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Around the World of Sailing
18 April 2001
Vendee Globe: Final Finisher
Available on line at:
http://www.torresen.com/atwos/2001/ap/0418/ms.htm
The Vendee Globe single-handed non-stop around the world race,
which started on November 10, 2000, has officially ended.
Italian sailor Patrick Pasquale De Gregorio became the final
finisher. His time in the 50 footer Wind, was 158 days, 2 hours.
He was the 2nd of two 50 footers to finish and is ranked 15th.
This is last amongst the finishers, but ahead of all the boats
who did not make it to the finish without stopping.
De Gregorio's time is the second slowest ever for the Vendee
Globe. The slowest was recorded by J. Francois Coste who took
163 days to sail the global course.
The next single handed around the world race, Around Alone, will
hold a press conference in London April 25th. They will
announce plans for the 6th sailing of the race expected to
start in September of 2002.
Links:
Vendee Globe Results http://www.torresen.com/vg/results.htm
Vendee Globe Reports http://www.torresen.com/vg/
Finish Report http://www.torresen.com/vg/
Theme Article: Handling and Docking
Available on line at:
http://www.torresen.com/atwos/2001/ap/0418/ms.htm
March's series of theme articles is on Docking and
Docklines. The series will cover: what makes a good dockline
(published 4 April), fender infobits (11 April), today's piece
on handling and next week notes on how to secure your boat to
the dock.
This article is written in question and answer format.
The questions are from participants at the docking and docklines
seminar held April 8th.
Question:
What's a good way to prevent mistakes in the docking process?
Answer: The use of a checklist prevents mistakes such not
having a boat hook available or putting the fenders on the
wrong side. Have your crewmate double check your work and
vice versa.
Question:
How to handle wind blowing off the dock?
Answer: Wind blowing off a dock is usually a crosswind. It
hits the beam of your boat and pushes you sideways, perhaps
towards the dock and towards a the post for your stern line.
You should regularly check your masthead fly as you
begin to dock. If it shows a beam wind, you'll need to
compensate for it. If the wind blows over your port side,
over steer the boat to the left. As the wind pushes the boat
you will end up in the middle of the slip.
Question:
What are the docking winds to be sensitive to?
Answer: There's the crosswind as discussed above. Then there is
a tailwind blowing over the stern. This will tend to add speed.
You'll perhaps need to use less throttle. Also, an aft leading
spring line will serve as a second break in addition to your
reversing gear.
A headwind is perhaps the best for docking. It comes
over the bow and slows the boat. If heavy enough, you may need
to use more power to push the boat through the wind.
Question:
Should I go slowly when docking?
Answer: Going slowly to avoid a hard hit against a dock seems
the logical answer. However, there is as much danger in
approaching a dock too slowly. For your rudder and keel to aid
the hull through the water you must have sufficient speed.
Just as when you sail in zephyrish conditions and the boat
won't respond to the helm, the same can happen if you approach
a dock under power at .5 knots. To take the sometimes necessary
evasive maneuvers you must have some speed to control the boat.
Remember, power and speed are your friend!
Question:
What advice do you have for docking in the current low water
climate?
Answer: For one, keep up on the current water depths. For
another be aware of your boats location. Try to traverse
dredged channels and fairways. Most marinas are dredging this
spring. However, don't look for the entire basin to be a
uniform depth. When entering, unless told otherwise, stick to
the center where it is typically dug the deepest. Stay to the
center of the slip. This is dug deepest so your keel can have
depth to avoid grounding.
College Sailing Report
Available on line at:
http://www.torresen.com/atwos/2001/ap/0418/ms.htm
This past weekend's major college sailing regatta was the
Admiral's cup hosted by the US Merchant Marine academy. In
typical college sailing fashion each of 3 boats per team sailed
12 races in 2 days.
# 1 ranked Georgetown performed up to their ranking winning by
12 points over St. Mary's. Georgetown won 2 of 3 divisions and
survived a 6th in the other. 2nd ranked Harvard finished 6th.
At the Moody Trophy hosted by Rhode Island University Harvard
reversed fortunes with Georgetown. Led by Sean Doyle's 21 point
victory in A division, Harvard was 1st with Georgetown 2nd.
Doyle made All American after the 2000 season.
This weekend sees a keel boat regatta at the Naval Academy and
a dinghy event at the Coast Guard academy. For the Midwest's
women collegiate sailors the Women's dinghy championship will
be sailed at the University of Michigan.
Links:
Admirals Cup
http://www.collegesailing.org/00intersx/s01/admiral.htm
Moody Trophy
http://www.collegesailing.org/00intersx/s01/moody.htm
The Race: Final Finisher
Available on line at:
http://www.torresen.com/atwos/2001/ap/0418/ms.htm
Starting on December 31, 2000 and continuing into the new
Millennium The Race is now officially completed. Of the 6 boats
that started from Barcelona Spain, 5 eventually reached the
finish line. Three of them had to make stops for repairs. The
first finishers, Club Med and Innovation Explorer, sailed non
stop. The next three, Team Adventure, Warta Polpharma and Team
Legato all made at least 1 stop.
Skippered by Tony Bullimore and with only 6 crew remaining at
race's end, Team Legato's time was 104 days 20 minutes and 52
seconds.
3rd place finisher Team Adventure is onto a new voyage sailing
the Atlantic on the Route of Discovery from Spain to the Bahamas.
Two schoolteachers are onboard to conduct an educational
program relating to the 1st sailor of this route- Christopher
Columbus.
Links:
Team Legato Finish Report
http://www.therace.org/asp/une1.asp?NewsId=3561&LangId=
Team Adventure Report
http://www.teamadventure.org/pages/Route%20of%20Discovery/oh041701.htm