra mais aucun matériel de sécurité. »

Afin de redresser le bateau, un tangon de « ressalage » a été astucieusement prévu, ainsi qu’une ancre flottante

permettant au catamaran de rester au vent si le voilier était couché.

Le tandem est à 323 milles de l’arrivée. Il est attendu demain soir en Guadeloupe avec, si tout va bien, une avance d’

environ 40 heures sur le record des Italiens.


8/12/07 11h52 : More fear than hurt!

Pierre-Yves Moreau and Benoit Lequin have capsized last night. The two sailors from Lorient, who are trying to beat the

record for an atlantic crossing on a small catamaran, ave righted their sailboat « Archi-Factory / Octo Finances » and

are again on their way to their destination, Pointe à Pitre.
Benoit Lequin: "We tipped over last night. I was at the helm and Pierre-Yves took a nap in the little tent we've

installed on our bench. The wind grew suddenly and took from the right. I couldn't handle this sudden rise in pressure

and the boat jibed and we were put upside down! It has taken us an hour to right the the sailboat. We were attached and we

were wearing our lifejackets. We both panicked for a moment because we were far apart. We've lost our solar panel and a

camara but none of our safety equipment"

The boat is cleverly equipped with a righting pole and a sea anchor to allow the catamaran to remain head to wind in

case of a capsize.

The duo is 323 miles from the finish. they are expected to arrive tomorrow evening in Guadeloupe, if all goes well, 40

hours ahead of the record set by the Italians


08/12/2007 at 16 h 10 GMT
Latitude 17 24.28 N
Longitude 57 10.07 W
speed 5.10 kts
heading 98 °
Distance covered 2280.6 milles
Distance remaining 256.8 milles
Time estimated 11j 8h 57' 30''

ETA : sun 9 december, 19h 47m 30s GMT

It looks like they're going to make it, celebration at 2000 GMT?

There's a couple of reason that come to mind when reflecting on why this doesn't get my attention.

Out of sight, out of mind. It's not something I am able to relate to. It's two guys I've never heard of, on a boat I've never heard of, sailing waters I've never seen, from a country I've never been to.
I'm not knocking any of the above things, just pointing to the fact I have no connection. I simply don't relate to what they're trying to do. No more or less than I relate to teams climbing Mt.Everrest. No less daring or dangerous perhaps, but equally no connection.

Sadly, I did get excited and connected when I read that they had capsized.
Now that I could relate to.
And I did connect to the fact that they did not have a RC boat near by.
Only now am I interested in following the story.
I'm not sure what you can make of any of this, but you asked.

Like I aid in another thread: If I were in a monastery and I would say: "Did you hear what the Pope did yesterday?" I'd at least expect a modicum of interest. Monks live a life very different from the Pope's but they are part of the same community. If someone of your community did something out of the ordinary why wouldn't you want to know about it?
They're not climbing a bloody mountain, they are sailing a beachcat as fast as they can across the Atlantic. Explain why it is hard to relate.

They've still got a long day ahead of them, ETA has been pushed back. Windspeed 15kts



09/12/2007 at 08 h 00 GMT
Latitude 16 54.48 N
Longitude 59 21.18 W
speed 6.10 nds
heading 216 °
Distance covered 2408.9 milles
Distance remaining 128.5 milles
Time estimated : 11j 11h 5’ 53’’

ETA : sun 9 december, 21h 55m 53s GMT

pity they didn't set their page up like these guys

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

imagine the guy sleeping in the tent had a bad few moments when the boat went over

Don't see much difference in setup of the page, but I imagine it's a bit harder to understand for the linguisticaly challenged. For the "english only" speakers "Cartographie temps réel" means realtime mapping, by clicking on it you get a map om which their position is updated hourly.

Less than 50 miles from the finish the World Sailing Speed Record Council is on the water with the support team to validate the record. Next update at 2200 hrs GMT when the team gets ashore.

well it looks like they did it!

congratulations!

think i'd rather have 1 of those proven transatlantic beach cats than the multi23;o)

Still waiting for confirmation on their site. Bloody buggers are probably already quaffing champagne without bothering to tell us they're in <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Bloody hell, I'm off to do my Dad duty an care for an ill child. Can't hang about for confirmation. Good night

They've done it! Number 1 son is feeling better again and PYM and Benoit are in Pointe À Pitre and I'm at work again.
Dakar-Pointe À Pitre in 11d 11h 25' 42'' mor than two day faster than the previous record. Well I'm off to work, happy sailing for those of you who are going out today, you lucky buggers!

Had a little time to spare, so a quick translation.

10/12/07 : Record battu !
lundi 10 décembre 2007

Pierre-Yves Moreau et Benoit Lequin ont battu le record du Monde de la traversée de l’atlantique sur un catamaran non habitable de

20 pieds. Ils ont mis 11 jours 11 heures 25 minutes et 42 secondes et comptent 50 heures 32 minutes et 45 secondes d’avance sur le

dernier record détenu par les Italiens Andréa Gancia et Mattéo Miceli.
Pierre-Yves et Benoit sont allés au bout de leurs ressources physiques et morales pour accomplir leur objectif. Epuisés mais

heureux, ils ont hier soir mis pied à terre à Pointe à Pitre.

Pierre-Yves Moreau : « La dureté de ce record nous a vraiment surpris. Nous avons été heureux de naviguer sur ce voilier mais la

performance a été très dure à accomplir. Sur ce genre de petit bateau, nous sommes livrés à nous même. Il faut faire

particulièrement attention au niveau de la sécurité. On a tout de même eu des coups de vent à plus de 40 nœuds. Et puis la gestion

des vagues a été très importante, beaucoup plus qu’on le croyait. Elles cassent la vitesse du bateau et les hommes qui sont à

bord. Elles laissent très peu de répit. Tu ne peux jamais dormir ! Malgré la complexité de cette tentative, nous sommes ravis de

battre ce record. C’est une aventure complète. Tout à commencer il y a deux ans, il a fallu réalisé le catamaran de nos propres

mains puis traverser l’atlantique dans des conditions extrêmes ! »

Benoit Lequin : « C’est magique. Il y avait de nombreux bateaux pour nous accueillir. Quel bonheur de battre ce record ! Nous

sommes vachement content de notre voilier. Nous avons mis plus de 1 an à le construire et il a bien tenu la route. C’est une

superbe expérience qui nous donne des idées d’amélioration pour l’avenir. J’espère que notre record sera battu car nous sommes

prêts à repartir ! Les derniers jours ont été difficiles. Nous avons d’ailleurs à nouveau chaviré la nuit dernière, cette fois,

Pierre-Yves était à la barre ».

Au fil du record

Mercredi 28 novembre, Pierre-Yves Moreau et Benoit Lequin sont partis de Dakar sur les chapeaux de roue. Lors des deux premiers

jours de navigation, le catamaran du tandem Lorientais affichait des vitesses de pointe à plus de 15 nœuds et une moyenne au

dessus des 10 nœuds. Bien calés tribord amure dans les alizés du Nord-Est, les skippers du multicoque « Archi-Factory / Octo

Finances » ne pouvaient pas espérer un meilleur départ dans leur quête du record de la traversée de l’atlantique sur un catamaran

non habitables de 20 pieds. La vie à bord s’est alors peu à peu installée : prise de quart de 1 à 2 heures à la barre, pendant que

l’autre se reposait sur une petite tente montée sur le banc au vent, préparation de lyophilisés froids, la bonne humeur transpirée

lors des premières vacations. Les choses se sont ensuite, compliquées suite au contournement de l’archipel du Cap Vert. Eole et la

mer, qui étaient si dociles les premiers jours, ont décidé de poser des problèmes au duo. Le vent a, en effet, tourné pour pousser

le catamaran, au vent arrière, une allure plus instable, il a baissé et surtout la houle était beaucoup moins propice à de longs

surfs sauvages. Les méninges du routeur slovéne, Jure Jelman, ont alors tourné à plein régime afin de proposer une nouvelle

stratégie pour nos valeureux Bretons. Empannages sur empannages, la vitesse moyenne tombait à moins de 10 nœuds. Commencent les

inquiétudes concernant la chasse au record de 13 jours détenus par les Italiens, la fatigue à bord du bateau « à deux pattes » se

fait sentir. Heureusement, les Alizés sont revenus à la normale et les milles ont pu être enchaînés les derniers jours. Petit

souci de déssanilisateur réglé avec l’aide de Sébastien Roubinet, l’aventurier de « Babouche », réparation d’un hauban trois jours

avant l’arrivée et patatras !

Deux chavirages avant l’arrivée

Le samedi 8 décembre, Pierre-Yves et Benoit annoncent qu’ils ont chaviré. Un grain prenait de cours Benoit à la barre. « Archi-

Factory / Octo Finances » chavirait. Deux hommes à la mer à 300 milles de Pointe à Pitre, une heure pour ressaler grâce à un

astucieux système prévu avant de partir et les deux marins pouvaient repartir. Rebelote 24 heures avant l’arrivée avec cette fois

-ci Pierre-Yves aux manettes… Enfin, la délivrance hier soir à 21 heures 48 minutes et 32 secondes…Ils ont battu le record de la

traversée de l’atlantique sur un petit catamaran. Chapeau !

Ce record est en cours de validation au WSSRC.

Pierre-Yves et Benoit tiennent à remercier l’ensemble de leurs partenaires et supporters qui soutiennent le projet depuis le début

à savoir deux ans…

Pour Pierre-Yves et Benoit, Tanguy Blondel


10/12/07 : Record Broken!
monday 10 december 2007

Pierre-Yves Moreau and Benoit Lequin have broken the transatlantic record for 20 ft open catamarans. They have taken 11 days 11

hours an 42 seconds and have beaten the record detained by the Italians Andrea Gancia and Matteo Miceli.
Pierre-Yves and Benoit have spent all their physical and emotional resources to achieve thier goal. Exhausted but happy, they've

set foot on land in Point à Pitre.

Pierre-Yves Moreau : "It has really surprised us how hard it was to break this record. We were happy to sail this boat but is has

been hard to keep up the speed. On this kind of small craft we were thrown back on ourselves. It's very important to keep safety

in the front of your mind. We've had 40 knot gusts. And taking account of the wave has been much more important than we've

thought. They break the speed and the men on board. They didn't lkeave us much time for rest. You can never sleep! In spite of the

difficulty of this attempt, we are overjoyed to have beaten the record. The adventure has ended. It all started two years ago, we

had to build this catamaran with our own hands, and consequently cross the Atlantic in extreme conditions.

Benoit Lequin : "It's terrific. There were a lot of boats to welcome us. So happy to beat this record! We're very pleased with our

sailboat. It's has taken us more than one year to build it and it has handled well. This has been a tremendous experience that has

given us a lot of ideas for improvement for the future. I hope someone will beat our record, because we're ready to go again! The

last days have been difficult. By the way we've capsized again last night, that time Pierr-Yves was at the helm.

On the trail of the record

Pierre-Yves and Benoit Lequin have left Dakar on Wednesday 28 november like two arrows from a bow. During the first days of the

crossing the catamaran of the dou from Lorient attained top speeds of over 15 knots and average speeds of 10 knots. well

established on starboard tack in the North-East tradewinds, the skippers of Archi-Factory / Octo Finances couldn't have wished for

a better start for their record attempt. The rythm of life on board established itself, 1 to 2 hour watches at the helm, while the

other rested in a little tent mounted on the bench to windward, preparation of cold dehydrated food, the good spirit was apparent

during the first updates. After ruonding the Cape Verde Archipelago complications arose. Aeolus and the sea who were so friendly

the first days decided to make truoble for the duo.The wind, turned so the catameran found itself on a run which is less stable

course, calmed and above all the swell was not suited for long wild surfing. The brain of their slovenian router, Jure Jelman, was

running at full speed to devise a new strategy for our gallant Bretons. Tack after tack, the average speed dropped below 10 knots.

That's when the worries about the assault on the record of 13 days held by the Italians and the fatigue on board of the twin-hull

began to make themselves felt. Luckily the tradewinds went back to normal and the miles coulkd be counted off during the last

days. A smal worry about the desalinizer which was fixed with the help of Sébastien Roubinet, the adventurer of "Babouche", a

repair of a shoud three days before the finish.

And crash! Two capsizes before the finish.

On saturday 8 december, Pierr-Yves and Benoit anounce that they have capsized. A squall formed while Benoit was at the helm,

"Archi Factory / octo Finances" capsized. two men overboard at 300 miles from Point à Pitre, one hour to right their boat thanks

to a clever righting system and sailors were off again. They did the same thing again 24 hours before the finish this time with

Pierre-Yves at the helm...Anyway, yesterday at 21hrs 48mins 32secs... they have broken the record for the atlantic crossing on a

small catamaran. Hats off!

The record is bieng validated by the WSSRC.

Pierr-Yves and Benoit like to thank their partners and supporters that have supported the project from the start, two years ago...

For Pierre-Yves and Benoit, Tanguy Blondel

thanks for all the trans work Genealex

sounds like they were very professional about it from the very start

must have been hard on those 1st 2 guys with no gps or sat. phone

have been thinking about a righting pole or shroud adjusters to right my cat as i'm not heavy enough to do it solo

any more detail on their "ingenious righting system"?

for a 20' cat with those huge benches i wonder if shrouds would be the better way to right than a pole

Thanks again for the translation!

Amazing feat! They say they are exhausted and that sleep was very difficult. I can imagine.. 1-2 hour watches must have been exhausting. Hope they get their record ratified by the speed sailing world record council.
Hope they do some more out their record and trial. Both a design/building article, teamwork/HR article on their crossing and technical evaluation would be very interesting reading.


Seeing that they went over, and that they had trouble with sleeping. I wonder if a trimaran configuration would be faster over. A sheltered spot to sleep in and a wider platform with more power? The poles selected a 23foot trimaran configuration for their design attempt, but it has been awfully quiet about their project lately. Come to think about it, I believe they added two feet of length to their boat, total 25 feet, which makes it a completely different concept.

Thanks for the translation.
Todd

what exactly is the category of boat class for this record?

think i read somewhere beachcat, 20foot or under