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 down to crawl back to fifth place. They were closely followed by Brown/Biehl in sixth. Roberts/Martin were not as successful, crossing the line in 21st place, just one point behind Storck/Loufek for the Championship. Brown/Biehl held onto third place with 66 total points. After getting back on shore, Erik Storck attributed his team’s win to “good boatspeed, never getting frustrated and beating one boat at a time.” Storck and Loufek take home the Manton Scott Memorial Trophy.
The David M. Perry Perpetual Sportsmanship Trophies were awarded to the
sailors voted by their peers as most sportsmanlike in each fleet. The
awards went to Sean Kelly (San Francisco, CA) in the Laser fleet, Allie
Blecher (Fullerton, CA) in the Radial fleet, Club 420 skipper Evan Aras
(Annapolis, MD), and Club 420 crew Jimmy Attridge (Hanover, NH). Aras and
Attridge each started the Championship as 420 skippers and lost their crew
to injury early in the event. They submitted a request to the jury asking if
they could team up for the remainder of the event. Their request was granted
and 19-year-old Attridge agreed to crew for 15-year-old Aras they finished
30th overall.
Final Results
Laser
1. Michael Scott (Kaneohe, HI) 8-8-2-6-1-(13)-1-3-3-9-7: 48 points
2. Todd Hawkins (Ocean Gate, NJ) 6-7-3-10-8-(16)-7-2-5-2-6: 56 points
3. Thomas Barrows (St. Thomas, USVI) 7-4-12-7-4-11-(14)-4-4-3-1: 57 points
4. Byran Buffaloe (San Diego, CA) 1-1-1-4-14-7-3-(15)-13-7-11: 62 points
5. John Loe (Baton Rouge, LA) 14-10-(20)-1-12-4-12-5-6-10-5: 79 points
Radial
1. Cy Thompson (St. Thomas, USVI) 1-1-1-3-1-3-1-1-1-(8)-1: 14 points
2. Leah Hoepfner (Corpus Christi, TX) 2-8-7-1-2-1-(15)-6-10-6-5: 48 points
3. David Hernandez (Miami, FL) 4-3-5-5-13-2-2-3-(17)-12-3: 52 points
4. Fred Strammer (Nokomis, FL) 7-6-3-(10)-8-7-8-2-4-4-4: 53 points
5. Tom Tullo (Staten Island, NY) 3-10-2-(22)-11-6-9-4-12-1-2: 60 points
Club 420
1. Erik Storck/Killarney Loufek (Huntington, NY/Costa Mesa, CA)
6-7-6-10-4-(16)-5-9-6-2-5: 60 points
2. Adam Roberts/Nicholas Martin (San Diego, CA)
1-3-1-3-8-2-10-(25)-2-10-21: 61 points
3. Zach Brown/Graham Biehl (San Diego, CA)
12-2-3-17-(21)-12-2-6-5-1-6: 66 points
4. Ben Sampson/Michael Komar (Plymouth, MA)
4-1-2-12-10-15-1-(28)-20-6-7: 78 points
5. Chris Behm/Meg Callanan (Hampton, VA/Chester, MD)
17-5-13-6-1-11-14-(32)-1-4-12: 84 points
Ellen begins to Gain
WIND SHIFT TO NW ARRIVES AT LAST: Ellen now sailing at blistering speed along the direct route to the finish, maintaining speeds of over 22 knots for the past few hours. For the first time closing on Bourgnon’s ghost track by an hour [now 23 hours behind].
THE TRANSITION WAS TOUGH TO MANAGE: the eventual gybe was followed by light and variable winds, physically hard sail changes required to maintain speed. Once speed then increased, the stress increased again another notch...”I spent the night worrying in the cuddy, but have decided to go to bed now as I’m not achieving anything on deck...problem now is getting thrown out of my bunk...but if we can hold these speeds we’re on fire...” a slightly jaded voice this morning...
FATIGUE OF PUSHING <
APPROACHING HALF WAY MARK in terms of miles [total 2925 miles] and time [now into day 4]...and the chance of record is still definitely on, but an average speed (on direct route) of 18.77 knots is still a quite extraordinary target! One however, that is currently being met...
PHONE CALL WITH ELLEN 0800 GMT
THIS MORNING’S THUNDERING PACE
“We’re doing 23 - 25 knots straight down the track, 22 knots of breeze, full main and Solent, 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! Problem is getting thrown out of my bunk though, the lee cloth not quite doing its job...if we can hold these speeds for a while we’re on fire, and still have a chance on the record.
Hoping breeze doesn’t increase, as I’ll have to take Solent [mid-size headsail] down. Hard to judge when to take it down. If I have to change then the chance of breaking record will diminish...so pushing to the limit! [Alarm going off in background, its a wind alarm set to alert Ellen when wind peaks at maximum for a sail combination to take, in theory]....wind at 24 knots....it would be so easy to ignore the alarm and curl up by the warm generator and go to sleep...am going to try and get some sleep though now and sit like this for a while.
It was a long night again though, great to see the daylight again...
Forced down a huge bowl of ceriel, banana and milk powder this morning. Having not really eaten since yesterday lunchtime...”
ON THE RECORD PACE
Yesterday it looked pretty ***** [average], but things are looking much better this morning.
Speeds are great....23, 23.1., 23.8, 23.7, 22.3...not too hard to break 24 hour record at this pace even without the Gulf Stream. I wouldn’t have thought that possible a few days ago.
STATISTICS AT 0800GMT 25 JUNE
Elapsed time: 3d 9h 50m
Ahead/behind record: -391 miles, 22hr 49min behind
Existing record: 7d 2h 34m 42s
Distance covered: 1190
Distance to finish: 1665
Position: 38 56 07N; 41 22 31W
Average boat speed (VMG) towards finish so far: 14.51
Average boat speed (VMG) now required to beat record: 18.70
Current boat speed: 23 knots
Weather conditions: See below
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WEATHER BRIEFING: from Commander’s Weather to Ellen 0530utc June 25
Summary
1) The more solid stratocumulus cloud deck is located to your N and NW. You are in the broken to scattered clouds between this solid deck of clouds and the frontal clouds
a) breeze may be a bit unstable for the next 8-12 hrs
2) Regardless, don't see any major changes during the next 18-24 hrs
a) the stronger NW winds have out run us and we will never catch up to
them - no worries, though
b) wind speeds may ease down a few kts after 0600-0800UTC but, may increase a bit again after 1800UTC
c) average wind directions will gradually back except when that surge arrives late afternoon or evening today - wind directions will move a little right with the surge
d) goal is to sail as fast as possible, sail at the finish line when possible and fast, must get N of 50N for the strongest wind speeds Sun into early Mon, so we are staying on port. Winds will back during Sat, allowing us to continue on port past 50N
3) Sat is a transition day with winds backing into the W during the day and WSW overnight
a) wind speeds will increase a few kts, N of 47N
b) average wind speeds will be around 20 kts at and N of 50N and less S
of 48N
c) will be okay to sail as far N as 50-51N, as winds will be mainly W,
WSW, and SW late Sun/early Mon
4) Winds will gradually diminish on Mon, the closer you get to the finish
line, but
a) wind directions will be primarily 250 or left, so must set-up along or N of 50N
b) also, wind speeds will be 2-3 kts higher N of 50N vs S of 50N on Sun night/Mon
Wind forecasts
Wind directions are TRUE, wind speed in kts, and time is UTC
Fri, June 25,
09: 320-335/17-23, 12: 310-330/16-22, near 39 20N/39 55W, 18: 300-320/16-22
Weather. Cloudy to partly cloudy, maybe a brief, quick hitting shower or 2,
especially early morning and again overnight.
Sat, June 26
00: 310-330/18-24, 06: 310-290/17-23, more wind speed further N, 12: 280-300/16-22, near 43 20n/30 50w, 18: 280-260/17-23, more wind speed further N
Weather. Partly cloudy.
Sun, June 27
00: 240-260/20-25, 06: 260-280/18-24, 12: 260-280/18-24, near 49N/21 30W, 18: 240-260/18-24
Weather. Partly cloudy
Mon, June 28
00: 240-260/16-22, 06: 250-220/15-20, 12: 230-250/12-17, near 50N/10W, 18: 230-260/12-17
Tue, June 29
00: 230-250/12-6 - finish at Lizard, 06: 240-210/ 7-11
Volvo Baltic Postponment
There will be no racing today in Kiel for the Volvo Baltic Race fleet. The coastal race, scheduled to be held this morning, has been postponed due to bad weather. The race has been rescheduled for Wednesday 30 June in Sandhamn, Sweden.
Local weather experts were forecasting 30-knot winds with gusts to 36 knots today in Kiel. Although the whole fleet was ready to race, the potential for damage was high and the race committee made the decision to postpone the race, which will now be held in Sandhamn, Sweden.
The next two races of the series are a 100 nautical mile (nm) short offshore race to Warnemunde in Germany starting tomorrow, Saturday June 26, followed on Sunday by a 415 nm offshore race to Sandhamn in Sweden.
The marathon schedule of racing in this series is a test in itself and the decision to postpone was welcomed by everyone. Not only has this decision taken the pressure off the teams who needed to repair gear and sails, it will also allow the crews to be more rested and therefore more prepared for the next stage of the event.
June 24, 2004
Next 36 Hours Critical
UPDATE NUMBER 2 for JUNE 24
Please refer to this morning’s email for more details
* ELLEN SAILING ON THE LEADING EDGE OF OCCLUDED COLD FRONT: waiting game for front to overtake Ellen. She hopes to have stayed ahead of it for long enough that the winds behind it will be favourable NorthWesterlies, allowing her to head to Lizard.
* AFTER A HUGE 24 HOUR RUN, JUST 30 MILES FROM THE RECORD,<< B&Q>> is in good shape, Ellen extremely happy with her peformance. In the big surfing of yesterday she was "cool and dependable"
* ALTHOUGH ON PAPER ELLEN NOW 24 HOURS BEHIND BOURGNON’S RECORD RUN, once Ellen is able to head north east she should immediately start to gain on him. Next 36 hours critical.
* LONG TERM WEATHER suggests a fast climb for next 2 days once front is through, but big question is then whether there will be a blocking high pressure ridge in the English Channel on Monday.
LISTEN TO THE UNEDITED AUDIO MP3 WITH AN EXHAUSTED ELLEN: Communications by
* NEXT MEDIA UPDATE on web 0800gmt tomorrow, email mid-morning
STATISTICS AT 1400GMT 24 JUNE
Elapsed time: 2d 15h 50m
Ahead/behind record: 24h behind
Existing record: 7d 2h 34m 42s
Distance covered: 905
Distance to finish: 1950
Position: 37 41 40N; 47 40 32W
Average boat speed (VMG) towards finish so far: 14.14
Average boat speed (VMG) now required to beat record: 18.22
Current boat speed: 21.2
Weather conditions: Still waiting for that wind shift to the north!
<
SUMMARY OF LAST 24 HOURS, AND COMMENT ON THE 510 MILE DAY (24 HOUR RECORD STANDS AT JUST 540 MILES)
"Last 24 hours pretty tough sitting on the front of a small low tracking east...conditions got a lot worse, with wind speeds up to 43 knots, boats speeds have been astronomical averaging at times up to 30 knots...
I feel very very tired...we sailed very quickly in the night, but this morning went through a light patch so speed dropped to ‘just below’ 20 knots. This meant that we couldn’t get the 24 hour record, but its hard to sail in a straight line for 24 hours especially when we are aiming for the Lizard."
ON THE CRITICAL WEATHER TRANSITION TODAY
"We have a front very close to us and once we go through that front, the wind will go in to the north west and that wind will hopefully take us to the mouth of the English Channel...but it is an occluded front, very trick, and there could be light winds in there, hard to get through it, lots of sail changes."
CAN THE RECORD STILL BE BROKEN?
"It all depends on how this front passage goes...still stand a chance of breaking the record....if we get in to the NWerly winds quickly then we can make progress to the north. If we sail the distance the routing is suggesting at present, we will have to average 20 knots to break the record."
Very much still achievable!
FURTHER REFLEECTION ON LAST NIGHT’S BIG WAVE
"Last night we got pretty hard by a rogue wave, sailing along with three reefs and staysail. I was slowing hte boat down thinking to take out one of the reefs, but sometimes going slow in those conditions is not always a good idea...and we got hit very hard. We got thrown on our side, 30 to 45 degrees, it was pretty violent and made a huge bang [as the wave hit the underside of the beams and float]. It was a bit of a shock and it certainly hit us very hard."
HOW IS THE BOAT?
"B&Q has been fantastic. Yesterday was some of the best sailing of my life. [even when we were going very fast] she was cool and felt very dependable."
WEATHER BRIEFING: from Commander’s Weather to Ellen 1200 June 24
In uncut form so you can see the information to digest by skipper...
Summary: Try to minimize southing in this nice westerly to minimize distance
and when winds diminish to < 20 kts time to gybe and get north of the
front.
1) Nice to see you making good time eastward staying south of the frontal
boundary in 25-30 kt W winds.
a) But once the breeze drops to < 20 kts think about gibing to port to
get to other side of
Front and the N-NNW wind.
2) By being further south you have delayed frontal passage but it will
overtake you in the next 3-6 hours.
a) Winds shift abruptly to N-NNW( 15-20 kts ) likely by 18 utc.
b) But again if winds drop to < 20 then gybe to get to other side
of front..
3) After you go onto port sail as fast as you can toward the finish.
4) The NW wind behind the strengthening north central Atlantic low likely
to come in surges but should remain in the manageable 20-30 kt range much
of the time tonight into Friday night.
a) Few gusts to 30-35 kts possible on leading edge of
any squally showers.
5) Later Friday night and Saturday the winds will slowly diminish as the
big low lifts northward.
6) There will also be a slow backing trend then as well likely to 270 by
late Sat pm.
7) This will lift you up toward 50n but as you get east of 25w winds will
continue to back to south of west.
a) Then can go back onto starboard and head for finish.
8) Guidance for Monday still seems to be erratic with 00 utc guidance today
showing ridge poking up toward the Irish Sea 12 utc Mon to 00 utc Tue.
9) This will make for a slow tricky finish .
10) What we will be hoping for is that this ridge is delayed and you stay
in decent wind of 15-20 kts getting in before the ridge really builds in.
Wind forecasts: Wind directions are TRUE, wind speed in kts, and time is UTC
Thu, June 24
15: 260-280/ 25-20 gybe to port when winds drop to < 20 kts.
18: bcmg 330-360/17-22
Weather overcast with a brief squall shower or 2 next 3-6 hours.
Seas becoming confused after windshift 8-12 feet
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
Upwind Battle for Volvo Baltic
It was a horrible upwind slog for the Volvo Baltic fleet last night. Sail damage was widespread, but at the head of the fleet, the Sony Ericsson/Team Elanders battle continued. Sony Ericsson now leads the series by half a point .
Last night’s race to Kiel was everything everyone expected it to be. Cold, wet, windy and tiring, with much of it on the wind in up to 35 knots of breeze. After their excellent start, Avant (M Lundh/Swe & W Verbraak/Ned) were unable to match the speed of the newer and faster Sony Ericsson (T Blixt/Swe) and Team Elanders (M Humphries/UK). They quickly passed Avant and renewed their personal battle, which continued throughout the 140 nautical mile (nm) race.
Team Elanders won the start from Sony Ericsson in true match racing style and held onto her lead for about 14 miles, but then made a crucial mistake. “We got the wrong side of a couple of windshifts,” explained skipper Matthew Humphries. “We gave them (Sony Ericsson) an advantage that we couldn’t get back and turned a mile lead into a two mile loss, but that’s yacht racing. We’re not worried and we don’t have any damage. It was very wet, windy and uncomfortable and everyone is relieved to be ashore. “
“It’s been a really good race,” said a jubilant Thomas Blix/Sony Ericsson, whose team now leads the series by half a point. “We have a great team, probably the best. No one has slept all night and we’re tired now. We’ve had some small hiccups with the water ballast again, but we will fix that and we’ve no other damage.”
Damage
Avant retained her third position, in spite of ripping her mainsail from luff to leech in 35 knots of wind and sailing the remaining 40 miles or so to the finish under storm trysail and a small J3 headsail. Fortunately, they were able to reach into the turning mark at the Kieler lighthouse, still making 12 knots of boat speed. After that, they faced a 10 mile beat to the finish with the mast unstable without a full mainsail, which was damaged beyond repair. On arrival in Kiel, Avant’s bowman, Fredrik Jacobsson/Swe, was taken to hospital for a check-up following a fall on the foredeck caused during a sail change in the night. The injuries, mostly to his face, were not serious and he was later released. The goal for this team was to finish first of the second generation boats and the team was delighted with their achievement.
JMS Next Generation (K Heiberg/Nor) was not able to put pressure on Avant. The team damaged the shackle on their outhaul five minutes after the start and quickly reefed. Forty miles from the finish they damaged their mainsail track and had to drop the mainsail. They tried to rehoist it with two reefs, only to find a tear, so with no chance of catching Avant, they finished the course in fourth position under headsail alone.
AV-Teknik (M Murto/Cro) had all sorts of trouble with gear failure. In the first hour they pulled the clew out of the mainsail and sailed with a reef in for three hours whilst they made a repair. Then the first reef line snapped so the crew replaced it. The jib halyard broke and they tore they J4 and finally, 25 miles from the finish, they tore their mainsail from the first reef point to the second. “We don’t know if we will be able to start the race tomorrow because of the problems with the mainsail” said a tired skipper Marko Murti (CRO).
Finishing positions race 3 Copenhagen - Kiel
1 Sony Ericsson (Thomas Blixt, Swe)
2 Elanders (Matthew Humphries, UK)
3 Avant (M Lundh Swe/W Verbraak, Ned)
4 JMS Next Generation (K Heiberg, Nor)
5 AV-Teknik (Marko Murtic, Cro)
Positions after 3 legs
1 Sony Ericsson (Thomas Blixt, Swe) 11.5 points
2 Team Elanders (Matthew Humphries, UK) 11.0 points
3 JMS Next Generation (Stefan Eneman, Swe/Kjell-Inge Heiberg, Nor) 6.5 points
4 Avant (M Lundh, Swe/W Verbraak, Ned) 5.5 points
5 AV Teknik (Marko Murtic, Cro) 3.0 points
Orange II goes record chasing
After two months spent in dock having work done on her to improve her technical capabilities, the ORANGE II maxi-catamaran, skippered by Bruno Peyron, sets sail once again to take part in the Isle of Wight race. This sailing event in the Solent may be followed by an attempt on the Channel crossing record between Cowes and Saint-Malo. The rest of the 2004 sporting programme is currently being set up and will be presented within the next few weeks. The boat should be present at Brest 2004, before heading off towards New York to be ready to attempt the North Atlantic crossing record (New York - The Lizard), weather conditions permitting. Orange II will be back in her homeport of Marseilles in September, to continue her schedule of training and record attempts in the Mediterranean.
ORANGE AROUND THE ISLE OF WIGHT
The first meeting for the Orange team will be the traditional, popular « Isle of Wight Race », which opens the summer season in England. 1,200 boats are expected to line up at dawn on Saturday morning (26th June) for the start of this historic event, which was behind the creation of the America's Cup. This location is well known all over the world, and all the ingredients come together here to make this meeting a spectacular event. Orange II, which will be moored alongside the famous Royal Yacht Squadron, will compete for the first time in the waters of the Solent on a difficult route, where the work of the riggers and trimmers never stops.
Bruno Peyron : "Orange II was designed and built to become the fastest yacht in the world over the next five years, and it is by sailing and making progress that we will achieve our goal, which still remains for me winning back the Jules Verne Trophy. This trip around the Isle of Wight isn't really suited to our giant, but more than beating the clock, our aim is above all to sail and continue with the process of perfecting and developing the boat. That's also the reason why we may be making an attempt on the North Atlantic crossing record this summer ".
Just to remind ourselves, the record time for the Isle of Wight Race is still held by Francis Joyon from 2001 (3h,10mn,11s). The absolute record (established within the conditions for a record) belongs to the American Steve Fossett aboard PlayStation and stands at 2h, 33mn, 55s (2001).
A GIANT UNDERGOING SOME FINE-TUNING...
The couple of months the boat spent in dock this winter have allowed some of the technical points, which forced her to give up on her attempt at the Jules Verne Trophy earlier this winter, to be ironed out. The boat's propulsion systems have been changed and today give cause for complete satisfaction. The handling of the boat has also been improved thanks to some painstaking work on her appendages. Finally, the fitting of a new generation of rudders (to be delivered at the end of August) should settle the steering problems the boat has encountered.
10 Teams to Vie For Commodores Cup
Whilst there is still activity behind the scenes, at close of business on Monday 21st June (the entry deadline), ten teams had submitted formal challenges.
A strong team on paper would appear to be the Irish, with Eamon Crosbie's year old Ker 32, Voodoo Chile (1st IRC 2 Red Funnel Easter Challenge/2nd IRC2 MeesPierson IRC Championships), Colm Barrington's latest 'Glove' - the brand new Ker 39 Flying Glove (2nd IRC SZ/Z MPIC) and Fidessa Fastwave, the DK46, sailed by Chris Brown and Peter Harding.
Following its successful venture in 2002, the French are returning with three teams under the management and leadership of Gery Trentesaux. A repeat of their success from two years ago is not out of the question. The make up of each team will be finalised after the Cowes-Dinard-St Malo Race starting on 2nd July.
The Netherlands bring one team comprising J. Horrevoets' Grand Soleil 44R, Holmatro (winner IRC1 Rolex Fastnet Race & Skandia Cowes Week '03), Peter de Ridder's BH41 Checkmate 3 (in its fourth RCC) and M. van der Heijden's HOD35 DaikIn Airco (a winner at RORC North Sea Race and the North Sea Regatta Super Cup).
Belgium enters the fray with Francois Goubau's First 47.7 Moana, Bertrand Struyts First 40.7 Liesl and Breeze an ILC 30 owned by Christian Muyls.
The RYA trials proved an extremely competitive affair, ending at the MeesPierson IRC Championships this past weekend. The level of preparedness across the board has given the selectors confidence to enter a full complement of four teams. Although each team is given equal billing, it is hard to ignore the compelling results of GBR Red, comprising Kit Hobday & Tim Louis' Farr 52 Bear of Britain (1st Overall MPIC), Jerry Otter's IMX 40 Exabyte II (3rd IRC1 MPIC) and the J-109 Jeronimo of Jonathan and Lisa Goring (1st IRC2 MPIC).
GBR Blue sees past RORC Commodore Peter Rutter returning to Rolex Commodores' Cup competition in his Elan 37, Quokka. Rutter will undoubtedly be hoping it is third time lucky following on from his participation in 1998 and 2000. Joining him in GBR Blue is the IMX 40, Magnum II, owned by Andrew Pearce who started his campaign for selection at last year's Rolex Fastnet Race and Nick Hartshorn's Ker 11.3 El Gringo.
Negotiations are underway for an eleventh team made up of yachts from Russia, Belgium and France. If this comes to fruition, it will be the first time an East European boat has competed at the event.
The Rolex Commodores' Cup will be held off Cowes, Isle of Wight, from 25th July to 1st August.
Linky Sailing News
Racing 510 miles solo.
News Purusing gold. Coutts Update. Aussie Olympians
Great Lakes Seaway study
510 Mile day solo!
ELLEN SAILS HER BIGGEST SPEEDS EVER: an average of 22.1 knots over 18 hours, a 510 mile day only 30 short of the 24 hour solo speed record, also held by Laurent Bourgnon.
* BOURGNON HAD HIS BEST TWO DAYS at the beginning, and also along the direct route, unlike B&Q’s track. Ellen’s time to retake ground will be in the next 48 hours...
* 40 KNOT SQUALL DURING THE NIGHT SENDS B&Q IN TO NEAR CAPSIZE: “we were hit very very hard by one wave, sent us to 35 to 45 degrees or more....absolutely smacked, whole boat was physically thrown, including me and everything inside...” an exhausted Ellen this morning...
* THE SOUTHERLY COURSE required by skirting south of the low pressure system means a much bigger distance to sail for the transatlantic record, but with Ellen’s big distance sailed the chances of a record are still very much on...
* WEATHER UPDATE: OCCLUDED COLD FRONT to pass over B&Q between 0900-1200gmt, and with it a big windshift to the north from the south west finally allowing Ellen to gybe on to the direct course to the north east.
* NEXT MEDIA UPDATE at 1530gmt today
STATISTICS AT 0500GMT 24 JUNE
Elapsed time: 2d 6h 50m
Ahead/behind record: 21h 18m behind
Existing record: 7d 2h 34m 42s
Distance covered: 808
Distance to finish: 2047
Position: 38 35N; 51 00W
Average boat speed (VMG) towards finish so far: 14.69
Average boat speed (VMG) now required to beat record: 17.64
Current boat speed: 17.5
Weather conditions: 24 knots, changeable as front approaches and wind shifts to north. Sea state becoming moderate after rough night.
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FROM PHONECALL WITH ELLEN THIS MORNING...
"....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, including me. Breeze die off from then onwards, since died to 15 knots, so its been from 3 reefs and staysail, right up to full main and genoa, 2 reefs out at once, am totally %^$&&**!.
Breeze is going to clock around, going to have to gybe, and wind will build up again to 30 knots, then we’ll be reaching on the other side, so more sail changes to come. Got a little bit of sleep in the night, but not a lot at all really. Sea state much better now, was really bad. Not going to be any easier day today either. Thank god its getting light now, not much fun in the dark when you can’t see the waves. Can’t see the waves coming. If you were on deck when the big wave hit you’d be over the side."
WEATHER BRIEFING: from Commander’s Weather:
Thu, June 24
09: 240-270/26-12
12: 280-340/14-20, 39 05N/47 30W
18: 330-360/18-24
Weather: Cloudy to partly cloudy. No big squalls obvious on satellite picture, but a brief squally shower possible this morning and again late afternoon/early evening.
Fri, June 25
00: 320-340/25-30, now we are heading fast at or just S of the finish line!!
06: 310-330/25-35
12: 310-330/18-25, near 42 55N/39 05W
18: 320-340/25-30 g 35 - new surge of wind
Weather: Cloudy to partly cloudy, a few quick hitting, squally showers
Partner of the Day: RED FUNNEL...when Ellen gets back to Europe, this is her way home to Cowes!
June 23, 2004
Mac Art
Artist Michael Blaser is a one time philosophy major and former Marine. He's sailed Lake Michigan and at one time worked for John Deere. After starving artist period he broke into art related to the marine business. Currently he describes himself this way: "a fine artist painting historic and contemporary scenes of the Western Rivers (Mississippi, Ohio and Missouri Rivers) and the Great Lakes. My work is in oil and the canvases are from twenty inches to sixteen feet across."
Dr. Don Crandall and his wife Nancy Crandall are co-owners of the J 125 Erleichda. Dr. Crandall works for Mercy Health Partners while Nancy serves as mayor of Norton Shores MI.
In the spring of 2002 Blaser purchased a Cheoy Lee 44 through Torresen Marine. TMI broker Jeff Allen is an Erleichda crew member.
He introduced Blaser to the Crandall's. Blaser has always wanted to depict the sailing action of Mackinac. The Crandall's patronage allowed him to do so.
The original painting is titled 'Mackinac' and hangs over the Crandall's fireplace. It depicts the end of the 2002 Chicago to Mackinac one of the fastest races in history. It was the year that Pyewacket set a new race record. The J125 Erleichda is shown under spinnaker, a fast and fun conclusion to a high speed ride.
Shown is Round Island Light originally built in 1895 to mark the dangerous shoals around the channel between Round Island and Mackinac Island. This light was restored in the 1970's and still serves as an official aid to navigation showing a flashing white light every 2.5 seconds.
Now available are giclee's of the original painting. These are digital reproductions based on the original oil painting that are produced by the spraying of an image on to fine art paper or canvas.
This piece will be sought after by anyone whose sailed the Mac....hang 'Mackinac' in your house and you will have a 24/7/365 reminder of Mac's past and future.
Idec's Program
The trimaran IDEC will make its return to competition Saturday June 26, at the time of traditional Tour of the island of Wight, organized with Cowes by Island Sailing Club.
Francis Joyon holds the record for this race since 2001 (3 hours 10 minutes and 11 seconds, on board 60 ' the Eure and Loir).
This year Bruno Peyron will raceOrange II. Francis Joyon has done a solo delivery to Lézardrieux (Brittany northern), where he will be joined as of tomorrow by the crew which will accompany it until in Solent.
Joyon has just learned the presence of Orange II. "It is well the proof that this great classic attracts the great names and the large boats! On paper, they have a potential speed higher than ours, but it will be necessary to see what that gives in real conditions! ".
For this sporting "re-entry", Francis will be accompanied by his faithful team-members Christophe Houdet and Pierre Bourcier , plus three other team-members who remained still yesterday to be named...
The start of the Round the island of Wight will be given local Saturday June 26 to 6h00. 1200 boats are awaited and will be divided into various classes. Giant trimaran IDEC runs in the category "Mutihull Grand Prix"
Transat Record Attempt Day 2
* MACARTHUR GRINDS DOWN THE MILES, BUT TRAILS BOURGNON BY 15 hours at 1400GMT, mostly due to a more southerly initial course Bourgnon’s best days were the first two. Over 700 miles sailed so far at an average of 14.3knots (VMG), 2281miles to go along the direct route (official course distance 2925 miles).
* SAILING JUST IN FRONT OF A FAST APPROACHING COLD FRONT, winds up to 30 knots, speeds up to 32 over the ground with help of the Gulf Stream...full pressure sailing for Ellen
* "FASTEST SOLO SAILING I EVER DONE...STRESSFUL...VIOLENT MOTION...BEING THROWN AROUND...FANTASTIC PROGRESS..." a supercharged Ellen in full flight...
* RACE AGAINST DEPRESSION! To have a chance of breaking this 10 year old record, Ellen must hang on to the strong winds of this same depression all the way to the English Channel, still some 2300 miles away...
LISTEN TO THE UNEDITED AUDIO MP3 WITH A SUPERCHARGED ELLEN just a few hours ago whilst sailing at 30 knots!
STATISTICS AT 1400GMT 23 JUNE
Elapsed time: 1d 15h 50m
Ahead/behind record: 15h 6m behind
Existing record: 7d 2h 34m 42s
Distance covered: 574
Distance to finish: 2281
Position: 39 37N; 57 57W
Average boat speed (VMG) towards finish so far: 14.35
Average boat speed (VMG) now required to beat record: 17.41
Current boat speed: 31
Weather conditions: SW 30 knots, sea state moderate and building
<
Extracts from audio:
HIGH SPEEDS
"Its exactly the weather system we were waiting for...going 28 knots over the ground...23 or 24 knots of boatspeed with a really strong Gulf Stream pushing us along....really having to put foot down to stay with this depression that is going over the top of us. Got to push hard...this is the fastest I have ever sailed on my own, its stressful, being thrown around, but boat handling well, got one reef in, need to get a second one in soon..."
LIFE ON BOARD B&Q
"Getting thrown around a bit right now, its 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, can’t afford to miss anything, and am scared of breaking things....its hard to sleep. Got no will to eat, but just have to look after the basics,
It’s very very stressful, you just spend your whole tim hoping something doesn’t break...conditions change very quickly...you can’t afford to break anything but equally you can’t afford not to be pushing hard."
TACTICS COMING UP
"Sailing exactly on the course we need at the moment [100], need to keep foot down and stay in front of the low...well, its going to speed up and go over the top of us that is for sure, so we can’t stay on 100 for sure. Direct course to the Lizard is 057 degrees. The faster we can get in to the new North West wind, and the more east we are, the better.
Your objective is to go really, really fast, but then there is more and more risk if something goes wrong, as it generallly goes wrong in a big way."
WEATHER BRIEFING: from Commander’s Weather: extracts of email to Ellen from her weather routers
- Sat pics show band of squallys very close to you...stay just south of this...in 25 to 35 knots of WSW breeze
- Likely you will be able to rid the WSW winds into Thursday before being caught by the cold front around 1200, the winds will then strengthen from the north
- Good NW wind on port tack in to Saturday
- Possible problem with ridge of high pressure forming up toward the Channel - lets hope not...
- We will not head towards the Lizard until we get the NW winds
Performance partner of the Day: MUSTO clothing coming in to its own in the fire hose conditions Ellen is in at present! http://www.teamellen.com/musto
Rough Stuff for Volvo Baltic Fleet
Avant makes a stunning start as the fleet heads out to sea on the second offshore race of the Volvo Baltic Race Series. Bad weather promises a rough ride, and gales are forecast.
It was a test of stamina this evening in Copenhagen, Denmark, for the five-strong Volvo Baltic Race fleet as they started the second offshore race of the series in pouring rain and 18 knots of easterly breeze. Gales are forecast for the 140 nm leg to Kiel in Germany, which will take about 20 hours and could be mostly upwind.
Young starting helmsman, Swedens’s Emil Wiberg (21), made another spectacular start on Avant (M Lundh/SWE & W Verbraak NED) from AV-Teknik (CRO) on port tack. Elanders (M Humphries UK) matched raced Sony Ericsson (T Blixt SWE) at the back of the fleet and beat them across the line by 15 seconds. JMS Next Generation (KI Heiberg NOR) played it safe and crossed in third place, with Elanders making up ground on her rapidly as the fleet headed towards the first mark of the course.
“The boat is in top shape,” said Elanders’ Kiwi helmsman Ray Davies today at the skipper’s briefing. “The crew are rested, but it’s going to be an extremely rough trip to Kiel.” Davies will share the driving with skipper Matthew Humphries and fellow Kiwi, Cameron Appleton.
Thomas Blixt/Sony Ericsson (SWE) is expecting a tough race. “It’s going to be really hard weather,” he grimaced. “On the rail the whole way, no coffee, no food and rain, rain, rain. The hard part will be to keep the boat alive the whole way round.” Blixt chases series leader, Elanders, by just ½ a point.
Most of the crew on third-placed JMS Next Generation from Norway are under 30. Skipper/navigator Kjell-Inge Heiberg was optimistic: “I’m looking forward to this race. I would prefer the wind to be from behind, like everyone else, but that’s all part of sailing. We’ll try to do our best regardless of the wind direction.”
Work has been ongoing on Avant, (equal fourth). “We’re happy,” said co-skipper Mikael Lundh. “We’ve repaired our headboard car, but it looks like we’ll be reefed for most of the trip.” Lundh brings onboard Dutch sailor, Gerd Jan Poortman, to beef up their offshore experience.
Zvonko Besic, co-skipper of AV-Teknik, is prepared for the worst: “Our boat is better downwind or in lighter airs” he said, adding “but unfortunately it’s upwind. We’ll have fun though. That is what we are here for. “ Anders Carlberg from Sweden, part of AV-Teknik afterguard along with owner/co skipper Marko Murtic (CRO), laughed: “This is not sailing, this a water sport”. The rest of AV-Teknik crew are predominantly youngsters under 26.
Weather
There is a low over the UK travelling nne to Norway. A warm front will pass over the fleet during the evening with wind south easterly 20 25 knots. After the front passes, the wind will shift to the southwest and increase to 25 30 knots, stronger and gusty winds expected in the showers and around the headlands.
Positions after two legs
1 Team Elanders (Matthew Humphries, UK) 7.0 points
2 Sony Ericsson (Thomas Blixt, Swe) 6.5 points
3 JMS Next Generation (Stefan Eneman, Swe/Kjell-Inge Heiberg, No) 4.5 points
4 AV Teknik (Marko Murtic, Cro) 2.0 points
4 Avant (M Lundh, Swe/W Verbraak, Ned) 2 points
Rosebud Wins Bermuda Race Trophy
Trans Pac 52 ROSEBUD takes Gibb's Hill Lighthouse Trophy
By Talbot Wilson
The two coveted Lighthouse trophies found new owners today as late finishers ran out of time to replace either leader in the 44th biennial Bermuda Race. Based on unofficial results, Roger Sturgeon from Hyannis MA and his ROSEBUD crew nailed down the Gibb's Hill Lighthouse prize late Tuesday. Wednesday with the smaller Class 1 boats still racing, ALLIANCE, the Swan 45 owned by Dominick Porco, has settled in as the unofficial winner of the IMS Cruiser/Racer Division to take the 2004 St. David's Lighthouse Trophy.
Some smart sailing, coupled with 16+ knot surfs down ocean rollers during a dream ride across the Gulf Stream, bought ALLIANCE her victory. New Yorker Dominick Porco and crew sailed the Swan 45 to Bermuda in 84hr 18min 40sec to win IMS Cruiser Racer Class 6 and take first place over 101 other yachts in the IMS Cruiser Racer Division. This was Porco's first Bermuda Race as an owner and his third try at the 635 mile course.
Bud Darr, Porco's navigator, played a key role in the victory but was quick to praise Porco and the rest of his crewmates. Darr, finishing his seventh Bermuda Race, said, "We came out of the Gulf Stream locked in a duel with BETTER THAN, (a sister Swan 45) They went to the right and we went left. As we separated, the crew took the challenge and decided that we would do better than BETTER THAN. They broke watches, got up on the rail and made all the sail changes and kept a very positive attitude. They worked extra hard for the last 18 hours and that helped us to win."
Speaking about Darr's pre-race planning, crewmate Andrew Waine said, "This was the first time ever where we made a plan - and stuck to it. It worked out perfect!"
In the four parts of the race, Darr planned to go a little East of the Newport/Bermuda Rhumb line at first to get better wind, then climb to the right to reach the entry point at the top of the Gulf Stream meander. The plan for part two was to ride the Gulf Stream as long and fast as possible and to keep West of the rhumb line to do it. Part three was to cross back to the East to catch a ride on an eddy midway from the stream to Bermuda and to hook into favorable winds and climb back to the rhumb line close to the finish. "The watch captains concentrated on sailing max polars and VMG to that point, Darr said, "then in part four we worked with the winds given us on the final approach to Bermuda."
Darr said, "We did not want to be coming into Bermuda from West of the rhumb line for the last 50 miles. We wanted to be a little East to get better pressure and to be able to sail down with the header that we expected." Commenting on the warm eddy feature north of Bermuda, Darr said it happened to be along their way to get to the new wind down the course. They got over a knot of positive current from the feature and were "pleasantly surprised." Darr also said they got a little help from an ENE to WSW flowing current for forty of the last fifty miles to the finish.
"I think weather is the deciding factor," Darr added. "People tend to over-emphasize the current. Putting the Gulf Stream first is backwards. You have to mind the wind and be in the right position to take advantage of changes you think are coming."
Over the 98 years that the Bermuda ocean race has been sailed, there have been big boat races and there have been small boat races. The victory of ALLIANCE was a smart boat race.
And ROSEBUD sailed smart, too. " It was an intensely tactical race," commented owner Roger Sturgeon. " It was all about good preparation, clever sailing, sharp use of the wind and sharp use of the Gulf Stream."
For Sturgeon, this was his first Bermuda Race. "This was my first time. One race, one trophy isn't bad," he commented. "It has been a lifelong dream to compete in this race. The Bermuda Race is really a fabulous event."
"All three of our sister Transpac 52's have similar speed and we really had to sail smart to make sure we beat the opposition. At roll call every day we got the positions of the other boats and had to try to work out what they were up to. It was a real team effort – they are a great crew and it was a real team effort."
ROSEBUD finished with an elapse time of 68hrs 24min 43sec and on corrected time she was almost two hours ahead of second place finisher BRIGHT STAR, a TP52 owned by Richard Breeden of Greenwich CT.
More than 80 prizes will be awarded at the prizegiving party Saturday evening on the front lawn at Government House, Bermuda.
Cell Phones Required
For the 1st time I am aware of a race organizer is requiring boats to carry cell phones. The Notice of Race for the MM Yacht Club's 100 Miler reads: '13.3 Yachts shall have a cell phone on board.'
Race organizers want the phones on board so they can be notified when boats drop out. In the past boats have dropped out and either not notified the race committee or been unable to reach them via VHF radio. Sometimes those awaiting boats and their crews have become a little panicked and the cell phone requirement is to try and help with this.
This is an improvement but probably not a fail safe. I don't know how the cell phone coverage is on the Bay of Green Bay, but if it is like anywhere else it's never 100% all of the time.
Like a lot of things this comes down to responsibility and seeing beyond your own nose. If you enter any race and drop out notifying race organizers can save a chain reaction that can affect many others.
1st Boat/Pier Incident of 2004
Installment I (for 2004) of: "when I learned about the below incident I thought of things like the 'Darwin Awards', Rescue 911, Stupid Human tricks
etc. Rather than create another snappy title, we'll just go
to the facts."
Last Friday the Recovery Room III, a 27-foot Baha Cruiser, struck the pier while running under GPS-guided autopilot.
Looks like a clear violation of Rule 5 which reads: "Every vessel shall at all times maintain a proper look-out by sight as well as by hearing as well as by all available means appropriate in the prevailing circumstances and conditions so as to make a full appraisal of the situation and of the risk of collision."
Really, we can all do better!
Linky Sailing News
Racing Tuesday split. Record progress. Bermuda race
News Kostecki interview
Great Lakes Ferry teething. Cruise dock. Nina on tour
UBS Trophy Split
The weather took a turn for the worse at the UBS Trophy on Tuesday, with rain showers putting a damper on the festivities. But the rain didn't appear to slow down the BMW ORACLE squad as Larry Ellison's team sailed another strong match in the first contest, extending its lead in the UBS Trophy.
But Team Alinghi fought back, winning the second start, and covering well in a good overall performance in the second race of the day. The teams split the day's races for the first time in the regatta.
The wind was light for the first match at seven to 10 knots, and the shifty, Southeasterly breeze challenged the Race Committee who responded with an action inducing race course - each leg was just one mile long. In the second match the wind had picked up to a solid 15 knot breeze and the one mile legs on the short, two and a half-lap course provided a big challenge for both crews.
Tomorrow, Wednesday, is a lay day at the UBS Trophy with no races scheduled. On Thursday, racing resumes with the first two Owner-Driver races, as well as race nine of the Pro-Driver series.
UBS TROPHY - Pro-Driver Series - Race Seven of 12
BMW ORACLE RACING beat ALINGHI - Delta 0:39
BMW ORACLE RACING LEADS THE PRO-DRIVER SERIES 7 POINTS TO 2
Team Alinghi appeared to be vulnerable at one point in the pre-start, sailing well to windward of the starting line, with BMW ORACLE in position to perhaps hold them out from the line. But Alinghi helmsman Peter Holmberg was able to get his team out of trouble there, and Alinghi appeared to start strongly, slightly ahead and to leeward on the left of the BMW ORACLE boat.
Gavin Brady, the BMW ORACLE helmsman, immediately tacked to the right, to clear his air while Alinghi sailed on for several boatlengths before also tacking. A significant left shift meant the first leg would be nearly all port tack, and Alinghi appeared to be able to lay the mark. At the same time, as the boats approached the top mark, it became clear BMW ORACLE would need two tacks to make it around.
But when Brady tacked, the afterguard on Alinghi realised they wouldn't be able to cross the starboard tack BMW ORACLE boat, and Holmberg put the helm down to cross behind. Brady was able to sneak inside at the mark rounding and BMW ORACLE led by 10-seconds around the first mark.
BMW ORACLE was able to extend on the first run with its spinnaker, compared to the Alinghi asymmetrical gennaker, and Brady enjoyed a 36-second lead after the first lap of the course. With the Race Committee unable to completely realign the race course because of the constraints of the shoreline, passing opportunities were all but non-existent, and Alinghi fell for the fifth consecutive race.
UBS TROPHY - Pro-Driver Series - Race Eight of 12
ALINGHI beats BMW ORACLE RACING - Delta 0:24
BMW ORACLE RACING LEADS THE PRO-DRIVER SERIES 7 POINTS TO 4
Team Alinghi needed to win this match to keep BMW ORACLE Racing in sight on the leaderboard, and helmsman Peter Holmberg responded with a strong start, setting the team up for victory.
The boats engaged in some fierce circling in the pre-start, before breaking back towards the starting line. Holmberg held his nerve, and was able to grab the right hand side, pushing Brady to the left. BMW ORACLE had more speed at the start, as Alinghi threw in two quick tacks to take the right side, but it was a price worth paying, as Alinghi was able to sail most of the first beat in more favourable current.
Each time the boats converged on the first leg, Alinghi used its starboard tack advantage to protect its position on the right side of the race course, and that strategy paid off with a 13-second lead around the top mark.
BMW ORACLE made a nice move rounding the mark, throwing in a quick gybe that allowed it to sail a shorter distance to the next mark. Nearing the leeward mark, the Alinghi afterguard realised they were vulnerable and luffed up sharply, sacrificing a bit of their lead to ensure they would round the leeward mark first.
BMW ORACLE was trailing by just 10-seconds at that bottom mark, but Alinghi again covered well and extended on the upwind leg, and protected its lead diligently around the rest of the race course.
Quotes of the Day
Simon Daubney, Team Alinghi, on losing five consecutive races, before winning the last race of the day: Some of the new guys on board were starting to say that we must have just been incredibly lucky in Auckland (at the last America's Cup). It was nice to get a win this afternoon for those guys to show that we're not completely hopeless.
Ross Halcrow, BMW ORACLE Racing, on his job as a trimmer: It's about communication. I'm trimming the genoa, and I'm communicating the whole time with the mainsail trimmer and the helmsman. I see the shifts a lot of the time before the helmsman so I'm letting him know what I'm seeing…if we get a lift in the jib, ease the sheet and we speed up, and he can either go fast or take more height.
Peter Holmberg, Team Alinghi, on his time away from sailing: I've taken 18 months off from sailing to enjoy life back in the Virgin Islands. It's a bit tricky coming on to a boat that you haven't sailed before. This handles a bit differently than the last Cup boat I've sailed. But it's still a boat so there are no excuses. I've also got a new team, so when you go into a manoeuvre you're hoping they're guessing what you're doing. So it's been a bit of a struggle and I must say I've been restrained a little bit to not risk the boat in a situation I might not be able to get out of. But it's a great team and I'm asking them to take the lead, and I'll adapt to them. I think it's gone a lot better than I expected.
Gavin Brady, BMW ORACLE Racing, on the pre-start in the first race: We felt that worst case scenario we would get an even start. We were never really in trouble of getting held out or anything. I think Alinghi and Peter did a good job of getting out. It could have been a pretty strong position for us and they limited the damage and both boats came off the line pretty even. We just wanted to win the right side and if we could win the start and close them out, that would be a bonus, but we just wanted to get off on port tack and we stuck to our guns on that and that's exactly what we did.
Bruno Troublé, America's Cup skipper 1977-1983 and creator of the Louis Vuitton Cup: It's a strange feeling to be among the old souls of the America's Cup here…we feel the ghost of the America's Cup here. To see Endeavour, Intrepid, Courageous, Weatherly, all of those boats sailing around the Bay it's great and it's amazing to see…the America's Cup is at home here.
20th North Sails Race Week
A flashy fleet of grand prix competitors will usher more than a hundred boats into the first full weekend of summer for the 20th North Sails Race Week Friday through Sunday at this hub of West Coast sailboat racing.
The Farr 40s and Schock 35s, each contesting their Pacific Coast
championships, will lead off the long weekend at 11:30 a.m. Friday,
followed by PHRF handicap racers and four other leading one-design classes
with single races at 3 o'clock. Santana 20s will join the fray on Saturday
and Sunday starting at 11:30.
There will be three courses---one inside and two outside the federal
breakwater marking the Long Beach outer harbor.
"The 20th anniversary is a meaningful milestone for this regatta," said
Bruce Golison, the event's founder and co-producer with Premiere Racing,
Inc. "We're ready to provide our competitors with all the traditional
hallmarks of the event: great one design and PHRF competition, professional
race management and continuous innovation."
One-design classes include the Farr 40, J/120, J/109, J/105, Melges 24,
Santana 20 and Schock 35 classes. Jed Olenick of San Diego and Thomas
Coates of San Francisco will defend their 2003 titles in the J/120 and
J/105 classes, respectively.
Longtime local rivals Bruce Ayres and Argyle Campbell will fight it out in
the Melges 24s again.
Jim and Lori Thompson's Shekinah, last year's PHRF and fleet Boat of the
Week, is competing one-design among the J/109s.
Paul Kent of San Francisco will try for PHRF honors again with his Farr
395, Chance.
The scratch boat in PHRF is Jay Steinbeck's Margaritaville 1 1/2, a
well-known name in California racing now converted from a Farr 50 into a
Custom 52. Steinbeck will owe 40 seconds per mile to Oscar Krinsky's 1D48,
Chayah, which is coming off a strong runnerup performance in Long Beach
Race Week.
International attention will be focused on the dozen Farr 40s that are
building up to their world championship at San Francisco in September. John
Kilroy's Samba Pa Ti has danced to victory in all three spring class events
in Southern California leading to North Sails Race Week---the Cal Cup,
Watts Trophy/North Americans and the Farr 40 Invitational.
Five of the top six finishers in the North Americans are competing here.
His tacticians will be Paul Cayard and Olympic medallist Jeff Madrigali,
who also calls the starts and handles downwind sail trimming. Cayard, whose
counsel boosted the NA win, also is the U.S. Olympic rep in the Star class
at Athens seven weeks hence.
Kilroy obviously has been loading top talent on board this year, but in the
Farr 40 class the owner is still required to drive. "We've been working
hard on our light-air sailing and I've been getting more accustomed to
driving with a tiller," he said. "Until we switched this year I'd never
driven with anything but a wheel. You get a better feel with a tiller."
But while world-class sailors are a fixture at North Sails Race Week, one
enduring feature is that they share the waters with the best weekend
sailors on the West Coast. The Kent Family Trophy will be presented to the
highest placing boat in the regatta that is sailed by at least three
members of an immediate family.
Long time supporter North Sails is the event's title sponsor and Nautica
Watches returns as official timekeeper and day sponsor. Supporting sponsors
Samson Rope Technologies and Raymarine are the official rope and marine
electronics companies, respectively. Official supplier, Rigworks, is the
official rigging company for race week.
Macarthur Record Update
* MACARTHUR GRINDS DOWN THE MILES, BUT TRAILS BOURGNON BY 14 HOURS (243 MILES) at 1030GMT. Over 500 miles sailed so far at an average of 17.5 knots, 2347 miles to go along the direct route (official course distance 2855 miles).
* SAILING JUST IN FRONT OF A FAST APPROACHING COLD FRONT, WINDS INCREASING TO 30 KNOTS, SPEEDS UP TO 25 KNOTS, AVERAGING OVER 20....ITS A FULL PRESSURE HOSING ONBOARD!
* RACE AGAINST DEPRESSION! ELLEN MUST HANG ON TO THIS SAME LOW PRESSURE WEATHER SYSTEM ALL THE WAY TO THE ENGLISH CHANNEL
RECORD STANDS AT 7 DAYS, 2 HOURS, 34 MINUTES, 42 SECONDS SET BY LAURENT BOURGNON IN 1994...
* WILL HAVE TO CROSS THE FINISH LINE BY 00:34:42 GMT ON TUESDAY 29th JUNE 2004 TO SET A NEW RECORD FOR THE FASTEST SOLO SAILOR TO CROSS THE ATLANTIC…
June 22, 2004
Ellen off on 1st Record Attempt
LAST MINUTE MODE CHANGE: ELLEN SETS OFF ON FIRST SOLO TRANSAT RECORD
Trimaran title sponsor B&Q is the biggest DIY retailer in Europe and third biggest in the world.
IN BRIEF:
* <
* LAST MINUTE IMPROVEMENT IN WEATHER FORCAST FOR THE SECOND PART OF THE CROSSING MEANT A QUICK MODE CHANGE FROM “DELIVERY” TO “RECORD ATTEMPT”
*12 HOURS INTO THE RECORD <
*FIRST NIGHT FULL OF HARD WORK FOR ELLEN…
* MACARTHUR LOOKING TO SET NEW SOLO WEST-EAST TRANSATLANTIC RECORD THAT CURRENTLY STANDS AT 7 DAYS, 2 HOURS, 34 MINUTES, 42 SECONDS SET BY LAURENT BOURGNON IN 1994...
*<
IN DETAIL:
In south south westlerly winds, gusting 20-25 knots, Ellen MacArthur, skipper of the new 75-foot trimaran <
The <
David Roth, Marketing Director B&Q commented: “We wish Ellen the very best of luck with the transatlantic record attempt. All of us at B&Q will be closely following Ellen’s progress and eagerly awaiting the news of her success. We believe ‘Ellen can do it’ and wish her a safe passage.”
ELLEN’S THOUGHTS JUST BEFORE LEAVING:
" I’m very excited that after two months in the USA, and ironically just before leaving on delivery, the weather turned good! The boat is ready, I have been away from the water for a while now so can't wait to get back into it!! The weather pattern looks promising however I am quite realistic about our chances. The weather has to be just right - so all fingers crossed for the record. We just have to get out there, go for it, and see what we can do. It’ll be tough leaving the team behind but a great motivation to get to Europe."
BRIEF CONVERSATION WITH ELLEN:
The first night at sea was not an easy one for Ellen: “At most 14 minutes sleep…8 sail changes since have 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. I am just about hanging on to the average speed I need to stay with this weather system.”
NOTES:
MacArthur currently holds three previous solo sailing race records set on board her 60-foot monohull Kingfisher:
- Plymouth (UK) to Newport (US) east-west transatlantic 14 days, 23 hours, 11 minutes (fastest female and winner of Class 1).
- Fastest female to race solo around the world in the 2000/2001 Vendée Globe in 94 days, 4 hours, 25 minutes, 40 seconds and finishing 2nd overall.
- Route du Rhum race (St Malo, France to Guadeloupe) new course record 13 days, 13 hours, 31 minutes, 47 seconds
The objective for this new record attempt on
Solo west-east Transatlantic existing records:
Laurent Bourgnon
Primagaz (60ft trimaran)
June 1994
7d 2h 34m 42s
2925 miles
Average speed 17.15 knots
Florence Arthaud (fastest female)
Pierre 1er (60ft trimaran)
1990
9d 22h 5m
2925 miles
Average speed 12.25 knots
Hellomoto heads back
HELLOMOTO said goodbye to Boston this morning as skipper Conrad Humphreys and two of the Motorola Ocean Racing shore team, Tony Reid and Olly Smith, slipped the docklines at Rowes Wharf to set out for the delivery trip back to Europe. The return crossing should take about 10 days, shorter than the way over primarily because the weather systems flow from West to East across the North Atlantic, and so the winds will be following the boat.
Conrad’s meteorologist, American Lee Bruce, gave his initial forecast for the trip: “They’ll start off with a south westerly breeze at 20 knots, really good winds to get them offshore quickly, but then they’ll need to dodge some thunderstorms coming over tomorrow. In three days’ time they will hit easterly winds, and will need to decide whether to tack North or South. There’s a large depression forming over the Atlantic right now, but this should stay far enough in their East, they’ll need to worry more about positioning themselves for the high pressure system they’ll encounter in 5 days’ time sitting at around 47.5 degrees North.”
For Conrad, this is another invaluable opportunity to spend more time getting to know HELLOMOTO in preparation for the Vendée Globe single-handed, non-stop circumnavigation: “Our objective is to drive the boat really hard downwind given the favourable forecast, but I’ll be doing this very much in solo mode, as the shore team are there just to give me a break every now and again. I need as much practice pushing HELLOMOTO off the breeze by myself as I can, because these are the kind of conditions I will encounter the most during the Vendée Globe itself. We’ll also be running tests on a new ‘remote vision’ wireless autopilot from B&G, and putting the downwind sails through their paces, the new Code 5 especially, after the ideas and experience I’ve had from The Transat on the different sail configurations.”
The plan is for HELLOMOTO to make a pit-stop in Plymouth at the beginning of July so that Conrad’s supporters and local partners will have a chance to give him a homecoming celebration. However, the shore team has already switched to Vendée mode as HELLOMOTO is going straight to the V1D2 boatyard in Caen, Northern France, for a two month summer refit. They must check the boat thoroughly for wear & tear, and then ensure that every part and fitting onboard is properly serviced so that it will last throughout the 3 month non-stop circumnavigation.
The Motorola Ocean Racing Team has had a busy time during Boston Race Week since Conrad’s arrival just over 8 days ago in 5th place of the IMOCA 60 class in The Transat. Motorola held a reception at the Boston Harbor Hotel for their employees last Thursday evening, at which Conrad spoke about his experiences fresh from the race and showed slides of onboard photographs. They all went on a boat tour and then loudly supported Conrad at The Transat Prize Giving afterwards when he went up for his 5th place trophy. Conrad and his team also hosted several boat tours and two sail opportunities for Motorola, the second one to Marblehead, where all the race teams were then entertained at the Corinthian Yacht Club.
Conrad signed off with his final message of thanks before leaving: “On behalf of the whole team, I want to thank everyone we met at Motorola over here in Boston for their enthusiasm for this project. It’s been a really successful week and it’s great to know you’ll be following HELLOMOTO’s progress in the Vendée Globe later this year.”
Boat Smart: Wake Up
Boat Smart
Many boaters need to wake up
By Senior Chief Tom Rau, Coast Guard Group Grand Haven, Mi
I have created my own share of boat wakes, mostly, however, when an urgent rescue case demanded a greater precedence. But even then I had to consider: Was racing to the rescue creating a greater threat to nearby boaters than the dangers facing those requesting assistance? Never an easy call, but at least, I was aware of the dangers wakes posed to other boaters. However, for the many boaters who disregard the rolling menaces pealing off their stern, they need to wake up and look around.
Boat wakes can strike long after the wake source has motored off, often leaving behind uncorrelated evidence as to the wake’s origin. Which leads me to wonder, just how many uncorrelated wake related deaths and injuries occur on our waters? I suspect many and Coast Guard statistics addressing recreational boating seem to corroborate my suspicions.
Coast Guard nationwide boating statistics reveal that annually over 55-percent of boating fatalities and injuries occur off small boats such as open motorboats, rowboats, canoes and kayaks, and that nearly 76-percent of recreational boating fatalities are caused by boats capsizing, boats being swamped or flooded and people falling overboard off boats. How many of these fatalities are due to wakes is difficult to determine. However, when you consider that nearly 70 percent of boating fatalities occur in moderate weather, one wonders- were boat wakes the cause?
Boat wakes are contagious. One boater kicks up a wake in a no-wake zone, then another, then another…setting off a chain reaction that soon finds the area boiling in wakes.
Why boaters ignore or seem oblivious to the damage wakes cause has baffled me for years, although I suspect wake shortsightedness stems from a blind exuberance to reach a destination or just good old ignorance. John Wetterhold, Captain of the Port City Princess, a 79-ton cruise boat, homeport, Muskegon, told me while cruising on Muskegon Lake last September (2003) a large power boat flew past throwing out a giant wake that forced him to make an urgent public announcement warning of the approaching tide. A private party aboard celebrating a couple’s marriage renewal vows braced themselves as the wake slammed into the Princess; dishes flew off kitchen counters and shattered across the galley floor. “What made it worse? The boater came about and roared by again, the operator waving and cheering as another wake slammed into the hull again sending dishes flying and passengers bracing themselves,” said Captain Wetterhold.
Many fellow marine rescue responders also have voiced great displeasure with wake-makers, and much of it is not fit for print. Ottawa County marine deputy Kelly Brandfield, who patrols Lake Macatawa in Holland, Michigan, told me that even with blue law enforcement lights flashing and with a disabled boat strapped alongside, boaters still threw out wakes. How would wake-makers respond if they were along side the sheriff’s boat as wakes ground the boats together while tow lines yanked on cleats? I nearly lost my life aboard a Coast Guard rescue boat when a wake’s aftermath yanked a cleat off the deck of sailboat. The nylon line attached to the cleat stretched out like a rubber slingshot line and when it parted it sounded like a gunshot as it rifled pass my ear.
Boat wakes not only pose a threat to boaters in confined waters, but in open water as well, where speeding boats churn up giant wakes. In August 2002, two males (ages 43, 44) were thrown into Lake Michigan near New Buffalo when the operator of a 24-foot Baja made a hard high speed turn into a boat wake. One person drowned the other ended up in the hospital. Rescuers found a 13-year-old boy aboard, unharmed. Neither of the adult males were wearing lifejackets. In 2003, a wake fatality occurred just outside Chicago’s Calumet Harbor when a Baja power boat flew airborne off a wake ejecting a father and daughter into the lake. The father broke his neck. The daughter kept him afloat while waiting for help to arrive.
Later in August 2003 a 24-foot powerboat carrying a family of four while returning from the offshore powerboat races in Grand Haven rocketed off a boat wake near Muskegon. A nine-year-old girl received facial cuts from flying glass, the wife a broken leg, and the husband cracked ribs. The impact separated the deck from the hull. “When I arrived on scene, I could see through the hull to the other side of the boat,” said Coast Guardsman Travis Jones, coxswain aboard the 27-foot rescue boat.
In September 2003, in Lake Macatawa, Holland, Michigan a run-about with five people aboard jumped the boat wake of a 34-foot power boat. The wake jumper’s bow dug into a second wake, swamping the boat. A mother and father and three children escaped injury- all were wearing lifejackets. “When I arrived on scene only the bow was visible,” said Chief Stein who responded to the call.
I’ve nearly been ejected off Coast Guard rescue boats while battling Lake Michigan’s short wave action; to wake jump on top of it is inviting disaster. Lake Michigan’s narrow body generates a short wave fetch that lacks the distance and energy required to form giant ocean like waves with 8-10 second intervals between sets. Lake Michigan’s wave fetch produces far shorter intervals (2-4 seconds) that form steep backsides to waves, yet they still pack enough energy to deliver a knockout punch to heedless wake jumpers.
One thing is certain regarding wakes, whether they be launching pads for wake jumpers or rolling menaces that rock other boats, both can be prevented, and often are, by those- who Boat Smart.
Rules of The Road: When you see the Ferry
With the Lake Express ferry entering and exiting Muskegon Lake 3 times a day there a several rules of the road situations that will become common.
When the ferry enters Muskegon Lake and when docking at the Muskegon terminal Rule 9/narrow channels applies. Part B of rule 9 reads "A vessel of less than 20 meters in length or a sailing vessel shall not impede the passage of a vessel which can safely navigate only within a narrow channel or fairway."
So, unless you are piloting a boat 65 feet or longer it's simple stay out of the ferry's way!
Part A of this rule reads, "A vessel proceeding along the course of a narrow channel or fairway shall keep as near to the outer limit of the channel or fairway which lies on her starboard side as is safe and practicable." So, unless you are 65 feet or up stay to the starboard side of the channel and give the ferry room to operate.
In the channel from Muskegon Lake to Lake Michigan there is room to set a course on the starboard side and safely pass the ferry.
In the short channel from Muksegon Lake to the terminal, prudent seamanship would dictate that you not attempt to pass the ferry. Part D of Rule 9 reads, "A vessel shall not cross a narrow passage or fairway if such crossing impedes the passage of a vessel which can safely navigate only within such channel or fairway." This applies as the ferry approaches and leaves the terminal. Especially when the ferry is turning to it's dock, or un docking, crossing the channel would impede the ferry.
Queens Cup Preview
The annual Queens Cup will be sailed Friday Nite. The start is typically in Milwaukee with the finish alternating between Muskegon (in odd years) and Grand Haven (even years). 2004 will see the boats finish off Grand Haven and dock on the Grand River.
The previous 3 races that have finished in Grand Haven were won by a Santa Cruz 70, a Block Island 40 and a Catalina 30.
Weather Information
TP 52's, Queens Cup
3 of the Transpac 52's that will race the Chicago Mackinac recently completed a succesful Newport to Bermuda race.
Rosebud finished the 635 mile course in 3 days 10 hours, and was the corrected time winner of IMS Class 9. Bright Star was 2 hours back (2nd on corrected time) with Sjambok another 4 hours back finishing 4th on corrected time.
This weekend the Queens Cup will be sailed from Milwaukee to Muskegon. For many this will be a tune up for Mac race as they hone their night sailing skills.
A Newsy List
Is Russell Coutts done with Alinghi?
It sure looks that way. Coutt's departure is taking place in slow motion and not all in public. Most of the comment has been from Alinghi's Ernesto Bertarelli such as ""If the guy doesn't want to do his basic task [helm the boat], we have a bit of problem." Coutts is a little more reticent, ""I haven't got much to say on the issue right now. We are working through some issues and we are hoping to come up with a resolution to those issues. Both sides are looking for a positive resolution."
Coutts maybe upset about the venue for the upcoming cup and the choice to not use a new class of boats.
Whatever the case Alinghi sans Coutts is weaker. Maybe he will follow Paul Cayard's example and start an Olympic campaign. Of course Coutts already has a Gold Medal.
Just as the Mac races are becoming glorified overniters due to newer and faster boats the Bermuda race is now a 48 hour jaunt- at least if you own a Max Z 86.
Morning Glory made the 635 mile crossing in 48 hours 28 minutes. Pyewacket was 6 hours back with the water ballasted-not canting keel- Windquest another 2 hours back.
Almost 20 hours after Morning Glory came Carerra which was the 1st boat to 'officially finish' Carrera. You see the Z 86's were in a demonstration class, not officially in the race.
Coutts may not be sailing in the UBS Trophy but he is in better shape than his tactician Brad Butterworth. He and fellow Cupper Dawn Riley were in a car accident at 0335 last Saturday. Butterworth broke his ankle, Riley her hand. Due to the mixed doubles nature of the car occupants and the time there's oodles of speculation on this one.
Once again the TP 52's were impressive. On Corrected time they took the top 4 places in their class.
Perhaps more impressively the first TP 52- Rosebud- finished a little over an hour behind an 80 footer and less than an hour behind a 75 footer.
If I had far more financial resources than I currently do I might view a 52 foot boat that can go as fast as a 75 footer as a bargain!
The current issue of Good Old Boat Magazine has a photo caption that in part reads, "It helps to run the engine to compensate for the drag of the large propeller and to assist in tacks." The caption was part an article about motorsailors.
Ironic that the Max Z86's with their canting keels also run their engine during tacks. May be a while before the Z86's are good old boats, though.
From the Daily Sail here's Alinghi's Grant Simmer on canting keels, ""One of the attractions of sailing and the America's Cup is that environmentally it is a clean sport. That is something that attracts sponsors, so we see a diesel engine revving at the top of its life every time we tack, and there's black smoke coming out of the back of the boat - that is not really the image we want for the America's Cup. Now there are some alternatives with engines and engine technology is improving pretty fast and I think that by the next Cup there will be alternative power sources we could have on the boats." By this Simmer is referring to new type of battery power or fuel cell technology.
America's Cup boats have always featured grinders. Why not add moving the keel from side to side to the grinder's duties?
Craig Monk a BMW Oracle Grinder gave some insight into his role, " I’m mainly on the jib. There’s 4 1/2 tons of weight on the rope I’m controlling.....Our max grind is about six seconds—four on a tack and six on a jibe." Monk is an Olympic medallist. Team New Zealand's Rob Waddell was a successful Olympic rower
Hook the keels up to the winch system and you'll have some added challenges for the athletically capable grinders.
Linky Sailing News
Racing BMW Oracle's day again.
News Coutts update.
Great Lakes Ballast Water Fines
Sardinia Cup Day 1
In brilliant blue skies and winds between ranging between 16 to 20 knots from the west, seven teams from six countries sailed the first two races of the Sardinia Rolex Cup, hosted by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda (YCCS). Two races, held in winds that increased to 18 to 21 knots during the course of the day saw fierce competition between the teams which had boats ranging in size from 40 ft. to 58 ft. The Swiss team, which includes Madina, skippered by Dario Ferrari, Papastilla, skippered by Fabio Montauti and Sailing Planet, with Gabriele Benussi at the helm, took first place with four points. The Spanish team, composed of Bribon Telefonica Movistar, sailed by Pedro Campos, Nerone Meridiana skippered by Antonio Sodo Migliori and Vertigo Meridiana, sailed by Alberto Signorini, claimed second place with eight points. The USA team and Italy Blue are tied for third with eleven points. At the present time, protests are pending.
“Our boat was extremely fast down wind today,” noted Ferrari of Madina. “We were never the first boat to the windward mark, but we were able to gain time downwind which was critical to our winning both races today.”
According to Campos of Bribon Telefonica Movistar, “The sailing conditions were spectacular, a steady strong breeze under clear skies. “However, there is discussion among the fleet regarding a separate start for the IMS fleet. Team racing is typically done in the same or similar classes of boats. Here we have two fleets, the Swan 45s and the Farr 40s, which are fairly similar in terms of performance. What we have seen today is that the larger IMS boats have been able to significantly impact the results in both races.”
The jury is now considering a request that results from all boats per team be included instead of taking the best two finishes from each team.
According to Terry Hutchinson, skipper of the US boat, Talisman, “We had an excellent start in the first race and were table to take advantage of the fact that Sailing Planet had sail problems. In the second race, we were involved in a tacking duel and lost time to the smaller boats. We need to do the best for our boat, but at the same time, contribute to the team performance, all part of strategy for team racing.”
Oracle Sweeps another Day
There were perfect conditions for racing on Monday, as a classic sea breeze developed over Narragansett Bay. Strong southwest winds, 15 - 20 knots, whipped up a froth of whitecaps on the bay, and allowed the crews to put on a fantastic display of match racing for the thousands of spectators afloat and ashore.
In the first match of the day, BMW ORACLE Racing won its third consecutive race, to jump into the lead in the UBS Trophy. But the real excitement came in the second match when a flurry of action near the top mark left both boats penalised, a crew member in the water, two shredded spinnakers, and several thousand thrilled spectators.
With the second match this afternoon worth two points, BMW ORACLE Racing leaps into the lead with a 5 to 2 points advantage in the UBS Trophy. Racing in the Pro-Driver series continues on Tuesday afternoon.
UBS TROPHY - Pro-Driver Series - Race Five of 12
BMW ORACLE RACING beat ALINGHI - Delta 0:35
BMW ORACLE RACING LEADS THE PRO-DRIVER SERIES 3 POINTS TO 2
With its third consecutive race win, the BMW ORACLE Racing team jumped into the lead at the UBS Trophy for the first time. Helmsman Gavin Brady again looked strong in the pre-start, and tactician John Kostecki took advantage of the narrow race course to obtain a controlling position.
In the pre-start, Alinghi helmsman Peter Holmberg allowed Brady to avoid a dial-up and the boats immediately started a series of tight circles, each looking to hook in behind the other and gain the advantage.
When the boats eventually broke for the starting line, they appeared to be dead even, Alinghi on the right, and BMW ORACLE tucked close on the left, tight to leeward. The boats raced on starboard tack towards the shoreline, and Alinghi was forced to allow BMW ORACLE room. Both boats tacked simultaneously, and Brady was able to gently nose ahead, inching forward, and eventually gaining enough to blanket Holmberg. Alinghi fought hard to escape, but wasn't able to break coverage until the damage had been done. BMW ORACLE went on to lead by 22-seconds around the first mark.
The boats surfed down the leeward leg in the strong breeze, but Alinghi wasn't able to make a significant gain. BMW ORACLE held its advantage around the rest of the track taking the winning gun by a 35-second margin.
UBS TROPHY - Pro-Driver Series - Race Six of 12
BMW ORACLE RACING beats ALINGHI - Delta 0:48
BMW ORACLE RACING LEADS THE PRO-DRIVER SERIES 5 POINTS TO 2
This was the first two-point race of the UBS Trophy, and the BMW ORACLE Racing team certainly earned the extra reward. This match was very close through the first leg, until a stunning sequence of action near the first windward mark allowed the American team to extend away from Alinghi.
The pre-start sequence was very aggressive in the heavy conditions with the boats dialling up extremely close, before breaking off in a series of circles. Alinghi's Peter Holmberg appeared much stronger in this start, forcing BMW ORACLE's Gavin Brady to tack away for the right side before the start gun fired, and the boats split off at the start.
Brady found a nice little shift early off the start line and held a tiny advantage as the boats converged, and using his starboard tack advantage, he kept forcing Holmberg back towards the shore. The boats split and converged a dozen times up the first leg, but neither boat could get clear ahead. Approaching the top mark, Brady luffed up, and held Holmberg out from rounding the mark for several seconds before breaking off to round the first mark with a narrow seven-second lead.
But the spinnaker hoist went wrong on BMW ORACLE and the sail shredded as it went up, allowing an opportunity for Alinghi. The Swiss boat executed a clean hoist and looked to be in a strong position, but Brady, without a spinnaker, aggressively luffed towards Holmberg, who couldn't respond quickly enough. The boats came very close, and the Umpires assessed Alinghi a penalty for not keeping clear.
But in all the action, Brad Webb, the bowman on BMW ORACLE, fell overboard. He was picked up by a support boat and returned to the racing yacht, but the Umpires assessed a penalty, cancelling the earlier Alinghi infraction. Responding to the aggressive luff in the heavy conditions caused all sorts of problems to Alinghi's spinnaker and in the end, BMW ORACLE was able to hoist a new sail and get racing again more quickly than Alinghi did, stretching to a 30-second lead around the bottom mark.
BMW ORACLE held on the rest of the way, winning by 48-seconds and earning a two-point victory.
Quotes of the Day
Chris Dickson, BMW ORACLE Racing, on an full day of action: It was an action packed day. We saw some good pre-starting, some great straight line sailing, some tacking duels, and then at the top mark we saw some match racing that was more reminiscent of what you would expect to see in the small boats on the match race tour, but here they were the big America's Cup class boats. So plenty of action today…we certainly had as much action today as you would expect to see in an America's Cup race.
Peter Holmberg, Team Alinghi, assessing BMW ORACLE's speed: We pretty much did what we wanted to do and we did it and we still came out short, so we think they are going a little faster since we lined up last time.
They are going faster upwind than us, I think. We are faster downwind.
Josh Belsky, Team Alinghi, comparing the crew work by his team today, to the one that won the America's Cup: I can tell you that when we were sailing in Auckland every day, in those conditions, you can do it in your sleep. It's like clock work. When you get away from it for eight months, and come back a week before…even the guys that were on the boat for every race of the Louis Vuitton, and the America's Cup, you sit there and scratch your heads a bit and say, 'I'm pretty sure we used to do it like this". Throw some new team members into that mix and it definitely adds a challenge but by no means are we making any excuses. I think it's just a question of us sailing together for a longer period of time before the next event and gelling as a group a little bit better than we have for this regatta.
Ian Burns, BMW ORACLE Racing, on the new America's Cup Class rule, to be in effect from next year: When we were formulating the rule we had to balance between not making the old boats obsolete, and yet still try and move the class in a direction that the world wanted to see it go. We received feedback from a lot of designers and took that to point us in the direction the rule has gone. The main changes you'll see in the boats are downwind, the boats being lighter with more sail area should accelerate better, which hopefully will give a boat behind an opportunity to catch up on a puff of breeze or a gust. That would make the racing closer.
Juan Vila, Team Alinghi, on a frustrating day: BMW ORACLE did a very good job today of just getting ahead and extending. It was quite difficult. We did have some trouble…the situation at the windward mark was one, but obviously they defended quite well. We still have to improve a little bit, and we'll work on that.
June 21, 2004
Volvo Baltic Race Close Finish
Copenhagen, Denmark, June 21, 2004 Dramatic second leg of Volvo Baltic Race: Team Elanders beat Sony Ericsson by 46 seconds after almost 26 hours of racing through thunderstorms and squalls.
It was a nail-biting finish of the first offshore race of the Volvo Baltic Race series today in Copenhagen. Sweden’s Thomas Blixt (Sony Ericsson) fought Britain’s Matthew Humphries (Elanders) every inch of the way round the 200 nautical-mile (nm) course and it was down to the wire right the way to the finish.
Thunderstorms dominated the race throughout the night, and Humphries’ team were able to take advantage of the squalls generated by the black clouds, producing up to 30 knots of wind. Blixt was never further than two miles behind, but once Elanders had cleared the island of Anholt, 40 miles north of Sjaelland, Denmark the island where Copenhagen is situated - a favourable windshift allowed them to pull out some distance on Sony Ericsson, a situation which Blixt was not able to do anything about until the final stages. Sony Ericsson rounded the Anholt east mark eight minutes behind Elanders, but the backmarkers, AV-Teknik, were an hour and a half adrift of the leaders at that point in the contest.
After rounding Anholt, the fleet had a fast 30 nm downwind spinnaker ride north to the Fladen lighthouse, where visability decreased and Humphries extended his lead further.
But, with a dying breeze and a strong northerly current for the final 95 nm beat, it went down to the wire at the head of the pack. Sony Ericsson, with internationally renowned helmsman Jeff Scott at the wheel kept up the attack, reducing the deficit and rounding the last mark of the course just two minutes behind Elanders, driven by fellow Kiwi, Ray Davies. “He taught me everything I know” laughed Davies after the finish, “I knew exactly what his next move would be.”
Matching each other tack for tack, Scott pushed Sony Ericsson to within two boat lengths of Elanders. The outcome was not decided until Davies drove Elanders across the finish line 46 seconds ahead of Sony Ericsson to claim the points for first place.
“Nobody was making any mistakes,” explained Humphries after the finish. “One blunder and the other would take advantage. Adrenaline pushed us the whole way. It’s much harder to defend your position than to attack,” he added.
“It was a very exciting race, we were match racing for about six or seven hours,” Thomas Blixt commented. “We had some trouble with the water ballast just after the start and didn’t manage to sort it out until after Trubaduren light house. By then Matthew was ahead, although we were in sight of each other whole way. “
Further down the fleet, Avant, (M Lundh SWE/W Verbraak NED), put in a good performance, after an excellent start by their young helmsman Emil Wiberg (Swe). The boat suffered some electrical problems during the night and the team damaged their J2 headsail. Unable to fly the correct sail for the conditions, JMS Next Generation (K Heiberg NOR/S Eneman SWE) took full advantage of the situation and sailed away.
“Without the right headsail, it’s very difficult” reported Mikael Lundh to the race office this morning. “The crew is pretty tired and we have been working hard all night. It’s been a very tactical race for us,” he added. AV-Teknik struggled to be in contention and sailed her own race.
Notes:
The next race of the series will be from Copenhagen to Kiel in Germany, starting at 1800 local time on Wednesday June 23. A press release will be distributed shortly after the start.
Finishing positions for race 2
1. Team Elanders (M Humphries UK) 5 points (overall 7 points)
2. Sony Ericsson (T Blixt SWE) 4 points (overall 6.5 points)
US Multi Hull Championships Winners
Californian sailors Mike Montague (Santa
Rosa, CA) and Kathy Ward (Carmichael, CA) are the new National Multihull
Sailing Champions. After four days of exciting round robin races on Long
Island Sound, Montague and Ward defeated 19 other teams to take home the US
SAILING Hobie Alter Cup. This was the first time that Montague was able to
attend the Championship after having qualified two times before, so for him
the victory was especially sweet. Second place was won by the only
all-female team of Annie Nelson (San Diego, CA) and Kathy Kulkoski (Belford,
NJ). Nelson was also awarded the first William H. Jolley Sportsmanship
Trophy.
The event was hosted by Roton Point Sailing Association in Rowayton, CT, and
sailed on brand-new Hobie 16’s provided by the Hobie Cat Company. Rolex
Watch U.S.A. sponsored the event, as it does with all US SAILING Adult
Championships.
No wind and thunderstorms prevented racing on the first two days of the
event. A lack of wind on the third day meant that only one race was
completed on that day. Luckily, the winds cooperated on days four and five
when the Race Committee was able to put on another 11 races. Next year’s
Championship will be held in Hobie Tigers at Alamitos Bay Yacht Club in Long
Beach, CA.
For complete results, daily reports, and photos of the U.S. Multihull
Championship, visit the event website at www.ussailing.org/alter.
Sardinia Cup
The Sardinia Rolex Cup, hosted by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda (YCCS), is set to begin Monday, June 21 off the coast of Porto Cervo. Seven teams representing six countries will race during the week-long regatta ending on Saturday, June 26. For the first time, the Sardinia Rolex Cup will be classified as the "Offshore ISAF Team World Championship". Each national team will participate with three different types of yachts: an IMS rated boat, a Swan 45 and a Farr 40. The U.S. team is represented by Bambakou, skippered by John Coumantaros, Mascalzone Latino, sailed by Vincenzo Onorato and Talisman, with skipper Terry Hutchinson. The other countries represented include Argentina, Germany, Italy, Spain and Switzerland.
"With the talent represented by these seven teams, the competition on the water will be very competitive," said Commodore Gianfranco Alberini of the YCCS. "The weather is cooperating by providing excellent racing conditions. Combined with a week-long schedule of social events, the regatta will, no doubt, prove to be a first class event. We are pleased to celebrate our twenty-year partnership with Rolex onboard the Italian Navy tall ship, Amerigo Vespucci tomorrow evening where we will honor the winners from the last two decades of Rolex-sponsored international yacht racing."
"Porto Cervo is a terrific venue for team racing," said Terry Hutchinson, skipper of the American Talisman. "The U.S. team is very strong with accomplished sailors. We look forward to a good race, strong winds and excellent competition."
Coumantaros of Bambakou noted, "The regatta's team rules will provide a unique racing environment this year. Many of us are used to racing on teams of one design boats. With daily results taken from the two highest placing yachts within their respective classes, race strategy will take on a higher importance."
Winds are predicted to be between 12 to 18 knots tomorrow and between 8 to 12 knots on Tuesday and Wednesday with Thursday scheduled to be a lay day. Courses include both windward leeward races and a long distance race on Wednesday.
The Yacht Club Costa Smeralda (YCCS) was founded in 1967 by His Highness the Aga Khan and a small group of founding members as a non-profit sporting association for fellow sailing enthusiasts with a mission to promote related sea and nautical activities. Affiliated with the Italian Sailing Federation since 1968 and with the Italian Powerboat Federation since 1978, the YCCS promotes and organizes a series of sporting events famous the world over. The YCCS also promotes and organizes artistic, cultural and scientific initiatives. In addition to its superb yachting facilities, the YCCS features a first-class clubhouse that was completely renovated during the past two years. In 2002, the YCCS and the New York Yacht Club signed a reciprocal agreement extending mutual privileges to their members. The YCCS is the only club in the Mediterranean and one of only four Yacht Clubs worldwide to offer this privilege. Visit www.yccs.it for further information.
Linky Sailing News
Racing Transat Concludes. UBS Trophy
News Coutts not sailing , his status , his not sailing
Great Lakes Voyage planned
Bermuda Race Record Set
Morning Glory, the 86-foot CBTF(tm) (Canting Ballast Twin Foil) maxi owned and sailed by San Francisco's Hasso Plattner, ran away from her competition as she set a new monohull race record to Bermuda today. Morning Glory finished first in the 157-boat Newport to Bermuda Race fleet in 48 hours 28 minutes 31 seconds.
Sailing in the IMS Big Boat Demonstration Division against two other
maxZ86s, Morning Glory peeled a whopping 5 hours 10 minutes 51 seconds
off the official race record for conventional-keel boats set by Roy
Disney two years ago in the 75-foot turbo sled Pyewacket. Disney's time
in 2002 was 53 hours 39 minutes 22 seconds.
Sailing under mainsail and jib and doing 15 knots in a 15 knots
westerly, Morning Glory crossed the finish line off Bermuda's St David's
Lighthouse just before 4:00 PM Bermuda Time to capture line honors in
the new Big Boat Demonstration Division.
Disney, from Los Angles, CA, sailing his new 86-foot CBTF maxZ86
Pyewacket, finished five hours and 15 minutes later to take second
place. Windquest a conventional-keeled maxZ86 sailed by Dick and Doug
DeVos, of Ada, MI, was third.
All three boats were designed by the San Diego naval architects Reichel
Pugh.
Though the record eluded him this year, Disney still has the
satisfaction of claiming the official record for the IMS Class with the
mark he set two years ago. Morning Glory's time this year will only
count for the Demonstration Division.
"This fast finish in the inaugural race for the division sets a very
high benchmark for the future," said Race Chairman John Winder. "In the
years to come we hope to have more entries which show advances like the
maxZ86 design's Canting Ballast Twin Foil (CBTFT) technology did this
year. We hope to keep the Demonstration Division open for 2006, so this
gives them their own record to race for."
Dee Smith, sailing master and project director for Morning Glory,
reported that Plattner was "ecstatic" over his victory. Two years ago
Plattner finished in third place behind Disney.
"This boat is fantastic," Smith said. "It is quick. We feel comfortable
sailing it. We have a lot of confidence in the design and the structure
and the gear. With good people on the boat we just go ahead and push it
around."
The lead changed several times during the race. Pyewacket led off the
start but Morning Glory was only four boat lengths astern and overtook
about three hours later before nightfall. Smith reported that that at
one point last evening they sighted Windquest ahead of them in the Gulf
Stream.
At 2:00 AM today Stan Honey, navigator aboard Pyewacket reported that
they had just got clear of the effects of the Gulf Stream and its
associated meanders.
"We have been jib reaching with a double-head rig," Honey said. "At the
peak of the stream we were sailing at 25 knots over the bottom, with 6.5
of those knots contributed by the Gulf Stream. That is about 28 mph,
which isn't quite fast enough to get us a speeding ticket on a
residential street, but it is close.
"As we passed south of the front yesterday, the fog and mist lifted,
creating nice weather in the late afternoon and evening. Compared to two
years ago, when we were beating into 10 foot seas in 40 knots of wind,
this Stream crossing has been delightful."
June 20, 2004
BMW Takes UBS Trophy Day 2
It was a challenging day at the UBS Trophy on Sunday as unstable wind conditions early in the day meant the tacticians were the most important men on the water, especially in the first race. BMW ORACLE figured out the shifts better, and sailed to a quick victory on a short race course.
In the second match, an ever increasing sea breeze built throughout the contest, and the teams battled in a strong wind, under a brilliant blue sky for this race, the downwind runs spectacular with the boats being pulled along at over 12-knots by their massive spinnakers. Again, BMW ORACLE sailed a strong race, and evened the series with its second win on the day.
Narragansett Bay was a spectacular venue on Sunday, and the waters were filled with hundreds of spectator craft enjoying America's Cup Class racing at Newport.
UBS TROPHY - Pro-Driver Series - Race Three of 12
BMW ORACLE RACING beats ALINGHI - Delta 1:46
ALINGHI LEADS THE PRO-DRIVER SERIES 2-1
This match was a real challenge for the crews, particularly for the tacticians, as massive wind shifts made for a constantly evolving battlefield. A building sea breeze was fighting to establish itself against a weak gradient wind, and the wind kept changing in pressure and direction.
It appeared as though the teams were fighting for the left side of the race course in the pre-start, as that was the direction the sea breeze would be expected to shift. Gavin Brady on BMW ORACLE Racing avoided a dial-up by crossing in front of Peter Holmberg's Alinghi, and leading him out to the right side of the start box. On the reach back to the line, Holmberg was able to grab the favoured left position, but it came at too big a cost. With both boats luffing head to wind, Brady was able to break off to the right first, and quickly build speed, while Alinghi floundered in the light conditions, eventually crossing the starting line a full 15 seconds after BMW ORACLE.
American tactician John Kostecki then made a gutsy decision on the first beat, taking his BMW ORACLE boat to the far left side, out to the port tack layline, which allowed Alinghi to split to the middle of the race course. At one point the boats were separated by nearly 700 metres, on a 1.2 nautical mile course. For several moments, it appeared as if Kostecki had made a fatal mistake, as Alinghi suddenly found pressure in the middle and stormed towards the mark. But a couple of minutes later, he looked like a genius, when the expected left shift came good, and the sea breeze built on his side of the race course, allowing BMW ORACLE to carry an 18-second lead around the top mark.
With a container ship barrelling through the bottom of the race course, and the race committee restricted from realigning the course by a lack of space, the course was shortened to just one lap, and BMW ORACLE stormed home to tally its first victory of the UBS Trophy.
UBS TROPHY - Pro-Driver Series - Race Four of 12
BMW ORACLE RACING beats ALINGHI - Delta 0:31
ALINGHI AND BMW ORACLE RACING ARE TIED IN THE PRO-DRIVER SERIES 2-2
This match was won at the start, when Gavin Brady of BMW ORACLE did a brilliant job to get the better of his counterpart Peter Holmberg on Alinghi. The boats engaged in the traditional dial-up, but Brady bailed out first, gybing around and following Alinghi out to the right side of the start box.
When the boats turned back for the start line, it was Holmberg on Alinghi who was behind and pushing, but Brady maintained enough room, and hit the starting line with speed as the gun fired, slightly to leeward, but tight to Alinghi, forcing Holmberg to tack for clear air.
Brady protected the left hand side of the first beat to windward, and slowly opened up a comfortable lead, rounding the windward mark 29-seconds to the good.
Although Alinghi made its best efforts to stay close, and closed at times on the runs, BMW ORACLE was never seriously threatened, and Brady was able to earn the win and even the Pro-Driver series.
Quotes of the Day
John Kostecki, BMW ORACLE Racing, describing the first race: It was tricky conditions and obviously the wind became really light on the first beat, it was kind of a coin toss on which way to go, but fortunately the left paid out for us and we were ahead and then they shortened the course. So fortunately for us we didn't have to go around again. It was a good race for us and got us back on track…we were pretty confident that if the wind was going to fill in, it would fill in from the left and we got it right.
Jochen Schuemann, Team Alinghi, on using the spectator fleet in the pre-start: We obviously were trying to go around the big blue boat there, and just as we poked around we saw there were plenty of little white boats on the other side, and we had no space at all to go around. BMW ORACLE was waiting for us and I think the eyes of all the little boat drivers got pretty wide for minute there. But we found a lane, and got around, but lost a lot of time. We couldn't really act, but had to react, and I never would have thought the big blue boat could have been hiding so many little ones.
Lorenzo Mazza, Team Alinghi, on the wind increasing for the second race: By the time the race started it was quite clear the wind was building nicely and it would be a good second race.
Craig Monk, BMW ORACLE Racing, on how the new crew is working together: We're slowly building the team. We've had the team together in Auckland and we've been together I guess for about six months now. I think we still have a long way to go, it's a bit of a challenge, but every race we get stronger and I think today was probably was one of our better races, crew work wise.
Peter Harrison, GBR Challenge (guest) on the progress of his team towards becoming an official Challenger for the 32nd America's Cup: Since coming home from New Zealand and the finals we've been working, and I have the core of a design team. We have our base in Cowes, and the boatyard, and of course our assets from the previous Cup. On the Harrison side, we're still willing effectively to take the lead and put in a considerable amount of money…I mean today, you see the boats out there and you think, 'I want to be in it'. But this time a major, title sponsor is vital to us…I need backing…I'm hopeful, but I can't say anything positive at the moment.
Volvo Baltic Race
Starting in the Gota river in 18 – 20 knots gusting 26 knots without much sea room to manoeuvre made for an interesting start to the first offshore race in the Volvo Baltic Race series today, which was delayed for ten minutes whilst a large ferry swung onto its berth.
Setting small headsails and full main, Avant, co-skippered by Mikael Lundh (Swe) and Wouter Verbraak (Ned) but helmed by up and coming Swedish match racer, Emil Wiberg (21), squeezed the fleet and made excellent start to windward. The Norwegians, JMS Next Generation, looking very promising were close on their heels.
Sony Ericsson and Elanders made conservative starts at the back of the fleet, Elanders immediately to windward of Sony Ericsson. AV Teknik chose the right hand side of the river but was soon rolled by Elanders and Sony Ericsson both showing superior boat speed. But it was Avant who led the fleet out of the river, holding onto her lead with every tack.
The 200-nautical mile course set by the race committee was met with universal approval by the five crews. “The course is good,” said Ray Davies (NZ) sailing with Matthew Humphries (UK) on Elanders, currently in second place; “we’ll have a bit of everything.” Humphries agreed: “There will be a lot happening. It’s a really interesting course, with short tacking out of the Gothenburg harbour and lots of sail changes around the island is Anholt. It will be all about crew work.” Thomas Blixt (Swe) skipper of the leading boat, Sony Ericsson, was happy too. “We have a quick boat upwind, so this is a good course for us. It could be a nice sail.”
After hitting the rocks just short of the finish line yesterday, Avant (the former Swedish Match) was hauled out of the water for damage inspection. Nothing structural was found although several chunks of lead were missing from the keel bulb. A Swedish boat builder was flown in to supervise the repairs.
Co-skipper and navigator, Wouter Verbraak (NED), explains, “Leadership is the focus on our boat. Our poor result from yesterday was to be blamed on the lack of that. The sponsor representative from Avant is a coach for leadership and after the race yesterday we spent five hours discussing leadership in projects like this.”
Avant has three team members under 23. “It’s all about trust and coaching of our young team,” explains Verbraak. “We’re taking small steps at a time. We have a big difference in experience and it’s very tempting to take over, but by putting faith and trust in the young guys, we will actually get further and Mikael and I will have more time to lead the team.”
The protest filed by Avant over an incident involving Croatia’s AV-Teknik was deemed invalid by the race committee last night so yesterday’s scores stand.
June 19, 2004
UBS Trophy Day 1
It has been 21-years since the world's greatest sailboat racers have graced the waters off Newport, but on Saturday afternoon, as if the calendar had been turned back two decades, a start gun fired, and the Defender of the America's Cup, Team Alinghi, edged across the starting line just inches ahead of BMW ORACLE Racing in the first race of the UBS Trophy.
\It was a spectacular day for racing on Narragansett Bay, with a nice 10-12 knot breeze powering the yachts when racing started at 14:10. Hundreds of spectator craft dotted the waters, and several thousand race fans lined the shore to watch these America's Cup Class yachts engage in battle. Fort Adams was a particularly popular spot to watch the racing, where the America's Cup itself was on display as an added attraction.
In the first match of the day, an enormous windshift nearly allowed a dramatic come-from-behind win for the BMW ORACLE Racing team, but Alinghi managed to hang on for an exciting victory.
The wind was stronger for the second match, and had shifted to the west, making for short legs, and close racing. In 15-19 knots, the Alinghi team turned in a second strong performance on the day to build a 2-0 in the Pro-Driver series for the UBS Trophy.
UBS TROPHY - Pro-Driver Series - Race One of 12
ALINGHI beats BMW ORACLE RACING - Delta 0:07
ALINGHI LEADS THE PRO-DRIVER SERIES 1-0
The action came fast and furious in this match, with Alinghi helmsman Peter Holmberg ducking away from a dial-up, and leading BMW ORACLE's Gavin Brady in a series of close circles in the pre-start. The teams turned for the start line early, with Brady pushing Holmberg towards the line. Alinghi eventually tacked off and the boats split at the start, with Alinghi crossing the start line to the right, and one-second to the good.
BMW ORACLE immediately tacked to converge with Swiss boat, but couldn't cross, and Alinghi used its starboard tack advantage to force BMW ORACLE back towards the shoreline. As the boats closed with the coast, BMW ORACLE called for room to tack. The Umpires judged that Holmberg didn't respond quickly enough, and assessed Alinghi a penalty. Holmberg went on to lead by 24-seconds around the top mark, but was still carrying a penalty.
The BMW ORACLE squad then rounded the first mark too closely, hooking the ground tackle around its keel and rudder, and dragging the mark. The Umpires assessed a penalty for touching the mark, negating the earlier Alinghi foul, and BMW ORACLE lost several more boat lengths on the leg, slowed by the incident. At this point, it appeared Alinghi would romp away to a massive opening victory.
But the American team would be given a reprieve by the wind gods on the second leeward leg, when a massive windshift turned what should have been a run into a tight reach. The BMW ORACLE team spotted the shift and responded well, dropping its spinnaker nearly a minute before Alinghi did and then having a much quicker angle to sail for the mark. Brady nearly completely closed the gap, but in the end, Holmberg was able to cling to a narrow two-second lead around the bottom mark, and held on for a seven-second win.
UBS TROPHY - Pro-Driver Series - Race Two of 12
ALINGHI wins, BMW ORACLE RACING did not finish
ALINGHI LEADS THE PRO-DRIVER SERIES 2-0
This was another thriller, with the west wind direction making for short legs and plenty of action through the entire race. The pre-start was remarkable for the extended dial-up sequence as Gavin Brady on BMW ORACLE and Peter Holmberg on Alinghi danced with their boats head to wind for nearly four minutes. After drifting backwards for a short time, the boats came too close, and the Umpires assessed Brady, the windward boat, a penalty.
Brady recovered to win the starboard side of the start line, and he was able to protect the right side of the race course up the entire first beat leading around the first mark by 15-seconds. But Alinghi made a nice gain on the first run on the short course and closed to within eight seconds.
On the second beat, both boats sailed to the starboard tack layline early and nearing the top mark, Brady slowed, needing to engage Alinghi to attempt to offload the penalty. But he misjudged his speed, and slowed down too much, allowing Holmberg to simply roll over the BMW ORACLE boat to windward and make the pass. On the short run, Brady, trailing and still carrying a penalty, couldn't close the gap, and Alinghi sailed to its second consecutive win.
Quotes of the Day
Gavin Brady, BMW ORACLE Racing, on hitting the first mark in Race One: We did a standard tack-set around the mark and next thing I looked to leeward and I had to tell the main sheet trimmer to stop easing or he was going to hit the mark with the boom. The mark just kept coming and coming, almost like in slow motion. It appeared it was around the keel and then around the rudder and we basically just dragged it halfway down the race course with us until we could get some of the big guys in the back of the boat to unshackle it and set it free.
Gavin Brady, BMW ORACLE Racing, on what was said on the boat as they hit the mark: You're about to ***** hit the ****** mark!
Peter Holmberg, Team Alinghi, on his penalty in the first race: The first penalty situation he lee bowed us but we were able to live there. He got to the shore and called for room. I told him to tack…that's my option under the Rules in that situation…we told him to tack, and then the burden is on me to keep clear. He turned very sharply, as I would have in his position, and we got too close, so penalty to us. It was a good penalty.
Ernesto Bertarelli, Team Alinghi, on the absence of Russell Coutts as helmsman for Alinghi today: We had Russell on the crew list. We had hoped that he would helm today. I asked him before we left the dock and again on the chase boat, but unfortunately he didn't want to helm. So we'll rely on Peter Holmberg and Jochen Schuemann for the rest of the week…We wished we could have had Russell on board. He's a great sailor and has contributed tremendously to the team. When we realised he wasn't going to sail it was a disappointment, but I'm pleased we pulled together and did such a good job. It was a credit to everyone on board to be professional about it and win the races.
Jamie Gale, BMW ORACLE Racing, the composition of his team and the chemistry on board: We're just building on what we achieved in the Moët Cup last year in San Francisco. We've moved on and we've sailed in New Zealand. We didn't get the job done today but we kept it close. We're pretty familiar with each other in our crew and we just want to keep building and getting better.
Coutts Sits Out
Newport, Rhode Island, June 19, 2004
Media statement from Team Alinghi:
We hoped that Russell Coutts would be helming and leading us to victory at the UBS Trophy today. He clearly decided not to helm. We therefore have decided to rely on Peter Holmberg and Jochen Schuemann to helm for us during the rest of the week.
June 18, 2004
Youngsters in VOR Baltic
The principal race officer for tomorrow’s 40 nautical mile coastal race, and also the start of Sunday’s offshore race from Gothenburg to Copenhagen - will be Sweden’s Annika Ekman. Ekman, from the Royal Gothenburg Yacht Club, will also be the principal race officer in Athens in August.
As final preparations for the first race of the Volvo Baltic Race concludes in Lindholmen one of Gothenburg’s four old shipyards - there are some young faces for whom this event will be the biggest sailing challenge of their sailing career so far.
Ocean racing is a highly competitive sport and nowadays it is almost impossible for youngsters to get enough offshore experience to be taken seriously amongst a fully professional crew. The Volvo Baltic Race aims to actively encourage younger crews to take part and give them a taste of racing in a grand prix event. Rules this time make it mandatory for each team to take at least one crewmember under 23.
During last year’s event, two youth teams made their debut in the top tier and learned from the professionals at the top end of the sport, happily joining in what could only be described as a baptism of fire. This time, Petter Morland Pedersen (20) who is sailing with his brother Bjorn (23) on JMS Next Generation (Silk Cut 97-98) from Norway, says his first goal is to learn a lot. He is aware of the raw power of the V.O. 60s and what it takes to sail them safely. They are both looking forward to sailing the boat as fast as they can and having fun at the same time.
Scott Beavis from New Zealand was responsible for introducing fellow Kiwi, Trewren Joines (23), to Matthew Humphries, skipper of Elanders (News Corp 2001-02). This is his first professional sailing job he was working as a sailmaker in Auckland before. He’s bowman onboard Elanders for the whole summer and is looking forward to gaining lots of big boat experience at the highest level.
Round-the-world race veterans Mikael Lundh and Wouter Verbraak have three young guns in their crew on Avant (Swedish Match 97-98), the youngest of whom is 21.
Pace Joins BMW Oracle
Bertrand Pace, France's leading match race sailor, has joined the BMW ORACLE Racing team as training helmsman and part of the afterguard for the team's 2007 America's Cup campaign.
This week's signing of the 42-year-old will reinforce the afterguard centered around CEO and Skipper Chris Dickson. "We are fortunate to have a match racing helmsman as experienced as Bertrand joining our team. Bertrand will push us in our training and will make significant contributions as part of the afterguard. The knowledge and talent he developed through five America's Cup campaigns will strengthen our program. We are pleased to welcome Bertrand on board."
Pace has his sights set on being part of a winning America's Cup team in Valencia in 2007. He is steering towards his sixth America's Cup participation -- after 1987 (with French Kiss Syndicate), 1992, 1995 and 2000 (each time with Le Defi) and 2003 (with Team New Zealand). In 1994 he was Match Race World Champion, six years later he triumphed in the Swedish Match Tour. Born in Dunkirk, France, Pace took up sailing as a sport at a young age before studying engineering and discovering his passion for professional sailing. The expert French match racer is looking forward to this new challenge. "It is a great honor for me to be part of the BMW ORACLE Racing team," Pace said. "The team looks solid with great people in place in all aspects of the program from sailing to design. I have great respect for those already on board and I see this as an incredible opportunity. I want to win the America's Cup and to me this team seems to have the talent and the technology to be capable of winning in 2007. I am looking forward to joining the team later this month in Newport and then onto Valencia."
Ownen Clarke design wins 50' Class
At 14.20 hrs local time on a bright and sunny afternoon, Kip Stone breezed into Boston harbour ahead of the remaining four open 60’s to win the 50’ monohull class in a record breaking time of 15 days 5 hours and 20 minutes.
A very happy Kip Stone arrived home today at the finish of the Transat Race, with his Open 50 Artforms looking like he’d just taken a trip around the bay. In a race that took its toll on the fleet Kip escaped with relatively few problems, a credit to himself, the boat’s preparation and her builders McConaghy Yachts of Sydney, Australia.
Having lead the fleet for most of the race, Artforms finally made the break three days ago from her nearest competitor the 50’ Finot designed Wells Fargo (ex Tommy Hilfiger) sailed by fellow New Englander Joe Harris. In a race that saw the two boats never more than sixty miles apart, Stone opened a comfortable lead in the final few days and extended this to almost three hundred miles by the finish today.
Kip who started his company Artforms with the goal of one day competing in a major singlehanded race was greeted on the water and then on the dock by dozens of employees from his Maine T shirt design and printing company. It was a great family atmosphere and a big American welcome to one of the home team on his arrival.
Commenting on the result in Boston, designer Merfyn Owen had this to say: “ From where I was sat in a comfortable armchair Kip sailed a great race and got the pace of things just right. I know how hard it will have been to get here never mind win. For all of us at Owen Clarke Design who’ve had the chance to work with Kip it’s been an absolute pleasure and a dream project. For Artforms to win this race and break the record is the icing on the cake when just to get to the start line and finish this epic event are great achievements in their own right. No one who hasn’t brought a boat to the start of such a race can begin to imagine the effort and drive required to make such a thing happen and Kip’s performance is a credit to everyone involved. My only regret today is that Tim Sadler our lead designer and Alan Nebauer our project manager for this project are back home in NZ and Australia and miss the opportunity to savour this moment first hand.”
Artforms arrival brings to a close an amazing race for Owen Clarke Design that has seen their boats finish 1st, 3rd and 4th in the 60’ class and now 1st in the 50’ division, with all four boats breaking their previous class records. Interestingly, both the 50’ and 60’ class winners Artforms and Ecover were not only designed by Owen Clarke, but also project managed from concept through construction and beyond. The same was also true of Ellen MacArthur’s Kingfisher when she won the same race four years ago before going on to a second place in the Vendee Globe.
Owen Clarke 1st & 3rd in Open 60's
Britain’s veteran solo sailor Mike Golding has brought his Owen Clarke designed Open 60 Ecover into first place in the 2004 Transat Race in a time of 12d 15h and 18m. Golding shattered the existing transatlantic solo record by more than two days in the most impressive performance of his solo career. Dominique Wavre followed him three hours later on Temenos and then by kiwi Mike Sanderson on his Owen Clarke 60, Pindar. Sanderson’s podium place is an impressive performance for this hugely experienced Volvo and AC sailor. This was his first solo race and as this hugely self deprecating skipper admitted on the dock to an amazed audience, the first time he’d had to navigate for himself!
Some time this evening if all goes well Nick Moloney and Skandia will cross the finish line here in Boston in fourth place capping an amazing 24 hours for this ‘young’ design office. Skandia four years ago was Ellen MacArthur’s Kingfisher which she too sailed into an incredible first place in the same race, before going on to come second in the Vendee Globe. Kingfisher as she was then was designed by the design team of Owen Clarke Design/Rob Humphreys and built by Marten Yachts in Auckland. Significantly both the Kingfisher and Ecover campaigns also benefited from a project management package provided by Owen Clarke Design through the concept, design, construction and early sailing life of the yachts.
Much congratulations and praise have been heaped on all those involved in these boats who are present on the dock here in Boston. Meanwhile, Ecover and Pindar’s lead designer Merfyn Owen was at pains to remind everyone of the real importance of team effort in just getting one of these ‘solo’ boats to the finish in a race such as this. Yet again the Transat has seen some significant retirements in conditions that have seen the boats pushed to their limits. Conditions that during the press debrief Mike Golding indicated he’d not seen on the last Vendee and demanded a degree of lady luck to get through unscathed.
The performance of the Owen Clarke 60’s as well as being very much in the hands of their skilled skippers is no little influenced by those who have worked behind the scenes. Their respective shore teams and suppliers such as North Sails figure highly here. One other common denominator of all three of Owen Clarke campaigns has been the composite engineering of the yachts by British based consultants SP Technologies, who Owen sights as a significant factor in the relatively trouble free passage in what has been a very tough race. Other’s not represented here in the early hours of the morning are Rob Humphreys who’s roll in the design of Skandia is pivotal to both that boat’s success but also influenced the design of Pindar and provided part of the background and springboard for Owen Clarke to push the frontiers of swing keel racing yachts further with their Open 60 design Ecover. Finally, nearly always forgotten but never last in the mind of the designers are the builders and mast makers who take on the job of making the concepts work and bringing them to reality. In this year’s Transat, boats one and three were both built by the highly skilled and enthusiastic guys at Southern Ocean Marine with masts from another great New Zealand supplier, Southern Spars.
Thanks to everyone and especially the skippers for having us along and making us look so flash. Enjoy tonight everyone, you all deserve it !
Owen Clarke Design
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 +12
Difference from last month +8
Difference from last year +13
Difference from long term average for June -10
Difference from Record High -39
Difference from Record Low +22
Forecast for 18 July 2004 +2
Click for information on other lakes.
Z86's go offshore
Heralding the introduction of canting keel racers to the biennial Newport to Bermuda Race, the maxZ86 boats Pyewacket and Morning Glory are poised to set record-breaking times in the 635-mile classic which starts tomorrow, Friday.
Powered by patented CBTFT (Canting Ballast Twin FoilT) technology, the
two Reichel Pugh-designed 86-footers have the potential to exceed 500
miles in 24-hours, given the right weather conditions. That means they
could finish at St David's Lighthouse off Bermuda in 30 hours or less.
Newport to Bermuda is the first major ocean race for Pyewacket, owned
and skippered by Roy Disney (Los Angeles, CA), and for Morning Glory,
owned and skippered by Hasso Plattner (San Francisco, CA). Both boats
were launched late last year.
The current record for conventional-keel boats is 53 hours 39 minutes 22
seconds, set in 2002 but the maxZ86 twins, racing in the IMS Big Boat
Demonstration Division will not be eligible for the "official" record.
Nor will the third boat in the Demonstration Division, their
conventional-keeled sister ship, the maxZ86 Windquest, sailed by Dick
and Doug DeVos of Ada, Michigan.
Disney already owns the official record. He set it two years ago in his
75-foot turbo sled Pyewacket. Plattner sailed his 75-foot Morning Glory
to third place on elapsed time in that race, just four and a half hours
later.
"Given the right conditions, the new Pyewacket is capable of exceeding
wind speeds," Disney said. "Experienced sailors are amazed by the power
generated by this boat. We're looking forward to a fast ride to
Bermuda."
Dee Smith, sailing master and project director for Morning Glory
described the boat's performance as fantastic. "We're looking forward to
pushing it in its first ocean race and seeing what it really can do.
We've never been able to let it go for extended periods. On this
600-mile race we'll be able to set it up and kick it into gear."
CBTF Co.'s President Chuck Robinson hailed the entry of the
CBTF-equipped boats in the Bermuda Race. "Thanks to the support of
yachtsmen like Roy Disney and Hasso Plattner, the interest in CBTF
technology continues to grow," he said "After all of our efforts over
the past 15 years, the CBTF wave is finally upon us. Designers and
builders have expressed a tremendous amount of interest in a wide range
of projects, from cruising boats to all-out racers - CBTF is simply that
versatile."
CBTF technology is an elegant yet practical and effective solution that
incorporates the significant advantages of movable ballast into cruising
and racing sailboat designs. The nine-ton ballast bulbs of the maxZ86's,
situated at the tips of their 12-foot canting keel struts, provide
maximum stability quickly and easily. Hydraulically driven, the strut
angles can be adjusted at the touch of a button. Because of the
advantageous position of the ballast, CBTF designs need less ballast
than that required for a conventional keelboat.
Maneuverability is simplified by CBTF's two turning foils. One foil is
located ahead of the strut and one behind it, replacing the conventional
rudder system and improving windward performance.
Gold Cup Skippers Announced
When you’re talking about the seeded skippers in the 2004 Investors Guaranty Presentation of The King Edward VII Gold Cup, it’s hard to decide which one to put first. Peter Gilmour is ranked at the top of the Swedish Match Tour and Karol Jablonski is tops in the latest ISAF rankings. Ed Baird, and James Spithill are right behind the ISAF leader and Gavin Brady, and Russell Coutts are right up there in the top ten of the Swedish Match Tour.
“The King Edward VII Gold Cup is proud to announce a field of top-quality sailors for our 2004 match race tournament,” said Jane Correia, Commodore of Royal Bermuda Yacht Club. “Our event is the premier match race tournament in the world and the skippers we’ll have racing in Bermuda this year certainly reflect that. The King Edward VII Gold cup has been the leader in innovations for match racing events, introducing the shore side, spectator-friendly venue of Hamilton Harbour and also pioneering the use of on the water judging which is now the norm throughout the world. This group of sailors we’re bringing together in October continues to put the King Edward VII Gold Cup in the top spot in the world match racing scene.”
The seven seeded skippers for the King Edward VII Gold Cup
Linky Sailing News
Racing Laser NA's. J24 NA's
News Crew selected. USB Newport. Hall of Famers
Great Lakes Ontario ferry debut. Bermuda Race preview
June 17, 2004
Roaring into Boston
June 17, 2004
Wells Fargo - American Pioneer update
Latest Position - Boston
Distance to Finish – 0 nautical miles
Roaring into Boston
He finished just as he started – roaring. After a frustrating few days where he saw his closest rival Kip Stone sail away from him to win the Monohull 50 class, Joe Harris finally picked up the breeze and came charging into Boston at full speed. “The southerly kicked in with more wind than forecast and the boat just took off,” Joe said on arrival. “We were suddenly doing 16 knots and my ETA went from early Thursday morning to late Wednesday evening.” At 23:20 local time he crossed the finish line off Deer Island and slipped quietly into Boston Harbor. A small crowd of media, friends and fans were on hand to make the welcome truly memorable.
Joe was quick to congratulate fellow Americans Kip Stone and Rich Wilson who were both on hand for the arrival. “We have reinvigorated solo sailing,” Joe said. “Brad Van Liew won the Around Alone on this boat and he passed the torch to us. Now we have proved that single-handed sailing can be exhilarating to be a part of and exciting for the public to follow.” That sentiment was endorsed by those on the dock who found that the Transat website was becoming an addiction.
There will be a joint press conference at the pavilion at Rowes Wharf with Joe, Kip Stone and Rich Wilson at 14:00 Thursday. It’s open to the public so please show up and cheer these great solo sailors.
Joe Harris dockside in Bosston
Linky Sailing News
Racing Harris finishes 2nd . Kiel Stars
News College Awards. Olympic readying
Great Lakes Cruise port delay. Webcams
College Sailing Awards Announced
The Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association of North America (ICSA) has announced the members of its 2003/2004 ICSA/Ronstan All-America Sailing Team. Also named were the College Sailor of the Year, Quantum Female College Sailor of the Year, Sportsman of the Year and the winner of the Leonard M. Fowle Memorial Trophy for the all-around best college team. The ICSA All-American honors are awarded to competitors who demonstrated outstanding performance in competition during the college sailing year (fall and spring seasons) just concluded. A panel of representatives from each of the seven ICSA districts reviews each sailor’s individual results and sailors are named to the team as All-Americans, Women’s All-Americans and/or All-American Crews. Their names will be added to the permanent ICSA Hall of Fame display located in the Robert Crown Sailing Center at the U.S. Naval Academy (Annapolis, Md.).
College Sailor of the Year – Cardwell Potts
The Everett B. Morris Trophy, presented annually to the College Sailor of the Year, has been awarded to Harvard University graduating senior Cardwell Potts (New Orleans, La.). He was also named an All-American for the third year running. The highlights of Potts strong senior year with the Crimson were the 2003 ICSA Sloop North American Championships (third place) and the ICSA/Gill North American Coed Dinghy Championship (sixth) where he was A-Division skipper.
"This was a great way to end my college sailing career," said Potts, whose immediate plans are to "get settled in my new job" as a commodities trader for the Louis Dreyfus Corp. in Connecticut. Acknowledging that "sailing was a big part of my college life, which I will miss," Potts will take a break from sailing before venturing into a Vanguard-15 and the team racing circuit on Long Island Sound.
Other finalists for the Everett B. Morris Trophy were Brown University senior Christopher Ashley (Point Pleasant, N.J) and Dartmouth College senior Scott Hogan (Newport Beach, Calif.).
Quantum Female College Sailor of the Year – Genny Tulloch
Genny Tulloch (Houston, Texas) has been awarded the 2004 Quantum Female College Sailor of the Year award. A sophomore from Harvard University, Tulloch was a 2003 ICSA/Ronstan Women’s Honorable Mention. She is the second recipient of the award presented annually to the female skipper who has compiled the best overall record for the academic year. Tulloch’s banner year started last fall when she finished second at the ICSA/Vanguard North American Women’s Singlehanded Championship. This spring she helped Harvard win both the St. Mary’s Intersectional (placing second in A-Division) and the Navy Spring Women’s Intersectional (first in A-Division). At the ICSA North American Women’s Championship, again as Harvard’s A-Division skipper, she helped the Crimson to place second overall.
Tulloch was a runner-up for this award in 2003, and is "proud to have won this awesome honor." After spending this summer as a sailing instructor at Ida Lewis Yacht Club (Newport, R.I.), Tulloch will return to Harvard for what may be her final year. With the ability to graduate as a junior, by virtue of advanced placement credits she earned in high school, Tulloch has set her sights on the 470 Women’s class and an Olympic campaign aiming for 2008.
Sportsman of the Year – John Bowden
The Robert H. Hobbs Trophy for the Outstanding Sportsman of the Year was awarded to College of Charleston senior John Bowden (Austin, Texas), a finalist for this award in 2003. "John is a tough person to sail against," said College of Charleston Assistant Coach David Dabney (Charleston, S.C.). " He respects everyone’s talent and is fair in his sailing. He is a great person to be around both on and off the water."
Bowden learned to sail on Lake Travis at through the junior program at Austin Yacht Club. Although he did not sail in high school, sailing did influence his choice of college even though it took him awhile to get there. Bowden spent three years working in a sail loft following high school graduation and will resume working there when he moves back to Austin.
"I don’t do anything differently than what other people do," said the modest Bowden. "It’s nice knowing that people thought of me as a nice guy."
Student Leadership Award – Annie Johnson
Western Washington University graduating senior Annie Johnson (Vancouver, Wash.) has been recognized with the ICSA Student Leadership Award for 2004. She was recognized for helping the team at WWU grow, becoming Team Captain in ‘02-’03’; as well as her work for the Northwest Intercollegiate Sailing Association. She has been both secretary and president of NWICSA, and will become Graduate Director. She was also instrumental in planning the 2004 ICSA North American Spring Championships in The Gorge.
Before college Johnson’s sailing experience was limited to cruising with her parents. A Laser on display at an information fair at the beginning of freshman year grabbed her interest. "I didn’t know college sailing existed," said Johnson. "I went to that first meeting and stuck with it." Johnson learned to sail and put a lot of work into helping the WWU team grow from six regulars in her freshman year to 20-25 members now. Her talents will now be directed toward working for a political campaign.
Fowle Memorial Trophy – Harvard University
The Leonard M. Fowle Memorial Trophy, recognizing the year’s best all-around performance, determined by points accumulated at ICSA North American championships, was awarded to Harvard University for the fourth consecutive year. At the spring championships the Crimson sailors were second at the ICSA North American Women’s Championship, tied for sixth at the ICSA/Layline North American Team Race Championship and finished sixth at the ICSA/Gill North American Dinghy Championship.
"I am extremely proud of our team and very happy to have won the Fowle Trophy again this year," said Harvard sailing coach Mike O’Connor (Boston, Mass.). "This award is special because it goes to the entire team of 35 players who made significant contributions in achieving this goal. Cardwell and Genny could not have won their Sailor of the Year awards without the support of their teammates. I am especially grateful to our senior class (Cardwell Potts, David Darst, Caroline Dixon, Clemmie Everett, Gabe Jostrom, Jennie Philbrick and Diana Rodin). They are a remarkable group of student-athletes. The fact that they have been a part of four consecutive Fowle Trophies is indicative of their contribution to Harvard Sailing. Their success on the water is but a small part of their impact on our team. The manner in which they have conducted themselves both on and off the water has been exemplary. Coaching the class of 2004 has been one of the greatest pleasures in my career."
A full listing of the 2003/2004 ICSA/RONSTAN All-America Sailing Team follows. More information on ICSA can be found at www.collegesailing.org.
2004 COLLEGE SAILOR OF THE YEAR The Everett B. Morris Trophy
Cardwell Potts (New Orleans, La.) – Harvard University ’04
Finalists:
Chris Ashley (Point Pleasant, N.J.) - Brown University ‘04
Scott Hogan (Newport Beach, Calif.) – Dartmouth College ’04
2004 Quantum Female College Sailor of The Year
Genny Tulloch (Houston, Texas)
SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR The Robert H. Hobbs Trophy
John Bowden (Austin, Texas) – College of Charleston ‘04
TEAM OF THE YEAR The Leonard M. Fowle Memorial Trophy
Harvard University (Cambridge, Mass.)
2003/2004 ICSA/RONSTAN ALL-AMERICA SAILING TEAM
ICSA/Ronstan Coed All-American Skippers
Mikee Anderson-Mitterling (Coronado, Calif.) – USC ‘06
Chris Ashley (Point Pleasant, N.J.) - Brown University ‘04
Andrew Campbell (San Diego, Calif.) – Georgetown University ’06
Tyler Haskell (San Diego, Calif.) – Georgetown University ’04
Scott Hogan (Newport Beach, Calif.) – Dartmouth College ’04
Bryan Lake (San Diego, Calif.) – University of Hawaii ’05
Ed Norton (Fair Haven, Conn.) – Hobart/William Smith Colleges ’04
John Pearce (Ithaca, N.Y.) – Hobart/William Smith Colleges ’04
Danny Pletsch (Sarasota, Fla.) – St. Mary’s College ’04
Vincent Porter (Fontana, Wisc.) – Harvard University ‘06
Cardwell Potts (New Orleans, La.) – Harvard University ’04
Jay Rhame (Highlands, N.J.) – St. Mary’s College ’04
David Siegal (Dartmouth, Mass.) – Tufts University ’06
David Wright (Toronto, Canada) – US Merchant Marine Academy ’04
ICSA/Ronstan Honorable Mention Coed Skippers:
Jeff Bonnani (Mercerville, N.J.) – Boston College ’05
Charles Enright (Bristol, R.I.) – Brown University ’07
Clay Johnson (Toms River, N.J.) – Harvard University ’07
Justin Law (Newport Beach, Calif.) - St. Mary’s College ’07
Peeter Must (Toms River, N.J.) - US Merchant Marine Academy ’05
Erick Storck (Huntington, N.Y.) – Dartmouth College ’07
ICSA/Ronstan Women All-Americans
Molly Carapiet (Belvedere, Calif.) – Yale University ’06
AJ Crane (Warwick, Bermuda) – Tufts University ’04
Sloan Devlin (Mystic, Conn.) – Harvard University ‘06
Emma Lichtenstein (Jamestown, R.I.) – Brown University ‘03
Lauren Padilla (Detroit, Mich.) – Dartmouth College ’05
Genny Tulloch (Houston, Texas) – Harvard University ’06
Anna Tunnicliffe (Perrysburg, Ohio) - Old Dominion University ’05
ICSA/Ronstan Women’s Honorable Mention
Derby Anderson (Annapolis, Md.) – Georgetown University ’06
Alexa Bestoso (Erie, Penn.) – US Navala Academy ‘04
Katie Clausen (Richmond, Calif.) – USC ’04
Emily East (Fairhope, Ala.) – Dartmouth College ’06
Emily Hill (Miami, Fla.) – Yale University ’07
Alana O’Reilly (Charleston, S.C.) – College of Charleston ’06
Jennie Philbrick (Nantucket, Mass.) – Harvard University ’04
Elizabeth Rountree (San Francisco, Calif.) – Stanford University ’06
Jennifer Warnock (San Diego, Calif.) – University of Hawaii ‘05
ICSA/Ronstan All-American Crew
Alison Berenback (Barrington, R.I.) – Brown University ‘04
Taylor Clark (Greenwich, Conn.) – Stanford University ’04
Katie Clausen (Richmond, Calif.) – USC ’04
Melissa Deveney (Frederick, Md.) - St. Mary's College ’04
Clara Gibbons-Neff (Annapolis, Md.) - Old Dominion University ’04
Barbara Hall (Marion, Mass.) - Georgetown University ’05
Jenn Hoyle (Manchester, Mass.) – Yale University ’05
Clementine James (Easton, Md.) – Dartmouth College ’05
Kim Kishi (Snohomish, Wash.) – University of Washington ’04
Vanessa Lipschitz (Chevy Chase, Md.) – Brown University ‘04
Amory Loring (Duxbury, Mass.) – Dartmouth College ’04
Joy MacDougall (Waterford, Conn.) – Boston College ’05
Augusta Nadler (Marion, Mass.) - Hobart/William Smith Colleges ’06
Alexis Rubin (Annapolis, Md.) - Hobart/William Smith Colleges ’04
Laura Schubert (Riverdale, N.Y.) – Harvard University ‘06
Kate Shuman (Seattle, Wash.) – Tufts University ‘04
Kristen Tysell (Richmond, Calif.) – Tufts University ‘04
Jen Vandemoor (Centerville, Mass.) - St. Mary's College ‘04
Jennifer Warnock (San Diego, Calif.) – University of Hawaii ‘04
Stone Reaches Winning Goal
In his first solo open ocean race, Kip Stone and Artforms crossed the finish line yesterday at 2:20 p.m. local time to win the 50-foot monohull division of the Transat. He was greeted by a rousing crowd of friends, family, as well as employees from Artforms, his small business located in Westbrook Maine. Kip’s time of 15 days, 5 hours, and 20 minutes surpassed the record set in the 1996 edition of this race by over thirteen hours.
For more than half the race, Kip and fellow New Englander Joe Harris exchanged leads and actually crossed paths on day 11 before losing site of each other in thick fog and light air. The two diverged then, with Kip taking the northerly route through the Grand Banks to gain a winning distance as the wind and weather cooperated.
The Transat, founded in 1960 as the OSTAR, takes skippers on a course against the prevailing winds and currents of the North Atlantic. It is known for its treacherous conditions, and this year’s race was no exception, as the fleet endured two storms and frigid conditions.
“When I saw the Boston skyline, I realized how close I was to finishing, and all of the hard work that had gone into getting here was just about to be rewarded,” Kip said after his first place finish. “The list of people who helped me to get this far is a long one. At the top is Owen Clarke Design and its project managers - these guys are so committed and knowledgeable, I learned more about the boat every day I spent with them.”
Kip co-founded his screen printing company Artforms fifteen years ago with the goal of one day competing in the single-handed class. In September in Sydney, Australia, Kip launched his Owen Clarke Open 50 named after his company and built by McConaghy Boats, later sailing her to England, solo from the Falkland Islands to the Azores, to compete in the Transat. Kip is seeking to expand sponsorship beyond his company for future offshore solo events such as the STAR 2005, the Transat Jaques Fabre, and the Five Oceans / Around Alone
Harris Finishes 2nd
At 03:21:25 GMT (23:21:25 local time), Joe Harris and Open 50 Wells Fargo – American Pioneer crossed The Transat 2004 finish line off Boston Harbour to take second place in the 50ft monohull class. Harris completed the gruelling 2,800 miles transatlantic course in 16 days 2 hours 21 minutes 25 seconds at an average speed of 7.25 knots having raced the final hours in darkness at speeds of 16+ knots through the busy, coastal shipping lanes. After crossing the line, the clearly exhausted but overjoyed skipper commented: “This has been an incredible race.” Reflecting on the tough conditions he encountered in the North Atlantic Harris added; “It feels really wonderful to have stretched my limits as an individual, exploring the vast extremes that solo ocean racing inherently presents.”
The early stages of The Transat 2004 saw Harris and 50ft monohull class winner, Kip Stone (Artforms), locked in a close battle, constantly trading first place as they stretched out ahead of the two trailing Open 50s; Okami (Jacques Bouchacourt) and Branec III (Roger Langevin). This All-American match race came to an end on Day 10 of the race; Harris takes up the story: “The weather models I was analyzing for the southern tip of the Grand Banks showed a chance to capture some nice northerly wind. I headed south, but when I arrived, the northerlies were nowhere to be seen. I was left wallowing in the mind-numbing stillness of the Atlantic as Artforms and Okami flew towards Boston. I need to keep reminding myself of the simple goal I established as a first-timer to this race – to finish.”
Dogged by light airs and unable to threaten the lead developed by Artforms, Harris successfully caught and overtook Okami as her French skipper sailed down towards Boston along the coast of Nova Scotia and - by Day 15 - had built a 100 miles lead over Bouchacourt as the pair entered the Gulf of Maine. The American skipper then built and maintained this lead until the finish line. With The Transat 2004 behind him, plans are in place for further shorthanded, ocean racing with his sights firmly set on the mammoth 28,000 miles, single-handed, circumnavigating 5 Oceans Race in 2006-2007.
Born and raised in Greenwich, CT, Joe Harris grew up sailing on Long Island Sound. He was mentored by his father- an offshore racer with 18 Newport-Bermuda Races to his credit - and his grandfather, a veteran of five Trans-Atlantic voyages. After graduating from Brown University in 1981, Joe spent his summers working as a commercial fisherman in Bristol Bay, Alaska, and his winters as a boat-builder in New England. In his thirties, Joe received an MBA from Babson College and embarked on a career in real estate finance. He advanced rapidly to his current position as CFO of New Boston Fund, Inc. a $1.5 billion real estate investment and development company. Joe has owned and campaigned a series of boats over the last 15 years, competing in every major East Coast regatta and offshore race, including eight Newport-Bermuda, three Marblehead-Halifax and two Bermuda One/Two races. He also completed a Trans-Atlantic passage from Europe to the Caribbean to New England, as well as numerous deliveries and charters totalling over 25,000 offshore miles.
June 16, 2004
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 +11
Difference from last month +9
Difference from last year +12
Difference from long term average for June -11
Difference from Record High -41
Difference from Record Low +21
Forecast for 11 July 2004 +2
Click for information on other lakes.
American Victor Reaches Boston
IN BRIEF:
* AMERICAN SKIPPER, KIP STONE, WINS THE 5OFT MONOHULL CLASS TAKING 13 HOURS OFF THE EXISTING TRANSATLANTIC RACE RECORD...
* FIRST AMERICAN VICTORY SINCE PHIL WELD WON THE 1980 EDITION OF THE RACE...
* FRENCHMAN DOMINIQUE DEMACHY FINISHES THIRD IN THE 50FT MULTIHULL CLASS EARLY THIS MORNING...
* THIRD AND FINAL AMERICAN SKIPPER IS EXPECTED TO FINISH LATER TODAY...
See the official Omega clock showing race time http://www.thetransat.com
IN DETAIL:
American skipper, Kip Stone, in his very first solo offshore race has won the Open 50 monohull class on board 'Artforms' - it is a spectacular performance from a sailor who until competing in The Transat had not raced solo before. Stone has also earned in place in the history books as the first American to score a victory since Phil Weld won the 1980 edition of the race on board his 51ft trimaran 'Moxie' in 17 days, 23 hours and 12 minutes.
Stone crossed the Boston Harbour finish line at 18:20:27 GMT yesterday evening (15.6.04) in an elapsed time of 15 days, 5 hours, 20 minutes and 27 seconds at an average speed of 7.66 knots. To compare, Stone has finished ahead of four Open 60s still racing and only one day slower than the Open 60s finishing in 6th, 7th and 8th place, sailed by skippers who have graced the podiums of major solo events.
Stone was welcomed home by his family and employees from his Maine T-shirt company, Artforms, which he grew into a successful company - successful enough to fund his dream of racing solo in The Transat. Stone launched his new Open 50 Artforms designed by Mervyn Owen last September and then sailed her solo from New Zealand to the UK which gave Stone the opportinity to get to know Artforms inside out - obviously, this has reaped big dividends.
In the early stages of The Transat, Kip Stone fought for the lead with fellow New Englander Joe Harris on board Wells Fargo-American Pioneer. Not more than 60 miles separated the two of them as they traded first and second place. Finally, Stone got a grip of the lead when on day ten, Harris seeing that he was losing miles to Artforms, dived south in search of more wind. Unfortunately, for Harris this did not pay in the way he hoped and Stone went on to increase his lead day by day until approaching the finish in Boston, he had built up an incredible 260 mile lead.
In setting this pace, Stone has taken a good 13 hours off the transatlantic race record of 15 days, 18 hours, 29 minutes set by 60ft multihull skipper, Giovanni Soldini, in the 1996 race.
In the 50ft multihull class, French skipper Dominique Demachy on board his Erik Lerouge designed GiFi claimed third place crossing the finish line at 0203 GMT this morning in a time of 15 days, 13 hours, 3 minutes and 56 seconds - finishing a little over 35 hours after French winner Eric Bruneel on Trilogic who set a blinding pace in this race that no one else could match.
For Demachy, though, it is a huge achievement in his first solo transatlantic race. If it was not for a career, selling consumer household goods for a company called GiFi, Demachy may have started his solo professional racing career many years ago. But 15 years later, having grown the company from three shops to 250, Demachy realised he could afford to buy himself a boat and pursue his long-standing dream.
Demachy raced tenaciously to battle for second place in the 50ft multi class with American skipper, Rich Wilson on Great American II, for much of the 2800 mile course. By the end of day four, Demachy went into second following the retirement of class favourite Franck-Yves Escoffier on Crepes Whaou !, 40 miles ahead of Wilson. The boats went far north, and Wilson furthest north at 52 degrees, got ahead of Gifi by the afternoon of day six but two days later as Wilson moved south, Demachy took control. At times only 10 miles separated the boats and Demachy held on to second until positions came through at 1300 GMT on 11.6.04 that showed Wilson, now south of Gifi, had moved into second place. Wilson would not cede this position and with little opportunity to pass as they closed on the US east coast, Demachy had to settle for third place.
With the third place finish of Demachy and the retirements of Crepes Whaou ! and Mike Birch's Nootka, this only leaves French skipper Etienne Hochedé racing PIR2 to finish (current ETA lunchtime on 18.6.04).
There will be no pre-finish, 'last-few-miles', moderation in pressure or pace for the seven monohulls and one multihull still racing in The Transat 2004. All boats must cross the finish line outside Boston Harbour by 04:18:08 GMT this Sunday (exactly seven days after the first monohull - Mike Golding on Ecover - completed the course) to officially qualify as a race finisher.
It is essential that the remaining IMOCA Open 60 monohulls achieve this goal as all four of the skippers are using The Transat as a vital qualifying race for the non-stop, round the world, single-handed Vendée Globe this November. The 60ft monohull fleet is currently lead by Norbert Sedlacek (Austria One) positioned in the middle of The Gulf of Maine to the NE of Boston with 206 miles to the finish, having rounded Nova Scotia's southern promontory, Cape Sable, in the early hours of this morning. For three days, Karen Leibovici (Atlantica-Charentes Maritimes) has tailed Sedlacek, rarely allowing the Austrian skipper to increase his lead beyond a 30 mile margin.
To the NE of the leading pair, Anne Liardet (Quiksilver Edition) is heading SW along the coast of Nova Scotia, but has lost just under 49 miles to Sedlack and Leibovici overnight as she continues to nurse the thirteen year old 60ft monohull with a broken boom for the final 402 miles of the course. Liardet's loss has been Charles Hedrich's gain and the French skipper has moved into eleventh place ahead of Quiksilver Edition as he heads west on the same latitude as Boston with Objectif 3.
The 50ft monohull class leader, Joe Harris (Wells Fargo-American Pioneer), continues to hold a 116 mile lead over Jacques Bouchacourt (Okami) with an identical distance to the finish line. Last night, Okami stalled slightly sailing 35 miles off Nova Scotia's eastern shoreline, allowing Harris to build a 116 mile lead in the open waters of the Gulf of Maine to the south. Meanwhile, Open 50 backmarker, Roger Langevin, finally sailed Branec III clear of The Grand Banks after a frustrating four day tacking marathon and is overjoyed to hold a stable heading although the irrepressible French skipper is conscious that he must race 560 miles in three and a half days to legitimately complete the race.
Whatever weather conditions confront the skippers over the next two days, all the skippers will remember the wise sailing maxim: "To finish a race, first you must finish". The Transat 2004 skippers and their baots have had an exhausting race and - with few exceptions - will be suffering sleep deprivation and fatigue; twin evils that can breed errors in judgement and force simple mistakes. The boats will also face natural and manmade hazards associated with coastal waters: fishing traps, shipping lanes, shallows, localised climatic anomalies and floating debris.
There will be no opportunity for the competitors to break their individual racing regimes until they cross the Boston finish line as the potential of disaster and disappointment may stalk them all the way to Rowes Wharf. In 1980, Czeslaw Gogolkiewicz - racing a 56ft monohull - collided with a fishing boat shortly before the finish. The trawler's fishing gear swept across the decks of Raczynski II and narrowly avoided injuring the Polish skipper. Four years later during the next edition of the race, British skipper - Rachel Haywood - approached the finish line having suffered total electronic failure on board 35ft monohull, Loiwing. In thick fog and with no depth sounding instruments, Haywood ran hard aground within walking distance of the finish line.
Looking good for 2nd
June 16, 2004
Wells Fargo - American Pioneer update
Latest Position - 42 46.4N 68 22.8W
Distance to Finish – 114 nautical miles
Average speed – 7.23
24 hour run – 209.51 nautical miles
Almost home
The wind gods have a sense of humor and they do like to play tricks. Early this morning a nice northerly wind filled in and Wells Fargo – American Pioneer was romping towards the Boston finish line at 8 knots. The mood on board was ebullient. “It’s a beautiful day out here,” Joe said in a satellite phone call. “Nice and sunny and we are sailing on course at a good speed.” That’s the good news. The bad news is that the forecast, which has been uncannily accurate for the last few days, predicts light and fickle conditions later today and tonight. “The wind is supposed to go into the west and then south later. As it does I expect to park up. Given that my best estimate for an ETA is after midnight tonight.”
At the latest poll Wells Fargo – American Pioneer was 114 miles from the finish. With a stiff breeze the boat could knock those miles off in 8 or 10 hours, but a stiff breeze is not likely. There is beach weather in Boston and while a hot, humid pall hangs over the city the air is still, and that’s the conditions that Joe will have to deal with before he finally gets to throw the docklines ashore.
While it’s frustrating to be sailing on Wells Fargo – American Pioneer, one can only imagine how it must be to be on board Okami. French sailor Jacques Bouchacourt has had to deal with land to his west and a series of short tacks to clear Cape Sable have dropped him back more than 100 miles behind Joe. If all goes well, and in this game nothing is over until it’s over, Joe should comfortably take second place in the Monohull 50 class. His arch rival Kip Stone on Artforms won the class handily when he sailed into Boston yesterday afternoon. “I want to formally congratulate Kip on his great race and victory,” Joe said. “He sailed a tactically flawless race and deserves to be there ahead of the rest of us. I look forward to enjoying a cold beer with him on Thursday and I know that this will just be the first of many tussles we will have over the next few years.”
There will be an email update later in the day with a more accurate ETA for the arrival of Wells Fargo – American Pioneer.
--- Brian Hancock
Linky Sailing News
Racing Final Transat Class Winner
News New Cup Site. Team Ally
Great Lakes Trader TP 52. Ferry review
Harris Up to 2nd
Three days ago American solo sailor Joe Harris was faced with the prospect of chasing leader Kip Stone to the finish line, with a slim chance of passing the brand new, state-of-the-art 50-foot racing machine. The design of Stone’s Artforms is superior to windward, a fact that did not escape Joe Harris in planning his strategy and taking action aboard Wells Fargo-American Pioneer. It was either follow the leader with a growing deficit of mileage, or gamble to the south where weather maps indicated Harris might find a stiff northerly breeze to catapult him into a position between Kip Stone and the Boston finish line. With a glimpse of potential victory in sight, Harris’ choice was clear – gamble for first by heading a different route than the leader.
“The weather models I was analyzing for the southern tip of the Grand Banks showed a chance to capture some nice northerly wind,” said Harris. “I headed south, but when I arrived, the northerlies were nowhere to be seen. I was left wallowing in the mind-numbing stillness of the Atlantic as Artforms and Okami flew towards Boston. I need to keep reminding myself of the simple goal I established as a first-timer to this race – to finish.”
Although in 3rd place for a short spell, Harris has regained 2nd place and has 250 miles to the finish line. He is likely to encounter more fluky weather as he approaches the coast, as a low pressure system is forming directly over the city of Boston. Harris says that his mental state is directly relative to the weather he encounters, a common feeling amongst solo sailors, who are often tortured by the extremes of brutally harsh conditions or the frustration of windless holes in the center of low pressure systems.
Wells Fargo-American Pioneer is a proven boat with two solo circumnavigations to her credit. She is an older boat than the competition Harris faces, built in 1997, while first place racer Artforms was built in 2003 and 3rd place Okami was built in 2000. Okami skipper Jacques Bouchacourt from France and American Joe Harris may hail from different continents, but they share many similarities. Both are father to two young children, active in the real estate business and began sailing as youngsters through the encouragement of their parents. They both have invested in one luxury item for The Transat race, a new set of sails. They are both also in a very similar position, separated by only 27 miles. Harris is expected to finish the race on Thursday, June 17.
Youth Champs in Charleston
Nearly 150 of the country’s top youth sailors will soon arrive in Charleston, SC, to compete in the nation’s premiere U.S. Youth Sailing Championship, organized by US SAILING. From June 18 to 24, these sailors, who are all under the age of 20, will race in Laser, Radial, and Club 420 fleets to compete for a National Champion title. Carolina Yacht Club and the College of Charleston are hosting the event. Demonstrating their commitment to youth sailing, Vanguard Sailboats, West Marine, and Gill are continuing as sponsors of the 2004 event.
The 149 competitors of the U.S. Youth Sailing Championship were selected
based in sailing resumes from a list of nearly 300 applicants. This year’s
roster of sailors includes defending doublehanded champion Zack Brown, who
is returning with new crew, Graham Biehl (both from San Diego, CA). Brown
and Biehl are members of the US SAILING’s US Youth World Team, as are fellow
competitors Kaitlin Storck (Huntington, NY) and her crew Leigh Kempton
(Island Heights, NJ), who finished third at the event last year. The US
Youth World Team will represent the USA at the Youth World Championship in
Poland early next month.
Several awards will be presented at the conclusion of the U.S. Youth Sailing
Championship. The winner of the Laser class will receive the Robert L.
Johnstone Trophy, which recognizes the pioneering in community sailing and
popularizing of one-design sailing for which Bob Johnstone is known.
Johnstone was the creator of the Youth Championship and was the first
committee chairman. The winner of the Club 420 class will be awarded the
Manton D. Scott Memorial Trophy, named in honor of an aspiring Olympic
sailor whose life was cut short prematurely -- he was electrocuted in 1973
when the mast of his boat made contact with an overhead power line. The
David M. Perry Sportsmanship Trophy was dedicated in 1989 and is awarded to
the sailors who demonstrate good sportsmanship behavior. The winners of this
trophy are selected based on a vote by their fellow competitors.
For more information on the U.S. Youth Sailing Championship, including daily
reports, results and pictures of the event, please visit
www.ussailing.org/youthchamp.
The event is sponsored by Vanguard Sailboats, West Marine, and Gill. Their
support of the event, and youth sailing at many levels, encourages youth in
the U.S. to participate in and enjoy the sport, and ensures great
competition among the young sailors. As a longtime sponsor of US SAILING
Championships, Vanguard Sailboats provides brand new boats for the event,
ensuring that the sailors can enjoy the competition in high-quality
equipment. West Marine has been a long time supporter of US SAILING’s youth
events, including the U.S. Youth Sailing Championship and the Junior Olympic
Sailing Festivals program. Gill, as technical supplier to this event and
numerous other youth events, continues to support young sailors with useful
and innovative apparel products that enhance performance and improve the
overall sailing experience.
Artforms wins 50' Monohulls
American skipper, Kip Stone, in his very first solo offshore race has won the Open 50 monohull class on board 'Artforms' - it is an awesome performance for a sailor who until competing in The Transat had not raced solo before. Stone crossed the Boston Harbour finish line at 18:20:27 GMT yesterday (15.6.04) evening in an elapsed time of 15 days, 5 hours, 20 minutes and 27 seconds at an average speed of 7.66 knots. To compare, Stone has finished ahead of four Open 60s still racing and only one day slower than the Open 60s finishing in 6th, 7th and 8th place, sailed by skippers who normally grace the podiums of major solo events.
Stone was welcomed home by his family and employees from his Maine T-shirt company, Artforms, which he grew into a successful company - successful enough to fund his dream of racing solo in The Transat. Stone launched his new Open 50 Artforms designed by Mervyn Owen last September and then sailed her solo from New Zealand to the UK which gave Stone the opportinity to get to know Artforms inside out - obviously, this has reaped big dividends.
In the early stages of The Transat, Kip Stone fought for the lead with fellow New Englander Joe Harris on board Wells Fargo-American Pioneer. Not more than 60 miles separated the two of them as they traded first and second place. Finally, Stone got a grip of the lead when on day ten, Harris seeing that he was losing miles to Artforms, dived south in search of more wind. Unfortunately, for Harris this did not pay in the way he hoped and Stone went on to increase his lead day by day until approaching the finish in Boston, he had built up an incredible 260 mile lead.
In setting this pace, Stone has taken a good 13 hours off the transatlantic race record of 15 days, 18 hours, 29 minutes set by 60ft multihull skipper, Giovanni Soldini, in the 1996 race.
In the four-boat class, this now only leaves Joe Harris - expected to finish late today - Jacque Bouchacourt (Okami) and Roger Langevin (Branec III).
In the 50ft multihull class, French skipper Dominique Demachy on board his Erik Lerouge designed GIFI claimed third place crossing the finish line at 0203 GMT this morning in a time of 15 days, 13 hours, 3 minutes and 56 seconds - finishing a little over 35 hours after French winner Eric Bruneel on Trilogic who set such a blinding pace in this race that no one could match.
For Demachy, though, it is a huge achievement in his first solo transatlantic race. If it was not for a career, selling consumer household goods for a company called GIFI, Demachy may have started his solo professional racing career many years ago. But 15 years later, having grown the company from three shops to 250, Demachy realised he could afford to buy himself a boat and pursue his long-standing dream.
Demachy raced tenaciously to battle for second place in the 50ft multi class with American skipper, Rich Wilson on Great American II, for much of the 2800 mile course. By the end of day four, Demachy went into second following the retirement of class favourite Franck-Yves Escoffier on Crepes Whaou !, 40 miles ahead of Wilson. The boats went far north, and Wilson furthest north at 52 degrees, got ahead of Gifi by the afternoon of day six but two days later as Wilson moved south, Demachy took control. At times only 10 miles separated the boats and Demachy held on to second until positions came through at 1300 GMT on 11.6.04 that showed Wilson, now south of Gifi, had moved into second place. Wilson would not cede this position and with little opportunity to pass as they closed on the US east coast, Demachy had to settle for third place.
With the third place finish of Demachy and the retirements of Crepes Whaou ! and Mike Birch's Nootka, this only leaves French skipper Etienne Hochedé racing PIR2 to finish (current ETA lunchtime on 18.6.04).
June 15, 2004
Rules of the Road Part II
This week we look at common on the water situations and how the
rules treat them.
Situation 1: Overtaking. Rule 13 deals with this succinctly,
"Any vessel overtaking any other shall keep out the way of the vessel
being overtaken."
If you are passing another boat it is your call to take a suitable path.
Situation 2: When boats are head on, that is meeting on a
reciprocal course you should alter your course to starboard. This will
result in the vessels passing side on the port side.
Situation 3: When vessels are crossing in a possible collision
situation "the vessel which has the other on her own starboard side
shall keep out of the way and shall, if the other circumstances of
the case admit, avoid crossing ahead of the other vessel."
Situation 4: This situation is common to vessels transiting
the Muskegon Channel from Muskegon Lake to Lake Michigan.
Rule 9 covers narrow channels.
Often times boats will troll for fish in the channel. Sometimes
these boats impede the traffic flow by operating as if they
are restricted in their ability to maneuver.
However, Rule 3 reads that a vessel engaged in fishing "does not
include a vessel fishing with trolling lines or other fishing
apparatus which do not restrict maneuverability."
Realize that in your next encounter with a boat that is
trolling that you both have obligations to avoid a collision.
Applications of the above rules should keep your vessel free
from at sea collisions.
Golding's Win
Winner of the Open 60' mono hull class is Mike Golding of Britain sailing the Owen Clarke design Ecover. Golding has been campaigning Open 60's successfully since 1998. However, this is his first significant 1st place since leg 1 of the 1998-99 Around Alone. On Leg 2 of that Around Alone (now 5 Oceans) he ran aground off New Zealand and eventually DNF'd. Since then he had always placed well, but never 1st. He had more around the world race misfortune in the most recent Vendee Globe when he dismasted the 1st nite of the race. He returned steeped a spare mast and finished the race in the top 10. Soft the ex-fire fighter isn't.
Now he has a new design from Owen Clarke. He's had 4 outings with the boat and all have been successful. She's shown both speed and reliability.
Golding looks to have it all together for the fall start of the Vendee Globe. Hopefully whatever witch doctor that has been hindering him in around the world races has moved on.
Several other Anglos has good Transats. Kiwi Mike Sanderson hung right with Golding until he had dagger board problems. It was Sanderson's 1st offshore solo race and he was world class from the start. He sailed Pindar Alpha Graphics also a Owen Clarke design.
Aussie Nick Moloney brought Skandia back from double digits to 4th place. Nick seems to be a slow starter. Although perhaps that's not right. Maybe he pushes to hard at the race start. Almost always he seems exhausted in the race's 1st 24 hours. Once over opening night jitters he races his Owen Clarke design well.
Brit Conrad Humphreys is the new Mr. Positive of the 60's scene. He's always got good things to say regardless. He sailed the ex Mike Golding Finot design to 5th. I look forward to this happy sailors dispatches during the Vendee Globe.
Team NZL's New Look
There's an ample amount of focus on the newly named Emirates Team New Zealand. Seems a little odd that the famed Kiwi 'black boats' are no longer black, and that they are sponsored by an airline from the Middle East.
This announcement comes of Qatar became a sponsor of Tracy Edwards and maxi cat racing. Sailors from Britain- an old sea faring nation-and New Zealand- an island nation- now are sponsored by desert nations.
Of the sailors designated as afterguard three will compete in the Finn class in the upcoming Olympics. Cup boat skipper Dean Barker will represent New Zealand, American Kevin Hall who has experience as a Cup Class navigator will compete as will Brit Ben Ainslie a three time Finn world champion. Should these three end up on the 'A' boat, no doubt they'll have the most fit afterguard of any Cup team! Not to mention accomplished.
It's interesting to note that Hamish Pepper who served as tactician during the last Cup is not listed as a team member. Maybe he can win back a place with a strong showing representing New Zealand in the Laser class in Athens.
Grant Dalton now feels he has the finances to mount a winning campaign. Dalton's history of around the world campaignning shows he might not always win but he will absolutely be in the noise! Yes, there's no 2nd in the America's Cup, but I'd expect Dalton and crew to finish highly.
Don't look for Emirates New Zealand's boat to suffer structural problems again. The boats will hold together,& Dalton has recruited world class international talent to sail the boat.
The big unknown is what type of design they'll come up with. The design team still has Tom Schnackenberg, Clay Oliver and Marcelino Botin. Look for Dalton and his managment team of people like round the world old hand Kevin Shoebridge to vet ideas like the Hula with a strong pragmatic bent. As it stands I put Emirates New Zealand over Oracle BMW.
Wilson arrives in hometown 2nd
IN BRIEF:
* RICH WILSON CROSSED THE FINISH LINE AT 1319 GMT TODAY TO CLAIM SECOND PLACE IN THE 50FT MULITHULL CLASS...
* AMERICAN KIP STONE LEADING THE 50FT MONOHULL CLASS BY 270 MILES IS EXPECTED TO FINISH IMMINENTLY...
* FELLOW AMERICAN JOE HARRIS AND FRENCHMAN JACQUES BOUCHACOURT ARE BATTLING FOR SECOND PLACE BEHIND KIP STONE...
See the official Omega clock showing race time http://www.thetransat.com
IN DETAIL:
Fifty-four year old Rich Wilson born in Boston, Massachusetts, was happy to see The Transat finish line this afternoon having experienced 40 knot winds across the deck on his final night at sea. Wilson sailing 50ft multihull, Great American II, crossed the line at 13:19:40 GMT completing the 2800 mile solo course in 15 days, 19 minutes and 40 seconds - 23 hours and 4 minutes after class winner Frenchman Eric Bruneel who crossed the line yesterday afternoon. Both skippers have sailed faster than the existing race record holder, Herve Cleris, who set a record pace of 16 days, 12 hours and 17 minutes in the 1992 race.
Rich Wilson is well-known for his adventures - in 2003 he and a crew sailed from Hong to New York via Sunda Strait in 72 days and 21 hours; in 2001 Wilson completed a record from New York to Melbourne via Cape of Good Hope in 68 days and 10 hours. The record attempts nearly cost him and his crew, Steve Pettengill, their lives when in the 1990 San Francisco-Boston record they capsized off Cape Horn.
Wilson is also no stranger to The Transat - in 1988 he won the Class 5 Mulithull division, although this time round Wilson said "it was harder than he ever thought". Wilson always looked comfortable in second and only slipped to third temporarily but the winner of this class, Eric Bruneel, set such a blinding pace from the start, it proved impossible for Wilson to stay in the chase.
As Wilson's supporters and family welcome him home, another American skipper (also born in Boston), Kip Stone, on Open 50 monohull Artforms, is just 20 miles from the finish line off Boston Harbour at 1500 GMT and is expected to cross the line around 1730 GMT today .
There are, however, still ten of the original thirty-seven Transat 2004 entrants sailing in the North Atlantic and, for many of these skippers, the competition and strain is no less extreme than that experienced by the leading monohulls and multihulls. Although the boats still racing may be older than the front-running boats and many are skippered by sailors who may lack familiarity with the Grand Prix, ocean racing circuit and are hampered by small budgets as sponsor-less entrants, they are all now near the limits of endurance but continue to push hard towards the finish.
The two remaining 50ft multihulls are separated by a distance of 457 miles west/east on roughly the same latitude as the finish line in Boston, with catamaran GiFi (Dominique Demachy) leading PIR2 (Etienne Hochedé). While this distance guarantees Demachy third place, there is an increasingly tight engagement unfolding in the Open 50 monohull class as two yachts trade second place 267 miles behind leader, Artforms (Kip Stone). The two skippers invoved have chosen different approaches to Boston: Joe Harris (Wells Fargo-American Pioneer), currently in second place by just 18 miles, chose a southerly option while Jacques Bouchacourt (Okami) raced north before short-tacking south along the coast of Newfoundland and is now repeating this tactic along the shores of Nova Scotia heading south to converge with Harris.
The two skippers have also displayed contrasting styles in managing their racing projects. With over 25,000 miles of inshore and offshore crewed and short-handed sailing experience - but no solo racing background - Joe Harris has assembled a highly knowledgeable shore team to prepare his yacht and has gained invaluable coaching from American, single-handed sailing expert, Brad Van Liew. Conversely, Jacques Bouchacourt is racing in his third Transat having taken class line honours in the 1996 race and finished second in class in 1992. Both the boats are of a similar age: Harris is racing a seven- year-old, Finot design with an impressive track record and two round the world races under her keel, while Okami waited for five years - half built - in the corner of a boat yard until Bouchacourt found her in 1999 and finally launched the boat in 2003. Shortly before the start of the race, Harris was busy studying the projected weather patterns in the North Atlantic as Bouchacourt hauled Okami out of Plymouth Yacht Haven Marina in a travel lift and was totally absorbed with faring and painting the boat's keel bulb. When Wells Fargo-American Pioneer and Okami meet tomorrow morning (Wednesday 16/06/04) on the continental shelf east of Boston, tactics will be complicated by a predicted drop in wind strength as the breeze veers to the west, presenting the skippers with fluky, 2-6 knot headwinds.
Harris and Bouchacourt will be joined by two Open 60s heading WSW down to the latitude of Boston - the 60ft monohulls Austria One of Norbert Sedlacek and Karen Leibovici's, Atlantic-Charentes Maritimes, are currently sailing 34 miles apart along the edge of the continental shelf. Last night, Sedlacek chose to sail north of the narrow, wreck-strewn shallows of Sable Island, leaving this strip of dunes, tussocky grass and its small herd of wild horses to port while Leibovici stayed on the Atlantic side. The first position polls this morning revealed that neither boat had made any significant gain or loss during this manoeuvre, but the light conditions ahead will effect the final 400 miles ahead of the ninth and tenth placed yachts. Sailing approximately 80 miles south of this pair in twelfth place, Charles Hedrich continues to maintain the 'Southernmost Yacht' status that Objectif 3 has held almost continuously since the start of the race - a decision possibly forced by the inability of the boat‚s engine to transfer water ballast effectively. Far to the north of these three 60ft yachts, Anne Liardet and Open 60 Quicksilver Edition are 80 miles off the coast of Nova Scotia and - despite a broken boom - have managed to pull-up one place to tenth, ahead of Hedrich.
The back-marker of The Transat 2004 fleet is Branec III - the eleven year old 50ft monohull of Roger Langevin. The French skipper has just over 700 miles to race before reaching the finish line and though he is facing a struggle against constant headwinds to the south of Newfoundland and seems unable to leave The Grand Banks, Langevin's recent recorded daily distances should ensure that he reaches Boston before the Sunday morning deadline. However, Branec III will have to contend with the light airs and slow progress that has afflicted many of the yachts as they close on the American coast.
Closing in on Boston
June 15, 2004
Wells Fargo - American Pioneer update
Latest Position - 42 38.4N 63 32.8W
Distance to Finish – 328 nautical miles
Average speed – 9.09
24 hour run – 237.07 nautical miles
Less than a Halifax Race to go
There was a decidedly different mood aboard Wells Fargo – American Pioneer this morning when Joe Harris checked in. The cobwebs have been blown away by a fresh southerly breeze and the boat is romping towards the Boston finish line. “We have a nice wind blowing this morning,” Joe said in a satellite phone call. “I am on course and heading for the barn.” After a frustrating four days of chasing puffs across an empty ocean, the steady wind is a relief and for the first time the reality of finishing is almost tangible. Unfortunately the forecast is fickle and predicting an ETA will not be easy.
Joe’s closest rival, French sailor Jacques Bouchacourt on Okami, has been having a difficult time with a large patch of real estate forcing him to short tack. The scenic coast of Nova Scotia is wonderful for cruising, but not for racing and while Bouchacourt has been dealing with the situation, Joe has motored past him and at the last poll Wells Fargo – American Pioneer held an 11 mile lead. “I knew that I was in a better position than Okami yesterday,” Joe said. “I am just happy that it worked out for me although the race is far from over. The forecast has some real tricky spots up ahead. I am concerned that I will park-up and Jacques will sail around me.” Since the race started 15 days ago that very scenario has happened a number of times and Joe is wise to be concerned.
At the front of the Monohull 50 class Kip Stone has his eyes set squarely on the finish line. This morning Artforms was 50 miles away sailing at 10 knots. “Kip has sailed a very clever race and deserves to win,” Joe said. “He’s very steady with his tactics and confident that his boat has speed. Without wanting to jinx anything I would like to congratulate Kip in advance.” We will update the website this evening with Joe’s latest ETA. For now it looks like he may be rewarded with a cocktail-hour arrival tomorrow evening. If you are in the Boston area on Wednesday put that on your calendar.
Linky Sailing News
Racing Artforms closes in on Transat win. Fast Bermuda race?
News NZL changes. PHRF. Colors
Great Lakes Ontario Ferry
June 14, 2004
Artforms Nears Win
At 9:00 p.m. EDT, Kip Stone aboard his Owen-Clarke designed Artforms was 150 miles from Boston, leading the 50-foot monohull class by 200 miles in his first Transat race. If he continues at his present average, he is expected to cross the finish line around noon on Tuesday, although this could change depending on the weather.
Kip has a chance of setting a new record if he crosses the finish line Tuesday. The current record for the 50-foot class for this race was set in 1996 by Giovanni Soldini, who this year competed in the Transat aboard the 60-foot multihull TIM-Progetto Italia.
"It's good to be around Cape Sable and into the Gulf of Maine. After 18,000 miles since the boat was launched in Sydney, I'm almost home. I'll be a very happy man to have my boat tied up by at the dock by this time tomorrow," KIp said earlier today.
It's Emirates Team New Zealand
Emirates signs with Team New Zealand for the America's Cup
Dubai-based international airline Emirates today signed a lead sponsorship and naming rights agreement with America's Cup challenger Team New Zealand.
The team will be known as Emirates Team New Zealand.
Emirates Airline president Tim Clark, announcing the sponsorship at a function in Auckland, said: "We believe our involvement with Emirates Team New Zealand represents an excellent promotional opportunity on a global stage and underscores our commitment to New Zealand.
"The company is expanding rapidly into new markets. The America's Cup regatta, with its history and prestige, and Team New Zealand, with its focus and drive, are a perfect fit for Emirates."
Mr Clark said Team New Zealand, holder of the America's Cup from 1995 to 2003, embodied many of the values held by Emirates. "It is truly professional, seeks quality in all aspects of its operation and it is highly competitive."
He said that Emirates' presence and awareness in New Zealand had rapidly grown since Auckland services started last August and would further expand with the addition of services to Christchurch from 2 July.
"This sponsorship, in addition to our sponsorship of the New Zealand Golf Open, will undoubtedly raise our New Zealand profile and further cement our support of the New Zealand market."
The chairman of Toyota New Zealand, Mr Bob Field, announced that Toyota was continuing to support the team as one of two elite sponsors. This will be Toyota's fifth successive America's Cup campaign spanning 15 years.
Mr Field said that the thought of giving up on recapturing the America's Cup was simply unacceptable to his company. He also believed that it was not in the national interest for the failure of the 2003 Defence to be the last chapter in New Zealand's long and distinguished participation in a great event.
"We have strong confidence that Grant Dalton and his new team will learn from the mistakes of 2003 and be a much stronger performer in the role of challenger" said Mr. Field. "In fact Toyota would not have become involved again if we didn't believe the Team could go all the way and bring the Cup back to Auckland".
Mr. Field commended and acknowledged the New Zealand Government and Emirates for their strong expression of confidence in the Team which has made the challenge possible.
While the higher sponsorship costs of the 2007 campaign required Mr. Field to seek additional support from Toyota International, he had no doubt that the high profile arrangements for hosting the Cup in Europe would provide all Team New Zealand stakeholders with greater levels of global exposure and excellent sponsorship value.
Minister for the America's Cup Trevor Mallard congratulated Team New Zealand for its determination to fight back with style and announced that with the commercial sponsorships secured, the government's previously announced trade and tourism investment was now confirmed.
"Research has shown that our investment of $33.75 million will be more than recouped as we leverage tourism and trade spinoffs from the European regattas. Increased economic activity from the Auckland-based build-up is estimated at a minimum of $85.5 million, tax revenue at $25.5 million. Significant global media exposure for New Zealand trade and tourism is also expected.
"Clearly there will also be potential spin-offs for New Zealand in the Middle Eastern market. We now wish Emirates Team New Zealand well in the three years ahead and look forward to a competitive challenge that does New Zealand proud."
Emirates Team New Zealand managing director Grant Dalton welcomed the airline to the Team. "Over the past few months we have come to know the Emirates people well. They share with us a vision for success, a passion for excellence and a no-nonsense, practical approach to the business of winning.
"The Team could not wish for a better lead and naming rights sponsor.
"We welcome back Toyota New Zealand, a supporter for five America's Cup campaigns. Toyota has made a massive contribution to Team New Zealand and the New Zealand Challenge before that. I worked with Toyota previously when they were a sponsor of New Zealand Endeavour in the 1993-94 Whitbread.
"The loyalty of the company and the people involved and their continued support is an inspiration to the Team after the disappointments of last year."
Grant Dalton said: "Emirates Team New Zealand is on the way back thanks to the magnificent support of the New Zealand Government, our commercial partners, private individuals, our directors and the yachtsmen, designers, craftsmen and support people who have signed with us. Everyone concerned has taken a great leap of faith; we thank them all for that.
"With the support we have secured to date, Emirates Team New Zealand can now announce that it will lodge a challenge for the 2007 America's Cup.
"We have not yet found all the sponsorship that the Team needs but we are now robust enough to launch a very competitive challenge."
Emirates Team New Zealand is planning to race in the first Acts of the 32nd America's Cup beginning on the 5th September 2004, with the Marseille Louis Vuitton Act. The team will make its first appearance in Valencia, Spain, the host city of the 32nd America's Cup, in the Valencia Louis Vuitton Acts 2 and 3, in October.
Under 600 miles for American Pioneer
June 14, 2004
Wells Fargo - American Pioneer update
Latest Position - 42 25.4N 58 29.8W
Distance to Finish – 553 nautical miles
Average speed – 4.13
24 hour run – 99.07 nautical miles
Less than a Bermuda Race to go
It may be the start of a new week for those of us on land, but for Joe Harris aboard Wells Fargo – American Pioneer it’s just another day at the office. And not a very good one as he continues to struggle with light winds and slow speeds. “The situation has not really improved much out here,” Joe said in a satellite phone call. “I still do not have much wind, however if the forecast is correct things should improve a little over the next few days.” Further to the north and west his rivals Kip Stone on Artforms and Jacques Bouchacourt on Okami have been having a swell time sailing in near perfect conditions, and both boats have opened up a respectable lead over Wells Fargo – American Pioneer. At the last poll Artforms was a shade under 300 miles ahead and Okami was an even 50 miles ahead. Unless something bad happens it looks as if Stone will take first place in the Monohull 50 class. He has 231 miles to sail and is expected to reach Boston late Tuesday.
“I think that Kip has sailed a great race and he deserves to win,” Joe said. “But having said that I am determined to reclaim second place from Okami and I will do all I can to beat him to the finish.” Despite being 50 miles back, Joe has some tricks up his sleeve. Okami has painted himself into a corner with Nova Scotia presenting itself as a large, unmovable obstacle. “It seems like Jacques will have to short tack to get by Nova Scotia,” Joe said. “I have sailed in that area a few times and it’s tricky sailing. There are strong currents that can be really difficult to deal with. If Jacques is to avoid them he will have to tack out of there and will be sailing at a bad angle.” For the moment Wells Fargo – American Pioneer is able to clear the southern tip of the Canadian Maritime province without tacking. The forecast is for the wind to veer slightly to the south which will also play into Joe’s hands, but only time will tell if he has enough sailing waters left to take back second place. “I have less than a Bermuda Race to sail and if all goes well I should be in Boston sometime on Thursday.”
While Joe deals with fickle winds, there is other news to report. Swiss sailor Bernard Stamm has recovered his boat. He was forced to abandon ship last week when his keel broke off and was rescued by a passing freighter that took him to Newfoundland. Bernard immediately mounted a salvage operation and on Sunday morning they located the boat. Stamm was able to dive under the boat and cut away the mast. They then righted the boat and it is now under tow heading for St Johns, Newfoundland. Stamm is a tenacious character. He hopes to have the boat ready in time for the Vendee Globe solo, non-stop race around the world later this year.
--- Brian Hancock
Muskegon J35's Sweep NOODS
At this weekend's Chicago NOOD regatta Muskegon Yacht Club boats finished 1-2-3 in the J35 class. Bill Newman's Afershock was 1st and won races 1, 2 & 7. Larry Taunt's Bad Dog finished 2nd with bulletts in races 3 & 6. Mike Sternberg's Ragtime was 3rd with back to back wins in races 4 & 5. Usually the J35's have their own Mac class, perhaps the NOOD results serve as a form guide for the Mac.
J/35 R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R7 T
1 35234 Aftershock William Newman 1 1 4 2 2 2 1 13
2 40054 Bad Dog J. Lawrence Taunt 2 4 1 3 5 1 2 18
3 32756 Ragtime Mike Sterenberg 5 2 2 1 1 3 7 p40 21
TP 52's Warm Up
Four of the six TP 52's that will contest the Chicago Mac have just completed the New York Yacht Club's 150th annual regatta. The just launched Esmeralda dominated beating Rosebud, a past Mac entry. Boats that will sail the Mac are listed in bold
Pl Sail # Skipper From Boat Name 1 2 3 4 5 Tot.
1 50014 Uematsu Sail Newport ESMERALDA 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.75 3.75
2 28385 Sturgeon Hyannis ROSEBUD 4 2 2 3 3 14
3 28752 Ford New York LIGHTWAVE 3 3 3 5 2 16
4 52152 Brennan NASS SJAMBOK 2 6\RAF 5 2 5 20
5 52002 Breeden New York BRIGHT STAR 5 6\DSQ 4 4 4 23
NYYC Regatta
The New York Yacht Club's Annual Regatta presented by Rolex is the longest running event of its kind in the United States. For this year's 150th anniversary, 100 boats turned out for Friday's first-ever Around the Island Race, which turned the traditional two-day event into a three-day one that then hosted 127 boats over the weekend of June 12-13.
Sunday's fleet was treated to early southwest breezes of 10-12 knots and sunshine that lent sparkle to the flat waters of Rhode Island Sound where racing on three circles concluded. The wind had increased to 15-17 by the end of the day, allowing for multiple races and the crowning of victors in each of 15 classes (five for IMS, two for PHRF, one for NYYC Cruising Rule, two for Classics, and one each for 12 Metre, TP52, J/105, Farr 40 and Mumm 30).
Only the TP52, Farr 40 and Mumm classes counted scores from Friday's otherwise-optional Around the Island Race in their series. In addition, the Farr 40s and Mumms sailed races prior to the Around the Island Race.
In Farr 40s, Jim Richardson's (Boston, Mass./Newport, R.I.) Barking Mad posted overall victory after having won four races in his class's nine-race series. "We didn't have to race the last race but we did," said Richardson, who is a Farr 40 World champion from 1998 and is preparing for the Rolex Farr 40 Worlds this September in San Francisco. "My crew hikes harder than anyone out there, and we go to weather so well that we can pull away from the others even when we're in a bad lane. We have a nucleus of the team that has been sailing together for four years, so it's little nuances, now, that we work on."
Nelson Stephenson's (Southport, Conn.) Mumm 30 Teambold also counted four victories in nine races, taking out Richard Perini's Foreign Affair, the favored second-place finisher from Sydney. Both boats are preparing for next fall's Worlds in Toronto. "There was a full range of air, from light to medium to heavy. It was a real test, but we've had the same group sailing for the last three years and everything is starting to gel," said Stephenson, who like Richardson in the Farr 40s, is president of his class..
Possibly the most anticipated of contests was that for bragging rights as the high-performance TP52 class's first-ever East Coast Champion. That honor went to Makoto Uematsue's (Tokyo, Japan) Esmeralda, which topped the five boats making their East Coast debut with five first-place finishes.
"These boats are so exciting to sail, said Ken Read (Newport), who served as Esmeralda's tactician. "In fact, it's better than advertised. We were going so fast compared to the Farr 60s that they looked like they were standing still."
Though the NYYC Annual Regatta began in 1845, one year after the founding of the Club, it lost 10 years to such devastating events as the Civil and World Wars. Its 150th Anniversary set records for attendance both on the water and at social events held at Harbour Court, the club's Newport clubhouse. The event is part of the biennial Onion Patch Series, which also includes the Newport-Bermuda Race, which starts June 18, and the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club's Anniversary Regatta, starting June 25.
The Rolex Cup, a newly commissioned engraved Sperrin Crystal bowl, was awarded to the top two-boat team representing any participating yacht club in Friday's Around the Island Race. The race honored those yacht clubs that supported the on-the-water activities of the NYYC before its acquisition of Harbour Court in 1987. The winning team represented Indian HarborYacht Club and was comprised of John Wayt's (Jamestown, R.I.) Vixen, a Swan 44 which finished sixth in PHRF class and Martin Jacobson's (Greenwich, Conn.) Crescendo, a Swan 44, which won in IMS Cruiser/Racer Class 4.
For more information, visit www.nyyc.org or contact the NYYC Sailing Office, Harbour Court, 5 Halidon Avenue, Newport, R.I. 02840; phone 401-845-9633; email sailingoffice@nyyc.org.
(end)
Final Results
Day 3
IMS Class 1 (8 boats)
Aera, Jez Fandstone, England, 6-1-1-1, 8.25
Numbers, Dan Meyers, Boston, Mass., 1-5-3-2, 10.75
Blue Yankee, Robert Towse, Larchmont, N.Y., 3-3-2-3, 11
IMS Cruiser/Racer Class 3 (6 boats)
Ptarmigan, Lawrence Dickie, Old Greenwich, Conn., 1-1-1-1, 3
Cabaret, Bob Limoggio, Little Neck, N.Y., 2-2-4-4, 12
Nova, Mark DiStefano, New York, N.Y., 4-3-3-2, 12
IMS Cruiser/Racer Class 4 (13 boats)
Temptress, Richard Shulman, Providence, R.I., 1-1-1-1, 3
Sforzando, Blair Brown, Newton, Mass., 2-2-2-2, 8
Wanderer, William Cushman, Reading Ridge, Conn., 3-3-7-5, 18
IMS Cruiser/Racer Class 5 (14 boats)
Amadeus, Udo Schroff, East Greenwich, R.I., 4-1-4-1, 9.5
Crescendo, Martin Jacobson, Greenwich, Conn., 2-4-3-3, 12
Aura, William Kardash, Annapolis, Md., 3-3-2-5, 13
IMS S45 Class 6 (6 boats)
Goombay Smash, William Douglass, Stamford, Conn., 1-1-1-1, 3
Better Than, Andrzej Rojek, Westport, Conn., 3-4-2-2, 11
Alliance, Dominick Porco, New York, N.Y., 4-2-3-4, 13
12 Metre Class 1 (7 boats)
Hissar, Edgar Cato, Miami, Fla., 2-1-1, 3.5
Courageous, Craig Millard, Greenwich, Conn., 1-2-2, 4.75
Freedom, Ernest Jacquet, Watch Hill, R.I., 3-3-5, 11
PHRF Class 2 (12 boats)
Irie, Brian Cunha, Newport, R.I., 1-4-2, 6.75
Katabatic, Gordon Hall, Marblehead, Mass., 3-1-3, 6.75
Troubador, Morton Weintraub, Larchmont, N.Y., 2-3-4, 9
PHRF Class 3 (11 boats)
Mischief, David Schwartz, Smithfield, R.I., 1-2-3, 6.25
Coconut, Tom D'Albora, Warwick, R.I., 3-1-4, 7.75
Karjala, Michael Bruno, Jr., Armonk, N.Y., 8-4-1, 12.75
NYYC Cruising Class 4 (4 boats)
Flying Cloud, Gordon McNabb, Dover, Mass., 1-1-2, 3.5
Defiance, Peter Noonan, 2-2-1, 4.75
Panache, Mark Shakley, New York, N.Y., 3-3-3, 9
Classics Class 5 (5 boats)
Bolero, Edward Kane, Concord, Mass., 1-1-1, 2.25
Nirvana, David Ray, Newport, R.I., 3-2-2, 7
Fortune, Don Glassie, Newport, R.I., 2-4-4, 10
Classics Class 6 (3 boats)
Amorita, Jed Pearsall/Bill Doyle, Newport, R.I. 1-3-1, 4.5
Cara Mia, Alfred Slanetz, Cohasset, Mass., 3-1-2, 5.75
Angelita, Samuel Croll III, Rye, N.Y., 2-2-3, 7
J/105 (14 boats)
Indefatigable, Philip Lotz, New Canaan, Conn., 4-1-2-1-3-4, 14.5
Kima, Nelson Weiderman, Wakefield, R.I., 1-2-4-3-6-2, 17.75
Savasana, Brian Keane, Weston, Mass., 6-9-3-4-1-1, 23.5
TP52 (5 boats)
1. Esmeralda, Makoto Uematsu, Tokyo, Japan, 1-1-1-1-1, 3.75
2. Rosebud, Roger Sturgeon, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., 4-2-2-3-3, 14
3. Lightwave, David Ford, Waban, Mass., 3-3-3-5-2, 16
Farr 40 (11 boats)
Barking Mad, Jim Richardson, Newport, R.I./Boston, Mass., 4-4-3-1-1-2-4-1-1, 20
Virago, Stuart/Margwen Townsend, Chicago, Ill, 3-5-2-8-2-5-7-2-2*, 38
Phishfood, Alexis Michas, New York, N.Y., 2-3-4-7-4-6-9-5-3, 43
*I-flag (20%) penalty
Mumm 30 (8 boats)
Teambold, Nelson Stephenson, Southport, Conn., 1-1-8-4-1-3-1-3-2, 23
Foreign Affair, Richard Perini, Sydney, Aus., 3-2-1-6-3-DSQ-4-1-1, 29.25
Steadfast, Fred Sherratt, Toronto, Ont., CAN, 4-5-7-1-2-1-6-4-3, 32.5
5th for Hellomoto
Thirty-one yr old British skipper Conrad Humphreys sailed HELLOMOTO across The Transat finish line under a beautiful orange sunrise in a moderate SW breeze at 09:24:12 GMT this morning, Monday 14th June, to secure 5th place in the IMOCA Open 60 Class – and his Vendée Globe qualification. HELLOMOTO took 13 days, 20hrs, 24mins & 12s to cover the 2,800 mile race from his home port of Plymouth to Boston, USA. After docking at Rowes Wharf by the Boston Harbor Hotel, the exhausted but elated skipper sprayed the decks of HELLOMOTO with a magnum of Moet & Chandon to celebrate his impressive result in his first solo Open 60 race. Not only did HELLOMOTO come inside the coveted top 5 out of 15 starters in the class, but Conrad also broke the existing race record of 14 days & 16hrs (set in 1992), finishing 1 day, 5hrs and 6 mins after race winner and only other British skipper in the race, Mike Golding on Ecover.
Just before finishing, Conrad emailed his last race journal, and summarised what he set out to achieve with his sponsor Motorola in the 4 months it took the Motorola Ocean Racing Team to prepare for and execute this project to such a successful outcome: “This race has been on my ‘To Do list’ for nearly 15 years since I first saw the departure of the 1988 Transat. Every four years since that year I have dreamt of taking part in the one FICO-Lacoste World Championship event that starts from my home city of Plymouth. The Transat is a vital milestone in the next stage of our campaign, which is taking on sailing’s toughest and purest sporting event - the non-stop, solo, around the world Vendée Globe yacht race. My objective for the Transat was to complete my first solo race in the IMOCA Open 60 class as my qualifier for the Vendée Globe. Overall, I was less concerned about the final result and owing to the calibre of the fleet, I set out for a top 10 finish overall. Today, I am ecstatic that we have more than achieved our objectives by coming in 5th, but more importantly that HELLOMOTO came through with no major damage, which is a testament to the excellent preparation of the boat by my team. Our philosophy of ‘keep it simple’ paid off as the boat is so easy and simple to handle, and yet she still has a lot of potential left in her, and we aim to improve on her performance for the Vendée Globe.”
Conrad’s Transat experience was full of peaks and troughs, beginning with the rather memorable start in Plymouth Sound, where HELLOMOTO sprung across the line ahead of the fleet, only to find that along with 4 other Open 60’s she was over and incurred a 20 minute penalty off Eddystone Lighthouse. Right from the start, Conrad found himself having to overcome a setback to get back into the fray with the leading boats. From his 11th position, Conrad then decided not to ‘follow the leader’ and chose a different strategy in order to climb up the leader board, by sailing his own race and sticking nearer to the direct route rather than chase the pack North. HELLOMOTO then overtook Skandia into 9th place and stayed on pace with the top boats as they slammed upwind in gale force conditions going through the first big North Atlantic low pressure system.
Conrad’s option to remain in the middle of the field and not sail into the teeth of a storm up North, which whipped the fleet with 60 knot winds and boat-breaking seas, reaped dividends by Day 7 as HELLOMOTO eventually moved up to 4th place in the rankings. The Transat became a race of attrition as leading boat Virbac and then PRB dismasted, followed by the roll and capsize of Cheminées Poujoulat-Armor Lux. Conrad himself was balancing on a tightrope between fear and boldness – needing to push hard to stay ahead of VMI and Skandia, but wanting to stay in control of HELLOMOTO given the punishing conditions.
In second half of the race, HELLOMOTO locked into battle with Skandia for 4th place, and the next three days would see the two skippers relentlessly match-racing each other at close quarters off the Grand Banks. Both skippers naturally became deprived of sleep, and this proved a real test of Conrad’s self-management as he tried to keep his own personal routine going and juggle the demands of racing the boat near to 100% so as not to lose precious miles on Skandia. In the end, the weather proved to be Conrad’s only downfall, as he made a wrong call on the movement of the high pressure ridge, which left HELLOMOTO becalmed for 8 hours whilst Moloney on Skandia suddenly jumped 100 miles ahead in a more Northerly position.
This last high pressure system blocking the route into Boston made for a nail-biting conclusion to the race, as Conrad navigated HELLOMOTO through the busy waters off Cape Cod, dodging shipping and whales in the dark, whilst trying to cover the two seasoned French skippers on UUDS and Pro-Form coming up to within 30 miles behind him. The breeze filled in last night to allow Conrad a favourable reach in to the finish line in beautiful sailing conditions to put his rivals behind him for good and take 5th place overall.
Q&A with Conrad Humphreys on his 5th place result in ‘The Transat’
Conrad held a short Q&A with journalists on the pontoon on the deck of HELLOMOTO and here are some sound bite quotes from Conrad’s first impressions after finishing:
Q: Has the race met your expectations?
“I have always felt that this Transat would be my biggest sailing test to date. In this regard, this race was not as tough as I had expected. As my first Open 60 race, the quality of the fleet and tactics was exceptionally high as is the professionalism of the skippers.”
Q Describe the defining moments and why?
“Waking up on start day for the first time without any nerves, butterflies and being able to enjoy a full breakfast. This was and is exceptionally unusual for me, I normally sleep little the night before a major race and feel nervous pre-start. The reason for not being nervous was down to the team’s preparation of the yacht, logistics, communications etc. We were ready and that made we feel so at ease.”
“Spending many hours alongside Skandia and Pro-Form in the early stages of the race and not being off the pace. My concerns were that we have no time to enhance HELLOMOTO’s performance pre Transat and therefore we may have been left behind for pace. This increased my confidence in the early stages of the race and allowed me to sustain momentum.”
“Having an amazing feeling of “complete well-being” half way through the race. Difficult to describe, but I would say that I was managing my routine (sleep, eating, tactics, repairs etc) far better than I expected. Always an unknown until you have sailed a lot of miles single-handed, but half-way across I felt very alert, fresh and well in control.”
Q: Were there any surprises for you during the race?
“There were no nasty surprises. I suffered twice from severe sleep deprivation late on in the race after breaking my routine and spending many hours on deck alongside Skandia. The scariest moment of the race was going “off watch” just after putting up the code 5 headsail and falling into a deep sleep and not realizing until the yacht was massively overpowered and in danger of dismasting.”
Q: What do you put your result down to?
“Having the right team of people, who have a huge amount of experience in this class and take real ownership for their roles and responsibilities. This has allowed me to be focused on the sailing. Also, setting an achievable and realistic goal and sticking to the game plan in the early stages of the race. Lastly, having the energy from achieving both the previous statements to increase the tempo and pressure at important moments in the race.”
The Transat: 50 foot mulit hull winner
IN BRIEF:
* FRENCH SKIPPER ERIC BRUNEEL STORMS TO VICTORY IN 50FT MULTIHULL CLASS...
* HALF OF THE IMOCA FLEET ARE NOW TIED TO THE DOCK IN BOSTON - SKANDIA (4TH), HELLOMOTO (5TH) AND PRO-FORM (6TH) ALL REACHED BOSTON IN LAST 24 HOURS...
* COMPETITION INTENSIFIES AMONGST OPEN 60 BACK-MARKERS AS COMPETITORS IN THE 50FT CLASS HAVE A BIT MORE SPACE TO BREATH...
See the official Omega clock showing race time http://www.thetransat.com
IN DETAIL:
French skipper, Eric Bruneel, on Trilogic has stormed to victory in the 50ft multihull division. Bruneel crossed the line at 14:23:37 GMT in a time of 14 days, 1 hour, 23 minutes and 37 seconds at an average speed of 8.32 knots. This is a major win for Bruneel who, although, is an experieced sailor especially in dinghy catamarans, has never won an offshore solo race. Bruneel has led this division the entire length of the 2800 mile course and racked up a significant 200+ mile lead in the early stages which no other skipper in his class could dent.
On the tail of Bruneel saw the arrival of Marc Thiercelin, skipper of Open 60 Pro-Form. Thiercelin crossed the at 1441 GMT finishing in 14 days, 1 hour, 41 minutes and 15 seconds to finish in sixth place. Thiercelin has raced a close-fought battle with fellow Frenchman Herve Laurent on UUDS who is only 30 miles further back having raced 2800 miles from Plymouth.
Last night saw the arrival of the final ORMA 60 competitor, French skipper, Yves Parlier on board his twin-masted, catamaran Médiatis Region Aquitaine who finished in 13 days, 7 hours, 11 minutes and 35 seconds - over four days behind the ORMA winner Michel Desjoyeax. In the Open 60 division, Australian skipper Nick Moloney on Skandia finshed a couple of hours later in 13 days, 9 hours and 13 minutes, 11 hours ahead of his main rival Britain's Conrad Humphreys on Hellomoto who finished at 0924 GMT this morning. Moloney and Humphreys had been locked in a fierce battle for fourth place for the majority of the race until Skandia managed to sail away from Hellomoto last Thursday night as Humphreys sat becalmed for eight hours.
As Transat 2004 competitors flow across the Boston finish line after 14 days of racing, the competition within all classes is still intense. In the 60ft monohull class Sebastien Josse on six-year-old, VMI, has played a tough chase game since steering linkage problems forced the French skipper to a virtual halt for nearly an entire day while undertaking repairs. Josse then sped north through The Grand Banks, up to Newfoundland almost clipping headlands on the Avalon and Burin peninsulas, before tacking south (in a satellite telephone conversation with fellow Open 60 skipper, Nick Moloney on Skandia, Josse explained that he was collecting ice for the prize giving party)! VMI is now screaming south, has recently passed Cape Sable - the southern tip of Nova Scotia - and is continuing to take miles out of seventh place UUDS (Herve Laurent), currently 132 miles ahead, but only 76 miles from Boston.
Further southeast, an Open 60 regatta is developing between Norbert Sedlacek (Austria One) in ninth place and Frenchwoman, Karen Leibovici (Atlantica-Charentes Maritimes) with Charles Hedrich (Objectif 3) just 17 miles behind the pair. This trio are spread only 80 miles west/east with Sedlacek still 567 miles from the finish line.
Now that leading 50ft multihull skipper, Eric Bruneel and Trilogic have finished this afternoon, this leaves Great American II, skippered by Rich Wilson, in his wake with 266 miles to go the finish line. Wilson has a comfortable 120 mile lead over third-placed Dominique Demachy on Gifi who, equally, holds a substantial 340 mile lead over the back-marker PIR2 of Etienne Hochedé.
An almost identical, class leadership margin is held by Kip Stone and Artforms in the 50ft monohulls; Stone has 270 miles to race and a lead of 231 miles over Jacques Bouchacourt on Okami. Bouchacourt and Joe Harris, on third place Wells Fargo-American Pioneer, are only 46 miles apart in terms of DTF (Distance To Finish), but in reality - Harris remains on the same latitude as the finish line, while Bouchacourt heads SW, 46 miles off the coast of Nova Scotia.
Two boats are still labouring through The Grand Banks; Anne Liardet on Open 60, Quiksilver Edition, is beating into the western extremity of the fishing area, handicapped by a broken boom. Further east, Roger Langevin on 50ft monohull, Branec III, is watchful for the "immense and silent fishing vessels" that lurk in the thick fog of The Banks. Both the French skippers will be highly aware that they must cross the finish line by 04:18:08 GMT this Sunday (20/06/04) - exactly seven days after the finish of 60ft monohull class winner, Mike Golding on Ecover - to officially complete The Transat 2004. It is imperative that Liardet average just over 120 miles each day and Langevin must squeeze a little over 155 miles a day from Branec III, for the pair to finish the race.
Gilmour Wins in Germany
Peter Gilmour and the Pizza-La Sailing Team gained a measure of revenge today with a thorough victory over Bertrand Pacé’s French crew in the final of Match Race Germany, the penultimate event on the Swedish Match Tour 2003-’04.
Gilmour and the Pizza-La crew, including Mike Mottl (AUS), Kazuhiko Sofuku (JPN), Yasuhiro Yaji (JPN) and local German sailor Carsten Kemmling, defeated Pacé and crewmembers Benoit Briand (FRA), Thierry Fouchier (FRA), Fabrice Levet (FRA) and German Claas de Jong, 3-2, to claim the ninth annual event sailed on Lake Constance in southern Germany.
After losing to Pacé in the Swedish Match Tour final at Croatia two weeks ago, Gilmour came to Germany with a vengeance, and left with a slew of accolades.
Gilmour clinched the Swedish Match Tour Championship for 2003-’04 with his second at Croatia, but this week he padded his lead even more.
He earned 25 points by finishing first and increased his total to 142 points. He leads second place by 72 points. His team’s victory was its third in seven events on the 2003-’04 Tour.
By becoming the first skipper to win 10 straight races at Match Race Germany, he won a Mercedes Benz SLK 200 roadster valued at Euro 40,000 (approximately $48,000). And the Pizza-La crew won Euro 4,800 (approximately $5,700) in prize money.
“We also have a bit of humility,” said Gilmour, 44, from Perth, Western Australia. “It was a fabulous week.”
Pacé was clearly disappointed about losing, but knew it’d be difficult to beat Gilmour a second consecutive time.
“I couldn’t get out of being the port-tack boat in the pre-start,” said Pacé, 42. “He kept pushing us into trouble. Peter and his crew were clearly the better team today.”
In the Petit Final, Gavin Brady’s BMW Oracle Racing crew (Dirk de Ridder, Sean Clarkson, Brad Webb, Andreas John) defeated Jes Gram-Hansen’s Team Denmark (Rasmus Kostner, Christian Kamp, Michael Arnhild, Henning Sohm) 3-1 to capture third, and place Team Denmark fourth.
“We won three starts and he won one, and that was the difference,” said Brady, 30, the helmsman for America’s Cup challenger BMW Oracle Racing.
“Once we got up 2-0, we were able to change our strategy a bit and put more pressure on (Gram-Hansen) to sail a perfect race. We wanted to make it hard for him to execute,” said Brady.
Gram-Hansen expressed more disappointment today than yesterday, when he lost the one race showdown with Gilmour for the Mercedes Benz.
“Gilmour should’ve won that race, we never expected to,” said Gram-Hansen, 32. “I made some slight errors in timing. They were about 2 or 3 seconds, but it’s the difference between good and very good.”
Gilmour proved his immense talent at Match Race Germany. Two weeks ago at the Swedish Match Tour final in Croatia, Pacé got the measure of Gilmour in a 3-0 victory sailed in mostly light air.
That loss upset Gilmour more than any other. He prides himself on being able to convert victories once in the final of a match-race regatta, but had a phobia about sailing in light winds.
In the week in between events, Gilmour worked on changing his mindset to overcome that fear.
Mission accomplished. In the light and drifting conditions of the first two days at Match Race Germany, Gilmour streaked to five straight wins. Then, when the wind built, he won seven more.
He didn’t lose his first race of the regatta until the second flight of the final against Pacé, in winds that were around 12 knots. Gilmour shook off the loss and won the next two for a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven (first to 4 points) final series.
A two-hour delay ensued while the wind shifted more the 200 degrees and came and went as rain squalls passed over the lake bordering Germany, Switzerland and Austria.
When Flight 5 was held, the breeze was blowing 16 to 20 knots from the east/southeast, the most breeze of the week. Pacé won the flight to get to 3-2, but then the 4:00 p.m. time limit expired and Gilmour claimed his first Match Race Germany title.
“Ironically, Bertrand won the heavy air races and we won the light-to-medium ones,” Gilmour said. “But really it came down to the starts. The ones he won he got us in the pre-start and the same for us.”
For Brady, it was his fourth third-place finish in five events on the 2003-’04 Tour. He also placed third at Japan, Long Beach and Elba. Although frustrated that he couldn’t win overall, Brady did move up to second overall in the Tour standings with one event to go.
“I’ve had a different crew at every event,” Brady said. “I don’t think any other America’s Cup team can put a different team in every regatta and consistently make the semifinals like we have. We’re just missing the fine details.”
For Gram-Hansen, it was his second consecutive fourth, but it helped him move up the Tour standings. He’s now placed sixth with 38 points, and well within striking distance of the top five.
“We always want to win, but maybe we didn’t sail as well as we could have,” said the skipper from Aarhaus, Denmark. “On the other hand, we’re satisfied to get the invites and put out a strong performance. It shows an amateur team can compete with the America’s Cup teams.”
The Swedish Match Cup is the final event on the 2003-'04 Tour. Held in Marstrand, Sweden, it is scheduled July 5-11.
# # #
RELATED COVERAGE
Crew List, Schedule and Results
Photo Gallery
Event Summary
Swedish Match Tour Video Highlights
Swedish Match Tour Championship Leaderboard
Gilmour, Pacé to Meet for Match Race Germany (June 12, 2004)
Pizza-La Team Wins Mercedes (June 12, 2004)
Gilmour, Gram-Hansen Headed for Showdown (June 11, 2004)
Gram-Hansen Still Atop Match Race Germany (June 10, 2004)
Gram-Hansen Grabs Lead at Match Race Germany (June 9, 2004)
Slow Practice at Swedish Match Tour Germany (June 8, 2004)
Swedish Match Tour off to Germany (June 3, 2004)
Gilmour Clinches Swedish Match Tour (June 2, 2004)
SWEDISH MATCH TOUR 2003-04 RANKINGS
(After seven of eight events)
1. Peter Gilmour/AUS, Pizza-La Sailing Team — 142 points
2. Gavin Brady/NZL, BMW Oracle Racing — 70 points
3. Magnus Holmberg/SWE, SeaLife Rangers — 64 points
4. Bertrand Pacé/FRA, Team France — 55 points
5. Jesper Radich/DEN, Team Denmark — 43 points
6. Jes Gram-Hansen/DEN, Team Denmark — 38 points
7. Russell Coutts/NZL, Team Alinghi — 35 points
8. Ed Baird/USA, Team Musto — 31 points
MATCH RACE GERMANY FINAL STANDINGS
(Euro 20,000 prize purse, approximately $24,000)
Place Skipper/Nationality, Team — Won-Lost — Prize Money
1. Peter Gilmour/AUS, Pizza-La Sailing Team — 15-2 — €4,800 ($5,700)
Crew Yasuhiro Yaji, Mike Mottl, Kazuhiko Sofuku, Carsten Kemmling
2. Bertrand Pacé/FRA — 10-7 — €2,800 ($3,300)
Crew Benoit Briand, Thierry Fouchier, Fabrice Levet, Claas de Jong
3. Gavin Brady/NZL, BMW Oracle Racing — 12-4 — €2,400 ($2,800)
Crew Dirk de Ridder, Sean Clarkson, Brad Webb, Andreas John
4. Jes Gram-Hansen/DEN, Team Denmark — 10-6 — €2,000 ($2,400)
Crew Rasmus Kostner, Christian Kamp, Michael Arnhild, Henning Sohm
5. Luc Pillot/FRA — 7-6 — €2,000 ($2,400)
Crew Tanguy Cariou, Christian Scherrer, Teva Plichart, Florian Weser
6. Mathieu Richard/FRA — 4-9 — €1,600 ($1,900)
Crew Yannick Simon, Olivier Herledand, Pierre-Alexis Ponset, Christoph Fuchs
7. Eric Monin/SUI — 5-8 — €1,400 ($1,600)
Crew Jean-Claude Monin, Marc Monin, Alain Marchand, Caspar Büttner
8. Tino Ellegast/GER — 2-11 — €1,200 ($1,400)
Crew Arne Gülzow, Rudi Monteu, Philipp Hofstetter, Holger Lehning
9. Karol Jablonski/POL, Toscana Challenge — 1-4 — €1,000 ($1,200)
Crew Markus Wieser, Tom Baranowski, Piotr Przybylski, Wolfgang Käfer
10. Michael Dunstan/AUS, OzBoyz Challenge — 2-3 — €800 ($960)
Crew Nick Partridge, Ben Morrison-Sack, Seve Jarvin, Tobi Aulich
11. Lars Nordbjerg/DEN — 1-4
Crew Thomas Hartvig, Niels Gramkov, Henning Lambertsen, Martin Metzing
12. Ray Davies/NZL, Team New Zealand — 0-5
Crew Kelvin Harrap, Carl Williams, Matti Paschen, Jan Reblin
Linky Sailing News
Racing Golding wins Transat. Gilmour wins in Germany
News TNZL is a go with Finnsters on board + others.
Great Lakes Muskegon Yacht Club boats sweep J35's @ Chicago NOODS. Ferry News
Final Thoughts from Sanderson
The race is coming to an end now and I am definately looking forward to getting in. The last 24 hours has been pretty frustrating with shifty and changeable wind conditions making for a slow finish.
All things considered the boat is in pretty good shape - it's been through a fair amount so there is no suprises that it she is a bit beat up!! The repairs to the main, after the rip that developed in the 'Virbac storm', seem to have done the job but now it can go in to the shed and get the TLC that it deserves. At least the boys on the shore team will be kept busy for a few days!!!
I am definately looking forward to that cold beer the guys have on ice, a hot shower and some spicy Buffalo wings - Boston here I come....
The next time I write I should be safely tied up alongside the dock so before I sign off from the North Atlantic - Thank you to everyone for your messages of support it has been great to know that people have been following our progress. I spoke to Andrew Pindar who has landed in Boston -I am looking forward to having a beer with him as he made it all happen and got us here.
So, for the last time from the mighty Pindar AlphaGraphics in the North Atlantic -
until tomorrow
Moose
p.s. good one kiwis in the rugby!!
Alignhi's new sailors
Team Alinghi today launched its campaign for the America's Cup 2007 with a full team presentation at Newport Shipyard, Newport, Rhode Island. Following the formal proceedings, SUI 64, sporting new graphics, was lowered into the water and set sail for the first time on Newport Harbour.
New members of the sailing team were introduced by Jochen Schuemann, Team Alinghi Sports Director. They are Matt Mitchell (New Zealand), Mike Drummond (New Zealand), Mark "Sting" McTeague, (Australia), Matthew Welling (USA), Peter Holmberg (USA), Mark Newbrook (USA), Jordi Calafat (Spain), Yann Gouniot (France), Nicolas Texier (France), and Lorenzo Mazza (Italy).
New members of the design team are Michael Richelsen (Denmark), and Kurt Jordan (USA).
The entire team showed off a new line of restyled and technically improved teamwear, and for the first time the sailing team wore crew shirts bearing a number so that spectators can easily recognize individual crew members.
Skandia Finishes 4th
IN BRIEF:
* Nick Moloney and SKANDIA complete the Transat race in fourth place at 2213 GMT today (13th June); 13 days, nine hours, 13 minutes and 9 seconds after crossing the Plymouth startline. SKANDIA'S average speed over the 2,800-mile course was 8.72 knots.
* Fourth place was inside Nick's pre-start hopes (of a top-five place) but stands out as the most remarkable of comebacks in the entire race.
* "We're really delighted that Nick has completed this immense race safely and in such a good position," said André Oszmann, Skandia's Group Marketing Director..
IN DETAIL :
Nick Moloney guided his Open 60 yacht SKANDIA into Boston today to finish fourth in class in the Transat race.
His solo voyage across the Atlantic from Plymouth, England, ended at 2213 GMT today (Sunday, 13 June); 13 days, 9 hours, 13 minutes and 9 seconds after crossing the Plymouth startline on May 31. SKANDIA'S average speed over the 2,800-mile course was 8.72 knots.
"It's tough race and a long way. Most of it felt uphill but right now, looking back, there aren't many moments I didn't enjoy. I've had some pretty amazing experiences out there," said Nick. "I came to terms with the fact that at the beginning that I wasn't as quick as the front-runners so I said to myself 'I have to get smart and sail better than everyone else'."
By not juggling too much information and focusing on a few "valuable and crucial sources", Nick was able to make some astute tactical decisions that pulled him back into contention from tenth place in the first week. "I've beaten a lot of other boats that are perhaps a lot quicker than me. I feel pretty happy with that," he said.
Any issues with boat speed at the beginning took a turn for the better on June 6. "One night I was doing 12 knots reaching in 18 knots of breeze. I was racking my brain, saying, 'what's going on?' possibly something was stuck on the rudder. Suddenly it let go and I started doing 18 knots. "I did feel the race started again from there," he continued "I started to reel boats in."
The low-point of the race was the severe cold of the second depression (low pressure system). "Sailing downwind was dodgy as we had just entered the Labrador Current and the water temperature dropped; the water was freezing cold and the ambient air temperature was bitterly cold. Luckily it didn't last long!"
Waking up from a nap and finding several tons of cold seawater sloshing around in the stern of SKANDIA was perhaps the most nerve racking moment. "The aft hatch had washed open, whilst I was below in the Nav seat resting with my ear plugs in. I couldn't belive what I was seeing, and worried that one of the cockpit drains had burst - but opening the aft emergency escape hatch vented much of the water, and after 1 1/2 hours of hand pumping all compartments were dry, I was very lucky not to loose my Fleet 77 high speed satellite telephone, and more importantly my autopilot system - the main control boxes for these are mounted in that compartment - it could have been race over."
The Transat also acted as part of Nick's learning process on fatigue and sleep deprivation. The 13 days of racing across the Atlantic is only one-seventh of the time he will spend alone in this November's Vendée Globe. "I maybe went further [into a state of fatigue and exhaustion] than I wanted to in this race and had a few stupid thoughts [one was that another solo sailor actually had a full crew with him] but I know my limits and how to recuperate," he said.
SKANDIA will now be sailed back to the Offshore Challenges' base in Cowes, England, where the shore team will make minor adjustments prior to the Vendée. "We feel we need some more lead in the keel [for righting moment and upwind power] but we going to keep focusing on reliability and sailing well. They'll be our trump cards in the Vendée.
SKANDIA crossed the line 20 hours after class winner ECOVER, skippered by friend Mike Golding. "He sailed a really nice race,' said Nick, congratulating the British yachtsman. "His position was under threat from Mike Sanderson [PINDAR] and Dominique Wavre [TEMENOS] but he pushed himself hard, made some good calls on the weather, took control, covered well, advanced and closed the deal. It showed he's a talented yachtsman as well as a hard-core tough solo sailor."
Echoing the thoughts of friends and family, André Oszmann, Skandia's group marketing director said," We're really delighted that Nick has completed this immense race safely and in such a good position, after his relatively slow start. Nick's competitive nature has shone through and he's laid down a strong marker for the Vendee.
June 13, 2004
Artforms June 13
Just before dawn, I squeaked past the western-most shoals of Sable Island and was relieved to have that particular obstacle behind me. I would never have dared sail so close if the night hadn't been crystal clear and the beam from the lighthouse perfectly visible. I did have one heart-stopping moment when I glanced out the back and saw that the light was suddenly bearing ninety degrees from where it had just been. After a few seconds, I realized I was looking at the tip of the crescent moon rising out of the sea glowing the exact same orange as the light from shore.
The beautiful reaching conditions I enjoyed all day yesterday have been replaced by a light and variable breeze as high pressure builds around me one last time between here and Boston. I've been busy since dawn making sail changes and keeping the keel, water ballast, and dagger board in nearly constant motion to balance the boat in the shifting breeze. I've snatched a few ten minute naps as I've been able, and once when I reached the point where I just couldn't keep my eyes open any longer. When this breeze stabilizes in a few hours, I should be able to catch up.
Of course, I'm finding it harder and harder to sleep the closer I get to Boston and although I now enjoy a comfortable lead coming into the finish, that lead was a mere three or four miles just a few days ago and in the sport of sailing, tables turn quickly. It's upwind from here to the finish, so no major tactical decisions, but it will be a rough ride across Massachusetts Bay in 25-30 knots of breeze and keeping the boat in one piece without slowing it down is likely to be my highest priority.
Podium for Sanderson
Mike Sanderson arrived in Boston onboard Pindar AlphaGraphics at 09:54 GMT today to secure third place in the Open 60 class of The Transat 2004 after a heroic race in which he proved he could compete alongside the world's leading solo sailors. Sanderson spent much of the 2,900 miles in a neck and neck battle for first place with British sailor Mike Golding until a broken daggerboard eventually ended his dreams of victory.
Sanderson, from New Zealand, completed the race in 12 days, 20 hours and 54 minutes - finishing just 5 hours 34 minutes behind Mike Golding on Ecover, and 2 hours 32 minutes behind Dominique Wavre on Temenos.
Sanderson, who was competing in his first ever solo race, lost both his starboard daggerboard and wind instruments on Friday 4th June - five days into the 13 day voyage. The daggerboard snapped when Sanderson and the Open 60 fleet sailed through 45 knot winds. The extreme conditions also resulted in two dis-mastings and one broken keel.
During the transatlantic crossing Sanderson had to cope with severe sleep deprivation, getting used to sailing without any fellow crew members and one epic eight hour stint on the helm when his auto-pilot temporarily failed. He also had to watch the top two podium places cruelly slip away from him in the closing stages of the race as his broken daggerboard began to affect Pindar AlphaGraphics' boat speed.
However, for Sanderson to finish in third place is a testament to his hard work and determination throughout the race. Sanderson, 33, has competed in three America's Cup campaigns, is a former winner of the Whitbread round-the-world race, and is also a world record holder courtesy of his role as racing skipper on Mari Cha IV, Robert Miller's 140-foot schooner. Now, following his admirable performance in The Transat, he has proved he can also compete on the world stage of solo racing.
Mike Sanderson said as he arrived on the dock '' I am really excited to have finally finished and arrived in Boston in one piece! The last few days have been tough for me as Ecover pulled away and I had to watch as Temenos sailed past. However I have really enjoyed this race and have learnt a huge amount. Before the race I said that finishing in the top five would have been a good result for me so I'm very pleased to have got on the podium. I am now looking forward to a good shower and some sleep - something I have not had a lot of over the last couple of weeks! It's good to be in Boston! ''
Andrew Pindar, Chairman of G.A. Pindar & Son, said: ''We are incredibly proud of Mike's achievements in this race. His determination to succeed and never say die attitude is evident for all to see in his outstanding result. He has worked very hard and has been a great ambassador for Pindar, AlphaGraphics, HSBC and all our supporting sponsors. It was an incredibly tough and competitive race, so to have achieved a podium place in this his first ever solo race is a truly fantastic achievement, and confirmed Mike's status as one of the world's leading sailors.''
June 12th Going Fast
Late this afternoon Kip Stone was “working on keeping the boat going fast” at 12-14 knots, in the lead and headed down the coast of Nova Scotia toward Sable Island on a starboard tack to Boston. At 1700 GMT he was 603 miles northeast of Boston—170 miles ahead of Okami, to his north, and 200 miles ahead of Wells Fargo, to his south and on the same latitude as Boston.
“I’m just trying to make sure I don’t break anything and can keep up this speed for awhile,” said Kip, who had been grabbing 10-15 minute snatches of sleep over the past 4-5 hours—less than ideal but the best he can do under the circumstances.
With a starry night followed by blue skies, Kip said he’d been fortunate to cross the Grand Banks in crystal-clear weather. According to meteorologist Fiona Campbell, those leaving the Grand Banks on a starboard tack will try to take advantage of the new NW winds to push their boats towards Boston. “They too face areas of light winds which if they pick their position correctly could mean the difference between gaining or losing many miles on their opponents.”
Top 3 Monohulls
IN BRIEF:
* TOP THREE OPEN 60S HOME AND DRY...SKANDIA (4TH) AND HELLOMOTO (5TH) EXPECTED TO ARRIVE IN BOSTON WITHIN 24 HOURS AS THEY NAVIGATE THE HAZARDS OF FISHING NETS AND LACK OF WIND...
* MIKE GOLDING, DOMINIQUE WAVRE AND MIKE SANDERSON ALL CELEBRATE BEST RESULTS OF THEIR SOLO CAREERS IN THE 12TH EDITION OF THE 2800 MILE SOLO TRANSAT...
* YVES PARLIER 60 MILES FROM BOSTON EXPECTED LATE TONIGHT TO COMPLETE THE ARRIVALS OF THE 60FT MULTIHULL CLASS...
* 50-FOOT CLASS FRONT-RUNNERS HAVE IMPRESSIVE LEADS...
* BERNARD STAMM LOCATES UPTURNED HULL OF CHEMINEES POULOULAT-ARMOR LUX AND THE HATHERLEIGH HAS VIRBAC ON TOW AND JEAN PIERRE DICK SAFE ON BOARD...
See the official Omega clock showing race time http://www.thetransat.com
IN DETAIL:
With only one 60ft multihull still racing (Yves Parleir's catamaran, Médiatis Region Aquitaine) and three Open 60s crossing the finish line earlier today within six hours of each other, there are now twenty skippers still competing in The Transat 2004 out of the 37 boats that left Plymouth (UK) on 31st May (six boats have been forced to abandon the race to date).
Ecover skipper, Mike Golding, crossed the finish line at 0418 GMT this morning to claim his first major solo offshore race win in his career. Golding completed the course in 12 days, 15 hours, 18 minutes and 8 seconds and took two days and 43 minutes off the transatlantic race record set in 1992 by Yves Parlier.
Swiss skipper, Dominique Wavre, on Temenos arrived 3 hours and 3 minutes after Golding, crossing the finish line at the entrance to Boston Harbour at 0722 GMT to finish in a time of 12 days, 18 hours, 22 minutes and 3 seconds. Kiwi skipper, Mike Sanderson, in his first debut solo transocean race on Pindar AlphaGraphics finished at 0954 GMT, 5 hours and 36 minutes after Ecover in a time of 12 days, 20 hours, 54 minutes and 33 seconds. Sanderson's battle for the lead was severely hampered after his starboard daggerboard 'shattered' in a 45 knot storm last Monday night (7.6.04) and although he managed to hold Temenos at bay, Wavre crept into second place on Friday night (11.6.04).
Meanwhile, in the IMOCA 60ft monohull class still racing, two separate battles are underway as the boats approach Boston. In fourth and fifth place, Skandia (Nick Moloney) and Hellomoto (Conrad Humphreys) are just over 100 miles apart after thirteen days racing. Both skippers have had an exhausting couple of days and Moloney - now 50 miles east of Cape Cod - has spent a restless night dodging dense fields of fishing pots and nets. This morning the tired, thirty-six year old skipper described how radar reflectors attached to many of the fishing traps gave such a strong, compact signal that he feared Skandia was heading straight into a fishing fleet. Asked if he was concerned about holding fourth, Moloney responded: "I've got Cape Cod in front of me. Once I get there, there are no real passing lanes and the options diminish for the guys behind me."
Behind Moloney, Conrad Humphreys (Hellomoto) reported sailing in 9 knots of NNW breeze this morning is impatiently waiting for some more breeze to arrive, as are the two French skippers - Marc Thiercelin (Pro-Form) and Herve Laurent (UUDS) - fanned-out around 40 miles astern of Humphreys. Thiercelin and Laurent have continued to trade sixth and seventh place over the past few days, with barely more than a handful of miles separating the pair, although Thiercelin now holds the advantage with an 24 mile lead.
The leaders of both 50ft classes have developed impressive leads over their opponents. Leading multihull skipper, Eric Bruneel, has taken Trilogic far to the south of Boston, but with 218 miles to the finish he is maintaining a 227 mile distance over second place Great American II (Rich Wilson). Heading the 50ft monohull class, Kip Stone on Artforms passed just to the north of Sable Islands this morning with a 239 mile lead over Jacques Bouchacourt (Okami) in the north and is now 208 miles ahead of Joe Harris and Wells Fargo-American Pioneer in second place to the south.
There are still five boats in the shallow, ancient Grand Banks fishing area - Mike Birch is no longer racing and now heads westwards towards Quebec on trimaran, Nootka, without autopilots, forced to handsteer for extended periods through the banks, and - just to his north - Jacques Bouchacourt is bringing 50ft monohull, Okami, southwest from the tip of Newfoundland's Burin Peninsula. Earlier today, ninth and tenth placed Open 60 monohulls, Austria One (Norbert Sedlacek) and Atlantica-Charentes Maritimes (Karen Leibovici) left the banks in their wakes, but Anne Liardet is still struggling across the shallow, submarine plateau with a broken boom on Quiksilver Edition with Etienne Hochedé on 50ft multihull, PIR2, just to her south. Meanwhile, fourth placed 50ft monohull, Branec III, and Roger Langevin are in Flemish Pass between the Grand Banks and Flemish Cap.
Yesterday, Rich Wilson on 50ft trimaran, Great American II, expressed relief at leaving the Grand Banks, describing the area as "...a tough, nasty, ruthless place, not fit for humans..." It is, though, unavoidable and the boats in this region will continue to experience thick fog and damp, cold conditions produced by the combined effects of icy waters in the southerly flowing Labrador Current and the warmer air and water of the northerly Gulf Stream as they meet at the Grand Banks.
Good news for Swiss skipper Bernard Stamm this morning, when at approximately 09:00 GMT, Stamm and the crew of salvage tug, Alex Gordon, located the upturned hull of Open 60, Cheminees Poujoulat-Armor Lux. The team will now attempt to cut away the mast before righting the boat and towing her to St John's, Newfoundland. Plans are being made to ship the boat to France on a cargo vessel.
At 10:45 GMT this morning, The Hatherleigh spotted Jean-Pierre Dick and his dismasted Open 60, Virbac. Two of Virbac's shore crew were transferred by RIB to the yacht and Dick is now onboard the converted trawler. Dick is reported to be in very good physical shape considering what the skipper has endured since his dismasting nearly 10 days ago (Thursday 4.6.04) and is enjoying the hospitality of The Hatherleigh! The trawler commenced towing at 14:00 GMT and is making 8 knots.
A Grim Weekend
June 13, 2004
Wells Fargo - American Pioneer update
Latest Position - 42 17.4N 55 55.8W
Distance to Finish – 668 nautical miles
Average speed – 7.64
24 hour run – 158.31 nautical miles
Still no wind
It’s been a grim weekend for Joe aboard Wells Fargo – American Pioneer as he sails slowly toward Boston. In the grips a large area of high pressure, the ocean is glassy calm and the boat is sailing slowly. “it’s not much fun out here,” Joe said in a satellite phone call. “This boat goes great when there is some wind but without even the slightest breeze it’s not easy. I am constantly on deck trimming sails and looking for even the smallest puff, but they are few and far between.” To add insult to an already tough situation, his arch rival Kip Stone has been enjoying a fun weekend sailing along the coast of Newfoundland at a good clip and has opened up an almost unassailable lead. At the last poll Stone aboard Artforms was 232 miles ahead of Joe on Wells Fargo – American Pioneer.
The weather maps that Joe receives on board come in the form of a “grib” file. It’s essentially a data file that can be emailed. Joe then uses his terrific Raymarine software to translate the grib into a weather forecast that displays the weather as a series of vectors. It’s clever software and an efficient way of delivering the forecast, but weather is weather. No matter how good the equipment and how well intended the forecast, sometimes the wind gods do not cooperate and the band of northerlies that Joe spotted to the south on Friday did not materialize and the rest, as they say, is history.
“I think the next few days are going to be better than the last couple of days,” Joe said. “We have a little wind and it looks like it’s going to pick up, but unfortunately from the wrong direction. If we get south-westerlies I will have to sail hard on the wind all the way to Boston pushing my ETA back to around late Thursday. On the other hand if the wind is more south I should be able to sail toward Boston at good speed in which case I might be in early Thursday. We will just have to wait and see what the new week brings.”
--- Brian Hancock
On the Road to the VG
As we enter day 13 of The Transat, I’m sat in the ‘sun porch’ of HELLOMOTO counting down the last 50 miles to Boston and our arrival. This race has been on my “to do list” for nearly 15 years since I first saw the departure of the 1988 Carlsberg (sponsored) single-handed transat. Every four years since that year I have dreamt of taking part in the one championship event that starts from my home city of Plymouth.
I have always been driven by milestones, goals and key objectives. This race is a vital milestone in the next stage which is taking on arguably sailing’s toughest and purest sporting event - the Vendee Globe. It is the race that has spawned all of our sailing heroes, it is the longest endurance event of its kind, non-stop single-handed around the world.
My objective for the Transat was to complete my first solo race in the IMOCA Open 60 class as my qualifier for the Vendée Globe. Overall, I was less concerned about the final result and owing to the caliber of the fleet competitors, I set out for a top ten finish overall.
Q&A with Conrad...
Q: Has the race met your expectations?
I have always felt that this Transat would be my biggest sailing test to date. In this regard, this race was not as tough as I had expected. As my first Open 60 race, the quality of the fleet and tactics was exceptionally high as is the professionalism of the skippers.
Q: Tell us the defining moments and why?
Waking up on start day for the first time without any nerves, butterflies and being able to enjoy a full breakfast. This was and is exceptionally unusual for me, I normally sleep little the night before a major race and feel nervous pre-start. The reason for not being nervous was down to the team’s preparation of the yacht, logistics, communications etc. We were ready and that made we feel so at ease.
Spending many hours alongside Skandia and Pro-Form in the early stages of the race and not being off the pace. My concerns were that we have no time to enhance HELLOMOTO’s performance pre Transat and therefore we may have been left behind for pace. This increased my confidence in the early stages of the race and allowed me to sustain momentum.
An amazing feeling of “complete well-being” half way through the race - difficult to describe, but I would say that I was managing my routine (sleep, eating, tactics, repairs etc) far better than I expected. Always an unknown until you have sailed a lot of miles single-handed, but half-way across I felt very alert, fresh and well in control.
Q: Were there any surprises on the water?
No nasty ones. I suffered twice from severe sleep deprivation late on in the race after breaking my routine and spending many hours on deck alongside Skandia. The scariest moment of the race was going “off watch” just after putting up the code 5 headsail and falling into a deep sleep and not realizing until the yacht was massively overpowered and in danger of dismasting.
Q: What do you put your result down to?
Having the right team of people who have a huge amount of experience in this class and take real ownership for their roles and responsibilities. This has allowed me to be focused on the sailing.
Setting an achievable and realistic goal and sticking to the game plan in the early stages of the race.
Having the energy from achieving both the previous statements to increase the tempo and pressure at important moments in the race.
Hello Boston!
ConradSkipper, HELLOMOTO Open 60
Moloney Ghosts
IN BRIEF:
* Nick Moloney looks set to steal fourth place in The Transat race later today (13th June). SKANDIA had 117.4 miles to sail at 1100GMT today.
* His progress to the finish has been thwarted by light winds. "Skandia is sailing pretty slow right now. We're not surrounded by any breeze at all".
* Briton Mike Golding on ECOVER won the IMOCA Open 60 Monohull contest in a new record time of 12 days, 15 hours, 18 minutes and eight seconds at an average speed of 9.23 knots. TEMENOS takes 2nd and PINDAR ALPHAGRAPHICS takes 3rd
IN DETAIL :
Nick Moloney is set to be the fourth monohull skipper to finish the Transat race later today. At 1100GMT, his Open 60 SKANDIA had 117.4 miles to go with a 83 mile buffer on fifth-placed Conrad Humphreys, skipper of the British
yacht HELLOMOTO.
"I've got Cape Cod in front of me. Once I get there, there are no real passing lines and the options diminish for the guys behind me," said Nick this morning. After nearly 13 days at sea, through storms and calms, jumping from tenth to fourth, the end of The Transat race is now hours away.
Progress to the finish line has been thwarted by light winds. "Skandia is sailing pretty slow right now. We're not surrounded by any breeze at all," he continued. "The sea is like a lake; the sun is coming up and there is a
clear blue sky."
Nick's last night at sea proved hectic as SKANDIA got caught-up in fishing gear. "It's a real drama, there are fishing pots everywhere," he explained. Some have radar reflectors and I couldn't for the life of me imagine there could be that many nets all together and bam, bam, bam, they were all around me."
"It's quite stressful in terms of trying to get sleep. Sometimes we just have to shut down and sleep and in some ways it is quite inevitable that one day you will be caught in these things. I'm really tired and it's going to take its toll. I will be happier when the breeze fills in then I will shut my eyes and get enough rest so I can navigate okay right to the finish."
Three Open 60s completed the 2,800 mile race today. Briton Mike Golding on ECOVER won the IMOCA monohull contest in a new record time of 12 days, 15 hours, 18 minutes and eight seconds at an average speed of 9.23 knots. That shaves two days and 43 minutes off the existing 1992 record set by Yves Parlier.
Dominique Wavre on TEMENOS sailed the race of his career to finish second while New Zealander Mike Sanderson, racing PINDAR completed the podium early this morning to take 3rd.
Humphreys Day 13
In the early hours of this morning, Ecover (Golding), Temenos (Wavre) and Pindar Alphagraphics (Sanderson) glided across the finish line in Boston Harbor one by one to take the podium spots in The Transat Open 60 monohull fleet race. Records have tumbled as victor Mike Golding, the only other competing British skipper apart from Conrad, knocked over 2 days off the current race record of 14 days and 16 hours by covering the 2,800m course in 12 days & 15 hours. Out on the water, HELLOMOTO has gained precious miles on 4th placed Skandia overnight to come back to 83m behind as they fight the high pressure ridge on the approach to Cape Cod and navigate coastal waters rich with wildlife but also full of shipping. Moloney on Skandia reported to have caught a fishing net around the keel and is now becalmed, hoping to protect his lead on HELLOMOTO with 100 miles to go.
Conrad himself sounded very content on the satellite call-in to his shore team waiting for him in Boston and if anything is relishing every moment of his last 24hrs and 200 miles of racing on board HELLOMOTO in The Transat: “It’s been a very busy night watching out for shipping and whales, but also very relaxed, we’re moving along at about 7 knots with full main and either Code 0 or genoa up in 9 knots of breeze from the NNW. It’s just so beautiful out here, and I spent a lot of yesterday sitting in my front porch (ed: the cuddy!) gathering my thoughts on the race and writing down what needs to be done with the boat for the Vendée Globe. Clearly, work needs to be done on the sails and sheeting configuration, but she’s not that much off the pace. Also I know I can make improvements on my tactical and weather skills and turn this into an advantage for the Vendée – I’ve learnt this lesson the hard way by making the wrong call which lost me my 4th place to Skandia! The match-racing scenario with Nick, though, helped me to confirm that in terms of the boat we are going in the right direction with the set up, keeping things simple. She’s really just a pussycat right now and has so much more potential we can unleash. I’ve certainly got a lot more confidence in myself and in the boat for the Vendée now than I ever did at the start of The Transat.”
Overnight, Pro-Form overtook UUDS to be lurking 50 miles behind HELLOMOTO and matching her pace, but as long as Conrad keeps between skipper Marc Thiercelin and the finish line, there should be no dramas: “Crossing this ridge will mean that the guys behind will get closer as we slow up a bit, but we’re also going to come out the other side first and increase the gap again, after Cape Cod we’ll tack onto port and it should be a pretty straight road to the finish line.”
Conrad may have caught up on sleep, and is eating properly (“thanks to my clever wife who knows exactly what I need to eat!”), but is still feeling the effects from long term sleep deprivation after 13 days non-stop solo racing: “I had another funny dream last night which involved me talking to someone in my sleep. Suddenly the rigging had, I imagined, become entangled with a fishing trawler’s, and the mast was being pulled over to one side. In fact the Code 0 was on the limit and the boat was on her ear. The funny thing was that in my sleep I said to whoever it was mid-conversation “Excuse me just a minute, I have to go outside, I’ll be back soon!” and then woke up, jumped out on deck and spent the first few seconds telling myself that I had to cut the rig loose!”
Golding Takes 60' Monohulls
IN BRIEF:
* BRITAIN'S MIKE GOLDING ON ECOVER CROSSED THE FINISH LINE OF THE 2800 MILE SOLO TRANSATLANTIC RACE IN BOSTON AT 04:18:08 GMT TODAY (SUNDAY 13.6.04) TO CLAIM VICTORY IN THE OPEN 60 MONOHULL CLASS...
* MIKE GOLDING COMPLETED THE 2800 MILE COURSE FROM PLYMOUTH (UK) TO BOSTON (US) IN 12 DAYS 15 HOURS 18 MINUTES 8 SECONDS, AT AN AVERAGE SPEED OF 9.23 KNOTS...
* GOLDING SETS NEW TRANSATLANTIC RACE RECORD FOR THE 60FT MONOHULL CLASS TAKING 2 DAYS AND 43 MINUTES OFF THE EXISTING 1992 RECORD SET BY YVES PARLIER...
* THE NEXT OPEN 60, TEMENOS SKIPPERED BY SWISS SKIPPER, IS DUE TO FINISH AT APPROX 0730 GMT TODAY...
As winner of the Open 60 monohull division, Mike Golding will be awarded a special edition Omega Seamaster Transat watch. See the official Omega clock showing race time http://www.thetransat.com
IN DETAIL:
At 04:18:08 GMT today (Sunday, 13.6.04) British skipper Mike Golding, on the Open 60 Ecover, crossed the finish line of The Transat at the entrance to Boston Harbour to claim victory in the Open 60 monohull class.
Golding raced the 2800 mile course in 12 days, 15 hours, 18 minutes and 8 seconds at an average speed of 9.23 knots. In doing so, Golding has set a new solo transatlantic race record taking 2 days and 43 minutes off the existing record set by Frenchman Yves Parlier in the 1992 race on board Cacolac D'Aquitaine of 14 days, 16 hours and 1 minute.
In winning this historic solo Atlantic race, Golding has notched up the first major solo offshore race victory of his career. He managed to protect his narrow lead of 21 miles ahead of Swiss skipper Dominique Wavre (Temenos) right to the finish line set between Deer Island Light and Long Island Head Light at the entrance to Boston Harbour. It was a tense fight all the way to the line as Golding raced his way under darkness to the finish in a 10-12 knot SW breeze tacking all the way up the channel. It was the end of a tough and dogged performance from one of Britain's best solo sailors. From the first day of racing, Golding lost the ability to manoeuvre his canting keel using the hydraulics on board and had to manually cant the keel. In the storm-force conditions of the North Atlantic this involved laying the 60ft boat flat on its side and letting gravity swing the keel before securing it into position.
Since setting a solo, non-stop round the world record from east to west in 1994 of 125 days, Golding has been a major player on the solo scene but the number one slot of the big events has always escaped him. In the 2002 solo Route du Rhum he finished a close second to Ellen MacArthur and in the 2000/2001 Vendée Globe, although a hot favourite before the start, a dismasting on the very first night dashed Golding's hopes of victory. Today all that has changed - Mike Golding, on board Ecover, has convincingly won the toughest solo Atlantic race in the world.
A total of 37 boats, included 15 IMOCA monohulls, started the race at 1300 GMT on 31st May and to date six boats have abandoned the race. The remainder of the IMOCA fleet will finish in Boston over the next few days whilst the first 50ft multihull is expected to arrive from tomorrow onwards and the 50ft monohulls in three days time (16.6.04).
RACE SUMMARY:
The 2800 mile single-handed transatlantic race from Plymouth to Boston started at 1300GMT on 31st May. Weather conditions experienced by the leaders in the Open 60 monohull class sent them further north than in previous races and the fifth night of the race saw them tackling a giant North Atlantic depression bringing with it consistent 50 knot head winds and ferocious seas. These conditions took their toll that began with the 360 degree 'roll' and dismasting of the Open 60 leader Jean Pierre Dick on Virbac. A couple of days later in another big low, Vincent Riou on PRB dismasts and Swiss skipper Bernard Stamm on Cheminees Poujoulat-Armor Lux loses her keel - Stamm had to be rescued from his upturned hull. In total the monohulls had to tackle four low pressure systems - not exceptional conditions for this time of year. Unlike the ORMA 60s the Open 60 skippers opted not to enforce an ice exclusion zone but the majority of the skippers stayed on the cautious side not going above 47 degrees N - although some skippers identified icebergs on their radar systems at night. From Newfoundland, the weather gave some respite as it stabilised into a 10-15 knot N-NW breeze bringing flat seas and sunshine in the final approach to Boston.
ECOVER'S RACE:
31.5.04: First IMOCA boat to reach Eddystone Lighthouse - wins Omega Seamaster watch. Discovers that the motor powering the canting keel has serious problems and has to cant the keel manually.
1.6.04: In the lead by 3 miles ahead of Virbac at first poll of morning although Virbac gets ahead by 1700 GMT poll by 1 mile as the fleet head out into the Atlantic as severe weather is forecasted.
2.6.04: Golding confirms that his keel motor has 'fried' there is no hope of repair. Ecover falls behind Virbac by 30 miles at end of day as fleet experience light conditions in a ridge of high pressure before next low hits fleet.
3.6.04: Approx 500 miles west of the Irish coast, Ecover still in the chase 15 miles off Virbac's lead and 55 miles ahead of Hellomoto. Expectation of gale-force headwinds as Golding sees this as "an opportunity to settle down and race the boat."
4.6.04: Ecover takes the lead 4 miles ahead of Virbac at 1700 GMT positions. At 1830 GMT Virbac is rolled 360 degrees and dismasts in 50 knot winds and 6-8m seas.
5.6.04: As Open 60s go into 'protection mode' against the huge low pressure system, Ecover loses lead to Pindar AlphaGraphics at 1100 GMT poll - Mike Sanderson takes the lead by 2 miles.
6.6.04: Halfway stage of the race, Ecover retakes lead by 0600 GMT poll 3.4 miles ahead of Pindar AlphaGraphics with Cheminees Poujoulat-Armor Lux (Bernard Stamm) on the chase further to the north. Golding describes past 24 hours as: "The hardest day ever." At 0900 GMT poll the boats in the north Cheminess Poujoulat-Armor Lux and PRB (Vincent Riou) move into 1st and 2nd, Ecover drops to 4th 28.8 miles behind Stamm.
7.6.04: Drama as first PRB dismasts then Stamm loses keel - Ecover is leading by 5.2 miles over Pindar AlphaGraphics by end of play as front runners head into iceberg territory.
8.6.04: Newfoundland Grand Banks notorious for fishing boats and dense fog, Golding reports possible iceberg sitings on radar "I had three contacts on the radar - they were all around us". Ecover has just a 0.5 mile lead over Pindar AlphaGraphics at 1700 GMT positions.
9.6.04: Golding makes an instinctive tack to the south on a windshift during the positions blackout...by morning he is 23 miles ahead.
10.6.04: Ecover lead extends to 40 miles, Mike Sanderson tells Golding live on Transat Radio that he has a broken daggerboard. Never complacent, Golding says: "Everyone is a threat until I'm tied up on the dock in Boston."
11.6.04: Entering area of lighter winds and conditions improve on board - first chance to dry out gear and boat. Dominque Wavre (Temenos) moves into second place.
12.6.04: Sailing the final stretch in N-NW lighter headwinds, Ecover keeps ahead of Temenos by 30+ miles throughout the day. Many fishing boats, shallow waters and keeping ahead of Temenos - Golding predicts "the final 200 miles are likely to be very long".
13.6.04: Finishes race under a night sky in flat seas tacking all the way up the channel in a 10-12 knot south-west wind to the entrance of Boston Harbour and the finish line. Crosses finish line at 04:18:08 GMT.
MIKE GOLDING PROFILE:
Date of birth: 27/08/1960
Nationality: British
Place of birth: Norfolk
Current residence: Warsash (Southampton)
Personal status: married, 1 child
Previous participation in The Transat: 2000 / 3rd Class 1 Monohull
1988 / 3rd Class 6 Multihull
Career highlights:
2003 1st Defi Atlantique
3rd Transat Jacques Vabre with Brian Thomson
2002 2nd Route du Rhum
2001 2nd Transat Jacques Vabre with Marcus Hutchinson
3rd EDS Atlantic Challenge
2000 7th Vendée Globe / Team Group 4
3rd Europe 1 New Man STAR / Team Group 4
1999 3rd Transat Jacques Vabre / Team Group 4 wih Ed Danby
1998 2nd Atlantic Alone / Team Group 4
1997 1st BT Global Challenge / Group 4
1994 Record non-stop, solo round-the-world from east to west 125 days/Group 4
1992 2nd British Steel Challenge / Group 4
Mini profile:
The UK's most capped single-handed offshore racer has but one ambition at the moment - to win the Vendée Globe, after being so cruelly dismasted during the first 24 hours of the 2000 race, it is a testament to Golding's tenacity that he rerigged the boat and set off again, ultimately finishing seventh.
A former fireman, Golding has been racing short-handed since the 1980s, he raced in the 1992/1993 British Steel Challenge and then retraced his steps, this time solo and non-stop aboard his 67ft Challenge yacht, setting a new record time. He then decisively won the 1997 BT Global Challenge.
Since then Golding has concentrated on his Open 60 campaign. Golding convincingly won the first leg of the Around Alone and was leading the second until a grounding off the north of New Zealand put him out of the race. He followed this up with third places in the 1999 Transat Jacques Vabre and the 2000 Europe 1 New Man STAR.
For this year's Vendée Globe Golding has had a new boat built. The new Ecover was designed by Owen-Clarke and has a unique rotating mast that avoids the use of deck spreaders. So far the new Ecover has been performing up to expectation, coming third in last year's Transat Jacques Vabre, followed by a win in the single-handed Defi Atlantique. During the former race she showed exceptional ability upwind and this bodes well for The Transat.
June 12, 2004
Ecover ETA Comes and Goes
IN BRIEF:
* MIKE GOLDING HAS 110 MILES TO GO AT 1600 GMT AVERAGING 13 KNOTS...
* LATEST ETA IS MIDNIGHT (GMT) BUT LIGHT AIRS SITTING ACROSS COURSE LOOK SURE TO SLOW DOWN IMOCA FRONT RUNNERS...
* DISMASTED OPEN 60 PRB IS NOW UNDER TOW AND HEADING BACK TO FRANCE...
* THE HATHERLEIGH HOPES TO RENDEZVOUS WITH JEAN-PIERRE DICK'S OPEN 60 VIRBAC TOMORROW...
* BERNARD STAMM ON BOARD AN ICE-BREAKING TUG HOPES TO LOCATE HIS UPTURNED OPEN 60 HULL...
See the official Omega clock showing race time http://www.thetransat.com
IN DETAIL:
At 1500 GMT this afternoon, leading IMOCA Ecover skippered by Mike Golding had 110 miles to go to the finish in Boston. Golding was averaging 13 knots in a brisk north-east breeze and his ETA was for 23:24:00 GMT tonight (12.6.04). However, this interpolation does not take into account the weather down the track where there is a barrier of light airs right across the race course that will effectively slow down the front runners - his team predict a more realistic ETA for Ecover as 0800 GMT. If Mike Golding takes victory in the Open 60 monohull class, it will be his first major solo race win of his career and at the moment, Ecover's ETA would take a considerable amount off the existing 60ft monohull record of 14 days, 16 hours and 1 minute set in 1992 by Yves Parlier.
Thirty-one miles behind Golding is Swiss skipper, Dominique Wavre (Temenos), who also looks set to achieve one of personal bests in solo sailing. Wavre has reported that one of his mainsail track batten cars broke during the night but this does not seem to have affected his on-water performance as he holds his position against third-placed Mike Sanderson. Kiwi skipper, Sanderson (Pindar AlphaGraphics), got within 4 miles of Wavre this morning but since then Wavre has managed to widen the gap to 10 miles.
Yet there are many obstacles that still face the front runners in this fleet as they close on Boston - fishing boats, pleasure craft, shallow waters and fickle winds - the race is not over yet...
Steve Ravussin on ORMA 60 Banque Covefi is expected imminently and will be the last but one of the ORMA fleet to arrive in Boston. Yves Parlier on his new catamaran still has 243 miles to go.
In the 50-footer class, Eric Bruneel on 50ft multi Trilogic is the furthest boat south at 40 degrees north and maintains his 200+ mile lead over this class. The battle for second is still an open contest, although Rich Wilson on Great American II holds the advantage by 38 miles of Dominique Demachy on GiFi. Demachy, however, can stop looking over his shoulder for Canadian Mike Birch on Nootka, who this morning informed the Race Organisation of his retirement due to autopilot failure. Birch is now heading for Nova Scotia.
Fifty-foot monohull skipper, American Joe Harris, has suffered in his southerly position allow Jacques Bouchacourt on Okami to take second place by 24 miles. It would seem there is little to stop Kip Stone on Artforms reaching Boston first, as he has built up a lead of 168 miles.
Rescue operations for the disabled Open 60s still on the North Atlantic are well underway. The Hatherleigh is currently steaming NW into the Atlantic and will rendezvous with Virbac (Jean-Pierre Dick) tomorrow (Sunday) morning to take the boat in tow and the high-speed, motorised trimaran, Ocean Alchimiste, is making 17 knots towards PRB (Vincent Riou).
Swiss skipper, Bernard Stamm, is now onboard the 62 metre long, 1190 tonne ice breaking tug, Alex Gordon, and the salvage team are currently conducting a grid-pattern search in the area of Cheminee Poujoulat-Armor Lux's last recorded position with calculations for a 0.5 knot current taken into account. Stamm has already said that he should be the man to dive under the yacht to cut away the mast, rigging and sails.
Moloney Aims for 4th
IN BRIEF:
* SKANDIA has over 100 miles to make-up on third placed PINDAR but nearly a 100 mile buffer on fifth-placed HELLOMOTO
* Yesterday's stress of light winds leads Nick to oversleep today, a full 75 minutes uninterrupted sleep. "I just had the longest sleep of the journey and went off course!" he said.
*Mike Golding on ECOVER leads, 162 miles from the finish at 1100 GMT.
IN DETAIL :
Nick Moloney is hopeful of retaining fourth place in The Transat solo race that finishes in Boston this weekend.
His Open 60 SKANDIA was 99 miles behind third-placed PINDAR ALPHAGRAPHICS, sailed by Kiwi Mike Sanderson, on Saturday morning. More importantly, Nick's position doesn't look threatened by British yacht HELLOMOTO, over 87 miles astern, although he isn't taking anything for granted.
"It looks pretty light for the finish right now," he said. "I have a 100-mile buffer [at 0500 GMT] on Condrad [Humphreys HELLOMOTO] and I hope I can maintain that. I would like to finish with the minimum amount of
stress."
When asked about his chances of overhauling Sanderson and making the podium, Nick replied: "I can‚t really see that happening with the forecast we have. I am not expecting to see a big bunching up at the front - I just hope the
guys behind me don't compress on me. I don't think we will see it with the forecast showing reasonable winds."
The light winds yesterday left little time for rest and this morning he overslept, getting in a full 75 minutes shut-eye. "I just had the longest sleep of the journey and went off course!" he said."I slept for about one and a quarter hours so it is shocking when you wake up! I just ran on deck checking everything and then realised we had gone off course a bit but nothing too drastic.
"The radar is showing more traffic so it is busy and not much time to rest. It's good I've rested now," he added, continuing: "I'm enjoying the conditions; flat water and sunshine. After the last few days, this is great."
Mike Golding continues to lead. His yacht ECOVER had 167 miles to sail this morning. Dominique Wavre on TEMENOS still has work to do to cement second place. The Swiss yachtsman was only ten miles ahead of Mike
Sanderson.
Birch Retires
IN BRIEF:
* FRED LE PEUTREC, SKIPPER OF GITANA XI, FINISHES TRANSAT IN 11D, 9H, 20M, 54S
* CANADIAN SKIPPER MIKE BIRCH OFFICIALLY RETIRES FROM RACE AFTER AUTOPILOT FAILURE...
* MIKE GOLDING COVERING HIS POSITION IN FINAL APPROACH TO BOSTON "MY FOOT IS NOT OFF THE PEDAL"...ETA TOMORROW (13.6.04) AT O600 GMT...
* 'GRAND BANKS FLEET' TURN SOUTH...
Current holder of the Omega 24hr record Michel Desjoyeaux/Geant 440 miles
See the official Omega clock showing race time http://www.thetransat.com
IN DETAIL:
Yesterday's early evening (USA) finish of Fred le Peutrec and 60ft trimaran Gitana XI, leaves just two ORMA multihulls still racing - Banque Covefi (Steve Ravussin) and Médiatis Region Aquitaine (Yves Parlier). Ravussin is 108 miles from Boston, slightly north of the finish line on the same latitude as Cape Ann, while Parlier is further south - 300 miles from the finish - 400 miles due east of New York and has yet to cross onto the American continental shelf.
This morning, 72-year-old Canadian skipper, Mike Birch who was competed in his sixth Transat race, officially retired from race after completing nearly 2000 miles of the course. Both his autopilots on board his 50ft multihull Nootka have failed and Birch has been unable to repair the pilots forcing his retirement. "The two pilots were both pretty old and I had trouble at the start. It appears the clutch has gone on both of them as they both have the same symptoms. That's the situation but not a happy one," said Birch this morning. "As for the race, it is not such a great thing - I made a big effort to do this race so it is disappointing for me and everyone else that helped me. I am trying to get to Nova Scotia steering by hand to meet up with my crew who will race on the Quebec-St Malo. I am much closer to St John but I want to try and get the boat closer to Quebec," concluded Birch.
Overnight, positions and distances between the three leading 60ft monohulls have remained stable. Mike Golding (Ecover) is leading over Dominic Wavre (Temenos) and Mike Sanderson (Pindar AlphaGraphics) as the trio raced SW along the brink of the continental shelf during the night. Golding tacked NW to climb back up to the finish line and to cover Wavre and Sanderson: "I shuffled myself back between Temenos and Pindar AlphaGraphics but happy with where I am now," said Golding this morning. "With 200 miles to go it is not an impossible task for Temenos to get back in and it's easy approaching land to roll into a flat calm area and they can catch up and the race re-starts. I've seen it many times before and I've seen it from many variations...from behind or leading. My foot is not off the pedal..." concluded Golding.
Asked about the final approach to Boston, Golding responded: "The weather doesn't look too bad - we might have to beat up one of the channels and with my keel problems that could be interesting! I might reduce sail area to make that easier for me and the boat. The route into Boston is a little tortuous with one part beating so there will be some sail plan changes. Also, there is loads of shallow water so cutting corners with a 4.5m draught under you is not a good idea. Right now, it is steady going, nice flat water surrounded by fishing boats - it's very busy out here. The last 200 miles are likely to be a long one."
As Temenos and Pindar AlphaGraphics continue SW towards the deeper water of the offshore Fundian Channel, due east of Boston, Kiwi skipper, Mike Sanderson, was still sounding upbeat about his chances: "I managed to close to within 4-5 miles of Dominique and we still have 200 miles to go. I am on starboard tack at the moment doing about 10.5 just a little off the wind. It's a beautiful morning, just fantastic. Flat water, the sun is coming up and if you're not enjoying this, then you're in the wrong sport."
Most of 'The Grand Banks Fleet' are now, finally, heading south although leading 50ft monohull Artforms (Kip Stone) has chosen to keep investing in the north following a brief tack south-west. Second place Open 50 monohull, Okami (Jacques Bouchacourt) trails Artforms by 135 miles as he short tacks south along the eastern coast of Newfoundland and Sebastien Josse on eighth place 60ft monohull, VMI, eventually turned south after a very close inspection of the beaches, wildlife and residents on the island's barren Burin Peninsula.
Behind the front pack of 60ft monohulls, Nick Moloney (Skandia) has kept pace with the front-runners during last night's position poll blackout and is currently 90 miles behind third placed IMOCA, Pindar AlphaGraphics, keeping 111 miles ahead of Conrad Humphreys (Hellomoto) with a small, overnight gain on the British skipper. Moloney reported this morning: "It looks pretty light for the finish, right now. I have a 100 mile buffer on Conrad and just hope I can maintain that - I would like to finish with the minimum amount of stress. The chance of a podium place? I can't really see that happening with the forecast we have. I am not expecting to see a big bunching up at the front - I'm just hoping the guys behind me don't compress on me. I don't think we will see it with the forecast showing reasonable winds."
But with tricky, 10-15 knot N-NW winds forecast near the coast and the added complications of inshore sea breezes, the 60ft monohull class face an intricate and highly tactical finish.
June 11, 2004
50's Split
Yesterday morning, Joe and I came to a fork in the road and we've both chosen different routes to Boston. I've opted to head north for Newfoundland and am sailing hard on the wind on port tack making slow but steady progress towards the westerly breeze that will take me down the Nova Scotia coast. The peril I'm facing is the southwesterly breeze (headwinds) that will greet me as I cross into the Gulf of Maine and the chance that the pounding I'm taking now in the short, steep, chop may cause some gear failure.
Joe split away from me on starboard tack headed south for favorable winds and fast reaching conditions on the other side of the windless hole he first needs to negotiate. There's one more light patch he'll face a few hundred miles from Boston, but once he's past that, the southwesterly breeze slowing my way will have him screaming to the finish.
Splitting with Joe was a very tough choice, but I think this is a case where there really are two correct solutions and the different sailing styles of the two skippers and the different characteristics of their two boats makes each route a potential winner. I looked long and hard at covering Joe along his route and came to the decision that I didn't think I could beat him. If he'd followed me across the Grand Banks, I can tell you he'd have a very hard time keeping up in these conditions. In the end, I'm certain there will be two very tired and happy skippers showing up in Boston in a few days and I predict that one of us will arrive just a few hours ahead of the other. Stay tuned and wish me luck!
The Transat: No Hot Food for Parlier
IN BRIEF:
* VETERAN TRANSOCEAN RACER, MIKE BIRCH, REPORTS BROKEN AUTO PILOT...
* ANNE LIARDET ON OPEN 60 QUICKSILVER EDITION BREAKS BOOM BUT IS CONTINUING WITH RACE...
* MIKE GOLDING 334 MILES TO FINISH IN BOSTON AS AIRS GO LIGHT...ETA SLIPS TO SUNDAY EVENING (13.6.04)
* CROSSING RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE SPLITS SOME OF THE FLEET AND LOOKS SET TO FAVOUR THOSE IN THE NORTH...
* YVES PARLIER HAS NOT COOKED ONE MEAL SINCE THE START OF THE RACE...
See the official Omega clock showing race time http://www.thetransat.com
IN DETAIL:
News came in this afternoon that 72-year-old Canadian skipper, Mike Birch, had lost his autopilot system completely onboard his 50ft multihull Nootka. He started The Transat with only one autopilot working and his hopes that it would last the duration of the 2800 mile course, have just been dashed. Birch, who is competing in The Transat for the sixth time, will speak with his engineer tonight to see if it is possible to find a solution to the problem which he thinks is mechanical and not electrical.
Anne Liardet, only one of two women competing in the Open 60 class, on Quicksilver Edition has a broken boom but has decided to continue with the race. The breakage occured on Tuesday morning but Liardet is determined to finish to complete her race qualification for the Vendée Globe.
At the front of the Open 60 monohull fleet, Mike Golding (Ecover) still holds a 35+ mile lead over Temenos (Dominic Wavre) although the front runners are averaging slower speeds and the NW winds lighten to around 10-15 knots. Pindar AlphaGraphics (Mike Sanderson) is hanging on to third place just 4 miles behind Temenos and with around 350 miles to go to the finish in Boston - it is still very much an open contest. The leading pack are now crossing the shallower waters of the continental shelf within a few miles of each other.
Behind the front pack, Nick Moloney (Skandia) continues to increase his lead over Conrad Humphreys (Hellomoto) who is positioned at 41 40N compared to Skandia at 43 15N. "I just hope Conrad is worrying about the guys behind and not worrying about how to catch me," said Moloney today. Humphreys took a southerly option to cross the high pressure as he anticipated it would move north. Unfortunately, this was not the case and Humphreys was becalmed for 8 hours during the night.
The Grand Banks and Flemish Cap sea areas are currently dotted with Transat boats from the all classes heading north on port tack in SW breeze. As the wind turns NW later today, these boats are likely to tack and reach south with a possible advantage over the southerly boats.
Furthest north is 50ft monohull, Okami (Jacques Bouchacourt) 80 miles due east of Cape St Francis, Newfoundland. Bouchacourt has just moved into second place ahead of Joe Harris on Wells Fargo-American Pioneer who also took the southerly option to pass the high pressure. Slightly east of Okami, a similar tactic has been taken by Norbert Sedlacek on 60ft monohull, Austria One, while Sebastien Josse is within 6 miles of Newfoundland's Cape St Mary.
Leading 50ft monohull, Artforms (Kip Stone), is positioned in the centre of the Grand Banks to the north of GiFi (Dominique Demachy) and Great American II (Rich Wilson) currently second and third in the 50ft multihull class behind Trilogic (Eric Bruneel) who is now committed to a more southern option and is currently on the same latitude as the finish line.
French skipper, Yves Parlier, on his new catamaran Médiatis Region Aquitaine reported in an interview this afternoon that he had not been able to cook one meal since the start. He explained that even heating water in a kettle was impossible as the boat was shaking around so much and it was impossible for the kettle to stay in one place long enough to get hot! Parlier also compared his catamaran to a Formula 1 car, saying it was only built for one type of race track and not an off-road Paris-Dakar rally like The Transat.
Within all The Transat 2004 classes, tactics and weather will be crucial over the next 48 hours and may alter the leaderboards substantially right through to the end.
Fickle Conditions for Hellomoto
The weather gods play fickle games, as any solo offshore sailor knows, and overnight they have dealt a bad hand for Conrad Humphreys in this nail-biting final phase of the 2,900 mile classic Transat race from Plymouth to Boston, USA. HELLOMOTO lies in 5th place still, but has dropped back 96m behind Skandia at the 1300 GMT position reports, sailing at a mere 5.8 knots boat speed in light winds south of the direct route and 550m from the finish.
In a shorter than normal satellite phone call this morning, Conrad was quite simply beat: “I’ve had a shocking night. I read the weather wrong, thought the high pressure ridge would drift North and sit over Skandia, but it sat over me. I spent the whole night on deck trying to get the boat to move and lost over 50 miles on Nick. What did I do wrong to deserve this kind of punishment?! Well, the reality is that I am still in 5th and very happy if I can finish like this, but there is still quite a tussle ahead with 500 miles to go!” Directly after the phone call, Conrad put his head down for some much needed rest, but will soon be searching for any advantage in the local forecasts to come back on the leaders.
In an earlier diary piece sent from onboard HELLOMOTO with some stunning sunset images he took whilst becalmed last evening (see on our web site!), Conrad observed that the full on match racing session with Skandia “did no more than deprive me of sleep, as both Nick and I spent many hours on deck trying to eek out more speed from our steeds.” His mood is apparent as the words revealed a very frustrated skipper: “The combination of lack of sleep over night and the distance opened up by Skandia have left me feeling a little subdued this morning.” However, Conrad never likes to sign off without seeing the positive in any situation, and this morning he was no different: “With under 600 miles to the finish line a lot can still happen - maybe luck will swing my way as we close on the Gulf of Maine…”
Indeed, the last stage of The Transat could still throw some ‘curveballs’ at the Open 60 monohull fleet leaders, and last night Swiss skipper Dominique Wavre on Temenos overtook Kiwi Mike Sanderson on Pindar Alphagraphics into 2nd place – the latter revealing that he had broken his starboard dagger board, which has thus affected his boat speed. Mike Golding (Ecover), the other British skipper in the fleet, holds a 34m lead, and yet as the boats get nearer to shore and into more localised weather, it will be a game of stop-and-go between here and the finish, expected to be Sunday afternoon for the current leader. HELLOMOTO is expected to arrive on Monday 14th June – we will be updating Conrad’s ETA on the web site latest news each day from now on.
Atlantic Sunset
Linky Sailing News
Racing Transat
News NZL Olympians
Great Lakes Ferry gambling
College Sailing Report on Hawaii Win
Skandia Chasing
IN BRIEF:
* Nick Moloney and Skandia jumped on the North Atlantic expressway to Boston last night. Chasing the leading 3 boats.
* Swiss yachtsman Dominique Wavre on TEMENOS has taken 2nd position from Mike Sanderson on PINDAR
* Light airs ahead all the way to the finish, forecast show many holes in the fickle breeze.
IN DETAIL :
Nick Moloney has been chewing-up miles overnight. His Open 60 SKANDIA continues to make great strides on third place in the Transat race, that reaches its climax in Boston this weekend. Her deficit has dwindled from 110 miles on Dominique Wavre`s TEMENOS yesterday to 84 miles on Mike Sanderson’s (now third placed) PINDAR on Friday.
PINDAR’S broken daggerboard looks to have cost Sanderson second place into Boston this weekend, will it now cost him third? in a call between Sanderson and Moloney overnight Mike expressed his frustration with the current conditions
SKANDIA was the fastest yacht in the top six overnight, covering 189.61 miles in the 24 hours upto 0900 GMT.
Fifth-placed Conrad Humphreys on HELLOMOTO sailed into a hole last night and could only watch as SKANDIA pulled away to put 95 miles between them.
Briton Mike Golding on ECOVER holds the lead. He has a 37-mile buffer on TEMENOS with 365 miles to sail to Boston.
In a call to the Skandia Multimanager Shore Team in Boston this morning Nick said that he was "pleased with his position but is expecting to sail into some light patches soon" he had been on the phone with some of the other sailors in the fleet - including his good friend JoJo on VMI, who had been heading towards New Foundland overnight - "looking for ice for the finish party beers" as they chatted, they compared the conditions - both sailors have found it very very cold - colder than the southern ocean when they sailed together to win the Jules Verne Trophy on the maxi catamaran ORANGE - " This race course is the coldest there is...the nights are really very clear with incredible stars, but really cold, we are certainly looking forward to the warmer weather ( and the welcome ) that we can expect in Boston, I am really really looking forward to the finish line - but we have some tricky conditions to get through"
From Local Notice to Mariners
The following notices will be of interest to boats planning to compete in the Queens Cup which finishes in Grand Haven this year.
LAKE MICHIGAN – Grand Haven MI – Possible Shoaling – Chart 14933 Possible shoaling has been reported on the north side of the channel east of buoy 3A in the Grand River. A survey taken by the army corps of engineers on June 1st indicates depths as shallow as 14.5 ft. All mariners are urged to use caution while transiting the area. [25/04]
LAKE MICHIGAN – Grand Haven MI – Buoy Positioning – Chart 14933 Due to shoaling in the Grand River in the vicinity of Municipal Marina, a temporary buoy has been established in the Grand River, Grand River Buoy 3B in Approx Position 43° 03’58.757”N 086° 14’ 08.902”W in 15Ft of water. [25/04]
Source: 9th DISTRICT LOCAL NOTICE TO MARINERS 25/04 WEEKLY EDITION 2004
Frustration and Determination for Harris
June 11, 2004
Wells Fargo - American Pioneer update
Latest Position - 41 58.4N 50 11.8W
Distance to Finish – 925 nautical miles
Average speed – 2.98
24 hour run – 149.49 nautical miles
Not a good day at the office
Nine hundred miles due west of Boston is a patch of very calm ocean. If you were a seagull flying overhead you would see a small red boat drifting in circles and a man pacing the deck muttering to himself. The pacing man would also be trying to kick himself as he berated the wind, the forecast and most of all himself. There is nothing quite so frustrating as a tactical move that looked good on paper turn to porridge, while your arch competitors sail away to the north. “Things are not good out here this morning,” Joe said in a satellite phone call. “In fact things are real bad.” Aside from the lack of wind, the numbers on paper show the real story and it’s not great for Joe on Wells Fargo – American Pioneer. Overnight Kip Stone on Artforms extended his lead to 106 miles, while Frenchman Jacques Bouchacourt aboard Okami moved into second place, 26 miles ahead of Wells Fargo – American Pioneer.
“I have decided that I can’t pass Kip by following him,” Joe explained. “He seems to have a boat speed advantage once we are in the same conditions so instead of following his course last night I decided to head south. It was not a move of desperation. The weather chart showed decent breeze to the south, but the wind slowly got lighter and now this morning there is nothing. Not a puff.” To make matters worse the latest forecast shows the windless region stretching for miles and not offering any hope for a good weekend.
Despite his lousy predicament and harsh self-assessment, Joe’s spirits were up. “It’s easy to forget how lucky I am and how spectacular it is out here,” Joe said. “It’s Friday morning, usually one of the toughest commutes from my house north of Boston to my office downtown Boston. Instead of sitting in gridlock on the highway I am sitting on a calm, but beautiful ocean. How bad can that be?” One of the keys to being a successful solo sailor is to realize early that the tables can turn very quickly. Joe’s bad luck today could be Kip’s bad luck tomorrow. 400 miles of latitude separate Wells Fargo – American Pioneer from Okami and they will be sailing in completely different weather patterns. Should the breeze fill in to the south Wells Fargo – American Pioneer could soon be back in the lead. “I have no intention of giving up,” Joe said. “I screwed up and I have learned a lesson, but that only makes me want to push the boat harder. If I get a small break I know that I can make back the lost miles. There is still a long way to go to Boston and I intend to fight every mile of it.” At the last poll Wells Fargo – American Pioneer was 925 miles from the bar at the Boston Harbor Hotel. It’s going to be a long and frustrating weekend.
--- Brian Hancock
Sanderson Has Learned
The weather out here is beautiful and the conditions great, they would be particularly good if you were out cruising on a powerboat or something but I'm not and we are out here locked in a fierce battle with Temenos!!
Dominique sailed past us in the night which has been difficult, it is always hard to watch someone eat up the lead you have on them and sail over you. However I now have him in my sights, it has been light out here for a couple of hours and Temenos has appeared out of the fog to within my sight line. We are on starboard tack, which is my good side so hopefully the 2.5 miles or so that we are apart will not get any more and today's plan is to get it back and re-take second place.
It is good to have someone to race against and it certainly ensures the desire to go as fast as possible and push right till the end is very much in the forefront of my mind and top of today's to do list. My fear was always that he I would never see Temenos and they would sail round us and off without us even getting a chance to race but with him so close it is all to play for.
The forecast is in our favour as well so that we should get a percentage of time on starboard tack so providing it holds like this I am pretty hopeful of our chances.
In terms of my feelings towards the finish it is kind of hard at the moment to think too much about it, as there is still very much a race on here and anything can happen. There is no doubt I have enjoyed this race and learnt absolutely masses, if I was to start the race again tomorrow I would know ten times the amount I did at the start, not so much in sailing terms but in the sailing of a solo race. Of course I would love to finish second - who wouldn't, but I always said in a fleet like this on my first race to finish in the top five would be perfect and on the podium a bonus so roll on Boston......
Until tomorrow
Mike
Hawaii Wins
University of Hawaii (Honolulu, Hawaii) has won the 2004 ICSA/Gill North American Coed Dinghy Championship after three intense days of racing on the Columbia River (June 2-4). It is the second Inter-Collegiate North American sailing championship in three years for The Rainbows.
Sunshine graced the entire competition, with the first day of racing in 8-12 knots of breeze. On day one, Dartmouth College (Medford, Mass.), Hawaii and Georgetown University (Washington, D.C.) established positions atop the 18-school fleet. At the end of the day, with six races sailed in both divisions, Dartmouth was first with a nine-point lead over Hawaii. Georgetown and St. Mary's College (St. Mary’s City, Md.) were tied for third overall.
On day two, after the first two races of the day, Hawaii took over the lead and never relinquished it. The breeze kicked up to 18-24 knots in late afternoon and allowed the heavier crews their chance on the water. A-Division completed 14 races, while B-Division sailed 12. Hawaii would head into the final day of the championship with an intimidating 34-point lead over second-place Georgetown.
For the third and final day of racing, B-Division was on the water first. They finished one race in light air before the wind died and sent them ashore briefly before they could complete their set. The wind built throughout the day for perfect Gorge conditions of 18-24 knots from the west which allowed 10 races to be sailed to complete the planned 36-race series (18 per division). Hawaii had no problem holding onto their lead to finish 29 points ahead of Georgetown who tallied 210 points for second place. With 221 points, Hobart/William Smith Colleges (Geneva, N.Y.) finished third just four points ahead of the University of Southern California (Los Angeles, Calif.). Dartmouth was fifth with 235 points.
"As a team we have talked about the ICSA North Americans since the beginning of the year," said Andy Johnson, sailing coach for the University of Hawaii, explaining that The Rainbows finished third at this event in 2002, and second in 2003. "This championship was our focus, and all year we practiced with that goal in mind. We felt we were fast and when we arrived in the Gorge we were confident."
Adding interest to the notable performance by the Rainbows -- six of the seven sailors hail from California and several have competed against each other since their junior sailing program days. Sophomore skipper Bryan Lake and junior Jennifer Warnock (both San Diego, Calif.) were the winners of A Division. This is the second ICSA title for Warnock who was a member of the winning Rainbow team that captured the 2001 ICSA North American Women’s Championship in her freshman year.
The Rainbows finished second overall in B Division through the efforts of sophomores Joey Pasquali (Santa Cruz) and Matt Stine (Dana Point), junior Carly Allen (Falmouth, Mass.), and freshmen Cassie Harris (San Diego) and Jeff Boyd (San Diego).
Kip's Kettle Problems
Over the last 24 hours, Kip Stone and Artforms crept back in front of the fifty-foot monohulls, leading Joe Harris and Wells Fargo - American Pioneer by just shy of 40 miles at the last published poll of the day. At the end of the day, Joe took a decisive plunge to the south while Kip continued on his northwest arc into the area of the Grand Banks. We’ll have to wait until the poll at 0500 GMT to see what’s happening overnight. At 0500 Artforms was 60 miles ahead with the lead growing to nearly 90 miles over the next 6 hours.
“I squeaked a little ahead of Joe yesterday morning and we had very light air all last night again and thick fog most of the night” said Kip during his Radio Transat interview this morning. “A nerve-racking experience trying to figure out where he was. When the sun came up and the first reports came in, we have some separation but really it’s razor’s edge here.”
The zones of light air are a source of constant frustration for the fleet. “Right now we have 22 knots here, but the seas are still pretty flat. I know we have another few light air patches ahead and those are the nerve-racking ones. When you’re moving along at 20 knots, it all feels pretty good, but when the boat starts grinding to a halt you wonder—just hoping that the other guy’s boat ground to a halt too! It really takes a lot out of you.”
Otherwise, as Kip closes in on less than 100 nautical miles to Boston, everything on board seems to be in good working condition except the tea kettle. “I did just step on the kettle so I’m not sure how I’m going to boil water in it, but I think that’s survivable!” he said.
Alinghi on for 2007
Team Alinghi is proud to launch its America's Cup 2007 campaign in Newport, Rhode Island, on Saturday June 12, 2004, at Newport Shipyard.
The celebration will begin at 11am with a formal presentation by team managers and introduction of new team members & partners, display of new graphics on SUI 64, showing of restyled and technically improved teamwear, and launch of the new Alinghi website.
Following the formal presentation, SUI 64 will take her first test of the waters of Naragansett Bay. Media are invited to join a follow boat as Alinghi takes a "maiden" sail of Newport.
Grant Simmer, Team Alinghi General Manager, said, "It's an exciting time for Team Alinghi and our sponsors as we take the first step with this presentation of the team toward our campaign for the America's Cup 2007. Team Alinghi is entering a new era of the America's Cup event which will be a challenging journey to future victories for the team and our sponsors."
The Transat: New 2nd Place Boat
IN BRIEF:
* SWISS SKIPPER DOMINIQUE WAVRE TAKES SECOND AHEAD OF MIKE SANDERSON...
* MIKE GOLDING (ECOVER) BOSTON FINISH ETA SUNDAY (13.6.04) APPROX 1400GMT...
* WEATHER GIVES SOME RESPITE TO FRONT RUNNERS IN OPEN 60 CLASS...
* CONRAD HUMPHRREYS BECALMED FOR 8HRS OVERNIGHT AS NICK MOLONEY SAILS AWAY...
* BIG NORTH-SOUTH DIVIDE AT FRONT OF 50FT MONOHULL CLASS...
* ORMA 60 MULTIS OF ITALIAN GIOVANNI SOLDINI AND PHILIPPE MONNET FINISH...
Current holder of the Omega 24hr record Michel Desjoyeaux/Geant 440 miles
See the official Omega clock showing race time http://www.thetransat.com
Giovanni Soldini & Karine Fauconnier have reached Boston
IN DETAIL:
After eleven days of intense sailing, twenty-four of The Transat 2004 competitors have yet to finish the world's toughest, single-handed transatlantic race. Last night Giovanni Soldini crossed the Boston finish line at 19:26:18 GMT to take eighth place in a time of 10 days, 6 hours, 26 minutes, 18 seconds after a frustrating few final hours crawling along at 3 knots. Soldini was followed by Philippe Monnet on Sopra Group three hours later at 22:28:23 GMT in a time of 10 days, 9 hours, 28 minutes, 23 seconds. The third and final wave of ORMA 60ft trimarans are spread over 354 miles west/east, with Gitana XI (Fred le Peutrec) at the front, 194 miles from the finish, trailed by Banque Covefi (Steve Ravussin) 171 miles astern and slightly to the north, with Yves Parlier on catamaran, Mediatis Region Aquitaine, furthest south - a little under 550 miles from Boston.
The front-running IMOCA 60ft monohulls are all around 400 miles from the finish; Mike Golding (Ecover) continues to lead the fleet west 38 miles ahead of Dominic Wavre (Temenos). Overnight, Swiss skipper Wavre sailed into second place in front of Mike Sanderson (Pindar AlphaGraphics) and is currently 7 miles ahead of the New Zealander. Sanderson chose to reveal the loss of his starboard daggerboard early yesterday and this is now clearly beginning to affect the boat's performance. But the battle for Sanderson is clearly not over as the NW conditions forecast for the final stages of the race, make it possible for Pindar AlphaGraphics to stay on her starboard tack (using the port daggerboard) in the final 427 miles to Boston.
The respite in the weather conditions for the front runners have meant that the skippers can continue working through the long job list of repairs that are a result of the "conditions of this type of race" said Golding. "In this weather you can actually operate on deck which has not been possible up until now," commented Golding. If Golding maintains his lead, he expects to arrive in Boston on Sunday (13.6.04): "if the forecast averages out correctly we should arrive at the approximate ETA..." which is currently for 1400 GMT on Sunday.
Behind the leading three 60ft monohulls the second knot of Open 60s is lead by Nick Moloney (Skandia), currently position further north and 88 miles ahead of Conrad Humphreys (Hellomoto). Humphreys reports that he has been becalmed for eight hours and will now be hunting for the next weather pattern to keep Moloney in sight. To the south of Humphreys, about 70 miles further east, French monohulls Pro-Form (Marc Thiercelin) and UUDS (Herve Laurent) are in seventh and eighth position, close together and continuing their chase of the Anglo-Swiss-Kiwi-Australian leaders.
In the 50ft multihull class, Trilogic (Eric Bruneel) furthest south at 41 degrees has increased his lead over second place GiFi (Dominique Demachy) to 190 miles during the night and Great American II (Rich Wilson), in third place, is keeping pace with Demachy’s cruising catamaran.
Meanwhile, the 50ft monohull, all-American leadership struggle continues as a big north-south gap of 185 miles has divided the two front runners. Joe Harris (Wells Fargo-American Pioneer), to the south, has lost miles overnight to Kip Stone (Artforms) who is now leading the class by 71 miles with 852 miles to the finish line in Boston.
Match Race Germany
Despite a third consecutive day of still conditions, three skippers remain alive in the chase for the Mercedes Benz SLK 200 at Match Race Germany, an event of the Swedish Match Tour.
Jes Gram-Hansen’s Team Denmark (Rasmus Kostner, Christian Kamp, Michael Arnhild, Henning Sohm) leads the standings with a 5-0 record. They topped Group B, which finished its initial round robin today, and led three other teams to the quarterfinals.
In Group A, Swedish Match Tour champion Peter Gilmour’s Pizza-La Sailing Team (Yasuhiro Yaji, Mike Mottl, Kazuhiko Sofuku, Carsten Kemmling) and Gavin Brady’s BMW Oracle Racing (Dirk de Ridder, Sean Clarkson, Brad Webb, Andreas John) both have 3-0 records after three flights.
The first skipper to win 10 straight races will win the silver Mercedes roadster, with a top speed of 260 kilometers/hour. Group A still has two flights to sail before determining the four teams that will advance to the quarterfinals.
“I imagine the conditions are as testing for the organizers as they are for the sailors,” said Brady, referring to the sweltering, 80-degree-plus temperatures and nearly non-existent wind. “We hope the breeze fills in tomorrow, the boats could be a lot of fun in some strong wind.”
The Bavaria 35 Match yachts, new this year, have proved a good addition to the light-wind event. The tall rigs are able to get the breeze aloft and power along the 35-footers.
“They’re suitable for the lake,” Gram-Hansen said. “Before the event I doubted they’d be good, but so far they’ve proven fine.”
Four teams from Group B have advanced to the quarterfinal round. Joining Gram-Hansen are crews led by skippers Eric Monin (SUI), Luc Pillot (FRA) and Mathieu Richard (FRA).
Michael Dunstan (AUS) and Ray Davies (NZL) failed to advance. While Davies was eliminated with no wins, Dunstan lost a spot in the quarterfinals in the last 100 meters of his Flight 4 match against Richard.
Dunstan had led the match from the start. He started to leeward of Richard and worked the left side of the beat in winds no more than 4 knots. His crew work was smooth and they led by about four boatlengths at the leeward mark.
Dunstan again worked the left side of the beat the second time up, and led by about three boatlengths at the second windward mark.
On a light-air run, the trailing boat has the advantage because it can ride a puff up to the leader. And that’s what happened.
Richard closed enough on port so that when the two crews jibed to starboard to approach the finish, Richard was to windward of Dunstan and blanketing him. Richard rolled the Aussie to grab the win by half a length.
That was the most excitement on a day when very little happened. At the post-race press conference, chief umpire Jan Stage (DEN) said the umpires even had a sedate day. They only issued three green flags in requests for protests by the competitors.
“I thought yesterday was quiet, but today was even more so,” Stage said.
The chief umpire then related how the International Jury deducted three-quarters of a point from Brady’s total due to unsportsmanlike conduct.
Stage said an unidentified crewmember from Brady’s crew took two umpire flags, the red and black, off the umpire boat during the boat swap from Group B to Group A.
The red flag signals a crew must perform a penalty turn immediately, while the black flag disqualifies a competitor from the match they’re racing.
The incident occurred during a boat swap late in the day, just prior to the race committee canceling the remaining races.
“We thought it was a serious infringement,” said Stage, a member of the jury. “A race might’ve been started and we wouldn’t have had the flags.”
Brady downplayed the incident. “They were taken as a joke,” he said.
Jokes have been played on the umpires before. At the Swedish Match Tour event in Long Beach, Calif., one competitor changed a penalty total on the chief umpire’s notes before a press conference, resulting in the distribution of erroneous information.
While that joke went without penalty, today a different jury felt differently.
June 10, 2004
Transat Notes
I've been observing and writing about the lone sailors who sail the mono hull Open 60's for almost 6 years. Yeah it's really been that long. Since Group 4 (now Hellomoto) was a new boat. I find them the most consistently interesting aspect of sailing there is.
Currently the soloists are contesting the Transat. Founded by a group of Englishman in 1960 it's been known as the 'English Transat'.
Nearing the 1000 mile to go mark there is still a chance that there could be an all english-or at least all anglo- podium. Brit Mike Golding and New Zealander Mike Sanderson are in visual range of each other fighting for the lead. Frenchman Dominique Wavre has a solid hold on 3rd. If he's to be passed next in line are Brit Conrad Humphreys and Aussie Nick Moloney.
It's not been a good race for the French contingent. PRB and Virbac have dismasted while Bernard Stamm's keel came off. This is the second dismasting for Virbac which has yet to qualify for the Vendee Globe.
On Thursday as the mono hulls approached the finish, the top 5 skippers hailed rom: UK, New Zealand, Switzerland, Australia, & the UK. Nary a French sailor until 6th.
Two other new French boats Bonduelle & Sill did not even enter due to keel problems. They have also yet to make a Vendee Globe qualification. Defiantly a down period for the French contingent.
Meanwhile American's are making the Open 50 class their own. Brad Van Liew won the 50 foot class in Around Alone with Wisconsin's Tim Kent 2nd. Now Van Liew's old boat, now knows as Wells Fargo American Pioneer, and the newly built Artforms are 1st and 2nd in the 50 foot mono class within 20 miles of each other.
Considering the track record of Wells Fargo/Tommy Hilfiger and Group 4/Hellomoto 1998 was a very good vintage for Finot Open class designs!
The de-keeling of Stamm's boat is unfortunate for a boat that recently held the west to east trans atlantic record.
At one time the Open 60 mono hulls seemed to have problems turning turtle in the Souther Ocean. Sailors such as Tony Bullimore and Raphael Dinelli had to be rescued from the Southern Ocean.
Recently the Atlantic Ocean has proved tougher for Open 60's. Just last summer Tim Kent's Open 50 Everest Horizontal de-keeled racing back from Bermuda. http://www.torresen.com/atwos/index.php?em=June&ed=25&ey=2003&area=st&index=edition
Whether it's meaningful or a coincidence both Kent and Stamm's boat has completed a full lap of the planet before these incidents. Turns out it is not meaningful. Mark Turner of Offshore Challenges, organizer of The Transat, emailed to say that Stamm's keel was new for last years Jacques Vabre double handed trans atlantic.
Charles Hedrich has reported engine troubles. Give us a call Charles. We helped Tim Kent during Around Alone, so we've got some experience in long distance engine trouble shooting.
Since I like to make predictions, let's check them. Right now my prediction of Golding 1st and Sanderson 2nd is proving accurate. I've also predicted 2 of the 3 top multi hulls.
Sanderson is finally sailing Pindar Alpha Graphics up to expectations. Is it too late for someone to buy or charter this rocket for the Vendee Globe?
I'll finish with an appreciation of Group 4/Hellomoto which has had numerous podium finishes including a 3rd in the race in 2000, a 3rd and a 2nd in the Transat Jacques Vabre, + a 2nd in the Route Du Rhum. All with Mike Golding.
With Golding on point and Humphreys, sailing the venerable Finot near the podium not everything has changed in the Open 60 world.
The Transat: Stamm to Attempt Salvage
IN BRIEF:
* GIOVANNI SOLDINI UNDER 40 MILES TO GO TO FINISH...ARRIVAL IMMINENT TO CLINCH 7TH PLACE AHEAD OF PHILIPPE MONNET ON SOPRA
* THE BATTLE IS NOT OVER YET FOR PINDAR ALPHAGRAPHICS AS SANDERSON MAINTAINS HIS SECOND POSITION IN THE OPEN 60 CLASS 34 MILES BEHIND MIKE GOLDING
* SKANDIA CONTINUES TO PULL AWAY FROM HELLOMOTO BUT BOTH NICK MOLONEY AND CONRAD HUMPHREYS ARE AT CRITICAL EXHAUSTION STAGE...
* BERNARD STAMM MOUNTS SALVAGE OPERATION TO SAVE CHEMINEES POUJOULAT-ARMOR LUX...
See the official Omega clock showing race time http://www.thetransat.com
IN DETAIL:
Italian skipper, Giovanni Soldini, on TIM-Progetto Italia is imminently expected to cross the line off Boston sailing an average speed of 20 knots in the last four hours and just 38 miles to the finish line to take 7th place in the 11-boat ORMA class. Soldini had a strong start to the 2800 mile race sticking with the front runners for the first 48 hours but then fell away to trade places in 5th, 6th and, ultimately, 7th. Soldini is a veteran of this race having set a Class 2 monohull record in the 1996 edition of 15 days, 18 hours, 29 minutes that still stands; he is also competed in the 1992 (2nd Class 2 monohull) and 2000 (5th Class 1 monohull). A further 31 miles behind Soldini at the 1500 GMT positions is Philippe Monnet on Sopra Group.
Kiwi skipper Mike Sanderson this morning admitted to a broken daggerboard that has been impeded his progress for two days. However, Sanderson is holding his position in second place in the Open 60 class keeping ahead of Swiss skipper Dominique Wavre on Temenos by approximately 10 miles.
Leader Mike Golding has 490 miles to go to the finish and his current ETA is for Sunday evening (13.6.04). The front runners expect an upwind slog until the vagaries of Boston coastal wind conditions start to effect the final few miles. If Golding finishes on Sunday - he himself admits that "everyone is a threat, until I am tied up to the dock in Boston" - he will take a massive chunk out of the 60ft monohull record set by Yves Parlier (Cacolac D'Aquitaine) in 1992 of 14 days, 16 hours, 1 minute. To beat this time, the 2004 Open 60 winner has to arrive by 0501 GMT on 15.6.04 which, right now, seems like a pretty safe bet.
Australian skipper Nick Moloney on Skandia has been gradually pulling away from Britain's Conrad Humphreys and now holds a margin of 30 miles at the 1500 GMT positions to hold onto 4th place. In the last 24 hours both skippers have reported extreme fatigue resulting in Humphreys going into sleep-walking mode and Moloney hallucinating that Humphreys had crew on board!
Despite all the stories coming back from the skippers as they push themselves to the limit, was is most surprising is the lack of a French skipper in the top 5 in the IMOCA class that has traditionally been dominated by the French. It is a reflection of the international growth of this class going forward to the Vendée Globe, that the top 5 spots are occupied by skippers from the UK, New Zealand, Switzerland and Australia.
After a dramatic rescue of Bernard Stamm from the up-turned hull of his boat (Cheminees Poujoulat-Armor Lux), Stamm's team have lost no time organising a salvage operation. Last night the Swiss skipper arrived at the port of St. Johns on Newfoundland's southern extremity, The Avalon Peninsular. He has now boarded the offshore tug, Alex Gordon, and is planning to set out and locate Cheminees Poujoulat-Armor Lux. Finding the 60ft monohull will demand extremes of skill and judgement as the yacht's distress beacon has ceased transmitting a satellite fix - a knowledge of drift patterns and an accurate assessment of wave and wind conditions will now become crucial. Should the Alex Gordon discover Stamm's yacht, it is likely that a diver will be sent to cut away the mast, sails and rigging. The task facing the salvage team is truly daunting.
French PRB skipper, Vincent Riou, has erected a jury rig using his retracted daggerboard as a 1.5 metre mast and is making 4 knots in the direction of Europe. Riou hopes to rendezvous with the motorised trimaran, Ocean Alchimiste, late tomorrow and will spend an estimated six days under tow on the return trip to Brittany where a spare mast is awaiting PRB. Meanwhile, Jean Pierre Dick's only option (after Virbac dismasting and the entire rig was lost) is to continue his drift eastwards and wait for his shore crew to arrive on the converted fishing vessel, Hatherleigh.
The Centrality of Sleep
June 10, 2004
Wells Fargo - American Pioneer update
Latest Position - 43 51.6N 47 59.8W
Distance to Finish – 999 nautical miles
Average speed – 8.96
24 hour run – 164.07 nautical miles
Sleep glorious sleep
This morning while the most of the rest of the world was commuting to work, Joe Harris was crossing another milestone in his quest to race solo across the Atlantic. His Distance to Finish number dropped below 1000 miles, and for the first time the end of the race seems tangible. Soon the miles left to sail will be measured in more quantifiable terms like, one Newport to Bermuda Race (650 miles) or one Chicago to Mackinac Race (300 miles). It’s a bit like kids counting the number of sleeps until Christmas. Speaking of sleep, Joe did not make his scheduled call this morning and I can only assume he is catching up on some well deserved sleep. Ten days of 20 minute naps can eventually wear you down as some of the other competitors are finding out.
Nick Moloney and Conrad Humphrey’s are two immensely experienced British sailors racing in the Monohull 60 fleet aboard Skandia and Hellomoto respectively. They have been racing neck-and-neck for the past few days. The boat’s have been sailing alongside each other with only a hundred meters separating them, and with neither skipper willing to concede they are both on the edge of exhaustion as this excerpt from Moloney’s media team indicates.
“In a semi-amusing call back to the Skandia shore team, Nick recounted yesterday how he started to get irate with British skipper Conrad Humphreys. During their match-race on Wednesday, Skandia and Hellomoto were at times only 100 meters apart with neither skipper willing to give an inch.
"I couldn't understand why Conrad was allowed to race with a full crew while I was on my own?" Nick argued to himself. After some sleep, his first rest in over 24 hours, he figured out that Conrad was solo as well and it was classic sleep depravation.
Humphreys tale from the same evening is scarier. The British skipper decided to cat-nap in the cuddy hole in case the breeze built. "The next thing I was conscious of was waking up over two hours later just in my underwear, but fully in my sleeping bag, with all my clothes in a pile swilling around in the bilges,” he explained. “I realized later that I must have gone into sleep walking mode sitting in the hatchway and put myself to bed unconsciously.”
Leader Mike Golding isn’t immune either, saying: “I got myself so knackered that I crashed out for quite a long time! My alarm is set for an hour, but I didn’t hear it, which meant I was sleeping through a 100 decibel car alarm for two and a half hours.”
Before the start of The Transat Joe took a sleep clinic with the renown sleep expert, Claudio Stampi. Stampi has worked with some of the top solo sailors to train them how to manage one of the most precious commodities on board: sleep. Not getting sufficient rest can have a dangerous consequence and Joe knows that, like good nutrition, sleep is important to overall competitiveness.
Meanwhile as soon as Joe checks in we will bring you an update, probably posted on the website. At the last poll Wells Fargo – American Pioneer trailed Artforms by 18 miles with both boats having just under a thousand miles to go to the finish in Boston.
--- Brian Hancock
Favorite Transat Quotes
Here are some of my favorite quotes from the skippers contesting the Transat.
Mike Golding: Suddenly I was miles off course, one moment I was matching Pindar on the same routing plan, the next thing I was careering off in a completely different direction, but the routing seemed to have missed this little detail, I don’t know why. The long and short of it was that I got such a big windshift, I thought, what the hell, let’s give it a try. There was no time for niceties, no time for stacking gear on the new side, I just threw the boat round."
Conrad Humphreys put up the Code 5 – the most powerful headsail onboard – and thought I’d cat nap in the cuddy just in case as the wind was building to 25 – 30 knots. The next thing I was conscious of was waking up over two hours later just in my underwear, but fully in my sleeping bag, with all my clothes in a pile swilling around in the bilges. I had that dry, nauseous feeling in my mouth and then sheer terror hit – I ran up on deck still in my underpants and saw that HELLOMOTO was going at 28 knots boat speed and the Code 5 was still up!
“It was the biggest scare I’ve given myself, I was completely out for 2 hours.
Mike Golding " “I don’t like what it’s [a raging Atlantic gale] doing to the boat, but I do quite like it when it's like this. You can get lots of rest, because moving about the boat is dangerous when it’s crashing around, so you might as well stay put. And except for the storm staysail which might go up in the next few hours, we’ve already got the smallest sails up so we’re not really going to get caught out.”
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Golding paid tribute to Sanderson’s impressive performance in this first tough week of The Transat. “He’s showing us how to do it, isn’t he? He’s pushing hard.” But he questioned the Kiwi’s strategy of sleeping during the day and working hard at night to make gains. “I think you can push the boat harder during the day. It’s slightly easier to operate during daylight hours. You're disadvantaged if you do it the other way round. But the reality is you're catnapping all the time anyway. You’re never leaving the boat to its own devices for that long.”
Kip Stone: “All I do is eat, sleep, steer, and navigate. That, and keep an eye on Joe Harris. That’s all I do.”
Desjoyeaux (Geant) reports this morning that in the constant reaching conditions expected, he plans to let the boat sail on autopilot, claiming: "The boat drives herself better than I can in these conditions," and the French skipper plans to remain strapped into his seat, clutching the mainsheet, always ready to depower his mutlihull. Desjoyeaux has no qualms of the 35 knot winds in the current low: "These are good winds for us. It is what the boats are designed for."
Conrad Humpheries, "before demolishing a dogbowl full to the brim with beef stew - what a treat!"
Personally I'm partial to plastic dog bowls with non skid bottoms, myself.
Joe Harris: "And I have made the first of my favorite night watch beverage- instant coffee, cocoa, Parmelat milk and a splash of Jameson's Irish Whiskey to buck me up to go on deck in the dark and cold and rain.
Nick Moloney: ""I've just done one of the dodgiest sail changes from solent to staysail [both foresails]," continued Nick. "I was totally underwater and being thrown about on deck. It was as a real toughie. I'm now soaking wet from sweat."
From a Daily Sail report on Desjoyeaux's victory: "During the entire race he only slept for 30 minutes in his bunk down below. Usually he slept at one of the two helm positions, each half way along the aft beam. On Geant these are protected by a large windscreen to keep the worst of the elements off the skipper. "When it was really cold, I slept under the bubble I have in the middle of the boat."
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"Impressively Geant is fitted with a Mini M handset in each of the helming positions allowing Desjoyeaux to be on the phone to his router without leaving the helm. "
Nick Moloney: "I couldn't understand why Conrad was allowed to race with a full crew while I was on my own?" Nick argued to himself. After some sleep, his first rest in over 24 hours, he figured out that Conrad was solo as well and it was classic sleep depravation.
Mike Golding: "“I got myself so knackered that I crashed out for quite a long time! My alarm was set for an hour, but I didn’t hear it, which meant I was sleeping through a 100 decibel car alarm for the last two and a half hours.”
Moloney Halucinates
IN BRIEF:
* With just over the distance of a Sydney to Hobart race to go, SKANDIA continues to defend fourth place and still has an outside chance of third in to Boston this weekend.
* Swiss yachtsman Dominique Wavre on TEMENOS is charging up on PINDAR; only 13 miles behind at 0900GMT. Mike Golding on ECOVER has stretched out to a 37-mile lead over PINDAR with 522 miles to Boston.
*Tales of exhaustion make frightening (and semi-amusing) reading. The race is taking its toll as the skippers push for the finish.
IN DETAIL :
With just over the distance of a Sydney to Hobart race to go, SKANDIA continues to defend fourth place and still has an outside chance of third in to Boston this weekend. But it may not be Dominique Wavre on TEMEONOS that Nick Moloney has to overhaul. The Swiss yacht has been like an express train over the last 24 hours. At 0900 GMT today TEMENOS was just 13 miles behind of Kiwi Mike Sanderson on PINDAR.
Sanderson admitted this morning that one his daggerboards shattered during Friday’s storm-force headwinds. Mike Golding on ECOVER has stretched out to a 37-mile lead over PINDAR with 522 miles to Boston. Golding refuses to take his lead for granted: “Everyone is a threat ‘til I’m tied up on the dock in Boston,” he said earlier.
Nick is pinning his hopes on Wavre or Sanderson running into light winds between now and the finish. To overcome his current deficit, SKANDIA must sail an average of five knots quicker over 24 hours than TEMENOS, 110 miles ahead. Whoever gets there first, the monohull record for the Transat will topple. The first yachts are expected to finish before way Monday evening, beating Yves Parlier’s 1992 mark, set on Cacolac D’Aquitaine, of 14 days 16 hours and one minute.
The relentless pace of this race has started to take its toll on the skippers as complete exhaustion sets in.
In a semi-amusing call back to the Skandia MultiManager shore team, Nick recounted yesterday how he started to get irate with British skipper Conrad Humphreys. During their match-race on Wednesday, the SKANDIA and HELLOMOTO were at times only 100 meters apart with neither skipper willing to give an inch.
"I couldn't understand why Conrad was allowed to race with a full crew while I was on my own?" Nick argued to himself. After some sleep, his first rest in over 24 hours, he figured out that Conrad was solo as well and it was classic sleep depravation.
Humphreys tale from the same evening is scarier. The British skipper decided to cat-nap in the cuddy hole in case the breeze built. "The next thing I was conscious of was waking up over two hours later just in my underwear, but fully in my sleeping bag, with all my clothes in a pile swilling around in the bilges,” he explained. “I realised later that I must have gone into sleep walking mode sitting in the hatchway and put myself to bed unconsciously.”
Leader Mike Golding isn’t immune either, saying: “I got myself so knackered that I crashed out for quite a long time! My alarm is set for an hour, but I didn’t hear it, which meant I was sleeping through a 100 decibel car alarm for two and a half hours.” With skippers and yachts reaching their limits, this race is far from over.
Humphrey's On Peace, Courage & Sailing
Onboard Hellomoto we now enter the third part of the Transat. The distance covered from Newfoundland to Boston is approximately 1000 miles and owing to local influences from the Gulf Stream – and as the birth place for often intense and rapid development of new weather systems – this area can be incredibly tactical. At present, two frontal troughs and two ridges of high pressure will need to be carefully negotiated before entering the Gulf of Maine - an area characterised often with light winds and sea breezes. There are also the whales, which sadly are often a casualty of this race, but can clip a daggerboard or break a rudder within miles of the finish line.
This race has been an incredible test for both me and the boat. After a just 7 weeks of winter refit, we focused on some very specific changes that would improve my ability to sail this boat fast closer to 90% of the time. Whilst we are a long way from being the fastest boat on the start line, we are optimised and for the Vendée Globe will be more so.
After the start, the first few days were about "sustainability"(what I often call the first 72 hours) and "pace". Luckily, I had Skandia alongside me for much of the early part of the race so I was quickly able to use them as a guide for how hard to push.
The second stage of the race was about "courage"; tackling two masssive low pressure systems that brought huge destruction to the fleet, including two dismastings, a broken keel and numerous wipeouts. This part of the race taught me when to push beyond my limits and self preservation was absolutely the key. Once I skipped meals, sleep and routine, I quickly fell to pieces spending too much time at the chart table with a tired and fuzzy head. The destruction to the fleet stopped me in my tracks and a day doing routine and mundane jobs, listening to music and sleeping all gave me a renewed energy with which to fight the final stage of the race.
Boston here we come!
Cheers
Conrad
Skipper, HELLOMOTO Open 60
I've lost track of him...
I've lost track of him tonight and we're sailing into a windless hole, so anything could happen by dawn.
Note: The lastest position report shows Artforms leading Wells Fargo by 12.5 miles.
This morning, just after I'd come down the mast after lashing a block at the second spreaders for a new staysail halyard, I looked to the east and spotted Wells Fargo and Joe Harris about five miles astern. As much as I'd like to be a bit further ahead, it was very exciting to see my first Transat competitor since rounding the Lizard and quite thrilling to realize, after 1,800 miles of hard sailing, that Joe and I are likely to be locked in match race for the next 1000 nautical miles. This is what offshore racing is all about!
My first thought, after seeing Joe, was to stay in sight long enough to see how the boats match up going downwind in a moderate breeze, and I was hoping for a better result than the one I'd been handed over the past few days in the heavy weather. I took a quick bearing, turned away for a few moments, and by the time I looked up again, the visibility had dropped to less than a mile in fog and it's been more or less like that ever since. Right now, it's down to 200 yards. The sea water temperate is a chilly 5.1C, and with a southerly air flow predicted for the next few days, it looks like it's going to stay this way for awhile.
We're also right up against the limit of the icebergs drifting south in the Labrador current, and I've chosen to jibe to the south this afternoon to get some distance. I'm doing a steady 10-12 kts right now, and the thought of hitting a chunk of ice at this speed is a bit disconcerting - the bulkhead hatches are all dogged down just in case. Although this move puts me into a bit of a windless hole later tonight, as long as I can get some sleep between now and then I don't think it will be too bad. The strong SW breeze forecast for the next few days will push us back to the north, so getting some distance now, while it's easy, seems like a sensible thing to do.
The sun came out long enough this morning so that my world below has gone from wet to damp, which is a dramatic improvement. That won't last for long, but it's nice to be able to sit at the nav station for a few hours without being fully geared up just to stay dry in my one seat. All the sails I moved into the cabin for the downhill ride to the Flemish Cap are now moved forward again, so suddenly this tiny little cabin seems cavernous. Sometime tomorrow, I'll shift all my gear back to the port side of the cabin for the long tack towards Newfoundland and the Cape Breton coast, a laborious task but one that makes the boat a bit faster and invariable helps me to find a few missing items. Some food, some sleep, and I'll be ready for what's next.