The Kids are Alright
ATLANTIC OCEAN– After yesterday’s frustration when Simon Fisher confessed to confusion on why ABN AMRO TWO was not making the same progress as her sister boat, ABN AMRO ONE, things finally slipped into place for the young crew today. In the last report ABN AMRO TWO has not only taken second place moving away from Brazil 1 but has also posted the fasted and longest 24 hour run of the fleet.
Speaking from the boat, Navigator, Simon Fisher said, “It has been another great 24 hours aboard ABN AMRO TWO. Our efforts were finally rewarded yesterday evening when we managed to finally get past Brazil 1 and into the second place spot. However I am sure that holding this place will be as hard as or harder to keep than it was to gain in the first place so there is no time for relaxing.”
Holding second place was not the only concern for Simon as ABN AMRO TWO, which has not performed too well in light winds to date, entered the Doldrums. “So far we have got off lightly”, said Simon, “but we are by no means in the clear yet. I write this with some amount of trepidation as I don’t really want to tempt fate but we have sustained good winds all the way to four degrees north now so there is only a few hundred more miles to go. Even the thunderstorms have been kind to us rather than the frustrating wind zapping clouds we had a few days ago. These big black clouds have had plenty of wind and lots of rain in them.”
“It hasn’t been too bad,” added Watch Captain, Nick Bice. “We’ve had easterly breeze the whole way so far between 15-18 knots. We’ve just been dodging a few thunder clouds. A few are starting to develop and when they develop, they develop very quickly so you’ve got to have your wits about you.” The thunder clouds that bring with them the squalls, come in two flavours. “We try and work out whether they are blowing or sucking - whether they are going to take all the wind away or whether we are going to get some wind in front of it,” explains Bice. “Generally you get some wind in front of the cloud. Fortunately we have been lucky enough to be in front of every cloud so far and escaped around the side of it as opposed to getting stuck in the middle.”
However, as the temperature rises life on board has become less pleasant for the crew. “Sleeping is hard as it is so damn hot. With black walls everywhere and regular spray over the deck the interior is becoming like a sauna. I’ve had to abandon my bunk in favour of my rather more uncomfortable navigation seat. Sleeping is slightly easier as there’s a little more air there. Still we cannot complain”, he continued, “life is good and it’s only 500 miles now to the first of the scoring gates. If we can mantain our position until then we’ll be in good shape!!”
Latest positions
ABN AMRO ONE
Position: 1st
Lat: 04 28.01N
Long: 30 03.40W
Distance to finish (DTF): 3878 nautical miles
ABN AMRO TWO
Position: 2nd
Lat: 05 49.43N
Long: 30 14.12W
DTF: 3955 nautical miles
Next position report: 22.00 GMT
| This entry was posted on Monday, November 21st, 2005 at 8:02 am and is filed under Main Stories. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed. |
