Around Alone Report for October 1

What were you doing last nite ?

Whatever it is, it wasn't as hard, difficult or downright scary as what Mike Golding recently did on Team Group 4.   Soon after sewing up batten pockets on his mainsail, Mike heard a thud on deck.  The thud signified the spinnaker dropping on the deck.  The two part spinnaker halyard had parted.

Mike realized he had no choice, but to climb the mast and replace Group 4's only spinnaker halyard.  To add to the complications, :"It was now early evening and I knew that I would lose a whole nights racing if I didn't tackle it now."  Up the mast went Mike as Group 4 sailed on under main and genoa.  At the top of the mast Mike saw fellow Class I yacht PRB. 

At this point Mike felt this way: "It was getting dark now, I was physically tired shaking from the adrenaline surge."  So, he descended the mast before his exhaustion overtook him.  He got out the spare spinnaker set it, and then took a 30 minute nap.  After that it was back to work.

When, not doing jobs like that the Around Alone fleet is racing really hard.  This morning we have a new name on top of the leader board in Josh Hall and Gartmore.  He has put himself in 1st with a 1.1 mile lead over Fila.   3rd in Class I is the aforementioned Mike Golding and Group 4.  This is one of the closest packs we have seen in this Around Alone leg 1.

The two French Class I entries have headed to the south.  At last report, PRB is now the most southern boat in the fleet.  In general weather reports call for better wind north so we shall see if this gambit pays.

Class II has as its familiar leader Cray Valley.  25 miles back in 2nd is Magellan Alpha and 3rd is Balance Bar.

In general the pace of the fleet has slowed.   Light air dominates and produces a slow pace.  On board www.no-barriers.com, Neal Petersen reports: "Cloud cover has been important.  Where the clouds are the breeze is."  Class II leading skipper J.P. Mouligne confirms this light air: "The sea is flat calm and I am ghosting along at 4 to 5 knots."

Also, in Class II Robin Davie reports nice weather, but some problems on board South Carolina.  For one his large altrenator has quit, another his water ballast pump has given out and finally his autoplor drive has stopped working.  Obviously this could influence his progress in the race. 

However, there is a breeze that is building off South Carolina and should come out into the ocean and help the trailing boats.  This may be why some the trailing Class I boats such as Project Amazon (35 miles gain in the last 6 hours) and Modern University for the Humanities (20 mile gain in the last 6 hours) have closed on the leaders.

Another indication of the weather conditions is that in Class I compass headings vary from 068 (Fila) to 115 (Project Amazom).  In Class II the variation is smaller, from 082 (Cray Valley) to 097 (Balance Bar).  Indications are that the pressure softens as the fleet moves east.  This is confirmed by the disparate Class I headings as they search for wind. 

Questions or comments on these reports ?  Let me know them drop me a line- ike@torresen.com