French Weather Guru Jean-Yves Bernot to Co-Navigate

by Keith Taylor on 14 Sep 2000 Cameron Lewis and Team Adventure have announced key decisions regarding weather,
navigation and routing in their preparations for the Race of the Millennium. Lewis is
CEO/Skipper and team leader of the Maine-based American group that is building a
110-foot catamaran to win The Race.
The Race is the non-stop 27,000-mile sprint around the world will start from Barcelona,
Spain, on December 31, this year. Seven mega-multihulls have entered. The first boats
are expected to finish in just over 60 days, demolishing all previous sailing records.
French weather specialist Jean-Yves Bernot will crew aboard the boat as co-navigator.
He will join Larry Rosenfeld, from Marblehead, MA, who is co-navigator and Executive
Director of Team Adventure. Commanders' Weather, operating from Nashua, NH, will
handle all shore-based weather forecasting and will link directly with sailing and weather
expert Bill Biewenga, Newport, RI, who will work ashore with Commanders.

"Jean-Yves Bernot is recognized worldwide as one of the leading experts in weather
routing and navigation," Rosenfeld said. "He has literally written the book on round the
world weather strategies, has taught most of the top single-handed round the world
racers about weather routing. and has a number of records to his name. We regard his
involvement as another key element in our overall strategy to win The Race."

Bernot revealed that he had set his sights on competing in The Race a long time ago.
"The chance to sail with a top team led by Cam Lewis makes me confident that we will
go fast through the water and keep the boat together," he said. "With Larry's help and
the help of our onshore weather routers, I am confident we will go the right way."

A veteran crewmember of Bruno Peyron's Explorer, the first boat to sail around the world
in less than 80 days, Skipper Cam Lewis noted: "A winning campaign consists of many
small incremental gains and one of the most critical areas is weather analysis.

"Team Adventure has forged an exclusive relationship with Commanders' Weather, one
of the best weather forecasting companies in the world," Lewis said. "Ken Campbell and
his team at Commanders' are known for their expertise in predicting weather, and more
importantly, in translating their predictions into useful information.

"The challenge is daunting. For the first time in yacht racing history, boats are being built
that will actually sail faster than the weather systems. This presents a very unique
challenge for the weather routers and onboard navigators."

Lewis said that to assist with weather and routing analysis, Biewenga, a well-known
offshore sailor and weather expert, would train with the boat prior to The Race and serve
as a vital link between the sailors and the land-based weather experts.

"Campbell and the team at Commanders' continue to accumulate and format weather
information from the racecourse and to integrate it into their existing files," Lewis said.
"These files are vast, consisting of data accumulated while working with winning
campaigns in both short inshore and long offshore events. They will yield vital information
to assist us in our winning race around the world."