Damage threatens Verne record

The mast could collapse if more cracks appear on the ball joint

LONDON, England -- Damage on the maxi-catamaran Orange has thrown into doubt the boat's record-breaking round-the-world voyage.

Crossing the Equator on Wednesday morning, Orange skipper Bruno Peyron said the mast-to-hull joint, on which the 42 metre rotating wing mast sits, had partly cracked.

If the ball joint broke completely the mast could fall. The most likely cause of the problem is lack of lubrication to the joint.

"The titanium ball that supports the mast is cracked around 170 degrees," said Peyron.

He said the solutions were to head for the nearest port, "or continue and pray or try to reinforce the ball by laminating carbon round it in the hope that it will hold."

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The crew had decided to continue sailing due to the "good state of the sea and the fact that we're sailing downwind."

Naval architects at the Multiplast yard had advised the crew to bond carbon reinforcement around the ball.

Orange is on the final leg of the Jules Verne Trophy, heading up the North Atlantic to the finish line at Ushant.

"We have the Sword of Damocles above our heads that won't leave us until we reach the finishing line -- if we finish," admitted Peyron.

"So we have taken the decision to sail as planned, choosing the weather options that will allow us to sail as little as possible into headwinds, therefore sparing the boat as much as possible."

After 52 days at sea Orange is currently over six days ahead of the 71-day record set by Olivier de Kersauson on Sport Elec in 1997 and has to cross the finish line by the 12th May to break the record.