'A solid brick wall' of
By Rod Ohira
bad weather forces a trio of
balloonists to end their bid
to circle the globe nonstop
and Gordon Y.K. Pang
Star-BulletinIn waters 10 miles northeast of Kahuku, rescuers this morning plucked from the ocean three men who ended an attempt to fly around the world in a hot-air balloon, victims of bad weather.
British tycoon Richard Branson and co-pilots -- American Steve Fossett and Swede Per Lindstrand -- spent the early morning hours bringing the ICO Global balloon down from 10,000 feet. They splashed down off Oahu at about 9:45 this morning.
The Coast Guard cutter Washington left Sand Island shortly before 8 this morning headed for Kahuku Point to rendezvous with the balloonists. A C-130 and two helicopters plucked the men from the ocean.
By 10:10 a.m. everyone was rescued and aboard the aircraft.
"They're in good condition and in good spirits," said Lt. Timothy Ciampaglio of the cutter Washington.
Petty Officer Chris Johnson of the Rescue Coordination Center said the men were hoisted aboard two HH65 Dolphin helicopters and flown to Barbers Point Naval Air Station, then to Queen's Hospital. Two helicopters were used because of weight restrictions, he said.
The cutter was to launch a small boat to pick up the 270-foot-tall balloon, which was in a deflated condition but still in the air at 10:15 a.m. with its basket in the water.
Conditions at sea during the rescue were choppy, with 8- to 10-foot waves, and the weather was windy and partly cloudly.
"We are sorry to have let you down," Branson said earlier today from the capsule after deciding to abandon the bid. "We had a fascinating journey and will now aim to try and be back with our family and friends for the rest of Christmas."
The hot-air balloon had gone halfway around the world since taking off in Morocco on Dec. 18, when it ran into a low-pressure system it could not outrun.
The balloonists had been moving the craft up and down between 6,000 feet and 27,000 feet to find a fast enough easterly wind to carry them to the West Coast of the United States.
They had picked up an easterly wind, but at 14 knots, or 16 mph, it was not enough.
"We raced across the Pacific in winds up to 200 miles per hour but ended up hitting a solid trough from one end to the other," Branson said.
"It was like hitting up against a solid brick wall. All day and all night, we battled to get through it. Our weather team said that it would take us a week to get through it, if we were lucky."Project director Mike Kendrick said the balloon missed the jet stream it needed to escape the trough by an hour.
Lori Levin, Branson's U.S. spokeswoman, added: "We had the skill, the pilots, the technology and the best team. If we had just gotten there earlier . . .
"It's all a question of luck," Levin added in a telephone interview from London with the Star-Bulletin.
ICO Global's Web site:
http://www.icoglobal.com
High adventurers
By Susan Kreifels
risk life for
the challenge
Star-BulletinA Chicago millionaire, a British tycoon and a Swedish hot-air balloonist have captured the attention of the world as they attempt to fly their balloon around the globe, risking their lives when most people are at home with family around the Christmas tree.
For American adventurist Steve Fossett, danger is no stranger.
In August, he plummetted 29,000 feet in a ripped balloon to the shark-infested sea below, 500 miles off Australia's east coast.
"My gosh, I thought I was going to die" was his only thought then.
The 54-year-old Chicago stock broker was attempting to become the first balloonist to circle the globe when he was forced down by a storm that pounded his balloon with torrents of hail. That was his fourth bid to fly around the world.
In 1995 he became the first person to fly a balloon solo across the Pacific Ocean, taking off from the Olympic stadium in Seoul, South Korea, to cross Canada's Pacific coastline.
British tycoon Richard Branson and Swedish balloonist Per Lindstrand have flown balloons together for years. In 1991, the team became the first balloonists to cross the Pacific, setting several records and overcoming a fuel shortage along the way.
Branson, 46, is the founder of Virgin Atlantic Airways and Virgin Records. Lindstrand is an accomplished balloonist and former Swedish Air Force pilot. The men, both fathers, became the first hot-air balloonists to cross the Atlantic Ocean in 1987.
In an interview posted on the ICO Global Web site, Branson said his interest in ballooning started in 1986, shortly after he broke the speed record for the fastest crossing of the Atlantic by boat.
Lindstrand proposed the Atlantic crossing to Branson, who ended up flying a crippled balloon solo over the Irish Sea while Lindstrand swam for his life in the chilly waters below.
Their Pacific flight ended with a crash landing in a Canadian forest in a blizzard.
That was when Lindstrand suggested the biggest challenge: a flight around the world.
Fossett and Branson were rivals until they teamed up for the current flight.
Branson said his two children are always on his mind. "People think I'm indulging my ego by taking risks. But I wouldn't do it if I didn't think we'd survive."
Balloon landing,
By Susan Kreifels
‘exciting for our little
community,’ has
Kahuku flying high
Star-BulletinSisters Alicia, Alena and Alison Powell interrupted unwrapping their gifts today in their Pupukea home to get a look at the ICO Global balloon as it dropped toward Hawaii waters. "I see it! I see it!" they yelled as they took turns gazing through a small telescope at Kahuku Golf Course.
A small crowd gathered in strong easterly winds in Kahuku to watch the huge white balloon drop toward the Pacific Ocean. The balloon appeared through the haze at about 9:30 a.m.
"Boy, is that baby big," yelled Ray Rzeszowski of Mililani as he gazed through binoculars.
Folks here heard the balloon flown by British mogul Richard Branson, American millionaire Steve Fossett and Per Lindstrand of Sweden was going down this morning, and the curious headed for the beaches to get a glimpse.
Some of the first at the golf course were Glen and Ruth Powell of Pupukea, who called their son and his family to join them.
Glen Powell, who has done some flying, estimated the balloon was about 2,000 feet high when it first appeared on the horizon. It dropped quickly, then appeared to hover just above the surface of the water.
"It's kind of exciting for our little community," he said. "Can you imagine having that much money? If you have that much money and have a dream, why not go for the dream?"
The balloonists were trying to circumnavigate the globe in a hot-air balloon, a feat that has never been accomplished.
The group left Marrakech, Morocco, Dec. 18, and they had hoped to reach North America sometime today, flying over southern Canada or Washington state.
The ICO Global was supposed to pass over North America in just 24 hours.
Then it would cross the north Atlantic and land in Europe.
But the balloon missed the jet stream and stalled in the Pacific instead.
International rules that define an around-the-world flight stipulate that the balloon must cross the line of longitude passing through its takeoff point.
Star-Bulletin wire services contributed to this report.
