June 30, 2004
Close 1st Attempt for Ellen
Few sailors are identified on a 1st name basis. British single handed Ellen Macarthur aka 'Ellen' is one of those well known few. She just came up 75 minutes short of a new outright single handed west to east Trans Atlantic record. She did set a new record for the female category, though Ellen certainly has higher sights than this.
During the Atlantic crossing Ellen and her trimaran B&Q sailed about 400 miles more than the direct route, and about 350 more miles than record hold Laurent Bourgnon. For her 75 foot trimaran this is a day's sail, so no doubt this record will be hers in the future.
The hard distance sailed figures are as follows:
Average speed of the WSSRC transatlantic course of 2925 miles : 17.02 knots
Average speed on the distance sailed through the water 3338 miles : 19.42 knots
Speaking with the Daily Sail afterwards she said, '"I tried to look at it in averages to the finish and not to think whether I was behind or ahead, because with a record attempt it can vary." This is an interesting perspective...it's not how far you have to go, or how fast the other person went but how fast do you need to go. During the record attempt reports carried this figure as... Average boat speed (VMG) now required to beat record: 17.64. During the attempt B&Q's best 24 hour sail was 510/21.25 knots so seeing you need to average 17.64 knots is not as daunting as it might seem.
Record breaking sailing such as Ellen is engaged in is as pure and adrenaline filled as it gets. There's only 2 outcomes, record or no record. No salvaging things by a 3rd place, or a good class finish/bad overall etc.
Sailing for records is all speed, time and distance without other factors.
It comes down to the added distance of "one extra gybe and during that time while heading to the north we were not making much ground to the finish." To the reduced speed and added time of this situation "14.9 knots was absolutely achievable and then the breeze switched 10 degrees too far round and there was no way we could make that as the VMG."
This fall look for Ellen to go after the solo round the world record recently set by Francis Joyon.
It'll be a pleasure to be able spectate on Ellen's next attempt, regardless of course.
The View From New Zealand
Russell Coutts may once again be in the process of changing America's Cup teams. Last time he made a controversial move from Team New Zealand to Alignhi. Now he maybe parting ways with Alinghi.
I had the chance to ask a New Zealand sailor what the buzz re. this in Coutts home country of New Zealand is. Here's his answer: "The buzz down here is Russell Coutts is not held in very high regard ( understatement!! ) and in the NZ slang, " good job" which means something like he who lives by the sword dies by the sword. There would some satisfaction for NZer's if Russell didn't sail in the next AC as many feel betrayed by him selling out after the last AC, so it seems ironic that he can fall out so easily with Bertarelli. It looks like Russell wants to be in control of the syndicate, design and sailing, but he is just a fund
raiser and he does not like it. Its great cos it throws the contest wide
open now."
Rules of the Road when Sailing
The Racing Rules of Sailing govern sailboat racing. They cover many aspects but one of the main areas is right of way. Your boat has right of way when another is required to keep clear of you.
The racing rules say that when on opposite racks port-tack keeps clear of starboard. Put another way starboard-tack has right of way.
If boats are on the same tack and overlapped the windward boat is the keep clear boat, with the leeward boat having right of way.
Boats are overlapped when one boats bow is even or past another boats stern.
When boats are on the same tack and not overlapped the boat astern shall keep clear of the boat ahead which has right of way. In this situation the boat doing the overtaking, or passing, is the keep clear boat.
Even if you are just a day sailor, or a cruiser these basic rules give you an idea how to handle basic interactions with other sailboats.
Linky Sailing News
Racing Swedish Match Race
News Rosebud's Bermuda. Watches> Next for Ellen
Great Lakes Port Huron 100
June 29, 2004
Rowing Reporters Rating recommendation
Here's one solution to sailboat handicapping. It has two main parts. One is box rules, the other is age divisions.
A box rule such as the Transpac 52 sets limits on factors such as legnth, minimum displacement, draft, sail area etc. It's called a box rule in that the measurements fit within a box.
I would propose that there be a series of boxes beginning at 20-25 feet, 30-35 feet etc. on upwards.
Within each of the 5 foot boxes there would then be 5 year age groups. Boats from 1950-1955, 1956-1961 etc.
I believe the purpose of racing is to reward the fastest. That's how all other forms of racing work. This system would reward the fastest boat in each box. For the 1st across the line would be the winner.
I am not anti older boat either. I've got many years on older boats. Having standings within the standings would then recognize a fast and successful boat for as long as it is well sailed.
Everyone can be a winner.....progress is awarded...as is preservation.
A Close 415 Miler
Concentration was at 100 per cent for the 415 nautical mile race from Warnemunde in Germany to Sandhamn in Sweden. Just one mistake would give the opponent an advantage. For 47 hours, two teams, Sony Ericsson (T Blixt/Swe) and Britain’s Matthew Humphries with Team Elanders were attached to each other by a piece of elastic, or so it seemed.
Finally, Team Elanders crossed the finish line six minutes ahead of Blixt. “It went really well,” said a smiling Matthew Humphries. “This crew is very competitive and this is the kind of result they want to have. They deserved to win. We’re all pretty tired. I can’t think anymore, we’re all burnt out. We haven’t been running a watch system, and it was tough mentally and physically with no sleep.”
Team Elanders led in the early stage of the race, but Sony Ericsson over took as a front passed over. Humphries’ strategy of protecting the right hand side of the course began to pay as the wind shifted from the west to the south west about 20 miles from Almagrundet and an hour later they moved into the lead.
“We knew, maybe one hour before, that Elanders would pass us,” explained Blixt adding, “they had to separate from us, otherwise they wouldn’t have passed us. There was nothing we could do. Of course we are disappointed, but we have a new race tomorrow.”
Starting in very light airs from Warnemunde on Sunday, it was a frustratingly slow ride for the first day and night, with glassy seas and slatting sails. “It’s harder to race in lighter air than heavy air as it takes so much effort,” explained Avant’s skipper Mikael Lundh from Sweden.
The light conditions benefited AV-Teknik’s mainly Croatian crew, whose boat is better suited to this type of racing. They swept into third place and were nipping at the heels of Team Elanders in second, until they blew out their spinnaker during the second night. A thunder squall brought with it a change of wind direction and 30 knots of wind and the team couldn’t drop their spinnaker in time. Sony Ericsson and Team Elanders escaped unscathed. “We can gain when there’s less wind,” said co-skipper Anders Carlberg/Swe, but Sony Ericsson and Team Elanders just take off when it’s windy.” AV-Teknik did not have a sail suitable for the conditions and the disappointed crew could do nothing to prevent JMS Next Generation who finished in third and Avant who finished three minutes later in fourth, slip past them.
JMS Next Generation (KI Heiberg/Nor) and Avant spent much of the racing covering each other. During the night, Avant lost sight of JMS in a bad thunder squall. “They (JMS) stayed to leeward, and when the wind lifted, it paid off,” explained Mikael Lundh. “From start to finish we were not doing what we wanted to do, we simply sailed the wrong way. This leg was important, but there’s still three more stages,” he added.
Norwegian skipper of JMS, Kjell Inge Heiberg, saw it this way: “We ended up on the wrong side of the course at the southern tip of Sweden. We decided to take a loss and went to find the wind. We didn’t know if we were in front until we got to Oland, (an island south of Gotland, close to mainland Sweden). It was an exciting, interesting and in some ways an unexpected race and we’re tired, but very happy to be third.”
Finishing positions leg 6
1 Team Elanders (Matthew Humphries, UK)
2 Sony Ericsson (Thomas Blixt, Swe)
3 JMS Next Generation (Stefan Eneman, Swe/Kjell-Inge Heiberg, Nor)
4 Avant (M Lundh, Swe)
5 AV Teknik (Marko Murtic, Cro)
Positions overall after leg 6 (leg 4 postponed)
1 Team Elanders 20.5 points
2 Sony Ericsson 20 points
3 JMS Next Generation 12.0 points
4 Avant 10.0 points
5 AV Teknik 5 points
US Youth Multi Hull Winners
For the first time in the history of US SAILING’s U.S. Youth Multihull Championship, a pair of siblings won the event. TJ and Jerry Tullo, from Staten Island, NY, and representing Toms River Yacht Club in NJ, were presented with the US SAILING Arthur J. Stevens Trophy during the closing ceremonies on Sunday. By winning the event, the brothers have qualified to represent the USA at the 2005 ISAF Youth World Championship to be held in South Korea. The event was hosted by Sea Cliff Yacht Club, NY, and sailed in brand-new Hobie 16s supplied by the Hobie Cat Company.
The Tullo brothers took the lead on the first day of racing and never gave
up their lead. For skipper TJ, who is two-and-a-half years older than his
brother Jerry, this wasn’t his first appearance at the U.S. Youth Multihull
Championship. He competed in the 2001 event and finished second. Unable to
compete in the 2002 and 2003 events, TJ came back this year and was prepared
to win. He bought a multihull several months ago and used it for practice
throughout the spring. At the Championship, the Tullo’s were the team to
beat, they had four bullets in a total of eight races and finished with a
total of 14 points. In second place, with a total of 21 points, were Jack
Field and Tyler Burd representing Ram Island Yacht Club in West Mystic, CT.
A sportsmanship award was presented to Tim Wallace of Eastpoint, FL, for his
positive sportsmanship behavior. A few minutes before going out on the water
for the second day of racing, Wallace received a call from home and got the
news that his grandmother had passed away. Wallace took a few minutes to
compose himself and then continued with what he had been doing throughout
the Championship: helping event organizers by setting up the boats and
fine-tuning them, and being exceptionally gracious to anyone at the event,
including his fellow competitors. Wallace finished fourth in the event
before rushing home to be with his family.
4th Challenger
Following the completion of all entry formalities, the Société Nautique de Genève (SNG) has this week accepted a challenge from the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron (RNZYS). Emirates Team New Zealand therefore becomes the fourth challenger for the 32nd America’s Cup, lining-up beside the American BMW Oracle Racing, the Italian Puitrentanove and the South African Team Shosholoza in the quest for the Louis Vuitton Cup and the right to sail the Defender Alinghi for the America’s Cup in 2007.
Emirates Team New Zealand is now shipping one of its yachts, NZL-82, to Europe and will be seen racing in the Marseille Louis Vuitton Act in September. Emirates Team New Zealand is an evolution of the team that was defeated by Team Alinghi in the 31st America’s Cup, in 2003. Up until that defeat Team New Zealand had completely dominated the America’s Cup world since it first won the Louis Vuitton Cup and the America’s Cup in San Diego in 1995. At some stage during the match racing element of the first Act the Kiwi crew will sail against Alinghi’s SUI-64, the first of many rematches that will take place between these two great teams in the lead up to 2007.
Grant Dalton, the managing director of the syndicate since last year’s defeat, commands a huge amount of respect for his offshore sailing achievements and project management skills.
“Twelve months ago we set out to bring together the best sailing skills and the best design team, back them with the best support available and create a team that can win the America’s Cup again,” Dalton said from New Zealand. “We aimed to broaden the team’s skill and experience base and encourage the innovation and flair for which this team is renowned.”
Notable additions to the Emirates Team New Zealand sailing team include Briton Ben Ainslie (two-time ISAF World Sailor of the Year and Olympic Gold and Silver medallist) and American-born Terry Hutchinson (AmericaOne 2000, Stars & Stripes 2002), Rod Davis (10th America’s Cup campaign, Olympic Gold and Silver medallist) and Kevin Hall (AmericaOne 2000 and OneWorld Challenge 2002).
Another Briton, Andy Claughton, who has been involved with New Zealand America’s Cup efforts since 1987, has become the design team coordinator. He is joined by the young Spanish designer Marcelino Botin, Team New Zealand veterans Clay Oliver and the legendary Tom Schnackenberg, whose personal history of design innovation at the America’s Cup dates back to 1977.
Emirates, the Dubai-based international airline, is the title sponsor of the team. Emirates Team New Zealand is also supported by Toyota and the Government of New Zealand.
Delivery Report
Skipper Conrad Humphreys sent through his latest update from onboard Open 60 HELLOMOTO today as they are on day 8 of their delivery voyage across the North Atlantic back to Europe from The Transat race: ‘We have just passed the half way stage of our delivery voyage home. After a high speed 24 hours with freshening south westerlies we were pushing HELLOMOTO hard, perhaps a little too hard at times. The conditions last night reached storm force – the wind topped out at 56 knots – as we powered downwind with three reefs in the mainsail and the trinquette set. After a bumpy night where the waves were reaching 50ft high with steep ramps, we woke this morning to see Skandia cross our stern heading east as we continued north into stronger wind.
‘At around 1340hrs yesterday with the wind around 40 knots we went for a gybe and reefed the main down to the third pennant. Unfortunately, the mainsail leech split around the third reef, so we’ve been stitching it back together since yesterday afternoon and all through the night until 4 o’clock this morning. It’s a difficult repair and it may mean no mainsail until we reach home. The wind is due to increase to 50 knots later today, so progress is okay under headsails alone. Tonight as the wind drops we will put up the genoa.
‘So, hopefully we can make this repair. If not, with the forecast due to get lighter it could be a slow trip home. I’ve just caught Tony “re-arranging” the food containers – I think he hopes he’ll find some hidden snacks! Olly’s still stitching at the end of the boom. We have looked at the food situation and provided Tony and Olly can make do with normal size portions we should have enough to get home!
‘Given this damage to the mainsail, it is now looking less likely that we’ll have time to make a pit-stop in Plymouth, but we’ll see how progress is for the next two days and make a call then, but it won’t be before the weekend now.
‘By the way, I took some amazing photos yesterday in the rough weather so here’s one ‘postcard from the edge’ for you all! Check out the website to see what happened next!’
Wish you were here..?!
Cheers
Conrad
Skipper, HELLOMOTO Open 60
Position: 46 16.46 N 35 58.94 W
Miles to the Channel: 1130m
True Wind Speed: 42 knots
True Wind Direction: 280 degrees
Heading: 060 degrees
Boat speed: 10.2 knots
Sail configuration: Headsails only (trinquette) as mainsail down for repairs
Linky Sailing News
Racing Macarthur 75 minutes short
News Coutts beat
Great Lakes Rip currents. Chicago & Waukegan. Used parts
1st record for Macarthur and Trimaran
Subject to WSSR Ratification there is a new record for the "Transatlantic
West to East, singlehanded female"
Ellen MacArthur
"Castorama B&Q"
22.9m Trimaran
7 days 3 hours 49 minutes 57 seconds
17.09 kts
The existing record is held by Florence Arthaud in a time of 9 days 22
hours 5 minutes
75 Minutes Short
ELLEN MISSES OUT ON SOLO RECORD...
Tuesday, 29 June 2004
IN BRIEF:
* ELLEN MACARTHUR ON B&Q TRIMARAN HAS FAILED TO BREAK THE SOLO TRANSATLANTIC WEST-EAST RECORD BY 75 MINUTES AFTER BATTLING ACROSS THE NORTH ATLANTIC FOR THE PAST WEEK ON HER VERY FIRST ATTEMPT. The outright record of Laurent Bourgnon, has stood for 10 years now, and remains at 7 DAYS, 2 HOURS, 34 MINUTES, 42 SECONDS...
* THE DEADLINE TO BEAT THE RECORD EXPIRED AT 00:44:42 GMT TODAY (29.6.04) AND B&Q CROSSED THE FINISH LINE AT 01:59:57 GMT after crossing the start line off Ambrose Light, New York (USA) on Monday 21 June at 2210 GMT completing the 2925 mile course in 7 days, 3 hours, 49 minutes, 57 seconds.
* A DISAPPOINTING END AFTER A MOMUMENTAL EFFORT FROM ELLEN MACARTHUR WHO HAS PUSHED B&Q AND HERSELF TO THE LIMITS in pursuit of this record, which has been missed by just over an hour...every time the record has looked a lost cause, Ellen has managed to squeeze more pace out of B&Q and get her back in to a positive position...but the wind, dropping in the final miles to under 15 knots, has had the final say.
* B&Q ACHIEVED A BEST 24-HOUR MILEAGE OF 526 MILES BETWEEN 0138 GMT 23.6.04 TO 0138 GMT 24.6.04...just 14 miles short of the solo 24 hour record. The performance of the boat has exceeded all expectations so far since her launch in Australia in January this year.
* AS HER VERY FIRST SOLO RECORD ATTEMPT ON THE GIANT 75 FOOT TRIMARAN, Ellen and the B&Q shore team have learnt an incredible amount on this 7 day sprint - about herself, and her 75 foot racing trimaran. Ellen will next consider whether to make a winter attempt on the round the world record held by Francis Joyon.
FINAL STATISTICS:
Average speed of the WSSRC transatlantic course of 2925 miles : 17.02 knots
Average speed on the distance sailed through the water 3338 miles : 19.42 knots
ON FAILING TO BREAK THE RECORD BY SUCH A SLIM MARGIN
"It's sad. I've put so much in to this record attempt. I've given it everything I've got. If I think of all the times I could have gained a few minutes, of times I've made small errors, it's very frustrating. But I've learnt huge amounts about myself and the boat. I never imagined being able to push her so hard. And I also haven't pushed myself that hard before, maybe not even in the Vendée Globe. I don't think I've slept for more than 12 hours in total since New York..."
Of course MacArthur, rather than having lost it by making errors, kept on 'making it possible' by drawing on her reserves and retaking the ground lost to Bourgnon's ghost track in the first couple of days. From 24 hours behind she has come back to be level with his track in the final miles, only to be defeated by the wind.
COULD SHE HAVE DONE MORE?
"I certainly couldn't have pushed any harder, that's for sure. In the closing stages, the biggest problem was the wind direction, we had to make one extra gybe and during that time while heading to the north we were not making much ground to the finish, but we had no choice to keep the stronger wind. At the end of the day the 'Wind Gods' were in control, not me. Two days ago I did actually think it was over, but we came back and got back in the game again. I had started to believe we were going to do it, but clearly it wasn't to be - this time."
FROM DAVID ROTH, MARKETING DIRECTOR, B&Q:
"Well done, Ellen, for your efforts to break the solo transatlantic record. You set yourself an amazing challenge and your 'can do' spirit is an inspiration to us all. We share your disappointment this time round but we look forward to facing the next big challenge with you and celebrating your success."
SUMMARY OF B&Q SOLO TRANSATLANTIC RECORD:
DAY 1:
22:10:00 GMT to 10:10:00 GMT 21.6.04
Follows almost the exact course away from New York as Laurent Bourgnon (Primagaz) record course. Experiences winch failure.
Behind record: -42 miles / -2h 27m / DTF (distance to finish) 2674 miles
10:10:00 GMT to 22:10:00 GMT 22.6.04
First 24 hours completed at an average speed of 17.16 knots - right on the record pace. New weather model arrives forcing choice - risk poor forecast on the northern direct route (less miles) or head for the best weather (southern route) but having to sail an average 2 knots faster than the record pace.
Behind record: -151 miles / -8h 48m / DTF (distance to finish) 2490 miles
Ellen quote: "At most 14 minutes sleep and 8 sail changes since having left New York and now I have something on the rudder acting like a giant break on the boat, until daylight there is not much I can do. I also broke part of a winch during the night so its not been an easy start..."
DAY 2:
22:10:00 GMT 22.6.04 to 10:10:00 GMT 23.6.04
Early part of third 12 hour at sea - experiences lighter winds of 14 knots, boat speed suffers down to 12-14 knots, followed by good breeze from 247 degrees at 0155 GMT sees start of some very high average speed hours, enters Gulf Stream and increases speed over ground (SOG) by 2 knots.
Behind record: -243 miles / -14h 10m / DTF (distance to finish) 2347 miles
10:10:00 GMT to 22:10:00 GMT 23.6.04
Continues very fast pace - wind at 27 knots at 245 degrees average. Perfect conditions for 24 hour record pace with 120 degrees wind angle.
Behind record: -289 miles/ -16h 51m / DTF (distance to finish) 2136 miles
Ellen quote: "Getting thrown around a bit right now, it's quite violent....haven't slept for more than 20 minutes in one go, and probably 15 minutes on the first night and maybe a couple of hours total in the last 24 hours. We're going so fast, cannot afford to miss anything, and am scared of breaking things, it's hard to sleep. Got no will to eat, but just have to look after the basics..."
DAY 3:
22:10:00 GMT 23.6.04 to 10:10:00 GMT 24.6.04
By 0138 GMT <> covers 525.96 miles in 24 hours - 14 miles short of the world record distance set by Laurent Bourgnon during his record in 1994.
Behind record: -398 miles / -23h 12m / DTF (distance to finish) 2000 miles
10:10:00 GMT to 22:10:00 GMT 24.6.04
At 1515 GMT gybes onto port, westerly wind 21 knots, boat speed 18.5 knots. 1750 GMT gybes back on to starboard and heading south-east waiting to be headed towards course.
Behind record: -428 miles / -24h 57m / DTF (distance to finish) 1852 miles
Ellen quote: "We had 40 knots of wind, we were down to 3rd reef and then we were hit very very hard by one wave, that sent us to 35 to 45 degrees maybe more. Absolutely smacked, the whole boat was physically thrown sideways including me."
DAY 4:
22:10:00 GMT 24.6.04 to 10:10:00 GMT 25.6.04
By 0025 GMT wind headed to allow sailing directly to Lizard finish line - speeds average around 18 knots.
Behind record: -385 miles / -22h 26m / DTF (distance to finish) 1625 miles
10:10:00 GMT to 22:10:00 GMT 25.6.04
Port gybe heading 067 degrees directly for the finish at 19 knots in 20 knots of wind. 1130 GMT sailed slightly lower for 2 hours then by 1400 GMT back on course. 1800 GMT increased breeze and headed, boat speed is 22 knots and at 2130 GMT averaging 23 knots boat speed.
Behind record: -300 miles / -17h 29m / DTF (distance to finish) 1379 miles
Ellen quote: "Totally powered up, just waiting for something to break, so just got in my bunk in the end... Having spent the night cold and worrying about it in cuddy, decided to go to bed as not much I can do! If we can hold these speeds for a while we’re on fire, and still have a chance on the record."
DAY 5:
22:10:00 GMT 25.6.04 to 10:10:00 GMT 26.6.04
Makes massive gains with consistent conditions for 12 hours. 2200 GMT sailing at 21 knots heading south of direct course; midnight breeze drops boat speed down to 18 knots. At 0845 breeze goes left slightly and allowing B&Q to sail more direct course.
Behind record: -108 miles / -6h 23m / DTF (distance to finish) 1141 miles
10:10:00 GMT to 22:10:00 GMT 26.6.04
Wind up to 25 knots and boat speed increases to 22 knots; heading west and looking for a header to take B&Q back to course; 1500 GMT wind dies off to 14 knots.
Behind record: -61 miles / -3h 33m / DTF (distance to finish) 902 miles
Ellen quote: "On the whole we're kind of alright. It's still tight, but the biggest issue is today. If the breeze dies out like its forecast we're going to be in big trouble but if it stays at 19-20 knots we're going to be relatively alright."
Day 6:
22:10:00 GMT 26.6.04 to 22:10:00 GMT 27.6.04
Behind record: -13 miles / -45m / DTF (distance to finish) 480 miles
B&Q gybes to starboard as wind moves from north-west to south-west.
Ellen quote: "We have just under 2 days to break the record, so its going to be a really hard push now. We have a gybe coming up later today, then we should be one heading in to the finish line. I'm feeling pretty tired...all I know is I'll give all I've got until we cross the line. We still have a chance, it depends on how these winds materialise this afternoon..."
Day 7:
22:10:00 GMT 27.6.04 to 10:10:00 GMT 28.6.04
Fast sailing for B&Q averaging 19 knots for 12 hours; loses wind instruments and autopilots unable to steer boat problem solved with help of B&G and back on track.
Behind record: -8 miles / -27m / DTF (distance to finish) 246 miles
10:10:00 GMT 28.6.04 to 01:59:57 GMT 29.6.04
Wind drops off on approach to the south west corner of England...the margin is lost...the record just slips away in the final miles...
NOTES ON B&Q RECORD:
- The finish time is recorded by the official observer from the World Sailing Speed Records Council (WSSRC) who will record the time by line of sight from The Lizard. The official finish time will be ratified by WSSRC after 30 days.
- The WSSRC current ratifiction of the course distance from Ambrose Light to The Lizard is 2925 miles sailed at an average speed of 17.15 knots by Laurent Bourgnon in 1994.
June 28, 2004
Ellen/BQ 135 Miles Out
STATISTICS AT 1600GMT 28 JUNE
Elapsed Time: 06d17h50m
Ahead/behind record: -4nm, 0h13.8m Behind
Existing record: 7d2h34m42s
Distance covered: 2720
Distance to finish: 135
Position: 49 39 47N, 08 39 43W
Average boat speed (VMG) towards finish so far: 16.79 knots
Average boat speed (VMG) now required to beat record: 15.42 knots
Current boat speed: 17.1 knots
Last Updated: 28 June 2004
Under 10 hours to go, Ellen is 4 miles back
IN BRIEF
* LATEST DATA (1500 GMT) SHOWS THAT ELLEN MACARTHUR HAS GAINED ANOTHER FEW CRUCIAL MILES to climb within 4 miles of Laurent Bourgnon's record...only 13 minutes behind with 9 hours, 44 minutes and 42 seconds left on the clock and 152 miles to go to the finish line.
* "WE ARE IN THE HANDS OF THE WEATHER..." that up until now has provided a good south-westerly 20 knot breeze but this afternoon that wind speed started slowly to decrease to just under 20 knots.
* <
* WHETHER THE SOLO RECORD IS BROKEN OR NOT...ELLEN has sailed a fantastic attempt so far, sailing an estimated additional 300 miles further than Laurent Bourgnon's record, pushing <
* TO FINISH <
STATISTICS AT 1500GMT 28 JUNE
Elapsed Time: 06d 16h 50m
Ahead/behind record: -4nm, 0h 13m Behind
Existing record: 7d 2h 34m 42s
Distance covered: 2703 miles
Distance to finish: 152 miles
Position 49 39.40N, 9 07.16W
Average boat speed (VMG) towards finish so far: 16.79 knots
Average boat sped (VMG) now required to beat record: 15.58 knots
Current boat speed: 17.8 knots
Sailed in last 24h (point to point): 466 miles
Sailed in last 12h (point to point): 226 miles
Listen to latest audio from Ellen on board <
LATEST NEWS FROM ELLEN AT 1300 GMT TODAY
Communications by BT Broadband http://www.teamellen.com/bt
Right now, we are sailing along in a breeze that is decreasing - we had about 20-22 knots all morning and now it is falling and oscillating in direction and our average in the last hour has been under 20 knots and it looks like it is going to be hard to maintain that right through to the finish. I just did a calculation for our average speeds that we need to maintain to break the record which is 16.2 knots which is pretty high when we see the breeze may be on its way out. So it's absolutely touch and go and unbelievably stressful.
For the moment the wind is holding out in the south-westerly sector which means that I am still on starboard gybe and if it stays like this, which is doubtful, I will be able to hold this quite a long way in. But what looks like is going to happen is that although I am pointing at the line right now, as the breeze shifts round I am going to start pointing south of the line and I'm going to have to take a very unfavourable gybe into the finish line which is going to be really, really bad news but for the moment all we can do is sail as fast as we can on this heading to the line and just hope that the breeze holds in there.
It's not over, till it's over... We have a chance of breaking the record, it's a small one and its going to take everything we've got to do it... We are in the hands of the weather and we've just go to see what happens with the breeze. It's either going to sit in there and stay in from the south-west and let us finish or it's not. And that's a pretty raw way of looking at it but that's how it is. If the wind strength stays around 20 knots and we have to gybe then its still feasible but if decreases below 20 and we have to gybe then it looks like we won't make it.
WEATHER BRIEFING: from Commander's Weather
Wind directions are TRUE, wind speed in knots, and time is GMT
1) Wind speeds have peaked and there will be a very slow decrease in wind
speed thru 1500UTC and then wind speeds will decrease further after 1500UTC
a) as we discussed before, the later we finish, the lighter the wind
speeds this evening, so let's finish by 2200UTC
2) Little change in wind direction expected thru 1200UTC
a) winds will move very slowly right thru 1800UTC and when winds become lighter, the wind directions will be more frequently 250-260+
3) Ridge of high pressure will be developing towards Brest over the next 24
hrs
a) wind speeds are significantly lighter 1-2 degrees further S and they
will continue much lighter just S of you thru the finish
4) You see the band of clouds is just over you - don't think there is any
showers in there, but
a) middle of a shower will kill the breeze today, so avoid the middle of
a shower at all costs. The edges of a shower will see good wind speed, but the middle is not good at all
b) if you have a choice, sunshine is better than cloud cover for wind
speeds
Wind forecasts
Wind directions are TRUE, wind speed in knots, and time is UTC
Mon, June 28 - winds diminish E of 10W
09: 220-240/17-23
12: 220-240/22-16, near 48 40N/10W
18: 230-250/13-18
21: 230-260/12-17
Weather: Partly cloudy to at times mostly cloudy daytime, clearing tonight.
Tue, June 29
00: 230-260/10-15 - finish at Lizard
03: 240-270/12-6
06: 260-230/ 5-10
Are Flare Guns Illeagal?
Recently I've heard it mentioned that the launchers for aerial flares are considered concealed weapons, are illegal, can cause your boat to be confiscated etc.
A frequently asked questions page on concealed weapons in Michigan reads as follows: Is a flare gun used as a signaling device on a watercraft required to be registered in Michigan?. The answer is no.
The reason for the answer being no goes like this, "Sec. 12b. Sections 2 and 9 do not apply to a signaling device which is approved by the United States coast guard pursuant to regulations issued under section 4488 of the Revised Statutes of the United States, 46 U.S.C. 481, or under section 5 of the federal boat safety act of 1971, Public Law 92-75, 46 U.S.C. 1454."
So, an item such as an Orion 12 gauge signal kit is not illeagal, & does not require a permit.
Orion 12 gauge flare launcher
Update: Flare guns are illegal on the vessels for hire. Exampe: fishing
charters, dive charters etc.
Macarthur Just 22 Minutes off Record Pace
FINAL DAY 1400GMT : LATEST STATS
Monday, 28 June 2004
STATISTICS AT 1400GMT 28 JUNE
Elapsed Time: 06d15h50m
Ahead/behind record: -6.6nm, 0h22m Behind
Existing record: 7d2h34m42s
Distance covered: 2683
Distance to finish: 171.73
Position: 49 38 31N, 09 36 26W
Average boat speed (VMG) towards finish so far: 16.77 knots
Average boat speed (VMG) now required to beat record: 15.96 knots
Current boat speed: 18.7 knots
Sailed in last 24h (point to point): 468.58 nm
Sailed in last 12h (point to point): 228.28 nm
Linky Sailing News
Racing Ellen's record chance....this close . UBS Trophy concluded
News Sailor reunion. Hall cleared. Z86's
Great Lakes Queens Cup finished. Toronto NOODS
Queens Cup
Nice Pair skipperd by Bruce Geffen was the first boat to finish in a time of 6 hours 15 minutes an average speed of 10.95 knots. The cat had the these conditions: "Spinnakers at the start with 10-15 knots. Slowly changing to beam reaching and building a bit. It then went back to west southwest and dropped in velocity a bit and the spinnaker went up for the last 20-25 miles."
Denali which made the trip over from Lake Huron was the 1st mono hull to finish taking 6 hours 46 minutes to cover the 68 mile course.
Cynthia, a Morgan 41 sailing in Division 8, claimed the Silvie Trophy as the overall winner on corrected time.
Winds as predicted, were moderate with 10 knots being the peak. Also as expected wins began the race in the southerly quadrant and then went to the west and north.
Top 3 Overall
1 Cynthia James Devries Corrected Time 7:53:14
2 Bantu Thomas Kuber Corrected Time 7:59:51
3 Rapture Walt Genske Corrected Time 8:00:22
Complete Results
Bermuda Race Double Handed Division
Richard du Moulin and Chris Reyling win the Double Handed division by just 3 minutes.
By Barry Pickthall
3 minutes 11 seconds. That was all to divide Richard du Moulin and Chris Reyling's New York based Express 37 LORA ANN at the end of the 630 mile Newport Bermuda Race from their second placed rivals Hewitt Gaynor and Jay Raymond on MIREILLE in the Double-Hander class, once handicap times had been taken into account.
It is one of the closest race finishes yet for this Corinthian class. The result could have gone either way, and after crossing the St David's Lighthouse finish line, there was no one more surprised than Du Moulin himself. 'We really thought we had lost this one. At the position reports on the last morning at sea, we learned that Hewitt and Jay were 35 miles dead upwind of us and only 18 miles from Bermuda. Their J-120 is a faster boat than ours and has to give us around 6 hours in time, but we had an awful last day, and though we worked real hard to make best of the wind, we didn't think we had done enough to win.' The LORA ANN skipper recalled today.
This is the second Bermuda race in a row that Du Moulin and Reyling have conquered this marathon. 'We beat MIREILLE two years ago too, but Hewitt and Jay have beaten us in the last two Block Island races. We are great rivals, but great friends too and we talked to each over the radio during the race.' Du Moulin, an America's Cup veteran added. Their greatest challenge came as they entered the Gulf Stream. 'It was blowing 35 knots from the North - too much for us to have a spinnaker up - so we sailed down with the reacher winged out.' At one point during this rough water crossing, they had to gybe to keep on course for Bermuda, and chose to tack round head to wind to avoid any chance of breakages. 'When we got down here, we found that several other crews had done the same. When sailing with just two onboard, you push the boat as hard as a fully crewed boat, but have to know when to be prudent. Over a long distance like this, we can sail as fast, if not faster than a fully crewed yacht of our size, downwind at least, but we are much slower at maneuvers. You have to anticipate things well ahead. If you don't then everything starts to unravel fast.'
'Sailing two-handed is a great style of racing.' The Larchmont skipper added. 'Really, you are sailing singlehanded, because while you are on deck, your partner is asleep. The big difference is that there is always a pair of eyes on deck, which makes it much safer. I find it so challenging because you have to develop all the skills. You might not be the best in any one role, but you have to be able to steer, change sails, navigate, cook and make repairs.'
David Sharpe and David Shaeffer sailing the J 120 ANTARES finished last in this class, but gained just as much enjoyment from the challenge of sailing this race short-handed. 'We have a good autopilot, but we steered by hand for 90% of the time.' Sharpe, from Avendale PA. said today. He is something of a veteran of this biennual classic, this being his fourth race. The last two he has sailed with David Shaeffer from Annapolis MD. 'We are both very confident with each other. In this kind of racing, you have to be with someone you can trust. After all, your life is entrusted with your partner.'
Sharpe is quick to praise the performance of Du Moulin and Reyling on LORA ANN. 'Richard is a great amateur sailor' he says.
But in most eyes, anyone completing the 635-mile classic in this tough two-hander class are winners.
North Sails Race Week
Bold Forbes, the boat, is on track to achieve what
Bold Forbes and Smarty Jones, the horses, couldn't manage: win a Triple
Crown of sorts.
Jack Franco drove Ed Cummins' J/105, recent winner of Southern California's
prestigious Lipton Cup for Balboa Yacht Club, as it ran down Dennis and
Sharon Case's Wings in the stretch to claim victory in the largest class of
the 20th North Sails Race Week Sunday on a tiebreaker.
The photo finish triumph also brought Bold Forbes the Boat of the Week
award as winner of the most competitive class.
Cummins now plans to campaign the boat throughout the country, including
the New York Yacht Club's Race Week in July and the J/105 Nationals at
Marion, Mass. in September the third jewel of the crown.
Wings, a steady contender from San Diego, sailed into the last of six races
with a seven-point lead, but weather conditions---a stark switch from the
first two days of breezy southwesterlies---were made to order for shuffling
fleets.
In light southeasterly air of 8 to 9 knots oscillating through 30 degrees,
Bold Forbes, named for the 1976 Kentucky Derby winner, finished second
behind Tom Coates' Charade as Wings struggled to ninth place.
That left them tied at 24 points, and since each had one win it was Bold
Forbes' two seconds to Wings' one that nailed the tiebreaker.
Bold Forbes started quietly with an 11th place in the Friday race, then
settled into a 3-2-1-5-2 groove. Partway through the last race Sunday when
they saw Wings get tangled up in a crowd of boats, Franco said to the crew,
"Hey, guys, we can win this thing."
In the marquee Farr 40 class, John Kilroy's Samba Pa Ti sailed into the
last day with a seemingly insurmountable lead.
Forget seemingly.
Scott Harris and Alexandra Geremia's Crocodile Rock took its best shot by
winning the first of two races, with Samba Pa Ti fourth, but even with some
aggressive pre-race match racing---Chris Larson calling tactics for
Crocodile, Paul Cayard for Samba---the best the Crocodiles could do was to
cut the margin in half with a third to Samba's sixth in the last race.
It was Samba Pa Ti's fourth win in as many Farr 40 events in Southern
California recently, with the class Worlds at San Francisco in September
as the goal.
"I don't feel we're perfect, but we have upward momentum," Kilroy said.
With the hard campaigning, Kilroy said, "I'm lucky to have the most
supportive sailing wife in the world. Catherine was captain of the Brown
sailing team."
Crocodile rode Samba deep past the pin end before the last start, and Samba
issue.
"We just said, 'We're going to be conservative and not take any chances,'
"Kilroy said. We knew it was going to be dicey."
Oscar Krinsky's 1D48, Chayah, from Long Beach, with Walter Johnson driving,
won out among the event's biggest boats in PHRF 1. But Jay Steinbeck's
Margaritaville, a newly modified Andrews 52, found the light wind to its
liking. With a minus 60 rating that had it giving 40 seconds per mile to
Chayah and the other 1D48, Lew Beery's It's OK, Margaritaville, with Pete
Heck driving, continued to finish far ahead in every race but this time won
and finished third on corrected handicap time, as well, leaving it second
overall.
Given a choice of conditions, Steinbeck said, "Light air is much better for
us. It's the weight of the boat relative to the sail area."
Heck said, "We have an overlapping jib we use in light air that nobody else
had."
Their closest competition, boat for boat, came from Alec Oberschmidt's
Reichel/Pugh 50, Staghound, with North Sails president Gary Weisman as
tactician.
Heck said, "The results don't show how well those guys sailed. I told our
guys, 'We're racing Staghound. We can't see the other guys back there.' "
John Carroll's Arana, a heavy 24-year-old Dencho 51, suffered in the light
air with a ninth and a fifth but held onto first place in PHRF 2 for a two
by two points over Paul Kent's Farr 395, Chance, from San Francisco.
Kent's team collected the Lydia Kent Family Trophy for the best family
performance. The award is named for his late mother, who lived in Long
Beach. The crew included Kent's brother Steve and sons Robert and Peter.
The biggest surprise winner was Gary Mozer, a 44-year-old real estate
investor from Long Beach, in the six-boat J/109 class. It was Mozer's first
regatta. He started taking sailing lessons three months ago, took delivery
of his boat one week before the event and after two days of practice, with
some help from an able amateur crew, drove it to three wins, two seconds
and a third.
He said he knows "it's not that easy. We worked very hard. It's
concentration and teamwork. Just watch the telltales on the jib and listen
to what your crew is telling you."
Bruce Ayres' Monsoon team won five consecutive Melges 24 races before
stumbling in the last one.
Ayres' brother Don, a crew member, said, "We had a bad start, missed one
shift and that was it."
They dropped out, knowing they were already assured of first place.
"It would have been nice to have that other first, though" Don Ayres said.
Some of the one-designs also sailed for class championships. Samba Pa Ti
and Dave Voss's Schock 35, Piranha, won their Pacific Coast titles, and
Chris Winnard's Disaster Area crew from San Diego won the Santa 20 Western
Regionals.
Piranha won four of six races---including the last after returning to the
line from an early start.
Dick Velthoen and Paul De Freitas' J/35 Rival was named PHRF Boat of the
Week for its victory in PHRF 4, with no finish worse than third among 12
boats.
Record Could Still Go
IN BRIEF
* FINAL DAY OF SOLO TRANSATLANTIC RECORD ATTEMPT ONLY 25 MINUTES BEHIND the existing 10-year-old record of Laurent Bourgnon... "It's going to be very, very tight there is no doubt about it..."
* AT 0500 GMT THIS MORNING, ELLEN HAD 350 MILES TO SAIL WITH JUST UNDER 20 HOURS left on the clock to make it to the finish line off The Lizard before the deadline at 00:44:42 GMT tomorrow to beat the 7d, 2h, 34m record...
* DRAMA ON BOARD <
* ONE ALL-IMPORTANT GYBE LEFT TO THE FINISH LINE which Ellen must time perfectly to avoid losing any time on the record. Complicated finish as <
* WEATHER FORECAST PREDICTS AVERAGE WIND SPEED OF AROUND 20 KNOTS through today from the south-west turning more west but diminishing later tonight to less than 5 knots after midnight...
* ELLEN RUNNING ON PURE ADRENALIN TO THE FINISH as she has averaged less than 2 hours sleep per day for the last 6 days bringing on her very first hallucination (see audio transcript below) and has only eaten 3 hot meals since leaving New York...! It will be crucial in the final stages of this record attempt that fatigue does not force her to make a costly mistake.
STATISTICS AT 0500GMT 28 JUNE
Elapsed Time: 06d 06h 50m
Ahead/behind record: -7nm, 0h 25m Behind
Existing record: 7d 2h 34m 42s
Distance covered: 2505 miles
Distance to finish: 350 miles
Position 49 10.24N, 13 52.07W
Average boat speed (VMG) towards finish so far: 16.66 knots
Average boat sped (VMG) now required to beat record: 17.0 knots
Current boat speed: 19.3 knots
Sailed in last 24h (point to point): 430 miles
Sailed in last 12h (point to point): 238 miles
It's been brilliant - wind direction tonight been absolute glam... Really scared it was going more to the west but it hasn't but we've been sailing straight down the direct route for the last 5 hours... Commander's say it will go west between 9-12hrs GMT and we will have to gybe so we just need to play the shifts to benefit the most and we can only afford time to gybe once so it has to be the right time...
I think we still have a chance of breaking the record but it's going to be very, very close and it all depends on how long this breeze we've got with us stays - it's as simple as that. We will hang on to the breeze as long as we can, keep driving the boat and I think we will have to do one more gybe to come into the finish but it's going to be very, very tight but there is a chance...
I did have some problems in the middle of the night with the wind instruments when they went completely haywire which meant the autopilots steering the boat lost control which was a slightly scary moment. It was an electrical problem and there was a small glitch in the callibration - we don't realy know how but we solved it with the help of B&QG which was a huge relief to have the wind instruments back for this final part. It was a bit of a scare so its good to be back on track and doing 20 knots again.
We have had pretty good averages during the night but one thing that hasn't happened is that we thought the breeze would get up to 30 knots in the night which it hasn't and we have had breeze of about 20-22 knots all night. So luckily that is enough to keep us sailing over 20 knots. We just have our fingers crossed that this breeze holds out throughout the day and for as long as possible so we can average 20 knots and knock that average down to have a real good chance at breaking the record.... It's going to be very, very tight there is no doubt about it. At this stage, it's a very hard record to break.
Towards the finish it's going to be quite tactical because at the moment we are heading straight for that point [off the Lizard] but the wind is going to shift so we are going to have to gybe to come into there which is going to be a much tighter angle. So trying to judge that gybe right so we don't waste any time and get the angles right is going to be quite difficult because a boat like this you can't just gybe on an instinct you have to prepare everything and it takes time. So if we have to do more gybes we will definitely lose and we don't have any time to lose...
I'm feeling very, very tired. I did manage to get some sleep tonight which is a miracle. Yesterday I was very nervous, felt stressed all day and couldn't really eat - it's been full on hard work and I know we've got almost 24 hours to go and it's going to be a hard slog with a lot more effort today. We are approaching the shipping lanes now and there will be a lot more traffic around, more boats, and fishing boats as we arrive on the continental shelf and all that's going to complicate things even further. So is going to make it all important to have your finger on the pace.
I was pretty close to my very first hallucination last night...I slept in the cuddy and then woke up in a start, didn't really know where I was but checked around the cockpit and then I could see there was a ship in the distance. As I got closer I could see her lights and I was convinced it was another competitor who then told me the ship was a first aid ship sailing with him and I am thinking he can't do that, you can't take a ship with you across the Atlantic! It took me a few minutes to realise I was imagining the whole thing...!
I have only boiled the kettle three times since leaving the States so that has told you how many hot meals I've had in the past six days!
WEATHER BRIEFING: from Commander's Weather
Wind directions are TRUE, wind speed in knots, and time is GMT
1) Winds should continue from the SW through tonight
a) flow mainly 220-240 - winds will start to edge right after 0900UTC, but this will be a slow right turn
2) Little change in wind speed thru 0600UTC and then they will slowly diminish
a) there will be more wind to the N, less to the S. More to the N of 49N, less to the S of 48N
3) Wind will slowly move right during Monday and may want to gybe around 1200-1500UTC
a) winds must be moving right when we gybe
b) we have time for 1 gybe and 1 gybe only, so when we go, it must be the
correct time
c) also keep in mind, the winds will be slightly stronger to the N
tomorrow afternoon/night
Wind forecasts
Wind directions are TRUE, wind speed in knots, and time is GMT
Mon, June 28 - winds diminish E of 10W
03: 220-240/21-27
06: 220-240/20-25
12: 220-240/22-16, near 48 45N/10W
18: 230-260/12-17
Weather: Partly cloudy to fair
Tue, June 29
00: 250-280/10-15 - finish at Lizard
06: 250-220/ 5-10
June 27, 2004
Ellen on the Edge
DAY6: MEDIA UPDATE: “I’m on the edge, right on the edge”
IN BRIEF
B&Q NOW GYBED ON TO STARBOARD AND HEADING FOR THE FINISH LINE: wind forecast to increase to up to a stressful 35 knots tonight then moderate by morning...a high pressure night of sailing downwind under gennaker in store for an already exhausted ELLEN
FATIGUE MAYBE THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE....”I feel *****. Really tired. last night was terrible. I can’t even remember what we talked about this morning.” But not much chance of rest...”Pretty hard to get rest when you’ve got the gennaker up...definitely going to snooze...not going to make it through tomorrow if I don’t.”
AVERAGE SPEED NOW REQUIRED TO BREAK RECORD IS 18.5 knots down the direct route. Tough if wind dies, or forces her to gybe. Tough if equipment fails after 5 full on days of pressure. Tough if skipper hits the fatigue wall that she is very close to. But doable.
FORCED BY THE WEATHER, ELLEN HAS SAILED NEARLY 20% FURTHER than Laurent Bourgnon’s record run track, yet still has a chance to beat his 10 year old record.
WEBCAM ONLINE: click on the webcam button at http://www.teamellen.com to catch a glimpse of Ellen at work...
STATISTICS AT 1400GMT 26 JUNE
B&G data, compiled by Sony VAIO, sent via Thrane and Thrane Fleet77, uploaded via BT Broadband
Elapsed time: 5d 5h 50m
Ahead/behind record:
-56 miles, 3hr 15min behind
Existing record: 7d 2h 34m 42s
Distance covered: 2115
Distance covered in last 24 hrs: 438 nm
Distance to finish: 640
Position: 48 21 52N; 21 21 24W
Average boat speed (VMG) towards finish so far: 16.29
Average boat speed (VMG) now required to beat record: 18.29
Current boat speed: 16.6 knots
1215GMT AUDIO UPDATE WITH ELLEN: TRANSCRIPT
Well we’ve gybed...broken 4 battens...doesn’t matter, we’re a day a way, don’t think it will hurt the sail...not prepared to worry about it too much, not going to fix them, not in the time we’ve got....its the top 4...hope it will be fine when we are going downwind later in 35 knots of wind.
I feel *****. Really tired. Last night was terrible. I can’t even remember what we talked about this morning...
22 to 25 knots of wind...25 is the max for the gennaker, but I unrolled it anyway...we got the shift, greater than predicted. We’re sailing right down the line now, we might have to gybe again before we get in...I was putting everything away, neat, and was thinking I’m sure we’ll have to gybe again...
Distance to go now is 695 miles, I’ve got to average 18.5 knots between here and the finish...doing 19 now...tonight when the breeze kicks in its going to be strong. Pierre reckons 18Z I’ll have between 30 to 35knots, then down to 25 to 30knots midnight...need to be on the ball tonight to get the gennaker back up. I’m going to try leaving the gennaker up furled...think it should be already if I get a good furl.
No furling winch [broken on day 1], so its a bit of a *****.
Trying to be reasonable and calm myself down at every opportunity, cos i’m really knackered, Don’t know why I’m still smiling. I’m on the edge, right on the edge, just trying to stay the right side of it....and eat, be chilled, just spent half hour going over boat, not deps need doing, but it makes me feel more ready to deal with what is going to happen. Tonight is going to be a tough one.
Pretty hard to get rest when you’ve got the gennaker up...definitely going to snooze...not going to make it through tomorrow if I don’t.
<
Ellen Pushes On
ELLEN PUSHES TO THE LIMIT: LESS THAN 3 HOURS FROM BOURGNON PACE, BUT TRICKY CONDITIONS AHEAD
IN BRIEF
ELLEN CLOSES TO UNDER 3 HOURS from Laurent Bourgnon’s 1994 record pace...from being 24 hours behind on day 2 of her attempt, to only 47 miles behind at 0800gmt this morning. 674 miles to the Lizard finish line.
TACTICALLY TODAY IS THE BIG DAY as Ellen must gybe on to the other tack and head as close as possible to the finish line off of Lizard...timing this with the wind shifting slowly to the south west is tricky, but critical to her chances of breaking the record. The wind is expected to increase significantly this morning, before starting to die away tonight.
AFTER THE WIND, FATIGUE STILL THE BIGGEST PERFORMANCE FACTOR as Ellen tries to grab as many naps as possible before the final push to the line which will require all her remaining energy. Trying to sleep, even after 5 days of virtually none [estimate 2 hours per 24 max], is surprisingly difficult due to the stress of B&Q hurtling along at extraordinary speeds.
WEBCAM ONLINE: click on the webcam button at http://www.teamellen.com to catch a glimpse of Ellen at work...
AUDIO FROM A TIRED ELLEN recorded this morning with BBC Sport at 0800 GMT: http://www.ocftp2.com/audio/em270604a_uk.mp3
STATISTICS AT 0800GMT 26 JUNE
B&G data, compiled by Sony VAIO, sent via Thrane and Thrane Fleet77, uploaded via BT Broadband
Elapsed time: 5d 5h 50m
Ahead/behind record:
-47 miles, 2hr 46min behind
Existing record: 7d 2h 34m 42s
Distance covered: 2133
Distance covered in last 24 hrs: 477 nm
Distance to finish: 722
Position: 47 26 52N; 23 04 26W
Average boat speed (VMG) towards finish so far: 16.41
Average boat speed (VMG) now required to beat record: 17.61
Current boat speed: 16 knots
ON CHANCES OF BREAKING RECORD
“Its being pretty tiring, we’ve had some pretty difficult conditions to handle over the past few days, so tactically its been improtant to push as hard as I can and keep driving. WE have just under 2 days to break the record, so its going to be a really hard push now....we have a gybe coming up later today, then we should be one heading in to the finish line. ....I’m feeling pretty tired...all I know is I’ll give all I’ve got until we cross the line, it maybe before it may be after. WE still have a chance, it depends on how these winds materialise this afternoon...
ON REST/SLEEP
“Sleep has been unbelievably brief since we left 5 days ago...its been mostly 10 minutes here and there, and mostly outside where its pretty cold and moist...”
WHERE DOES IT RATE ON DIFFICULTY SCALE IN YOUR SAILING CAREER
“This is definitely one of the most challenging things...racing a pretty big boat over an intense short period...every sail change is hard, when a sail needs changing you do it straight away...to keep that up....has made it very tiring”
“Haven’t had the ‘what am I doing here’ feeling yet on this trip, but it has been a huge challenge. It is still a huge challenge, its not just a few hours to keep going. We’re still two days away. You learn a lot about how you manage yourself and how aware you are of your mental state. I know I’ve pushed myself. I feel ok, looking forward to a bit more sleep in the next two hours, then it could be gennaker up so difficult to do anything”
HOW DO YOU KEEP YOUR SANITY
“The race part is a small part of this project...we started building B&Q nearly a year ago, so many people have put in so much time to make her ready for a record attempt. When things are going wrong out here.... I think about the fact that I’m not just doing it for me, its for everyone who has put so much in...”
WEATHER BRIEFING: from Commander's Weather to Ellen
Summary
1) No important changes from the earlier forecasts
2) Winds will start to back between now and 0900UTC
3) Will probably have to gybe between 0900 and 1200UTC Sun
4) Winds will continue to shift left during the remainder of Sun and could
reach a max left in the 210s
during Sun evening
a) wind directions will change little during Mon morning, but then
will slowly veer late Mon afternoon and evening
5) If we are S of 50N when we gybe, that is just fine
a) must go as fast as possible to the E or best angle, but point no
further S than 47 30-48N
b) will use the veering winds Mon afternoon to gybe to port and finish
on port gybe
6) Little change in wind speed the next 3-6 hrs, but wind speeds will start
to increase around
1000-1200UTC
a) wind speeds will frequently exceed 25 kts by 1600-1800UTC and could
touch 30 kts at times
b) wind speeds will diminish, once you are E of 12W
c) wind speeds look a kt or 2 stronger around 00UTC Tue, if we haven't
finished by then!
Wind forecasts
Wind directions are TRUE, wind speed in kts, and time is UTC
Sun, June 27
09: 260-240/17-23
12: 250-220/20-25, near 49 30N/21 30W
18: 220-240/24-30
Weather Partly cloudy
Mon, June 28 - winds diminish fairly quickly E of 12W
00: 210-230/22-28
06: 220-240/24-18
12: 220-250/22-14, near 49N/8 45W
18: 230-260/12-17
Weather Partly cloudy to fair
Tue, June 29
00: 250-280/14-8 - finish at Lizard
06: 250-220/ 5-10
<
June 26, 2004
Oracle Takes UBS Trophy
A heavy fog enveloped Newport for the second consecutive day on Saturday morning, but by noon, the fog had lifted, although there was very little wind. The Race Committee postponed racing until 14:00, when a light, five to seven knot Southerly filled in over East Passage.
Previously, a Jury decision on Friday night had set the stage for a spectacular Saturday of racing at the UBS Trophy - Saturday would see one race in each of the Pro-Driver and Owner-Driver series, with the winner in each match, winning the overall series title.
The Pro-Drivers were underway first, and BMW ORACLE helmsman Gavin Brady and his team were again dominant in the pre-start, setting the table for a strong race. Team Alinghi never really threatened after the start in this race, and BMW ORACLE won its seventh match of the Pro series, to earn the UBS Trophy.
When the Owner-Drivers took the helm, the wind was up to 10 to 12 knots, although fog was hovering and receding throughout the contest.
Alinghi started the race strongly, but BMW ORACLE held a powerful advantage on the right side of the race course, and Larry Ellison went on to win the Owner-Driver series in the UBS Trophy.
Returning dockside, a triumphant BMW ORACLE Racing team, led by helmsman Gavin Brady, and skipper and CEO Chris Dickson, was presented with the UBS Trophy by Huw Jenkins, the Managing Director of UBS Investment Banking.
Mr. Jenkins then presented Larry Ellison with a silver plate, for the winner of the Owner-Driver series.
UBS TROPHY - Pro-Driver Series - Race 11 of 11
BMW ORACLE RACING beats Alinghi - Delta 1:04
BMW ORACLE RACING WINS THE PRO-DRIVER SERIES 16 POINTS TO 6 (7 RACES TO 4)
The BMW ORACLE Racing team sailed a brilliant pre-start, gaining control early and maintaining it throughout the race. Alinghi helmsman Peter Holmberg had the port tack entry at the start, and avoided the traditional dial-up by immediately turning upwind, and sailing to windward of the starting line.
But BMW ORACLE helm Gavin Brady matched him, tacking quickly and setting up to leeward. Brady was able to hold his controlling position for most of the pre-start, and at one point, Alinghi appeared as though it might be in danger of being shut out at the start.
But Holmberg eventually managed to break free, and run down below the start line, starting at the pin end, albeit with poor boatspeed. BMW ORACLE tacked away moments before the starting gun, starting mid-line, before tacking back to stay in touch with Alinghi.
Although the boats left the start line fairly evenly, BMW ORACLE then received a nice puff of wind on the right that Alinghi didn't catch, and that immediately translated into a two boat length advantage. BMW ORACLE protected its starboard tack advantage aggressively pushing Alinghi towards the Fort Adam shoreline at every opportunity. Thus the boats reached the port tack layline very early, and Holmberg was forced to follow Brady into the mark, rounding 17-seconds behind.
In the light conditions, BMW ORACLE protected its lead diligently, and Alinghi couldn't find any passing opportunities. Brady went on to win his seventh race of the series, handing BMW ORACLE the Pro-Driver series and the UBS Trophy.
UBS TROPHY - Owner-Driver Series - Race Four
ALINGHI beats BMW ORACLE RACING - Delta 0:29
BMW ORACLE RACING WINS THE OWNER-DRIVER SERIES 4 POINTS TO 2 (3 RACES TO 1)
Ernesto Bertarelli was strong in the pre-start of this race, but it wasn't enough to defeat Larry Ellison.
BMW ORACLE mimicked Alinghi from the first start of the day, avoiding a dial-up by immediately heading up above the start line, and in the stronger breeze, Ellison was able to cross ahead of Bertarelli and lead him out to the right side, away from the Committee Boat end of the line. The boats sailed deep into the spectator fleet, and Ellison led back towards the line, but both boats were extremely early.
BMW ORACLE, with Alinghi close behind, pushing, attempted a double tack at one point to lose speed and kill time, but they were still looking very early. At that point Ellison decided to gybe around, but turned the boat very quickly and BMW ORACLE stalled out in the manoeuvre. Alinghi was able to bear off for speed and hit the line at the start gun with good pace, while BMW ORACLE was a moment late and still sailing slowly.
Bertarelli was set up to leeward and a couple of lengths ahead on a long starboard tack towards Fort Adams. Ellison, sailing for speed, stayed close, and when Alinghi finally tacked, Bertarelli couldn't clear the starboard tack BMW ORACLE boat. Alinghi was forced to quickly tack again to keep clear, and Ellison rolled on into the lead. BMW ORACLE led around the first top mark, and extended on the first run. Bertarelli tried gamely to put pressure on Ellison, but couldn't threaten, and Ellison completed the sweep for BMW ORACLE, who win both divisions of the UBS Trophy.
Quotes of the Day
Chris Dickson, BMW ORACLE Racing, on having each series come down to the last race: The important race is always the last race…we went out today very clear that everything we'd done earlier in the week didn't matter. It was a clean slate and two good teams and two good boats and we had to do everything again. I'm very, very pleased and proud of our team that they did it again and we had a good day. There were times when both races could have gone either way and Alinghi is a strong and successful team. To beat Alinghi we have to be at our best, and we we're at our best today.
Ernesto Bertarelli, Team Alinghi, on the reception in Newport for the UBS Trophy: It was a very successful thing to do, to come to Newport and race America's Cup yachts in a place where people understand what the game is all about. More than the number of the people was the quality of the people. We could clearly see that they understood what was going on and that's very, very rewarding…This is exactly what we both wanted after the last America's Cup; not to wait, Larry in California and me in Switzerland, waiting for the next America's Cup. We wanted to enjoy the investment of having two fantastic teams with beautiful boats and go at each other again. So I think it was a very successful week.
Larry Ellison, BMW ORACLE Racing, on the competitive instinct taking over: The crew has a lot of pride, both teams have a lot of pride and we want to win every time we go out there, no matter who is driving. If you measure the aggression by the damage to the boats, I'd say the Owner-Driver series maybe had a little more adrenalin than it should have had. Both Ernesto and I want to win as much as everyone else.
Peter Holmberg, Team Alinghi, relating the lessons learned by Alinghi this week: A reminder, a nice one, of the value and importance of the time training. I think you saw BMW ORACLE come in here with their campaign fully up and running for probably close to a year and it's a good reminder for us, nice that it happened this far out, that the other teams are strong and powerful and they've made gains.
B&Q Within 6 Hours of Record
IN BRIEF
* <
* POSSIBILITY OF BREAKING THE DECADE-OLD RECORD LOOKING MORE FAVOURABLE as Macarthur averages higher speeds.
* <
* AS EXPECTED THE CONDITIONS GENERATING 'FULLY-LOADED' RACING and Macarthur reports surfing down waves at 33 knots! Winds are expected to build as <
STATISTICS AT 1400 GMT 26 JUNE
Elapsed time: 4d 15h 50m
Ahead/Behind record: -95.6nm 5h 34 m behind
Distance covered: 1802
Distance to finish: 1053
Position 43 23 00N, 29 02 45W
Average boat speed (VMG) towards finish so far: 16.09
Average boat speed (VMG) now required to beat record: 17.85
Current boat speed:20.5
TWS - 25.4 kt
TWD - 323 d
Listen to latest audio from Ellen on board <
Communications by BT Broadband http://www.teamellen.com/bt
It's a mission, a real mission and am really looking forward to getting in!
The last 24 hours have been very, very stressful but progress is good and I am very happy about getting to within 8 hours of Laurent's record – the huge push yesterday has paid off and we are back on track...
I have not had less then 20 knots of wind in last few hours so looking okay for record. We should keep the breeze and it is building so no need for gennaker or major sail changes so it's more manageable. As the breeze clocks round we will follow it, so pretty straight forward really. I expect we will gybe around 600 miles away tomorrow afternoon...Maxsea is putting the gybe at around 50 30 N and around 19 W or 17 W but it depends on the angles we are sailing.
I completely exhausted myself yesterday doing too many sail changes but had two hours sleep last night - it will be pretty interesting to see the sleep data when I get back. I will try to sleep as much as I can today to be ready for the final stage to the finish.
The motion of B&Q is pretty violent and we are regularly surfing between 25-30 knots of speed - our top surfing speed has been 33 knots this morning!
WEATHER BRIEFING: from Commander's Weather
Wind directions are TRUE, wind speed in knots, and time is GMT
Sat, June 26
12: 300-290/15-20, near 43 20n/30 55w
18: 290-280/14-20, more wind speed further N
Weather: Mix of clouds and sunshine this morning, partly cloudy afternoon
and overnight.
Sun, June 27 - winds rebuild somewhat as progress further north
00: 280-260/16-22
06: 260-240/18-23
12: 250-230/18-23, near 49N/22 20W - recommend N of 50N for more wind
speed and better angle
18: 230-250/20-25
Weather: Partly cloudy
Mon, June 28 - winds diminish
00: 220-240/18-23
06: 220-240/17-22
12: 220-240/14-20, near 49N/8 45W
18: 230-260/10-16
Weather: Partly cloudy to fair
Tue, June 29
00: 250-280/10-5 - finish at Lizard
06: 300-240/ 5-9
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Chase is on For Ellen
IN BRIEF
ELLEN HALVES BOURGNON’S LEAD TO 10 HOURS at 0800GMT, after a blistering 24 hour run of just under 500 miles. B&Q’s track took her 170 miles to the north west of the Portuguese Azores Islands - 1184 miles to the finish.
FORCED REST AFTER HITTING A ‘WALL’ YESTERDAY gets Ellen back on track. Amazing what one continuous sleep can do! “I did have some sleep, 1hr 45min, that's the most I've slept the whole trip so far - I dreamt and everything, it felt like I had been asleep all night. I woke up and it took me a few seconds to work out where I was.” reported Ellen after pulling herself back from the edge.
“IF WE’D BEEN ON THE 60 [TRI]...WE WOULD HAVE BEEN UPDSIDE DOWN: B&Q's a glam she's handling it so well, if we had been on the 60 we would have been upside down, I'm almost convinced and yet she was absolutely fine. We were doing 33 knots boat speed and a bear away when the wind speed suddenly shot up to 28 knots but she was fine.”
ITS GOING TO BE TOUGH BUT THIS RECORD ATTEMPT is very much still ON after another hard fought day of great progress by Ellen...the average speed now required down track has reduced to 18.21 knots. Every mile B&Q gains now will be needed for the predicted slower conditions in the final miles.
STATISTICS AT 0800GMT 26 JUNE
Elapsed time: 4d 9h 50m
Ahead/behind record:
YESTERDAY -391 miles, 22hr 49min behind
TODAY -183 miles, 10hr 40min behind
Existing record: 7d 2h 34m 42s
Distance covered: 1671
24 hour point to point distance: 486 miles
Distance to finish: 1184
Position: 42 18N; 31 39W
Average boat speed (VMG) towards finish so far: 15.76
Average boat speed (VMG) now required to beat record: 18.21
Current boat speed: 22 knots
Weather conditions: North westerly winds 18 to 24 knots
PHONE CALL WITH ELLEN 0800 GMT THIS MORNING
Communications by BT Broadband
NEWS FROM THE NIGHT
“Doing alright...still got breeze although its gone finicky for a while...had a pretty good night speed wise, not been horrendous. We’re 170 miles away from the western most of the Azores Islands, did you know that?...you wouldn’t have thought that would you!
We’ve been averaging 21 knots through the night, with periods averaging 23, and 24.8 average for an hour this morning...since then about 22 knots...course over the ground pretty good 070. Got a bit of an [tactical] issue because Pierre says go east and Commander’s say get north...so I think in between the two is good...!”
THE FUTURE
Bit nervous about which sails to put up when the wind free's off but still 20 knots, worried about the lashing on the genoa...not at that stage yet though. Looks like more breeze at the finish than we thought. On the whole we’re kinda alright. Its still tight, but the biggest issue is today. If the breeze dies out like its forecast we’re gonna in big trouble but if it stays at 19-20 knots we’re going to be relatively alright.”
ON NEWS THAT SHE HAD HALVED BOURGON’S LEAD
“Oh really...wow that’s cool, very cool, awesome! Got it all marked on the chart, but I’ve not been looking at his time much. Just want to concentrate on what I’m doing.”
MORE AUDIO TRANSCRIPT FROM ELLEN PHONECALL YESTERDAY EVENING...RELIEF THAT ELLEN WAS STILL ON PLANET EARTH after coming too close to the edge in terms of fatigue, the solo sailor’s fuel gauge.
“I'm alright, just wanted to let you know.... I'm OK, I'm doing 25knots in a changing breeze, I'm still sailing a little lower to maintain a high boat speed, over 24 knots.
I did have some sleep, 1hr 45min, that's the most I've slept the whole trip so far - I dreamt and everything, it felt like I had been asleep all night. I woke up and it took me a few seconds to work out where I was. I'm going to try and get some more sleep now while the breeze seems to not be doing anything really stupid. It's quite strong, 20-25knots but I am sailing on 115 true wind angle, it's pretty much alright.
The boat's a glam she's handling it so well, if we had been on the 60 (tri) we would have been upside down, I'm almost convinced and yet she was absolutely fine. We were doing 33 knots boat speed and a bear away when the wind speed suddenly shot up to 28 knots but she was fine. I was on deck, it's wasn't even as if I was late trying to sort it out - I was there. She was OK and I think I'll be alright, just concentrate on getting more sleep, make that my priority in the next 24 hours.
We're doing 28 knots of boat speed right now, not particularly in the direction we want to go but there's been a bit of a wind shift. It's quiet cloudy but the clouds are not as big as they were earlier so they are not effecting the breeze quite as much.
I think we're alright, we seem to have found a comfortable wind angle and the boat has been alright, not suffering too much, not as loaded as we were before. Apparent wind speed is now only 24 knots, I've been sailing with it up to 32.
The clicking noise in the background is the traveler clicking up and down the track, it's clicking because all the balls have gone square. Quite loaded!
[Alarm sounds alerting that the wind is now in excess for the sail combo she has up] There she goes.... it's just like that the whole time, I have been cheating the system and I keeping changing the alarm level up but I've done that so many times now I know the sail is just going to explode if I do it again, so, I'd rather it told me. I was so tried earlier I got in the bunk and the alarm was just going off...beeeeeeep [ellen laughs] the boat was doing about 28 knots and I was just cuddled in my sleeping bag! [sigh] oh dear...
So I've being doing some calculations, trying to think positively and work things out. I'm sailing up to a way point for a gybe just over 1000 miles away so I need to average 20 something knots. From the gybe I should be reaching in from there, may be gennaker, may be reaching.”
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WEATHER BRIEFING: from Commander's Weather to Ellen 0600GMT June 26
Summary
1) Nice job keeping us in the game - I have you finishing around 2200UTC Mon
2) Really no change - prefer location to hit and then gybe on would be 50N/20-22W, but still looks like. Winds will back too much before we can get there
a) the good news, the winds are a bit further left between 10-20W, which will help a lot, if they develop that way
3) Satellite pic shows a lot of stratocumulus clouds in the area - they should start to clear as the winds back today, but breezes will continue to be a bit unstable both in direction and speed
4) I think wind speeds have peaked and a slow drop in average wind speed will occur between now and about 18-2100UTC
a) wind directions have reached max right and will ease a little left thru 1200UTC, but will show a more determined left turn after 1200UTC
b) until the stratocumulus clouds clear, you may have a few more bouts of big left/right shifts with this clouds. Regardless, keep doing what you are doing, it is working
5) I think we will be as far N as we can get by 0600-0900UTC Sun - winds will be too far left and then we turn for home on starboard
6) As always, the faster we finish, the stronger the winds at the end and if we finish after 00UTC Tue, winds will become quite light
Wind forecasts
Wind directions are TRUE, wind speed in kts, and time is UTC
Sat, June 26
09: 320-300/16-22, more wind speed further N
12: 300-290/15-20, near 43 20n/30 55w
18: 290-280/14-20, more wind speed further N
Weather Mix of clouds and sunshine this morning, partly cloudy afternoon and overnight.
Sun, June 27 - winds rebuild somewhat as you get further north
00: 280-260/16-22
06: 260-240/18-23
12: 250-230/18-23, near 49N/22 20W - I would prefer N of 50N for more wind speed and better angle
18: 230-250/20-25
Weather Partly cloudy
Mon, June 28 - winds diminish
00: 220-240/18-23
06: 220-240/17-22
12: 220-240/14-20, near 49N/8 45W
18: 230-260/10-16
Weather Partly cloudy to fair
Tue, June 29
00: 250-280/10-5 - finish at Lizard
06: 300-240/ 5-9
June 25, 2004
Wins for Alighni
Fog descended over the East Passage of Narragansett Bay on Friday, making for a difficult day for the Race Committee. After a long postponement waiting for the wind to fill in, Principal Race Officer Dr. Robin Wallace moved the race course to the North side of the Newport Bridge, where the sky was clearer, and the wind was up to 7 - 9 knots.
The first race of the day, race 10 of the Pro-Driver series, went to Team Alinghi, who recovered from a difficult day on Thursday, to earn a much needed victory.
With the hour getting late, the Race Committee decided that there would only be one race in the Owner-Driver series.
The race was first abandoned a few minutes after the start and when racing eventually began, a heavy fog had descended again. Team Alinghi's Ernesto Bertarelli sailed a strong race, to earn the victory.
At dispute is whether that race is the last race of the series or not. If it is, Alinghi would earn two points for the win, tying the series at two points for each team and apparently winning the Owner-Driver series on a tie-break formula, by virtue of having won the last race.
But the BMW ORACLE Racing Team maintains the race schedule is for four races, that there is time for that race on Saturday, and it wasn't aware that the race today had become the final race in the series. In that case, the standing would be two points for BMW ORACLE Racing, and one point for Alinghi, with a final race to come worth two points. The winner of that race would then win the series.
The Jury was hearing the protest on Friday evening, with a result expected late in the night.
The situation is clearer in the Pro-Driver series, where BMW ORACLE leads 9 to 6, with two races worth 10 points still to sail. The winner of the last race, worth seven points, will win the series.
UBS TROPHY - Pro-Driver Series - Race 10 of 12
ALINGHI beats BMW ORACLE RACING - Delta 0:27
BMW ORACLE RACING LEADS THE PRO-DRIVER SERIES 9 POINTS TO 6
Team Alinghi turned the tables on BMW ORACLE today, making a nice pass on the run to vault into the lead midway through the race before covering to earn the victory.
BMW ORACLE Racing's Gavin Brady sailed another strong pre-start, controlling most of the encounters between the two boats. But he was a fraction early when he broke for the line, and Team Alinghi's Peter Holmberg took advantage, slipping in by the Committee boat, with BMW ORACLE fractionally ahead, and in a safe leeward position.
Alinghi tried to stay with BMW ORACLE but Holmberg was soon forced to tack, and Brady tacked with him, both boats sailing out to the starboard tack layline. With a helpful right shift, BMW ORACLE was able to lead into the first mark, and carried a thin, 12-second lead around the mark.
Alinghi gybed away after rounding the mark and gained nearly 700-metres of separation before BMW ORACLE gybed towards the middle of the course. When the boats converged again Alinghi had closed up, but had to cross behind the starboard gybe BMW ORACLE boat. Holmberg gybed to leeward, and was in a strong position, preventing Brady from gybing for the mark. BMW ORACLE, rather than be forced to sail out to the layline made a violent gybe, rounding up to cross behind the starboard gybe Alinghi, and Holmberg was in the lead.
Alinghi ended up with an eight second lead around the bottom mark, and through a combination of good covering tactics, and favourable shifts, Holmberg held on to win the race.
UBS TROPHY - Owner-Driver Series - Race Three
ALINGHI beats BMW ORACLE RACING - Delta 0:11
** The result of this race, and the status of this series are under dispute.
This race had to be restarted after the first attempt was abandoned after the start. In the abandoned race start, BMW ORACLE helmsman Larry Ellison was called for starting early. But as he attempted to re-start, there was some difficulty with the flag communication system on the Race Committee boat, and the Committee decided moments later to abandon the race.
After having difficulty in each of the Owner-Driver pre-starts, Ernesto Bertarelli elected for a change of strategy in the second attempt at a start. After engaging in the traditional dial-up, Bertarelli bailed out almost immediately with a couple of quick tacks, keeping his boat speed up, and forcing BMW ORACLE to lead away into the circling nearly immediately, with Alinghi close behind.
As a result, this was Bertarelli's strongest pre-start at the helm. Alinghi led back in for the start line, with Ellison's BMW ORACLE boat pushing him towards the line. With both boats early, Bertarelli was able to luff up to protect his position and kill time. Ellison eventually elected to tack, and the boats split at the start, BMW ORACLE at the Committee Boat, and Alinghi at the pin.
Ellison came of the line with more speed, and with starboard tack advantage he was able to protect the right side of the race course. BMW ORACLE appeared to be leading but in the fog, overstood the port tack layline. Alinghi charged in on starboard, and was able to tack inside, and round the mark ahead. Bertarelli protected his narrow lead the rest of the way to win on a shortened course.
* * *
Quotes of the Day
Chris Dickson, BMW ORACLE Racing, on the protest by his team: There's a little confusion. Our understanding is there's one race to go in the Owner-Driver series. There was discussion about was the last Owner-Driver today the final race of the day. Was there to be one race today, or two today…clearly (there's) some different understandings of what was talked about today.
Ernesto Bertarelli, Team Alinghi, on the better results today for Team Alinghi: Today was a better day than yesterday, I don't think yesterday could have been worse…I clearly enjoyed much more the first race. Alinghi did a great job tactically, and gave back to BMW ORACLE a little bit of what they gave to us over the last few days.
John Kostecki, BMW ORACLE Racing, on being a tactician in the fog: It was a tricky day because of the fog, but really it was just that last race, the second half of the race, when the fog made it difficult to see the buoys. As a tactician, you have to rely on your navigator, so it's a navigational race, and as a tactician it's hard to see the water or wind or anything, so there wasn't a whole lot for a tactician to do in a race like that.
Peter Holmberg, Team Alinghi, explaining how he passed BMW ORACLE Racing in the Pro-Driver race today: At the bottom part of the track starboard becomes the strongest goal for us, so our objective was to get across them and get starboard advantage and we were surprised they let us have it. So we took their stern…we gybed onto starboard, and then we had the upper hand. They tried to get out of the corner on port, but we made it difficult for them, protected starboard and led them back to the mark. So it was a nice pass, and we were really happy to pull it off.
Ernesto Bertarelli, Team Alinghi, on his guest strategist, Newport resident, Ken Read: It is an honour for us to have Ken Read sail with us. He is a local here and knows the water. Yesterday was the first day and he learned how to work with us and today we see some of the results. So we are pleased with what he has been contributing…it worked today and that could be an option (to have him join the team). We are looking at different sailors. We clearly have to hire more people and Ken could be one person.
Water Level Update
Below you'll find water level info that pertains to Lakes Michigan and Huron.
Reference Point- Measurements in Inches
Difference from Chart Datum +13
Difference from last month +5
Difference from last year +13
Difference from long term average for June -9
Difference from Record High -39
Difference from Record Low +23
Forecast for 25 July 2004 +2
Click for information on other lakes.
Bermuda Non Spinnaker Winner
J'ERIN sets pace in AMERICAP™II Non-Spinnaker Division
By Talbot Wilson
In 2002 James Flaherty of Moscow PA sailed his Esprit 37 J'ERIN to second in Newport Bermuda's AMERICAP NS Division and set a goal to win it this year. He reached his goal when J'ERIN finished this 635-mile classic off St David's Lighthouse Wednesday with an elapse time of 123hrs 06min 46sec. Flaherty's name will go on the Royal Mail Trophy for first in Fleet on corrected time in this competitive yet Corinthian division. He will take home the new keeper prize for the division, a fully rigged model of the RBYC fitted dinghy ' Contest' donated by Dennis and commodore Jane Correia.
Flaherty said that he and the crew started preparing for the race last winter by doing extensive fairing and sanding of the bottom. He put a new harder bottom paint to get J'ERIN into more of a racing mode. He praised his crew saying, ' it was a challenge to keep our morale up in the light air and at night, but the crew stuck with it and we came out all right."
' We had a great trip through the Gulf Stream, he continued. ' We had North by Northwest winds up to 25 knots." This was Flaherty's fourth Bermuda Race from Newport and he has also done one from Marion.
J'ERIN's navigator Thomas Mydlack briefed the standing room only crowd at the Navigator's Forum saying, ' the skipper reset the knot meter to read faster then we were actually sailing. When the helmsmen saw the speed they were getting out of the little double-ender, they tried even harder to keep it up above anything the boat had done before."
' After the skipper went off watch at night, we brought the computer on deck and watched some DVDs. We had to keep the boat moving in the light air. If the sails flogged we couldn't hear the movie, so the movies helped us keep the boat moving."
Maydlack praised his skipper saying that he put the emphasis in three areas: safety, performance and good DVDs.
J'ERIN finished first in Class 12 and first overall in the twenty-seven boat AMERICAP II non-spinnaker division. DAME OF SARK, a classic Concordia yawl owned by Stephen Donovan of Cincinnati OH, finished right behind on corrected time to finish second in Class 12 and second in the fleet. First in AMERICAP II Class 11 was STARLIGHT a Swan 46 owned by John Marshall of Newton MA. Second in Class 11 was CYGNET a Swan 44 owned by Richard Sylvanovich of St. Louis MO.
156 yachts from 37 to 94 feet long with crews from 2 to 23 and from 13yrs old to 92 started this 635-mile biennial "Thrash to the Onion Patch". Racing was in five divisions. Traditional IMS Cruiser/Racers with 102 entries was once again the backbone of the fleet. These boats were competitively sailed by amateur captains and mostly amateur sailors from all walks of life. The second largest division with 26 entries was AMERICAP Non-Spinnaker, also amateur, but somewhat less intense than the IMS C/R. AMERICAP Double-Handed and IMS Racing had 12 entries each and the new Big boat Demonstration Division had three super-fast 86 footers.
The Fatigue Wall
ELLEN MAKES UP TIME ON BOURGNON'S RECORD RUN - BUT PAYS THE PRICE: no audio call with Ellen today after she pushed too hard - hitting a wall of fatigue after 8 sail changes in 5 hours during the night followed by 4 sail changes in 4 hours this morning as the wind varies in strength between 12 and 27kts
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NEXT 24HRS THE MOST IMPORTANT OF THE ATTEMPT as routing software suggests back to back 490 mile days could be possible - but the prediction doesn't take into account the extreme fatigue experienced after sailing hundreds of miles at a break neck pace.
SOLO SAILOR FATIGUE, putting a reef in, or shaking a reef out takes around 20 minutes of extreme physical work. Changing the headsail configuration despite the relative ease of the furling system can take 10 mins, fitting in eating, navigation, routine maintainance and of course sleep requires a unique balancing act, push too hard and you risk making a major misjudgement, don't push hard enough - and you won't break a record.
NEXT MEDIA UPDATE on web 0800gmt tomorrow, email mid-morning
STATISTICS AT 1400GMT 25 JUNE
Elapsed time: 3d 15h 50m
Ahead/behind record: 21h 48m, -374miles
Existing record: 7d 2h 34m 42s
Distance covered: 1291
Distance to finish: 1564
Position: 39 47 33N, 39 29 36W
Average boat speed (VMG) towards finish so far: 14.67
Average boat speed (VMG) now required to beat record: 18.84
Current boat speed: 16knts
Weather conditions: SEE SUMMARY BELOW
WEATHER BRIEFING: from Commander's Weather to Ellen, 25th June
Fri, June 25
00: 320-340/18-25, now we are heading fast at or just S of the finish line!!
06: 310-330/25-30
12: 310-330/18-25, near 42 30N/38 30W
18: 320-340/25-30 g 35 - new surge of wind
Weather Cloudy to partly cloudy, a few quick hitting, squally showers
Seas 8-12 feet
Sat, June 26
00: 310-330/20-30
06: 290-310/20-25
12: 300-280/20-25, near 47n/28 30w, pour it on speed-wise!!
18: 280-260/18-25
Weather Partly cloudy.
Seas 8-12 feet N Swell
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Linky Sailing News
Racing Ellison takes the wheel and wins. Ask Ellen about her record attempt.
News Seagoing Cat Statue
Great Lakes Queens Cup Weather
Queens Cup Weather
Queens Cup
Conditions: This morning it was 40 degrees in Muskegon...summer conditions hardly. Pack the woollies and the fuzzies as overnite it's expected to be in the 40's, you'll have wind chills in the 30's.
Big Picture: A high pressure ridge will be the controlling factor now until Saturday. Pressure in this ridge is approx. 1020 MB. A look out my window and a peak at the satellite images show clear skys....an absence of weather making clouds. There's a good long space between isobars on the surface map...isobar A over northern Lake Michigan, no change until almost Kentucky.
Winds: From the looks of it if you show over 15 true, send your wind instruments in for repair. All velocity #'s are 15 or below, with a large concentration in the 5-10 area.
Direction: Expect the most breeze near start time. It looks like a moderate south westerly say 7-10 knots. Waves will be minimal. As you head east look for the wind to drop and stay below 10. Direction will go from SW to by
sundown, to West by midnite, WNW by dawn and NNW a little later.
Main Sailing Mode Mostly this will put you off the wind. Likely you will want to be working on creating apparent wind, be it my putting the pole on the headstay, or using an A kite or Code 0. Lighten ship, consider leaving storm sails ahore, keep the weight low and centered...consider a forward crew weigth shift, don't overbone the rig, set it up tall and lose.
Option I Typically I believe the Queens Cup is won by sailing fast and minimizing distance sailed. The light hind end winds this year could call for a change. Following a strategy of heating up your angle with the shifts should keep you fast. However, as the forecast calls for shifts in direction, but not velocity increases so I don't see a clear benefit to going north of the straight line.
Option II Staying patient and dealing with the breeze as it decreases and goes aft could be a strong long term play. If this forecast holds a patient rhumb line strategy could eventually see you switching to a big genoa or double head rig with a good angle to the finish.
Special Situation A word on the finish and conditions near the Michigan shore. Water temperatures are in the range of 50 to 55 degrees. With the current cold weather we are experiencing (temperatures are about 15° below normal) there should not be enough difference to spark much of a breeze. If the weather was warmer you might expect a strong early morning sea breeze. However, air temperatures will not exceed that of the land until noon. This will cut down the chances of the breeze picking up as you near the finish.
Owners Get to Drive
It was an excellent day for racing in the waters off Newport, with bright sunshine, and a solid eight to 10 knot breeze, powering Alinghi and BMW ORACLE through three races Thursday afternoon.
In the first match, the BMW ORACLE team made a thrilling pass on the final run of the race, to snatch a victory from Team Alinghi, and extend its lead in the Pro-Driver series.
Alinghi's fortunes didn't improve when the Owner-Drivers took the helm for two races to conclude the day. In the first race, Larry Ellison, helming BMW ORACLE shut out his counterpart, Ernesto Bertarelli (Team Alinghi) from the start line, en route to a convincing victory.
The second start had even more action, as BMW ORACLE was penalised for a collision moments before the start. But Alinghi was too early on the start line, and had to re-start, handing Ellison an early lead. BMW ORACLE completed its penalty turn safely later in the race, and swept the day.
Veteran America's Cup sailor and local legend Ken Read was on board as a special guest with Team Alinghi today, adding his local knowledge of the area to the Alinghi afterguard.
UBS TROPHY - Pro-Driver Series - Race Nine of 12
BMW ORACLE RACING beat ALINGHI - Delta 0:26
BMW ORACLE RACING LEADS THE PRO-DRIVER SERIES 9 POINTS TO 4
Team Alinghi appeared to be in control of this race, but on the second lap of the course, BMW ORACLE made an inspired comeback, and rallied to earn another win in the Pro-Driver series.
Team Alinghi's Peter Holmberg came off the starting line with good speed on the right hand side of the race course as BMW ORACLE threw in two quick tacks, and slowed down significantly at the start gun. Alinghi protected the right hand side of the race course pushing BMW ORACLE into the shoreline with each tack, and was able to carry a 13-second lead around the top mark.
Alinghi stretched out a little on the first run but on the second windward leg, BMW ORACLE picked up some favourable shifts near the top mark, and closed up again to get in a position to threaten Alinghi.
On the final run, BMW ORACLE gained some separation with a couple of quick gybes, and then was able to close up to leeward to Alinghi, and get in a position where Holmberg couldn't gybe and safely cross in front of the starboard gybe BMW ORACLE boat. Brady continued to prevent Holmberg from gybing, and sailed him out to the layline where both boats gybed simultaneously.
The BMW ORACLE crew executed a flawless gybe, while the Alinghi spinnaker nearly collapsed. With the extra horsepower, BMW ORACLE, now to windward, accelerated away, breaking the overlap to get clear ahead, and approach the leeward mark unencumbered. Brady rounded ahead, and covered closely on the short beat to the finish, to solidify his team's lead in the Pro-Driver series.
UBS TROPHY - Owner-Driver Series - Race One of Four
BMW ORACLE RACING beats ALINGHI - Delta 1:24
BMW ORACLE RACING LEADS THE OWNER-DRIVER SERIES 1 POINT TO 0
Larry Ellison sailed an excellent start in this race, controlling Ernesto Bertarelli throughout the five-minute pre-start before shutting him out from the start line, forcing Alinghi to circle around and start with a 26-second deficit.
There was an aggressive dial-up in this pre-start, which Ellison broke off, reaching away on port tack while Alinghi struggled to get moving. Ellison kept circling back at Bertarelli, aggressively using his starboard tack advantage on each approach, and keeping Alinghi on the back foot.
When the boats finally broke for the start line, Alinghi was vulnerable, approaching with no room, and to windward of the layline for the Race Committee boat. BMW ORACLE, strongly positioned to leeward, moved for the kill, luffing Alinghi towards the Race Committee boat, and ensuring that there was no space for Bertarelli to cross the start line. Alinghi was forced to tack and circle back for the start line, while Ellison powered away at the start gun.
Although Alinghi fought gamely to try and get back into the race, the lead at the start was too big, and BMW ORACLE sailed on to take the lead in the Owner-Driver series.
UBS TROPHY - Owner-Driver Series - Race Two of Four
BMW ORACLE RACING beat Alinghi - Delta 0:41
BMW ORACLE RACING LEADS THE OWNER-DRIVER SERIES 2 POINTS TO 0
There was plenty happening in the pre-start of this race, with both owners sailing aggressively. There was no dial-up, and Alinghi allowed BMW ORACLE to lead out on port tack downwind of the Race Committee boat. The boats circled several times before Bertarelli led Alinghi back towards the line on starboard tack, with BMW ORACLE chasing.
Ellison kept pushing Alinghi, at one point hooking in to leeward, and as the boats neared the line, both tacked, still needing time to kill. Now on port tack, and sailing slowly near the start line, Ellison tacked away moments before the gun, but the back end of BMW ORACLE swung quickly towards the Alinghi transom, making contact, and damaging the Swiss boat. The Umpires assessed Ellison a penalty, and Bertarelli appeared to have the advantage. But as the start gun fired, the bow of Alinghi had already crossed the start line, and Bertarelli had to return and restart, as Ellison sailed away down a penalty, but up by 24-seconds across the line.
From that point on, this race was about whether BMW ORACLE could extend away far enough to complete its penalty turn. Ellison carried a 22-second advantage around the top mark, and then BMW ORACLE made a massive gain on the run, to lead by 54-seconds around the leeward mark. Early on the next leg, Ellison completed his penalty turn safely and threw a loose cover on Alinghi the rest of the way to earn his second win in the Owner-Driver series.
Quotes of the Day
Larry Ellison, BMW ORACLE Racing, on his excellent start in the first Owner-Drive race: Well the problem with the slam dunk in the first start is John Kostecki told me before the second one, "just do what you did in the first race!" As you know, those things happen very, very, very rarely and I think I just came out of the dial-up with a little bit more speed and kept that speed advantage which allowed me to keep control of most of the start. It's an unusual situation and in the second race I picked up a penalty, so two very different results in those two starts. I was very fortunate in the first race…it's an amazing feeling.
Ernesto Bertarelli, Team Alinghi, on sailing with a new afterguard on Alinghi: We clearly have had to adapt this week to changes, having Russell (Coutts) gone and Brad (Butterworth) injured. It's changed the way we function, but I don't think that's really the problem. The lesson here is that losing makes you stronger. BMW ORACLE has demonstrated that since the Louis Vuitton Cup they have worked hard at making their boat faster. It's a little bit faster, I think, than Alinghi. For us, it's time to realise that we are losing, and hopefully it is going to make us stronger and we'll come back with some more speed in the future. Plus we haven't sailed together a lot. It's not just the afterguard but the entire crew…everybody is a bit rusty and it shows.
Larry Ellison, BMW ORACLE Racing, on changes to his boat and his team: We have made a few changes to the boat, but I think the biggest change for us is that we have a much stronger sailing team than we had in New Zealand. There are a lot of new people. I think Gavin Brady and John Kostecki…a lot of the new afterguard is doing a terrific job. The team works extremely well together…I think the biggest difference for us is the quality of the team.
Murray Jones, Team Alinghi, explaining the red flag his team was flying the final race of the day: The rule says if there is damage, the Umpires can call a hearing and decide whether there is serious damage and if there is, then BMW ORACLE would lose a point. But after we inspected the boat we decided it was not worth proceeding as we didn't consider it serious.
Gavin Brady, BMW ORACLE Racing, on the pass his team made near the end of the first race: The idea for us was to stay close and keep as much heat on them as we can and if they make any mistake we'd jump on it. Fortunately for us they gave us a window of opportunity on that last run and we had a big decision to make, whether to stay to leeward of them and try to hold them past the layline or gybe away immediately…we were able to hold them to the layline and gybed on the layline and rolled them coming into the mark…it was a really good job by the trimmers and the rest of the team of being patient.
Youth Winners
A total of 149 young sailors competed in US SAILING’s U.S. Youth Sailing Championship for the coveted National Championship title, but only four sailors could take home the honors. Charleston Harbor has been packed with these young competitors since last Saturday, and today the winners were crowned: Michael Scott (Kaneohe, HI) won the Laser class, Cy Thompson (St. Thomas, USVI) was victorious in the Radial class, and Erik Storck and Killarney Loufek (Huntington, NY and Costa Mesa, CA) won the Club 420 class. The winners of the National Championship have been named to the 2004 U.S. Youth Sailing Team. Hosted by the College of Charleston with co-host Carolina Yacht Club, the event was sponsored by Vanguard Sailboat and West Marine. Gill is an official supplier to the event.
With a 22-point lead, Radial sailor Cy Thompson did not have to sail the
last race but opted to race anyway and did so impressively with a horizon
job. Thompson, age 14, sails for St. Thomas Yacht Club where he started
sailing Optimist dinghies at age 8. He prepared for the event by sailing
every day for two weeks, two hours a day alone and without a coach. Scott
said that his key to winning was “conservative starts, never being over
early and figuring out the current.” Thompson’s total score of 14 points in
11 races (including 8 bullets) was 34 points ahead of second place sailor,
Leah Hoepfner (Corpus Christi, TX), who jumped into second place on day two
and never relinquished her position. David Hernandez (Miami, FL) rounded out
the top three in the 23-boat Radial fleet.
In his fourth trip to the U.S. Youth Championship, Hawaiian Michael Scott
was determined to win and dominated the 30-boat Laser fleet with 48 points
in 11 races. His best finish at the U.S. Youth Championship prior to this
year’s was seventh at last year’s event. Scott, age 18, started sailing El
Toros at the Kaneohe Yacht Club at age 9. More recently, Scott has sailed
keelboats and done some match racing, which he says has made him smarter. He said that his plan for the Championship was to “sail conservatively, but
when I knew I had a chance to win, I really went for it.” He added, “I felt
I had a lot of experience over everyone.” On the last leg of the final
race, Todd Hawkins (Ocean Gate, NJ) passed one boat to overtake Thomas
Barrows (St. Thomas, USVI) by one point for second place overall. Bryan
Buffaloe (San Diego, CA) who was in the lead earlier in the week, dropped to
fourth place with an 11th in the last race.
By winning the event, Scott has received the Robert L. Johnstone III Trophy
and has qualified to sail in the U.S. Singlehanded Championship for the O’
Day Trophy to be sailed in Bayshore, NY, on August 11-15, 2004.
The big shake-up of the week came in the final Club 420 race. Knowing they
had to beat leaders Adam Roberts and Nickolas Martin (both from San Diego,
CA, defending champion Zack Brown with crew Graham Biehl (also both from San Diego) started the race on top of Roberts/Martin and caused them to tack
away right after the start, forcing them to be out of phase from the beginning. Meanwhile, Erik Storck and Killarney Loufek started cleanly at the other end of the line. All three teams were way back in the competitive 48-boat fleet at the first mark. Storck/Loufek systematically picked off boats both upwind and