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on the Torresen Sailing School
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on the Torresen Sailing School
Please consult The Around Alone Report Users Guide for an explanation of this report.
The expected storm is now centered around 55-57 degrees south 115 degrees west. Winds in this system are from 35 to 50 knots. To the west of the storm, you have strong SW winds, while to the east you have strong NW winds. So far, all boats have weathered it in good order.
Fleet Round Up:
Somewhere leads the race and is far from the storm. March Thiercelin is sailing in the Drake Passage south of Cape Horn. As Somewhere is currently positioned Thiercelin will not actually see the Horn. The current estimate of Somewhre's Leg 3 time is 20 days ! This time should grow as the winds north of Cape Horn can be quite variable. Still, Somewhere is sailing an epic and record leg to this point. In fact Thiercelin is secure enough in his lead that will make a pit stop upon rounding Cape Horn. According to his shore crew Somewhere will stop 100 miles north east of Cape Horn and make repairs to his main boom gooseneck.
Fila is now 2nd 409 miles back. At last report Fila was sailing at 16.8 knots, 2.7 faster than Somewhere. Even with Fila's rescue detour her leg time is estimated at 23 days.
Cray Valley is 1st in Class II by 202
miles, 95 more than yesterday. As J.P. Mouligne moved to the east of the storm
system he commented: "The good news with this new Northwest wind is that it is a lot
warmer, the freezing Southwest wind comes from Antarctica and the difference is huge."
Magellan Alpha is 2nd in Class by 202 miles. Mike
Garside reports problems with his running backstays during the intense storm. He
repaired them and all is well. However, the repair took a lot out of him.
Therefore he was unable to sail as hard as nescessary and feels that is one reason
for the sudden gap between Magelland and Cray Valley.
Balance Bar is 3rd in Class II by 289 miles. Brad Van Liew checks in with thoughts on a Southern Ocean summer cruise: "I was on deck putting in the third reef when it began to snow. I didn't know how to react to snow on my summer cruise through the pacific so I simply laughed as I worked.
Next is the first of the 40 foot Class II entries, Wind of Change. Wind of Change is 510 miles back, sailing at 8.4 knots. Viktor Yazykov reports that the storm casued the following damage to Wind of Change: windex blown off mast, solar panel washed away, lazy jack broke. Wind of Change surfed at up to 25 knots.
Next is Shuten Dojhi II. Shuten lies 1463 miles from 1st place.
Next is www.no-barriers.com. Neal Petersen is 1719 miles back. Recently Neal has been working on his heater. He is reasonably certain it'll put out heat when needed. He sums up his thoughts this way: "Out here one has to be inventive and adaptable. As I tell my audience on the speaking circuit, if you can't adapt and progress with changing times, you are in trouble. That is why we believe..."In life there are no barriers, only solutions."
Paladin 2 comes next 1848 miles back. Neil Hunter says, "A lot more breeze is forecast over the weekend so today may well be the last calm one for a while."
What does it all mean ?
Cray Valley has really sailed stronger as this leg has gone on. It looks like Leg 3 is shaping up as another Cray Valley victory.