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Around Alone Report December 16

Somewhere charges to 1st

Please consult The Around Alone Report Users Guide for an explanation of this report.

Somewhere has now completed a run up the fleet.   As for most of Leg 1, Somewhere is now the fleet leader.  Of course on Leg 1 Somewhere was not able to hold this lead to the finish.  With 3800 miles to the finish Leg 2 is not decided either.

Fleet Round Up:

Somewhere's run to 1st is complete.   Now that Marc Thiercelin is in 1st, he is continuing to sail hard and fast.   His current reported speed is 16.3 knots fastest in the fleet.

Fila is now 2nd, 21 miles back of Somewhere.  Giovanni Soldini reports on the weather and its affects: "It's freezing cold and I have a blazing cold to go with it, so I'm a bit out of it."   Also, Soldini has had problems with his boom gooseneck.  The pin that held the boom fell out and could not be found.  So, Soldini stuck a screw in as a fix.   The status of this repair is now as follows: "I have to be careful, though, because now the weight of the boom is not centered on the bush and the whole thing could break up."  Jury rig and all Fila is making 15.5 knots the fleets 2nd fastest reading.

PRB has dropped from the lead to 3rd.   During this time PRB experienced a knockdown.  In contrast to other skippers, Isabelle low keys this experience.  She thinks of the knockdown this way: "No panic... Once the boat is lying on her side, nothing else happens. You have time to roller-furl the genoa, go get the backstay, shift the mainsail, and set off again... slowly."  PRB is now 36 miles out of 1st.

4th is Group 4 93 miles from 1st, 25 more than yesterday.  

5th is Gartmore 778 miles out of 1st.   Gartmore seems to be moving along despite numerous problems, currently sailing at 10.1 knots.

6th in Class I is Modern University for the Humanities, well back.  Skipper Fedor Konioukhov is having a hard time getting into the Roaring 40's.  He's made it down to 39 south and is sailing 152 degrees which will get him slowly south.  He further reports: "all systems are working perfectly." 

In previous sailing adventures Fedor has come up with methods to deal with the hardship.  He describes one method as follows: "I take 250 ml of rum and pour it into hot pot and wait till boiling time, then I put in some pepper, spices, and just before drinking I add in some of my own vodka and red wine. The taste is incredible and the flavor is good also. After this cocktail I can be on a deck for a long time. There is one shortcoming -- once upon a time after this rough cocktail, I find that I was sailing wrong directions." 

Magellan is still Class I leader, but her lead is down to a scant 5 miles.  Mike Garside says that the problems he had on Leg 1 with his autopilot and canting keel are gone.  In fact Mike thinks Leg 1's keel problems may have been a help in the long term:  "When I could only move the keel a little way and lock it off, I discovered that small movements made for more sensitive balance and, in turn, better speed. Now I no longer wack the keel from one side to the other but tweak it up and down til Alphie feels in tune with the sea."

Cray Valley is still 2nd.  Currently Cray Valley is sailing at a speed of 13.1 knots to Magellan's 11.3 knots.   Looks like the Class II lead could also change. 

Balance Bar is 3rd, 237 miles back.  

Wind of Change is 4th, having closed to within 40 miles of Balance Bar.  Currently the 40 foot Wind Of Change shows the same speed as the 10 foot longer Balance Bar.

5th is www.no-barriers.com.  Neal Petersen is frustrated by light winds.  He plans to sail some miles south in search of better breeze.  He needs it, as his 5.3 knots is the lowest in the fleet. 

6th is Shuten Dojhi II. Minoru Saito reports: "Drifting, it's not coming strongest winds. [The winds] were 25-40 Kts N-NW and up to 50 Kts. Now drinking a SAKE."

7th is Paladin 2.  Wind is also foremost on Neil Hunter's mind: "Am not getting the sort of weather the boats further south are getting and could do with a bit more breeze." 

The final boat on the course is Rapscallion III trying to make up time she lost while making repairs.

South Carolina has yet to sail from Cape Town.

What does it all mean ?

Class I has seen a lead change.  Soon it looks like Class II should also have a new leader.  The weather is proving agreeable and all boats are making progress.  One wonders how long this will last.

Standings Table