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MacArthur: 'Tense and worried'
LORIENT, France -- British skipper Ellen MacArthur has crossed the Equator but continues to struggle as light winds hamper her attempt to break the round-the-world record. MacArthur and her 13 crew members are trying to beat the Jules Verne record set last May by Frenchman Bruno Peyron aboard Orange of 64 days, 8 hours, 37 minutes and 24 seconds. MacArthur aboard Kingfisher2 inched across the Equator 7 days, 18 hours, 33 minutes and 2 seconds from the start -- beating Orange's time last year by 3 hours, 26 minutes and 58 seconds. But she came in 1 day, 7 hours, 6 minutes and 41 seconds behind her on-the-water rival Frenchman Olivier de Kersauson's giant trimaran Geronimo, which has been racing for more than 27 days. Kersauson has broken three records during his current Jules Verne attempt, gaining at least one day on each of the three major sections of the route so far. [Full Story] MacArthur said on her Web site as she approached the Equator that she felt "very stressed -- tense and worried." "Not only are we lacking wind for the moment but we have a very difficult decision to make for the South Atlantic situation. There are a possible two doorways which could be open -- and there is no guaranteeing either," MacArthur said. She will either follow the coast of Brazil before heading left towards Cape Town or she will cut through the South Atlantic and try to catch a front passing through the southern sector. "Today has been a hard one. From computer problems, to lack of sleep -- and all in an environment where the air temperature is stifling and the plastic seat beneath me making me stick to my shorts," she said.
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