Around the World of Sailing
13 March 2002
Event News: Leg 5 begins
Available on line at:
http://www.torresen.com/news/atwos/2002/ma/0313/ms.htm
Leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean race started Saturday afternoon.
The start took place in Guanabara Bay off Rio De Janeiro
Brazil. Djuice Dragons led the fleet out of Rio.
Sail Change on SEB
©Oskar Kihlborg Team SEB Electronic Image
Unlike the last leg, this one has a lot of light and medium
air upwind sailing. In addition to the straight line
sailing there have been two other issues. One is positioning,
the other is squalls/clouds.
The fleet has shown a herd mentality with the exception of
News Corp. They tacked early and are a degree of longitude
to the east. This gave them an early lead, but currently
they trail by 26 miles. Early after the move Ross Field
reported, "no one else in the fleet took the inside and we
have bounced to first. Very happy and right at the moment
we have a nice counter current pushing us towards to top of
South America."
News Corp Upwind in lite air
The second issue that of clouds and squalls is also
described by Ross Field, "We seem to be attracting every
black cloud there is. We clear one and then we get hit by
another Unfortunately there is no wind inside these things
so we try and get around the edges." Assa Abloy is a slim
2nd to Tyco. Navigator Mark Rudiger puts it up to clouds
writing, "We had been doing well until last night, finally a
squall lined up just the wrong way and Tyco slipped by."
Katie Pettibone steering Amer Too as the sun sets off the Brizilian coast.
©Klaartje Zuiderbaan
So for now it's sailing in winds from 5.5 knots (Amer Sports
Too) to 9 knots (Assa Abloy) at speeds ranging from 9.0
knots (Amer Sports One) to 10.4 knots (Tyco). While doing
so dodge rain clouds and squalls and then by the weekend end
deal with the Doldrums.
Links:
Rudi Email
http://www.volvooceanrace.com/team/aart/email/leg_5/20020312_rudiger_2.html
Field on Clouds
http://www.volvooceanrace.com/team/news/email/leg_5/20020312_field.html
Djuice on the Start
http://dragons.djuice.com/web/index.do?a=goNews&s=_Category&i=/content/en/news/articles/172301015697889_N.xml&p=newsjambean
Bernot on Leg 5
http://dragons.djuice.com/web/index.do?a=goNews&s=_Category&i=/content/en/news/articles/159411015695517_N.xml&p=newsjambean
Assa's Americans
http://www.assaabloyracingteam.com/verktygsladan/nyheter/nyheter_detaljbild.asp?id=299&inter=False
SEB at fault in Collision
http://www.volvooceanrace.com/news/leg_5/n5_020310_bang.html
Damage to the aft padeye on illbruck with temporary repairs after collision with SEB soon after the start
© Ray Davies illbruck
Theme: Rigging Part I
Available on line at:
http://www.torresen.com/news/atwos/2002/ma/0313/ms.htm
The next two weeks we will look at ways to inspect your
boats rigging and perform preventative maintenance during
spring commissioning. This week we look at running
rigging such as sheets and halyards. Next week we will
consider the mast and it's standing rigging.
Running rigging comes in many forms, from 3-strand nylon on
cruising boats to single braid spectra on racing boats.
What they all have in common is that they can suffer a
decline in performance from wear, abrasion, heat and other
factors.
One way to check your running rigging is by inspecting it
visually. Frayed strands, broken yarns, and pulled strands
are items to look for. If a rope has been heavily used it
will become compacted or hard which can indicate a lessening
in strength. While a visual inspection of your running
rigging can't precisely determine remaining strength it can
keep you apprised of the wear pattern of the item.
For rope such as 3 strand surface damage is a key indicator.
If a line has a core under the cover is less susceptible to
strength loss through surface damage.
When inspecting a rope here are signs to look for and their
meaning. If the surface of a rope is extremely rough
strength is being lost. If the surface of the cover has
been reduced by 50% or more for a distance of 4 or more rope
diameters you should consider replacement or using the rope
in a lower load application. If you can see the core
through the surface discard the rope.
If a rope shows pulled strands be aware that these can snag
and cause problems during use. You should try to work these
back into the rope to preserve the integrity.
A rope can be burned via friction when in use. If you see a
melted or fused length longer than 4 rope diameters consider
replacing the line.
If a rope has an eye splice in it there are several areas to
look at. If there is abrasion at the female end of the
splice (side that comes from the main rope) you should
consider resplicing or discarding the rope. To protect the
rest of the splice thimbles should be used when possible.
One way to prevent damage to your running rigging is to
assure a smooth run. Check the masthead, and blocks to
ensure rough edges don't exist. A good dousing with fresh
water can help blocks, sheaves and fair leads run freely.
Tape things like cotter pins and split rings to avoid damage
such as pulled strands.
Inspect items that interface with your running rigging. Do
your winches spin freely and feel smooth? If not consider
having a winch service performed. Are cleats securely
fastened to the deck? Do cam cleats work freely? If you have
rope stoppers, do they hold?
Be aware that like other items on your boat rope can be
degraded by exposure to sunlight. Perhaps think about
removing sheet lines between sails to get them out of the
sun.
Links:
Samson Rope
http://www.samsonrope.com/home.cfm
Inspection
http://www.yalecordage.com/html/usage_pl.html
Cordage Info
http://www.jhh.com/Cordage.htm
Fiber Characteristics
http://www.neropes.com/pleasure_marine/default.htm
Event News: Jules Verne Trophy
Available on line at:
http://www.torresen.com/news/atwos/2002/ma/0313/ms.htm
The maxi catamaran has now crossed the equator on her lap of
the globe. Orange has had 24-hour runs ranging from 173
while just south of the equator to 530 miles while at the
latitude of St. Helena in the Atlantic.
Once past the Equator and its Doldrums the next obstacle was
the large St. Helena high. Navigator Gilles Chiorri said
"We've no intention of calling ourselves Bonaparte!" or
being held up by this weather phenomenon. And so they
haven't clocking 437 miles in the last 24.
Recently they had their first fright with that old maxi cat
bugaboo, padeyes ripping from the deck. Nick Moloney reports
on the breakage: "Was woken this morning by the mainsheet
block pad eye breaking, flew out of my bunk but situation
now rectified by drilling into main beam and lashing. Now
trying to change out all pad eyes of that make for lashings
[made of spectra] through the bolt holes direct to boat
structure. They are used on Backstays, sheet blocks etc."
All this has resulted in Orange being 15° south of the
equator. At the same point Sport Elec was 3° north.
Therefore Orange is 1405 miles ahead of record pace readying
to meet the Southern Ocean.
Links:
Orange
http://www.maxicatamaran-orange.com/site/en/index2.cfm
Nick Moloney Reports
http://www.nickmoloney.com/nick/default.asp
News: Star Bacardi Cup
Available on line at:
http://www.torresen.com/news/atwos/2002/ma/0313/ms.htm
A total of 6 races were sailed off Miami in the 75th
anniversary Bacardi Cup for Star boats hosted by Coral Reef
Yacht Club. It was a competitive and international fleet.
The Top 10 had teams from 6 countries with the USA having 4
teams, Great Britain 2 and Bermuda, Germany, Spain and
Portugal one each.
Posting a cushy victory were the classes current Olympic
Champions Mark Reynolds and Magnus Liljerdahl of the USA.
They won races 2,4 and 5 ending up with 20 points. They
edged another US team of Paul Cayard and Phil Trinter by 16
points. They had a best finish of 2nd in race 5.
Other race winning teams were Foss Miller & Greg Newhall of
the USA in race 1, Iain Percy & Steve Mitchell of Great
Britain in race 3, and Peter Bromby & Martin Seese (3rd
overall) in race 6.
Perhaps most impressive is the performance of the 2 British
teams. In 4th was Iain Percy a 2000 Finn Gold Medallist with
49er Olympic medallist Ian Barker in 9th.
Next up for the Star Class will be the Spring Championships
in Tampa 24-30 April.
Links:
Results
http://www.coralreefyachtclub.org/March_8_summary.htm
Reynolds/Liljerdahl
http://www.star2004.com/
Percy thoughts
http://www.madforsailing.com/SAIL/Articles.nsf/LookUp/98BC0F7CA5F5A8B880256B760035AE77?OpenDocument
|
