Ratcheting up the speedo—the 110-foot Club Med lifts a hull while stretching her legs off the coast of France on her second time out.

LA TRINITE SUR MER, FRANCE — Grant Dalton and his newly announced team of international sailors are just beginning to get used to their new ride, the 110-foot Gilles Ollier-designed mega-cat christened Club Med. Dalton and company took to sea for the first time on Friday and put in some additional time on board over the weekend. According to sources in the Club Med camp, the boat turned in some impressive numbers on the speed gauge, hitting 34 knots under a single reef and staysail.
Both Dalton and Ollier were ecstatic about the performance of the boat. "The first sail is always an important stage in the life of a racing boat," said Dalton. "I'm happy to show my Anglo-Saxon compatriots that it is not only possible to build this type of boat, but also to be able to sail her on the day following masting. I'm also happy because we are experiencing the beginning of a magnificent story . . . "
Dalton and his brain trust appointed mega-cat veteran Bruno Peyron (of Commodore Explorer fame) as Club Med's co-skipper for several of the impending record attempts that are on the team's summer agenda. Peyron was equally impressed with the boat: "I'm impressed with the balance, the power, and the simplicity of the boat. The conditions today were ideal and easy. The serious work remains to be done. Now we must work on the safety and reliability of the boat in high-seas conditions." Club Med will continue to undergo regional sea trials this week before the team sets out to qualify for The Race by tackling the Cadiz, Spain-to-San Salvador, Bahamas record in the coming weeks.