15. 03. 99
Breitling Orbiter 3 dashes towards Mexico

The log book

17:30 GMT: At 12.00 GMT, Breitling Orbiter 3 entered the mouth of the Subtropical jet stream South of Hawaii, some 600 km away from the Hawaiian coast, at a speed of approximately 70 knots. Winds as fast as 120 knots (216 km/h) will take the balloon to Mexico, by Wednesday the 17th. The balloon will then fly over the Bahamas and the Atlantic ocean, between the 25th and 26th parallel. According to predictions, Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones should reach the coast of Mauritania Friday afternoon. After having beaten the official distance record of 22'910 km – with all reserve regarding the IFA homologation -, Breitling Orbiter 3 is riding on the express route towards Mexico (entering the country near Guadalajara and crossing overYucatan), at an altitude of 10'000 to 12'000 meters (30'000 to 36'000 feet). " Psychologically, the sight of the Mexican coast will be very important to the pilots, after having spent the last six days with nothing but water around them " commented Belgian meteorologist Luc Trullemans. The winds will decrease momentarily over the Caribbean but will come very strong again from the Bahamas onwards. Earlier on today, Piccard and Jones made their last EVA (External Vehicular Activity). All is going so well on board that it took only two hours – instead of six - to undertake the necessary verifications and modifications before catching the jet stream. This gain of time enabled the craft to position itself perfectly for the jet stream. Though it is still very hard to establish voice communications with the crew, due to the position of the Equator satellite, moral on board is reported to be excellent, especially since the winds have been growing much faster. As the fuel consumption has been very good, Breitling Orbiter 3 could pursue its route further on than the 9th degree longitude " finish line ", in order to land in the best possible conditions.