Others predicted that Joyon would be unable to handle IDEC"s enormous sails or that the boat could lose her mast in the rough conditions that any roundtheworld sailor inevitably would face.
There were also all the usual dangers-collision with debris in the water, with ice around Antarctica or the possibility that Joyon would collide with a ship while sleeping.
When he set off, the solo record stood at 93 days. Although Joyon was sailing a much faster boat than the previous recordholder, most saw little chance of him getting even close to 80 days.
Joyon had other ideas and over the past 71 days he has enjoyed good fortune with the weather, rarely running out of wind. He has, however, also displayed extraordinary stamina, determination and seamanship in keeping IDEC running close to her full potential.
法国水手打破单人
环球航行纪录
他被称为航海界的鲍勃·比蒙。正如鲍勃·比蒙1968年因打破跳远世界记录而震惊世界一样，法国水手弗朗西斯·茹瓦永正在以前所未有的方式 刷新航海纪录。
茹瓦永的惊人之旅已进入最后阶段，47岁的他将刷新世界纪录，把单人不靠岸环球航海记录缩短20天。2月3日早上，当他穿过终点布雷斯特港口时，他就 将完成历史上最伟大的单人航海纪录之一。
1968年墨西哥奥运会上，比蒙的一跳打破了世界纪录，而且惊人地超出21英寸，直到1991年他创造的世界纪录才被打破。茹瓦永就像比蒙一样，他预定73 天完成两万六千英里的环球航海，这远远低于大多数人认为的单人环航可能需要的最短时间。
茹瓦永在11月起航开始他的冒险旅程，有人预测这次航行可能以灾难而告终。茹瓦永来自法国布列塔尼地区的La TrinitesurMer，有四个孩子。他驾 驶的是90英尺长的三体帆船爱德克。这种船的动力极大，船上安装了巨大的旋转桅杆，是为有十名船员的团体比赛而设计的。
许多人担心茹瓦永最后会筋疲力尽，爱德克艇也将在南部海洋失控而翻船。
还有人预测茹瓦永无法控制爱德克艇上巨大的帆，艇上的桅杆也可能会在恶劣的环境中倒下，这是任何一个环球航行的水手都不可避免会遇到的。
还有各种常见的危险情况--撞到水中的残骸，南极洲周围的冰块，茹瓦永睡觉的时候也可能撞上其他的船只。
他出发的时候，单人航海世界记录是93天。尽管茹瓦永驾驶的帆船比前世界记录保持者的快得多，但是大多数人都认为他不太可能在近80天内完成航海。
茹瓦永则不这么认为。在过去的71天中，他运气不错，天气条件很好，差不多一直都有风。尽管如此，他仍旧表现出惊人的毅力、决心和驾驶技术，让帆 船始终接近全速前进。
“Professor Popsicle” Proves Cold No BarrierDuring a cold stretch that had many Canadians scurrying indoors, a researcher known as “Professor Popsicle” has found humans can successfully spend days on end in the bitter cold.
Gordon Giesbrecht has spent the past 26 days skiing the isolated, frozen expanse of Lake Winnipeg as part of his research for the University of Manitoba on how the body copes with the cold.
Temperatures averaged 15 degrees below zero and dipped as low as 31 below during his 240mile trek on crosscountry skis.
“Now when I"m outside and it"s -25℃, it"s not really a big problem,” he told reporters by satellite phone from his small tent on the world"s tenth largest lake.
“This has been more a test of just dealing with the cold and living with it, and getting your clothing and your actions coordinated so that you don"t end up getting frostbite or anything,” explained Giesbrecht.
Soft, deep snow made for some tough slogging with his backpack and sled carrying his food and gear. On two mornings, Giesbrecht emerged from his tent to find the wind so fierce that his tent was almost flat.
“The most vulnerable time of the day is when you are trying to set up your tent, and I was not about to take that chance,” he wrote on a Web site updated by his family.
Other than numb fingertips, which will likely take a month to return to normal, Giesbrecht said he feels fine.
“冰棒教授”挑战严寒
长期的寒冷迫使许多加拿大人在屋子里跑来跑去，而一位被称为“冰棒教授”的研究者在此期间发现人类可以在严寒中成功坚持生存很长时间。
戈登·吉斯布雷西特在温尼泊湖荒凉的冰面上滑雪度过了26天，这是他为马尼托巴大学所作的研究的一部分，研究的主题是：人体是怎样来抵御寒冷的。
在他长达240英里、跨越国界的艰难旅程中，平均气温只有零下15度，最低达到零下31度。
他在世界第十大湖边的一个小帐篷中通过卫星电话告诉记者说：“现在待在零下25度的室外难不倒我。”
“这不仅仅是一次应付寒冷并在寒冷中生存的实验，你还要调整自己的衣着和行动，这样才不至于被冻伤或受到任何伤害。”吉斯布雷西特解释说。
他背着背包、拖着装运食品和工具的雪橇在雪地上跋涉，松软厚实的积雪导致旅途更加艰难。有两天早晨，吉斯布雷西特从帐篷中出来的时候发现狂风大 作，他的帐篷差不多都被吹塌了。
“一天中最艰难的时候是搭帐篷，我还没有遇到这样的情况。”他在家人为他维护的一个网站上这样写道。
吉斯布雷西特说，除了被冻僵的指尖可能需要一个月才能恢复之外，他感觉很好。
101YearOld Man Parachutes into Record BookA 101yearold man is believed to be the world"s oldest skydiver after he accepted a dare from friends and jumped out of an airplane at nearly 10,000 feet.
Frank Moody, from Holloways Beach on Australia"s northeastern coast, beat the record set by a 94yearold Norwegian in 1999, said Amanda Pilkington, from Skydive Cairns, which organized the jump.
On the morning of June 16, 2004, Moody jumped in tandem with an experienced skydiver from more than 9,900 feet, she said.
“He"s an absolute legend. It was a bit of a drunken dare by some of his mates at the local Holloways Beach football club. He said: ‘ Sure, I"ll go jump out of an airplane,’” Pilkington quoted him as saying, adding she nearly fell off her chair when she first heard Moody go for the record.