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Ellen reaches Auckland
11:00 a.m. EST Jan 26, 2004
Ellen MacArthur arrived in Auckland yesterday, completing her maiden voyage aboard her new trimaran, the Catorama B & Q. In a phone call to the UK, Ellen reported that the boat performed well and everyone on board was also well and rested. She and the shore team will be using Auckland’s Viaduct Basin as a base for further trials until they return to Europe in the late spring.
The Catorama B & Q, designed by Nigel Irens, is 75 feet long and 56 feet wide. The boat is made entirely out of carbon fiber and weighs 8.3 tons with a mast that reaches nearly 100 feet into the sky. "It is a culmination of many years of dreaming and many months of hard work by an amazing team..." says Ellen. The boat was constructed with one objective in mind: to set new solo speed sailing records. This will remove Ellen from the competitive solo racing world for awhile. But she admits, "For me, racing against the clock is as rewarding as racing against others, and there is always the continuous race - the race against yourself."
Image of Castorama B&Q courtesy teamkingfisher.com and offshorechallenges.com
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