December 31, 2004
2004 Year in Review: December
Although it's the off season in Muskegon, ATWOS covers sailing on a year round basis. Here we present some of the best stories from ATWOS in December 2004.
2004 Sailors of the Year Chosen
Best wishes in 2005 from Torresen Marine & ATWOS
Thiercelin Retires
Marc Thiercelin finally confirmed his retirement from his third Vendée Globe at 10h00 GMT this morning. He was clearly upset at the today’s radio session, after what is the first ever time he has not been able to complete a race in his entire sailing career, always endeavouring to finish what he sets out to do. “Lots of things are knocking around in my head; you have to accept that there’s nothing you can do and bounce back.” For the rest of the now 15-strong fleet, conditions are very different throughout the rankings. The top six are powering along in favourable Westerlies, Riou and Golding making a less rapid comeback on the leader than originally thought as they have had to gybe north to avoid an ice field unusually far west spotted by a Canadian satellite last night. Le Cam is currently leading by 250.3 miles having again covered the most ground over the past 24 hours (332 miles). Behind them a calm has stretched itself lazily across the fleet from Moloney back to Schwab while Humphreys is on a high speed dash on a high speed boat heading up towards Campbell island and the ice field in a pea-souper of a fog just 33 miles behind Schwab. All the Anglo-Saxons are now unofficially in the top ten. Patrice Carpentier rejoined the race in the early hours of the morning after successfully carrying out various repairs, notably to his boom, in a sheltered bay off Southern Tasmania.
Having arrived at around 04h00 GMT this morning in the Bay of Akaroa in New Zealand, the skipper from La Rochelle was able to quickly analyse the state of his monohull. “There is too much to do. I don’t have the right material aboard to make repairs to everything that is damaged on ProForm. I am forced to request outside assistance. It’ll take me ten days to do the necessary work to get the boat back into shape”. Marc then hopes to head towards the Pacific Ocean again and complete his round the world single-handed. Marc will make the repairs himself with the help of a couple of people he knows in the area that he got to know during a stopover in the Boc Challenge in 1998.
Having suffered a great deal in the race during the first weeks of the Vendée Globe 2004, Marc then accumulated considerable amount of damage: destroyed bow sprit, broken mainsail traveller cars, leaks, no internet access (and thus weather data)…It was finally a weakness in his masthead (D3) that forced ProForm to divert to New Zealand. In the throes of his disappointment, Marc Thiercelin said during the radio session that he didn’t want to do another single-handed round the world race. “The Vendée Globe is over for me. You have to know when to stop. It’s the increase in the amount of work which requires an enormous amount of investment. I have other projects, in lots of other domains. The programme with ProForm isn’t over yet either; there is still the Transat Jacques Vabre and the Route du Rhum…”
Leading the Vendée Globe fleet by over 250 miles Jean Le Cam (Bonduelle) said that he was itching to get out of the Southern Ocean. “The icebergs are magnificent, but whoever rubs up against one gets stung. I am dying to turn left and I am rather happy to be first. I’ve seen enough of the south and it is time to go onto other things. I’m going to open my package for the 31st and I think that I will cook up a good meal.”
Second placed Vincent Riou (PRB) was on form in second having hooked onto the wagon to the Cape Horn. “It has been a bit strange in the south with the presence of a little depression centre that I hadn’t noticed. I was so absorbed by this issue with the icebergs that I gybed a tad early. I have plotted the icebergs on my computer spotted by the Canadian satellite and I’m going to pass to their north. It is surprising to have ice 200 miles from the Horn. I am delighted with my course since the start. The climb back up the Atlantic should be nice, racing with a boat in good condition. The race is superb. We’re having a ball. Of course I feel really sorry for Marc Thiercelin. The distance of the boats means that it doesn’t affect me quite so much as it did when it was Bilou (Roland Jourdain) for example, that I was racing with since the start. Three quarters of the fleet are still racing which is rather good. At the moment it’s accelerating quite well. Tonight I will be right into my racing and will have little time to think of New Year’s Eve. I hope to pass the Horn on 3 or 4 January.”
“We’re on the right gybe now and finally making some progress in the right direction. It was very marginal and then it came my way” said Mike Golding (Ecover) of the same conditions. “The wind is gently strengthening and in the next 24 hours it will head us [ie the wind will veer further round towards the north] and we will slowly come down on to a course that will take us all the way to the Horn. So, a big arced course, along the rhumb line or to the north of it. If you don’t get to a certain place by a certain time you miss the boat. I think Jean will have to go through this transition and we should be able to close some miles down. I don’t know how much we’ll compress back up. Obviously I’ve been suffering from it for the last 36 hours. Whether or not he will suffer as much, remains to be seen. We are steaming along at the moment.”
With some totally windless zones behind in the mish-mash of high and low pressure systems sweeping between the two capes, Conrad Humphreys is lucky enough to in a great system. “Things are looking complicated up front with a high pressure ridge to negotiate. I think it´s possible to pass Bruce in the next 24 hours though. I´m in good winds at the moment but the ridge is moving east and I have to round it at some point. I will have to go north to round the ice, and then west. I think I should be able to get going again. For now I can´t see beyond the bowsprit, and we´re still sailing in 20 knots of wind..it´s stressful and I´m on edge. I´m relying on the fact that no ice has been reported in this area. I really need to have the radar running all the time but it draws a lot of power so I´m switching it on and off. I´ve got enough power at the moment to last me until the end of the race if I go carefully. I´m nervous, can´t sleep or even rest easily it´s too tense...I will head towards Campbell island and then gybe onto a safer course. I´m very pleased with my pace - since Cape Town I have made up 300 miles on the leaders even though I haven´t been pushing overly hard. I feel I could push harder but I don´t want to break anything. I couldn´t be in a better place but it would be nice to spend New Year´s Eve with a few more people! For 2005 I´d like a new 60 footer for the next Vendee and a fast drive to Cape Horn."
The first competitors should pass the Cape Horn on Monday.
Happy New Year from all the Vendée Globe Team here in Paris.
Quotes from the Boats
Karen Leibovici (Benefic): “I am becalmed, stuck in a ridge of high pressure. I’m not moving along very quickly. I’m making the most of it to make repairs and check the boat, especially going up to see what it looks like up forward. I have repaired by generator underneath the boat that converts the energy made by powering through the water into onboard power and helps me charge my batteries. My back is still causing me pain but I have decided to just live with it. The pain will only go away when I’ve had the iron bars taken out of my back (after a car accident in August). My wishes for 2005? Wind to catch up with my friends.”
Anne Liardet (Roxy): “I’ve had some real hassles today! My main automatic pilot has gone haywire and I have spent all day on it trying to understand why it’s broken down. I think I’ve found out the reason but it’s nigh time at the moment and I’m going to sleep a little before I can repair it tomorrow. I think it’s a problem linked with the dampness. The past year has involved a great deal of emotion and work to get where I am today.”
Nick Moloney (Skandia): “Crossed the dateline, so my New Year is tommorrow! New Year’s Eve, not got much planned...I’ve got a bottle of champagne for Cape Horn though. Think I can still catch some of the boats ahead of me, but it’s likely to be a procession to Cape Horn, and then we’ll see what happens in the Atlantic. It has surprised me every day that I have got this far to be honest. Pretty hard work. A lot harder than I thought it was going be. Only 40 more days of eating of Go bars, and then never again in my life! Hardest thing for me is not being able to go down below, get my oilskins off and get in my bunk knowing that everything is ok on deck with the other guys up there, and go to sleep. I can never shut my eyes and think everything is under control, that makes life tough and very limiting! The good thing about having New Year in the middle of the ocean is that the cops can´t chuck me in jail. It´s really good to be approaching the new year and I really hope that 2005 has in store for me a fantastic memory of the finish and a fantastic memory of a large portion of this adventure, and I hope 2005 brings for everybody else a lot of happiness and a lot less world grief. My thoughts a primarily with people in desperation or heartbreak from the effects of the tidal wave.”
Bruce Schwab (Ocean Planet): “Regarding our much less dramatic efforts at sea, I have been battling to stay in front of a ridge of high pressure that would park us for some time if we get caught. The options have been limited; either very far south towards the icebergs or the more northerly route we are taking. Right now we right on the edge of the ridge just barely staying in the wind, and that is why we jibed to the north for a few hours last night, which worked quite well. If we can hold on, hopefully we can pass under New Zealand without getting swallowed by the high. If we get stuck then there will be headwinds afterwards, so the going will be very slow. Behind us, Conrad on Hellomoto is flying with good winds while we try to keep crawling along. But that is the way it goes. He is also apparently willing to sail a very daring course right through the area of icebergs south of New Zealand at 51/52 degrees latitude. I wish him luck.”
Dodging the Challenge Boats
RACE POSITIONS 0930 GMT: SKANDIA 7th, dropping back to just under 700 miles from VIRBAC in light patch, before next breeze comes in later today.
Nick’s quote of the day: ‘Hardest thing for me is not being able to go down below, get my oilskins off and get in my bunk knowing that everything is ok on deck with the other guys up there, and go to sleep. I can never shut my eyes and think everything is under control, that makes life tough and very limiting!‘
And a special New Year party one: ‘The good thing about having New Year’s Eve in the middle of the ocean is that the cops can't chuck me in jail!’
RACE UPDATE DAY GOING IN TO 55th DAY
SKANDIA IN TRANSITION MODE: Lighter winds, that have also forced Nick on a less favourable direction to the north of east, should evolve in to better northerlies during the next 12 hours as the next weather system approaches further south as well. Right now SKANDIA is wedged between an anticyclone to the north east and the same old New Zealand depression to the west, which is about to shoot south east towards Antarctica – and potentially then be the same system that will help propel Nick eastwards towards Cape Horn! These depressions have amazing lives and trajectories, this one formed off Tasmania a week ago, chased Nick across to New Zealand, stalled and swallowed PROFORM, then started to move south east and swallowed ARCELOR last night and is now off again...
LEADERS EXPECT TO BE AT CAPE HORN MONDAY: BONDUELLE increasing his lead now out to 243 miles as the depression rolls through, BONDUELLE being the last to fall off the back of it. ECOVER back to being over 300 miles from the leader, but still in touch...
THE PITSTOP UPDATE: VM MATERIAUX finished his repairs to his boom and set off again in the race overnight, and PROFORM has dropped her anchor in a bay on the east of South Island New Zealand, rest and reflection on job list first on the menu for Marc Thiercelin. It is currently expected to take Marc 10 days to make all his repairs and set off again. with outside assistance.
RENDEZ-VOUS WITH GLOBAL CHALLENGE FLEET: Nick has been dodging Global Challenge raceboats all day and night...and did a live link up with the Skipper of Spirit of Sark (also supporting Nick’s favourite charity, Sail4Cancer – if you haven’t made your donation yet in the fundraising race against Nick’s track, click http://www.sail4cancer.org/vendee to do it!)
EXTRACTS OF AUDIO CONFERENCE WITH NICK courtesy of Geolink/Iridium:
[partly taken from conversation with Spirit of Sark, full audio file available below]
‘Crossed the dateline, so my New Year is tomorrow! New Year’s Eve, not got much planned...I’ve got a bottle of champagne for Cape Horn though.
Think I can still catch some of the boats ahead of me, but its likely to be a procession to Cape Horn, and then we’ll see what happens in the Atlantic.
It has surprised me every day that I have got this far to be honest. Pretty hard work. A lot harder than I thought it was going be. Only 40 more days of eating of Go bars, and then never again in my life!
Hardest thing for me is not being able to go down below, get my oilskins off and get in my bunk knowing that everything is ok on deck with the other guys up there, and go to sleep. I can never shut my eyes and think everything is under control, that makes life tough and very limiting!’
The good thing about having new year in the middle of the ocean is that the cops can't chuck me in jail. It's really good to be approaching the new year and I really hope that 2005 has in store for me a fantastic memory of the finish and a fantastic memory of a large portion of this adventure, and I hope 2005 brings for everybody else a lot of happiness and a lot less world grief . My thoughts a primarily with people in desperation or heartbreak from the effects of the tidal wave’
Linky Sailing News
Racing Still racing. Overall honors
News Skandia's fate Ainslie appreciates
Great Lakes More seiche
Hellomoto Makes Top 10
Due to the unfortunate abandon of Marc Thiercelin on ‘Proform’, HELLOMOTO is going to be back in the Top Ten for 2005. Conrad is only 62 miles behind Ocean Planet and closing in fast…what a great start to the New Year!
Conrad & HELLOMOTO overnight passed the official halfway stage of the race as the theoretical distance is 23,700 miles. Only 11,677 miles to go…!
What a place to spend New Year too, and in the best company, as Conrad did chat with Ellen MacArthur when ‘B&Q’ rolled 20m underneath HELLOMOTO early this morning, both vessels sailing fast in stressful conditions.
HELLOMOTO is still screaming along at top speeds approaching the ice zone…Conrad talks about the stress of sailing ‘blind’ now as thick fog envelops the boat but power issues mean the radar has to be rationed as Conrad put his foot to the floor to get past the high pressure ridge…
Conrad Humphreys interview from onboard HELLOMOTO this morning courtesy of Geolink/Iridium:
“I’m flying along at 20 knots in very thick fog, so thick I can’t see the end of the bowsprit… The water temperature’s down to 4.5 degrees here and with it comes the fog because the NW wind is not as cold. I got into it first thing this morning, I’ve drifted a bit further North since and it cleared up a bit, the water temperature went up to 7.5 degrees and now it’s very, very thick, and so it’s pretty stressful as the wind angle is far forward and it’s fast, wet sailing. I’ve been in this for 12 hours already and there’s nothing I can do, I’ve put the radar on and put the rear-mounted camera back on the stern as it draws less power than the radar, but I really need the radar on full time now. I’m half relying on the fact that no ice has been seen in this area. It’s edgy… I had a brief chat with Ellen this morning, she was about 40m behind me and further south but I hear she has rolled underneath me. We were both charging batteries at the time so it was pretty noisy. It’s good to know each other’s positions given the conditions but I do feel for her going through this on a trimaran, at least I only have one hull…
“I’m edgy partly because this high pressure ridge has changed shape and instead of lying from the NW to the SE it lies now from NE to SW and it’s a bit of a race against time to get through. I want to pass north of Campbell Island and make my way back up to 50 degrees South. I need to average some high speeds to get through the ridge. It’s better for me than the boats to the north but it’s the agonising thing that if you hang in to the south you have to hang into the breeze. Having decided to pass north of Campbell Island and north of the ice it’s a race to get through this ridge and I’m sailing with my foot down pretty hard at the moment… Joe Seeten’s got headwinds and can’t tack to the North or he’ll run straight into the high pressure, he’s realised the only way through is to head south. In reality, though, he won’t lose anymore if he just sits where he is and has a 24hr kip and wait for the South Westerlies to move forward again! It’s the same with Bruce on Ocean Planet, he’s got 300 miles of calms to get through, whereas even if I cross the ridge at 52 South there is some gradient wind. The whole ridge is moving east and it’s real make or break as if you get on the other side of it you will get away in the South Westerlies, otherwise you could be parked up for a long time on the South East of New Zealand..
“Looking ahead I just want to get beyond this ice, that’s my major focus. By the 3rd or 4th January things will be back into a rhythm again but this period of transition is tricky, as you don’t sleep, you’re pushing the boat hard, I’m nervous about resting because you’re not making the right tactical decisions and you’re analysing the weather 3 or 4 times a day but I can’t really afford to with the power issues. It would be good to get through this transition and get moving again. Sailing a little bit blind is tense…
“I’m ready for New Year and had a full wash and scrub, change of clothing but I didn’t shave my beard! I’ve rummaged around and found the New Year Day Pack with a few gifts – in particular I got a ‘Whoopee’ cushion, I’m wondering who thought I’d need some extra wind power down here..?! I got mini bottles of Plymouth Gin and tonic water and a couple of party poppers, but if I fired off the bowsprit right now they’d disappear without me seeing where they went!
“Happy New Year to my team, my sponsor Motorola, everyone who has sent messages or been checking the web site, have a great time! Make sure you compile your list of things you want to do next year and tick them off! It will happen and Good Luck! I’m looking forward to 2005, to getting through this part of the race…it’s a pretty awesome place to be celebrating New Year, I didn’t expect to be 20 miles from Ellen, and I’ve got my bottle of bubbly to crack open as it’s New Year for me in a couple of hours. Maybe this fog will lift as I scream my way past Macquarie Island to the south of me and start climbing north towards Campbell Island.
Vendee Globe Report 31 December
Whilst we go about our daily routines 20 lone sailors are racing around the world without a stop.
Each weekday ATWOS will present a report on the 2004-2005 Vendee Globe race. Who will join Lamazou, Desjoyeaux etc. as winners? Who will be a breakout young star like Ellen Macarthur? Which sailors will participate in dramas such as those of Pete Goss & Yves Parlier?
The report will cover the rhythm of the race, whether it's fast or slow, what's the degree of difficulty, is it iceberg territory?
Each day we'll check the standings to see who the leaders are and who else is on the move.
The fleet roundup will cover news of interest from any and all boats both the success's and the inevitable failures.
From the lone sailors will highlight the most interesting communications from the multi national group of sailors.
Rhythm of the Race "Tonight the whole of the sixteen strong Vendée Globe fleet are strewn between the two Capes of Leeuwin (Western Australia) and Horn (South America), over 5000 miles dividing leader Jean Le Cam (Bonduelle) from the backrunner Karen Leibovici (Benefic)."
Standings 1. Bonduelle 2. PRB 243 miles back 3. Ecover 308 miles back
Fleet Round Up Thiercelin retires 339 for VMI. WX
From the Lone Sailors Raphael Dinelli "It was very bizarre and I ended up getting surprised by a 45 knot gust which sent the boat into a broach under one reefed main and small gennaker. The boat remained over on its ear for quarter of an hour." Nick Moloney "The good thing about having new year in the middle of the ocean is that the cops can´t chuck me in jail. It´s really good to be approaching the new year and I really hope that 2005 has in store for me a fantastic memory of the finish and a fantastic memory of a large portion of this adventure, and I hope 2005 brings for everybody else a lot of happiness and a lot less world grief . My thoughts a primarily with people in desperation or heartbreak from the effects of the tidal wave" J.P. Dick "It’s not always easy to lose some miles when you’ve got racing in the blood ; but the route is long" Mike Golding "My New Year’s resolution is not to come back to the Southern Ocean on the Vendee Globe!"
Southern Ocean Hospital
Each day as the yachts race in the Global Challenge, teams will file daily logs via satellite to the web site.
These log entries are designed to be more than simple position and status reports; they are the teams' way of sharing the excitement and drama as it is seen and felt by those aboard.
Via the Global Challenge's RSS Feed ATWOS will feature selected daily logs.
The boats left Argentina on November 28th headed for New Zealand. Leg 2 will include rounding Cape Horn.
Today's log is from Imagine It. Done
Some people have said they find ocean passages dull. They were obviously not sailing on Challenge 40. As we continue to plough our way towards the Chatham Islands that reveal themselves only as a few small specks on our charts, we remain in constant contact with the race office and the Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre in New Zealand.
We pass on news of John and his progress back to health and they give us the most up-to-date weather reports and discuss possibilities for getting John to hospital as quickly and
comfortably as possible. Given the weather that is slowing our progress (oh the great ironies of sailing that strong winds (from the wrong direction) can actually make the boat go slower) there is an on-going discussion of the possibility of a helicopter being sent out to meet us and then John being airlifted to safety.
Unfortunately the furthest such a vehicle could travel is 200 miles from the Chathams which means we still have a couple of days to go.
In the meantime, John continues to lie prone in his very own hospital wing that has been set up for him on the boat. Before he became ill, John used to reside in a top bunk in one of the 2-man cabins near the mast and whilst this affords privacy it is not the easiest place to get in and out of.
As he started to feel unwell and found the climb into his bunk too difficult, he was relocated to the bottom bunk on the Port side of the aft accommodation. For those of you who have toured the boat on one of the open days you will remember this as being at the bottom of a stack of 3 identical bunks and opposite another pair of bunks. This is somewhere that John could now get in and out of relatively comfortably, can be easily observed by the Doc and his helpers and is close to the chart table to ensure a flow of well-wishers so he doesn't feel too left out of life on the boat.
Fortunately the medical staff have yet to impose controlled visiting hours so there is a steady stream of visitors who take their seat on the berth to talk to John.
As the days have gone on and John has had to receive more attentive medical care, the whole stack of bunks has been located to create his very own hospital ward. The bunk above is now a nurses' station come drugs trolley, full of tablets and vials, observation charts and boxes full of medical paraphernalia such as a stethoscope and thermometers.
Hanging from a hook above his head, which used to bear mid-layer jackets and salopettes is a drip that feeds directly to the back of John's hand. Whilst I'm not sure whether today's fluid comes from Team Save the Children or Samsung, it is certainly well travelled and looks only slightly out of place opposite the thermal layers hung on identical hooks at the other end of the bed.
One thing that is notable from the Masters Ward compared with your standard hospital set-up is the absence of electronic diagnostic and monitoring equipment. There are no flashing lights and no beeps. All the work must be done manually and as John says himself this is a massive credit to the skills and dedication of Doctor David: "he has only his brain and his fingers to help him diagnose" and he is doing a fine job of using both.
In John's words, he has a team of "superstars" looking after him. There is the Doc who has impressed everybody with his tireless work to try and diagnose the problems, treat the symptoms and ensure that John receives the best possible medical care. His patience and level-headedness has never cracked despite the far-from-ideal conditions he is working in.
Then there is "nursey-nurse" Dee who is always there to aid the doctor and provide an extra pair of hands, as well as the trademark humour, to any situation.
Last but not least there is Gary, our fireman, who has taken responsibility for some of John's care so that the doc can get some rest. He is at John's beck and call for dispensing tablets at the appropriate times and ensuring John is comfortable and has everything he needs. He does this with meticulous care and attention to detail and it is humbling to watch as these people rise above their normal roles on the boat and work around the clock to ensure John has everything possible to keep him comfortable.
In fact the only thing that we haven't allowed John so far is a bell to ring for attention. Normally this doesn't pose a problem as there are enough people coming and going to hear him call for help and Gary and the Doc share the bunk opposite John's - how many other patients get to have their own live-in medical carer within grabbing distance?
Occasionally John is left alone to sleep and rest while the scratch medical team are refuelling or even making the odd foray onto deck to remind themselves what the outside
world looks like and then it is up to John's ingenuity to capture peoples' attention. I think we got the message the other day as Sian was sat at the chart table and an empty water bottle came crashing to a halt by her feet - our patient was thirsty!
It may not be the most high-tech hospital we have seen but it surely provides some of the most exclusive and personalised care available in the world.
B&Q 1/2 Way
KEY DATA DAY 33 0710 GMT: 2 days 10 hours 44 minutes ahead of Joyon
OMEGA: Official timekeeper for Ellen MacArthur
Lat/Long: 53 45 S / 153 45 E (663 miles SSE Tasmania / 670 miles SW New Zealand)
Average Boat speed: 22.61 knots (heading E)
True Wind speed: 21,4 knots (direction NW)
Sea temperature: 7.3 degrees C
Distance sailed so far: 13, 725 miles at an average speed of 17.4 knots
(data communicated by Thrane MiniC via BT Business Broadband)
Update based on data recorded 0710 GMT...check http://www.teamellen.com for the latest data updated hourly
IN BRIEF:
* <
* HIGH PRESSURE AND ICE ZONE WILL SLOW PROGRESS FOR NEW YEAR... <
* THICK FOG AND VERY LOW SEA TEMPERATURES put MacArthur on ice alert making sailing along at 22 knots, a very hazardous and stressful occupation right now!
* MACARTHUR SHORTLISTED FOR GREAT BRITON 2004 AWARD... Ellen has been shortlisted alongside double-Olympic Gold medallist Kelly Holmes and Paralympic medallist Tanni Grey-Thompson in the sporting category of the Great Briton 2004 awards. Twenty candidates have been shortlisted and the overall winner and each category winner [for the seven different categories] will be announced on 27th January.
IN DETAIL:
Ellen MacArthur is pushing <
But her time advantage may start to evaporate as <
The fast and more stable conditions in the past 24 hours have given time to MacArthur to recoup but in typical style, the 75-foot multihull always comes first: "I've been pretty busy and got a lot of jobs done. I bailed out water from the back beam amongst other things and done a fuel check - used less than half the original tank, so thats good news." Keeping on top of the job list goes a long way in helping MacArthur rest herself and she has managed to get some much needed sleep in the last two days.
Thick fog and sea temperatures dropping to as low as 5 degrees puts Ellen on ice alert: "There are birds around me, that's always a sign of an iceberg... There is thick fog, I can't see more than a few boat lengths ahead of me, and the water is only 5 degrees C. This is pretty scary!" Ellen is still some 30 miles north of the Convergence Zone (main ice area), and is just north of the tracks of two Vendee Globe race boats (Virbac and Temenos) that passed here last week without spotting ice. But the pulse rate is up!
The high pressure is expected to get pushed north away from <
WEATHER ANALYSIS FROM COMMANDERS' WEATHER 0600 GMT:
High pressure is located from NE of Tasmania to S and SE of South Island, NZ. Ellen is currently sailing around the SW and S side of this high pressure area in favorable NW winds. It is quite foggy since the NW wind is a warmer wind over very chilly water.
Cold front S and SW of Ellen will move NE over the next 24 hours. This cold front will serve several purposes,
1) the high pressure area will be pushed N and NW, away from Ellen
2) winds will back into the W and then SW, which will allow Ellen to sail NE and between Auckland and Campbell Islands
3) sailing NE later today and tonight will allow Ellen to sail north of the icebergs east of Campbell Island
4) the cold front will bring favorably strong SSW and SW winds, which will allow Ellen to sail very fast, aiming at Cape Horn, but staying north and away from the icebergs
Winds will be lighter over the next 24 hours, but by being further S, she will miss the area of lightest winds further north. Once the cold front passes, around 1200UTC Saturday, the SW will steadily increase over the following 24 hours.
Routing:
1) Would really prefer not going to 54S, but no weather reasons, only a concern about ice
2) Will take the left shift late Fri/early Sat between Auckland and Campbell Islands
3) Will gybe at 51S or earlier if the wind is 230 or left of 230 - this wind direction will allow a heading north of due E
a) Will need to discuss the merits of going further N tomorrow!
Wind forecasts
Wind directions are TRUE, wind speed in kts, time is UTC
Fri, Dec 31 Winds diminish some
12: 320-350/17-23
18: 340-310/16-22 - winds begin to back
Areas of dense fog will tend to lift as winds become more W. Chance of a few showers overnight. Seas 12-18 feet
Sat, Jan 1
00: 300-270/15-21, still on port and going between the Islands
06: 280-250/14-20
12: 250-210/16-22 nr 51 50s/168e - lighter wind N and W - stronger S and E
18: 210-230/17-23
Scattered showers thru 1200UTC then cloudy to occasionally partly cloudy, maybe a brief squally shower or 2. Seas 6-12 feet mostly W-WSW swell.
Sun, Jan 2 - need to keep an eye out for potential ice east of 170.
00: 200-230/18-24, N of Campbell Island - wind lighter to the W
06: 200-230/20-26
12: 210-240/20-30, gust near 34-36 - near 51s/179e - stronger wind to the
E and S, lighter to the W
18: 210-240/26-34, gust near 36-40
Mix of clouds and sunshine with a scattering of brief, squally showers, especially after 0600UTC - winds could gust to 40 kts at times after 1200UTC. SW swell increasing
http://www.commandersweather.com
JARGON BUSTER 1 : HOW DO YOU SAIL FASTER THAN THE WIND?
With modern high performance sailing boats, they power to weight ratio is such that they are able to sail faster than the wind in many conditions – essentially they create so much apparent wind of their own (see below), that they can easily attain speeds in excess of the true wind speed. Man has learnt a lot about how to harness the wind since the days of the Clipper Ships – which were not actually that slow though of course! Boats are becoming lighter and faster with each reiteration of design and material advances.
JARGON BUSTER 2 : HOTTER ANGLE
If you imagine running in the same direction and at the same speed as the wind, you would not feel any wind on you at all. The 'Apparent' Wind would be zero. If you are on a boat at that time, there would be no pressure on the sails and you would slow down. If at that time you headed left 30 degrees, you would start to feel apparent wind on you, and you would go faster. That is sailing a 'hotter angle', it's a choice between going where you want to go slowly, or heading up in to the wind and going faster!
JARGON BUSTER 3 : CONVERGENCE ZONE
The water temperatures of the Southern Ocean are far from uniform. Around 60 degrees South, where the Southern ocean meets the warmer southward flowing waters of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans, is the zone known as the Antarctic Convergence, or Polar Front. The total area of sea within the convergence makes up one tenth of all the world's oceans, and contains the coolest and densest water to be found anywhere. The effect of this is to create the area of most icebergs that break off the ice shelf. For more information, go to http://www.doc.ic.ac.uk/~kpt/terraquest/va/science/geography/geography.html
Sailing the Depressions
The leaders on this 53rd day of racing are jumping from one depression to another in a highly strategic game of meteorology. The concertina effects of a transition between two depressions translates as a 200.5 mile lead for Jean Le Cam (Bonduelle) today as he continues to ride the depression ahead. Behind him Vincent Riou (PRB) and Mike Golding (Ecover) are concentrating on lining themselves up for the much deeper chasing depression. As the hunters touch wind before the hunted, the variations in speed will be reversed and the gaps will once again be reduced. This approaching depression is currently sweeping up the second group with Wavre/Dick right in the thick of it in a 55 knot established wind and 70 knot gusts. Currently forced to sleep in their foulies and boots ready to race up on deck, the duo are likely to retain the fast speeds as far as Cape Horn. The celebrated passage may well prove rather feisty. Further back from this group, Nick Moloney (Skandia) is trying to hook onto this same depression to escape falling into a windless zone between two depressions. Bruce Schwab (Ocean Planet) is doing better than he thought, managing to stay ahead of a ridge of high pressure and Conrad Humphreys (Hellomoto) is in turbo drive just 179 miles behind him now. Of our two diverted skippers, Patrice Carpentier has fixed his boom and is hoping to head back into the race in a likely 14th position behind Anne Liardet (Roxy). Meantime, Marc Thiercelin (ProForm) is just 140 miles from the Bay of Akaroa where the sailor hopes to make a pitstop. He should make shelter at the end of tonight GMT.
Achieving the top speed of the fleet, covering over 350 miles in the past 24 hours, Jean Le Cam is on a direct route in his own weather system. He has stretched out his lead to over 200 miles now, Vincent Riou and Mike Golding in a trailing depression, set to make up their loss in the long term, having been forced temporarily off course by shifty, easing winds.
“I’m in good form though I didn’t get much sleep last night – battling to try and make out the icebergs from the rain showers” said Mike earlier today. “I’m quite far south as I was lifted by a breeze to the south. I went down to around 56.5 degrees south but got so badly headed that I gybed again. I then made a very bad north gybe trying to avoid the light weather and of course get away from the icebergs. I’m just hanging onto the same system as PRB and may have 1/ 2 more gybes to make. It’s not easy. I’ve trying virtually every point of sail. I keep zigging and zagging and will continue like that until the wind goes north. I don’t know how Bonduelle managed to get away like he has but I feel like I’m on a pretty good heading now. Once we’re into the new system coming up behind us we should have more stable winds. In 24 hours the winds should stabilize and go round to the west North-West. From then on I’ll be able to sail on port gybe almost directly to the Horn. For now it looks like we’ve got northerly winds pre-cape, followed by lighter winds and then more northerly after the cape. My ETA is approximately midday on 3rd January. I’m working the boat hard to get through the transition and it would be nice to break the Cape to Cape record...apart from anything else it will save us getting low on anything! It’s a bit milder now with a westerly rather than a southerly breeze, though it’s still bitterly cold. I saw some break in the cloud yesterday. The cloud cover down here is so impressive that it’s claustrophobic.”
Dominique Wavre (Temenos) is already in the midst of the depression chasing Mike, caught in the throes of a wild storm in survival mode. “It’s a bit tense! I’m in a storm. It’s a dark night and the noise is terrible. The anemometer reads between 50 and 55 knots. We’re in survival mode! The wind has risen throughout the day and I have gradually been taking in reefs. At the moment I am under 4 reefs and trinquette and it’s going well. I am a bit stressed as I fear breakage. I am trying to relax by sleeping in small 10 minute chunks, but there are some strong gusts and you have to be ready for everything. I am in foulies and boots, ready to act. I am making 14 knots, 20 in the surfs. After a week becalmed under the Tasman Sea, we are being scooped up into the storm without a transition. The difference has been brutal even though we were warned of it.” Jean Pierre Dick (Virbac Paprec) is also ensnared in the same system, while Sébastien Josse (VMI) can feel it coming.
In 10th and 11th place respectively, Bruce Schwab (Ocean Planet) and Conrad Humphreys (Hellomoto) are steaming along and back in 13th place, Patrice Carpentier (VM Matériaux) is heading back into the race tonight. “I have moored up 200 metres from shore (South Tasmania). It has curious vegetation but it’s rather a pleasant place. It’s silly that I won’t have the time to visit it. Last night, all was calm so I made the most of it to hoist the mainsail. Ah yes! The repairs to the boom are complete and I can hoist the sail up to the second reef. I made a kind of sleeve as planned. I sawed 40 centimetres off the boom and used the piece to join together the two ends. I wanted to join all of it with some carbon material, but I had the rather unpleasant surprise of discovering that half the little 30cl of resin I had left had gone hard. I boiled it up and spread it out as best I could, but it was of little use. As a result I had to sacrifice my spare battens, making a kind of 80 cm splint around the sleeve.”
Karen Leibovici (Benefic) brings up the 16 strong fleet, and is currently over 5000 miles back from the leader having made a respectable 242.8 mile day.
Quotes from the Boats:
Raphaël Dinelli (Akena Verandas): “I am in a very complicated southerly and my series of misfortunes continue. I was behind the cold front this morning and I had a succession of squalls. Some of them had no wind in them, others had 40 knots. It was very bizarre and I ended up getting surprised by a 45 knot gust which sent the boat into a broach under one reefed main and small gennaker. The boat remained over on its ear for quarter of an hour. The good news is that the mast held superbly, though the gennaker blew out. It came away at the masthead and it was war to try and detach it. I am exhausted and must nevertheless get the pace up again as a ridge of high pressure is coming in on top of me and I don’t want to get becalmed. All these unstable conditions have forced me to manoeuvre a great deal. My boat is very physical with winches everywhere and no grinders. (Raphael cants his keel by winch). The upshot of that is that I have a fine lumbago which is really painful and which I am trying to care for with the help of Doctor Chauve (Race Doctor). I am a bit disillusioned, perhaps because of the fatigue, but it’s clear that the Indian doesn’t like me. While the others have got smoothly through the same area, I have had nothing but north south pressure ridges, with crossed seas which make the boat and my pilots suffer. I am beginning to ration my food as I have only brought along 110 days of food and if I don’t lengthen my stride in the Pacific Ocean, I am not going to have enough.”
Nick Moloney (Skandia): “Breeze has dropped off a lot, but it’s not that bad, we are still moving. It will get lighter and lighter until I fall out of the breeze...It was great to cross the Dateline, puts you in the right frame of mind to finish. Before that you really feel like you are half way around the world and going backwards. Now, I feel I am just get closer and closer. Awesome to have the [Global Challenge] fleet out here – I have company from a safety point of view. It’s a great race and I have great admiration for the crews and Challenge Business”.
Sébastien Josse (VMI): “The depression is coming. I can feel it. The barometer is dropping rapidly and I already have 35 knots. The seas are better organised than the Indian which is rather good news. The depression will pass over us. I then hope to be able to hold onto it until the Horn. You rest in a different way in the storm. I am in boots and foulies. I doze at the chart table, ready to pull out my guns. Call me « Joss Randall » ! I am really keen to leave the Southern Ocean. The permanent surveillance of the horizon and the radar, the threat of icebergs, the stress and the poor sleep… but that’s how it goes. It’s all part of a Round the World. I hope to pass Cape Horn at around 6 January. I hope to see it this time around…”
Bruce Schwab (Ocean Planet): “I feel pretty good. The weather is a bit tricky but the sea isn’t rough anymore, it’s medium now. I headed north last night as I am just in front of a ridge of high pressure, which is heading east. I was on a starboard gybe getting sucked in towards the system last night, I then went onto a port gybe trying to get north-east. The good news is that I am still “just” ahead and have still got wind and might make it! It’s going to be very close. I’m lucky, I think the system has been moving slower than the models forecast. I’m working hard making numerous sail changes. Tomorrow I think I’ll have upwind and hope that I will be able to pass south of New Zealand rather than heading straight at it. It is stressful sailing but you combat that by retaining a sense of humour and having a good attitude. You can have different emotions at the same time and it’s clear that in a big storm when you are fearful, you need to have a sense of humour too. I also play my guitar when the weather allows, I also tell myself jokes and talk to myself. At New Year I hope to be past the southern tip of New Zealand. My biggest wish is to finish the Vendée Globe safely...and pay the bills!”
Conrad Humphreys (Hellomoto): “I was pretty surprised to find out via a text message that I’d moved up into 11th place yesterday passing VM Materiaux, I wasn’t expecting that at all, although I knew Tasmania was well up to the North. I would need to get 400m further north, like Nick, to get over the top of the ice. It’s a real hard one, I haven’t ruled out going through, but I just know that this race is stressful enough without putting yourself through it, which I don’t need to do at this stage in my life. You’re fighting your competitive urge the whole time in your own mind. I know I could cut 300m off the corner here. I think it was Shackleton who said something like it’s better to live the life of a donkey than that of a courageous lion. You’re fighting these urges to go for it, hang on to the sail longer, put your foot down harder, or sail through the ice, and yet you know you’ll spend that whole period living on edge, not sleeping, staying up on deck but not seeing anything. I probably don’t need to feel like that, but there’s a little naughty feeling in me saying ‘go for it’…I’m at 52 South and the sea temperature is the biggest difference when you drop even 1 degree, it was hovering about 8 - 9 degrees yesterday but today it just dropped to 6 degrees, and the air is noticeably chillier, but we’re still in the NW breeze so it’s relatively okay.”
More Hobart Finishers
Constitution Dock has begun to fill up as the smaller yachts in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race cruise to a warm and sunny welcome in Hobart. A pattern is also emerging in the handicap standings under IRC. While Aera was confirmed as overall winner of the race late yesterday, division winners in some of the smaller classes began to be confirmed today.
As winner of The Tattersalls Cup, Nick Lykiardopulo and the British team on Aera also picked up the Division A trophy. Stephen Ainsworth steered his Swan 48 Loki to a Division B victory and while Nips-n-Tux looks good for Division C, confirmation can only come when other boats have finished in Hobart later today. Division D went to Courtesan and Division E to Love & War, one of the oldest yachts in the 116-boat fleet.
A Sparkman & Stephens 47 constructed of timber, Love & War has an illustrious history in this race. She was overall winner in 1974 and 1978, and her Division E victory this year is one of many that she has enjoyed since her launch in 1973. It was crew member Max Yanez's sixth Rolex Sydney Hobart but his first division win. He was very happy to have sailed on an older boat such as Love & War.
"We had no damage during the whole race," said Yanez. "I wouldn't say she's bullet proof, because I don't think you could say any boat is bullet proof. If nature wants to win, nature will win. But it's a pretty solid boat, we fell off some pretty big waves, but when it came down with a thud that was always the end of it. The boat just carries on. I've never sailed in hard conditions in a new boat, but from what I hear it's a very different experience."
Perth based Philip Childs went to enormous efforts to truck his Farr 38 Courtesan all the way across the Nullarbor Plain from Western Australia, and was rewarded with victory in Division D. "I'm really very happy for the crew because they worked so hard over the last five days," he said. "We got a crew together to tackle this about eight months ago, a crew of diverse people together from three different sailing clubs in Western Australia and decided to take the boat across the Nullarbor Plain on truck and reconstruct it over here."
Childs, a surgeon by profession, gathered an eclectic group of friends to join him on the 628-mile adventure. "We had a geologist, sailmaker, spar maker, engineer, boilerman, teacher, welder, and an airline pilot." This was Childs' first Rolex Sydney Hobart and he said he would definitely do it again, provided winds didn't exceed 50 knots, which of course is never guaranteed in a race as unpredictable as this. "If I knew it was going to be like that, I might think twice. We lost our wind instruments at over 35 knots, we couldn't record it, so I don't really know what it got to this time." He said he was very fortunate to have some experienced hands who had been through the race before.
Many other teams have trickled in throughout the day, including that of the Mumm 36 Abbott Tout. Young Brazilian sailor Ed Vieytes was jubilant to have arrived, not caring about the result, just caring that they reached Hobart at all. Like Vieytes, German Philipp Kadelbach was competing in his first Rolex Sydney Hobart but he and the rest of the team on the new 49-footer Vineta were forced back to Eden.
"We were going through huge waves and gusts of 45 knots when the lifting keel started making banging and cracking noises in its case. We tacked on to port tack to avoid the worst of the waves, but then water started coming into the boat. It was the second day of the race and the water was beginning to come in faster than we could bail it out. At one point the bow was just 5 centimetres above the water. That was pretty scary. We were 50 miles south-east of Flinders Island. I was a little scared, but we kept calm."
"We decided to turn round at 4pm on the second day and we arrived in Eden at 9am the following morning. Even that was still scary, at times we were doing 18 knots downwind with only the storm jib. It was still gusting 40 knots. The waves were real monsters, maybe 10 or 12 metres high. Out there, I asked myself, 'Why are we doing this?' I was cold, and at one point a big wave hit me and slammed me on to a winch. I was saying never again."
"But now, sitting in Sydney, I think I would do it again. This is not like day racing or anything I've done before, though. This race is about arriving. I think that if we had set out with that mentality, perhaps we might have made it to Hobart. I'm really sorry not to be celebrating the New Year in Hobart, but maybe another time."
For the sailors who did make it to Hobart, the New Year celebrations have started early. Tonight the fireworks will light up the sky and the champagne corks will be popping. But twelve of the yachts still racing are predicted by the Yacht Tracker to be celebrating the arrival of 2005 out in the Tasman Sea, not least the diminutive 31-footer Gillawa, which still has more than 250 miles to the finish. She is expected in Hobart on 3 January 2005, and she will receive a rapturous welcome from the appreciative crowd in the Tasmanian capital.
The formal Rolex Sydney Hobart Prize giving takes place at noon on 1st January 2005 at the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania
Standings, recorded at 1700 (AEDT), 31 December 2004
1st Overall and 1st Division A:
Aera, Owner Nicholas Lykiardopulo, Skipper Jez Fanstone
Royal Yacht Squadron, UK
IRC Division B:
Loki, Owner/Skipper Stephen Ainsworth Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, NSW
IRC Division C:
Nips-N-Tux, Owner/Skipper Howard de Torres
CYCA, NSW
IRC Division D:
Courtesan, Owner/Skipper Philip Childs
Hilarys Yacht Club, WA
IRC Division E and 30-Year Veteran Division:
Love & War, Owner Peter Kurts, Skipper Simon Kurts
Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, NSW
Sydney 38 Division:
Chutzpah, Owner/Skipper Bruce Taylor
Royal Yacht Club of Victoria, VIC
PHS Division
Seriously TEN, Owner/Skipper John Woodruff & Eric Robinson
CYCA, NSW
Top 5 Line Honours standings
1. Nicorette finished at 05:10:44 hours, 29/1/04
2. AAPT - finished at 11:40:42 hours, 29/1/04
3. Brindabella - finished at 13:56:50 hours, 29/1/04
4. Aera - finished at 15:43:43, 29/1/04
5. Seriously Ten - finished at 16:16:38 hours, 29/1/04
(please visit www.rolexsydneyhobart.com for the full list of finishers)
Provisional IRC Overall
1. Aera
2. Nicorette
3. Ichi Ban
4. AAPT
5. Brindabella
Forty-two yachts have finished, 17 are still racing and 56 yachts have retired
December 30, 2004
More Supplies Transfered
Samsung successfully transferred medical supplies to Imagine It. Done and has continued racing
Helicopter medivac now looking likely on Imagine It. Done
Gale force winds predicted for the yacht to further complicate matters
BG SPIRIT moves into second place
Conference call takes place between Mike Golding aboard the Vendee Globe, Stuart Jackson aboard Barclays Adventurer and Sir Chay Blyth
News in full:
Samsung has successfully diverted her course to provide Imagine It. Done with vital medical supplies for John Masters the second yacht to divert for the medical emergency. Matt Riddell and his crew aboard Samsung are now back and racing, eager to make up the lost miles, but relieved to have helped out a fellow competitor.
Imagine It. Done is currently 420 miles away from their Chatham Islands destination, which they should reach by Saturday. However, race organisers are working with the Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand, every step of the way, and it looks like a Medivac (helicopter lift from the yacht) looks like the most favorable option, at present.
The wind is forecast to strengthen to gale force winds over the next few hours and shift to the northwest making for potentially rough, dead upwind sailing.
Although Imagine it. Done is currently motorsailing, once the winds rise to gale force the motor is no longer effective and they will make best speed under sail.
In other areas of the race, having seen some close-quarters racing for much of this leg, things are starting to change in the fleet - and the most striking move overnight has been from BG SPIRIT, which has overtaken BP Explorer to move into 2nd place behind Spirit of Sark.
In the past 12 hours BG SPIRIT has made an impressive 15 mile gain on the leaders and there is now only 4 miles between them and leading boat Spirit of Sark. Not surprisingly, they have also recorded the highest 24 hour run of 201 miles and have maintained the highest speed of 8.4 knots in the fleet during the same period.
Meanwhile the mid-fleet pack (Me To You, VAIO, SAIC La Jolla and Barclays Adventurer) currently lying to the south of the leading yachts have their own fight on their hands - with each other and the weather. Many of the teams have been experiencing gale force conditions with wind speeds upwards of 40 knots.
Fully-reefed mains, Yankee 3s, storm staysails and of course plenty of water over the decks seem to be the order of the day. The competition is still fierce as Ben Beasley, Crew Volunteer aboard VAIO, comments, "around 5 days to go and weather watching from faxes is hotting up…as always the leg remains very tight and there's all to play for!"
Today also saw a very interesting conference call between Stuart Jackson, skipper of Barclays Adventurer (youngest skipper and winner of Leg 1 of the Global Challenge) and Mike Golding, veteran skipper of the Global Challenge and currently lying 3rd place in the Vendee Globe. Joining them on the call was Sir Chay Blyth who shared his experience of extreme Southern Ocean sailing.
Quotes from the boats:
David Melville, BP Explorer:
”BG have done well to position themselves to the north - and we grit our teeth as we see them pass us earlier today. The boat is hard on the wind and we are working hard to maximise boat speed and catch up with the leaders.”
Amadeo Sorrentino, VAIO:
”We are currently on starboard tack sailing at maximum speed in gale force conditions south of great circle route to cross a frontal system. We want to take advantage of the winds behind it to carry us to NZ.”
Loz Marriott, Pindar:
”The tactics have paid off so far - going slightly north for this wind shift, that takes us back to the Rhumb line...On the outlook for the weather there seems to be a low moving towards us which will give us some westerly winds then south westerly potentially going south ...This would be great since we would tack on the shift then follow the lift with the rhumb line directly to Wellington.
“The wind at the moment is slowly coming round to the west so it’s just a matter of when do we take the hit? Just before the shift or after it? The problem is that there is a large cold front heading towards us which could also produce very strong winds and if we went now we could be out of its path but we would take a negative vmg hit for a few hours which is not good...”
Clive Cosby, Team Stelmar
”Best speed to Wellington, as always. Storm on horizon, which we will try to avoid tacking into the heart of. We have developed a chart to track speed - time - distance, to keep an eye on getting to Wellington by 21st; though currently making good speed more or less in the right direction. Wind up, 1st reef is next possibility.”
Stuart Jackson, Barclays:
”The worst of the weather in association with the low to the south seems to have passed, the front seems to have just passed through so we are expecting the wind to ease off and come more northerly. We have just tacked to try and make some ground north as there is no clear making tack and it doesn't look like any SW winds are due soon. It's definitely more favourable to be north but being south we shall have to hope for some unexpected weather!”
Eero Lehtinen, SAIC La Jolla:
”Have tacked to port two hours ago. Due to current and bad seas not doing very good progress on this tack, but have to go north to avoid a light patch coming from west. Also might be wise to get between Barclays and Wellington before it's too late. Still hanging on to Me to You and VAIO, now we might lose to them quite a bit if they continue on starboard, but hopefully this pays back later.
“Guys in north doing very well, some light winds coming still before finish, might give one more chance for us to catch up... but it's all looking a bit desperate just now. The medivac and associated medical assistance so far from Kids and Samsung are unfortunately confusing the race situation. But we all hope John on Imagine it. Done. will have a safe trip to hospital and are ready to assist if needed.”
Fleet positions:
Distance to finish:
Spirit of Sark 724
BG SPIRIT 728
BP Explorer 737
Me to You 809
VAIO 812
SAIC La Jolla 834
Barclays Adventurer 854
Imagine It. Done 865
Team Save the Children 878
Samsung 887
Pindar 1,010
Team Stelmar 3,188
St Marys River and Straits Area Channel Closures
The Captain of the Port for Sault Ste. Marie would like to remind the public that several channels are routinely closed in the St. Marys River and Straits of Mackinac area over the course of the winter.
Operation Taconite is the United States largest domestic icebreaking operation, encompassing Lake Superior and the Straits of Mackinac. During Operation Taconite, the Captain of the Port will close or open channels as ice condition require. Due consideration is given to the protection of the marine environment, waterway improvements, aids to navigation, the need for cross channel traffic (e.g. ferries), the availability of icebreakers, and the safety of the island residents transiting ice bridges.
The following channels are typically closed, as conditions require:
West Neebish Channel - the channel between Neebish Island and mainland Michigan.
Pipe Island Course - the area to the east and the north of Pipe Island.
Moran Bay - the body of water between Mackinac Island and St. Ignace.
South Channel - the channel between Bois Blanc Island and mainland Michigan in the vicinity of Cheboygan.
Grays Reef Passage
Under normal seasonal conditions, only one closing each winter and one opening each spring is done. When a channel is to be closed, the Captain of the Port will give a 72hr notification prior to its closure and Coast Guard Group Sault Ste. Marie will make this notification via Broadcast Notice to Mariners and using local media.
The Coast Guard reminds all recreational users of the ice to plan their activity carefully, use caution on the ice, and stay away from shipping channels. Recreational users and island residents should stay tuned to local media resources for the status of channel closures.
Tasks for the New Year
KEY DATA DAY 32 1510 GMT: 2 days 7 hours 18 minutes ahead of Joyon
OMEGA: Official timekeeper for Ellen MacArthur
Lat/Long: 52 50 S / 145 06 E (560 miles S Tasmania / 965 miles WSW New Zealand)
Average Boat speed: 19.56 knots (heading ESE)
True Wind speed: 22.7 knots (direction NW)
Sea temperature: 7.3 degrees C
Distance sailed so far: 13,408 miles at an average speed of 17.3 knots
(data communicated by Thrane MiniC via BT Business Broadband)
Update based on data recorded 1510 GMT...check http://www.teamellen.com for the latest data updated hourly
IN BRIEF:
* MACARTHUR BREAKS TWO DAY BARRIER building an advantage of more than 50 hours (still only 5.5% of time remaining) over the record time of Francis Joyon...
* TIME TO RECOUP AFTER THE RECENT SUCCESSION OF BAD WEATHER both for MacArthur and <
* NEW YEAR OBSTACLES... A cell of high pressure to the north and an ice zone south-east of Campbell Island [south of mainland New Zealand] could check <
Listen to Ellen's audio, courtesy of Geolink/Iridium, click here
IN DETAIL:
Ellen MacArthur's 75-foot trimaran <
The current conditions are allowing MacArthur time to recoup and to manage the continuous workload that is needed to keep <
The wind is expected to start decreasing by tomorrow lunchtime as <
As MacArthur seeks some 'downtime' from the relentless pace, she feels cocooned in a world of her own: "It literally feels like we're sailing along under a blanket, you can't see anything and the sky has closed in to just a couple of hundred metres away. Maybe even a hundred metres, I can only see a couple of wave crests, three at best. To be flying along, averaging 20 knots, and to see the situation around you is a bit stressful. You've got to be able to detach you're mind from it, because you can't spend all the time looking ahead. We shouldn't have icebergs here, even though the water temperature is down to 6 degrees. You just try and detach yourself from it, and just hope that everything's okay! It is pretty incredible to look out and see absolutely nothing and to realise that you're world is pretty tiny around you..."
WEATHER ANALYSIS FROM COMMANDERS' WEATHER:
Ellen continues between high pressure just SE of Tasmania and low pressure well off the W and SW. This pattern is producing a potent NNW to NW flow, generally between 24-32 kts. This will keep her moving along very steadily towards the ESE. Expect this pattern to hold until 09-12utc Friday with the wind then starting to diminish. This should allow continued good boat speed for the next 24-30 hours.
By 12utc Friday, high pressure will have nosed down towards 50-51s/160-165e and will stay in that area thru 12utc Saturday. Winds will decrease and tend to back after 12utc Friday. Goal will be to come along the bottom side of the high where we can maintain some breeze. Winds will become light on Saturday, but the very light conditions likely nearer the high, around and north of 51s. We will want to come NE some around this time and probably aim to pass north of Campbell Island sometime after 00-06utc Sunday. This will be a safer course to try and avoid the ice area to the ESE of Campbell Island.
Strategy:
1) Aim for 53-53 30s/155e by 12 utc Fri - north of there ok - do not get any further south
2) As winds back to W then SW head north toward 52n west of Campbell Island.
3) Around 52 n then go onto starboard and head east passing north of Campbell Island.
4) Continue east mostly on starboard next week staying north of Golding iceberg near 154 44s and 136w.
Wind forecasts
Wind directions are TRUE, wind speed in kts, time is UTC
Thurs, Dec 30
15: 330-345/22-30
18: 330-345/24-32
Dense fog with perhaps a little drizzle, light shower
Seas 15-20 ft
Fri, Dec 31
00: 330-345/22-30
06: 320-340/22-30
12: 320-340/20-25, near 53 20s/155e - winds diminish
18: 320-31/22-17
Areas of dense fog with few showers developing.
Seas 12-18 ft and diminishing.
Sat, Jan 1 - Winds back - passing just under high pressure cell
00: 300-280/17-12 nr 53 20s/160 30e
06: 270-250/15-10
12: 250-240/ 8-12 nr 52 20s/164e - lighter wind N and W - stronger S and E
18: 230-250/ 12-17- heading east on starboard
Showers end then mostly cloudy, dense fog less frequent
Seas 6-12 feet mostly W-WSW swell.
2004 Year in Review: November
Although it's the off season in Muskegon, ATWOS covers sailing on a year round basis. Here we present some of the best stories from ATWOS in November 2004.
Global Challenge the Movie
Each day as the yachts race in the Global Challenge, teams will file daily logs via satellite to the web site.
These log entries are designed to be more than simple position and status reports; they are the teams' way of sharing the excitement and drama as it is seen and felt by those aboard.
Via the Global Challenge's RSS Feed ATWOS will feature selected daily logs.
The boats left Argentina on November 28th headed for New Zealand. Leg 2 will include rounding Cape Horn.
Today's log is from Barclay's Adventurer
'Blood on the Spinnaker'
A Challenge Production
Starring Rab C Nesbitt as Chay Blyth, Robbie Coltrane as Pete Austen and Bette Midler as Dr Emma.
This must-see movie thriller sees a star studded cast act out a drama of intrigue and excitement. Set on a yacht in the barren wilderness of the Southern Ocean, tensions within the crew are running high after 32 days at sea.
Mike Chivers (played by Fred Dibnah) is seen, covered in blood, stumbling away from a body slumped across the chart table. Although the body turns out to be Laurent (Peter Sellers) sleeping while pretending to be navigating, and the blood only the result of an ill-advised attempt to make rehydrated raspberry and blackberry crumble in a force 9 gale, further mysteries soon follow.
A spate of sock and underpant thefts has victim Pete Austen (Robbie Coltrane) exposed and threatening retribution. Hamish (Ricky Gervais) is outraged over a missing piece of lemon meringue pie. A sabotaged zipper has rendered Pete Dowd (Tom Hanks) trapped, helpless, in his dry suit.
While crew struggle to unravel these mysteries, more questions are raised:
Why are the infamous Babochi Twins (Jon Maddocks and Simon Russell, played by James Stewart and Rock Hudson) making loaves resembling house bricks?
Did Trevor (Bill 'Compo' Owen) throw the winch handle overboard to deliberately destroy evidence?
Why does Mike Young ( John Cleese) spend so long up the mast? What or who is he hiding from?
What has Sue (Delia Smith) got hidden under the floorboards?
Why does Hamish spend so long in the bilges?
Has the boats' compass been tampered with (or are we meant to be going this way)??
Watch the answers unfold and follow the fortunes of the crew in this unforgetable adventure story.
Opening in Wellington shortly.
Also Starring:
Anne Robinson as Mel Schofield, Barbara Windsor as Jane Topham, Errol Flynn as Jon Waeeland, Jim Carey as James Morbey, Judi Dench as Lesley.
Special guests: Kate Winslet as Cathy, Sean Connery and Lulu as Skipper's Mum and Dad.
Linky Sailing News
Racing Brits win Hobart. Skandia totaled could rebuild
News Disney update
Great Lakes What's a seciche?
Longitude Countdown
RACE POSITIONS 0930 GMT: SKANDIA 7th, dropping back to 560 miles from VIRBAC as he sails away in the storm. Nearest competitor behind, excluding PROFORM, is ARCELOR (Joe Seeten), 547 miles to the west.
Nick’s quote of the day: ‘It was great to cross the Dateline, puts you in the right frame of mind to finish. Before that you really feel like you are half way around the world and going backwards. Now, I feel I am just get closer and closer‘
RACE UPDATE DAY GOING IN TO 54th DAY
SKANDIA HANGS ON TO WIND LONGER THAN EXPECTED: But Nick is likely to fall out of the back of the low pressure system ahead of him shortly. This same system, a 1000 miles to his south east, is giving VMI, TEMENOS and VIRBAC a real pasting. TEMENOS reported 50 to 55 knots of wind this morning, and even the vastly experienced Dominic Wavre explained that he was in ‘survival mode’. Nick is in a relatively complex situation between a high pressure system to his north east and two areas of low pressure...one way or another the next Southern Ocean depression will swing along at some point and take him with it to the east, Cape Horn some 3,500 miles away.
LEADERS EXPECT TO BE AT CAPE HORN MONDAY: BONDUELLE continues to hold a substantial 194 mile lead, and second place PRB has re-extended his lead on EECOVER to 85 miles as Golding is forced to gybe to the north east.
THE PITSTOP UPDATE: VM MATERIAUX still working away in his little bay in the south east of Tasmania, repair work nearing completion. Marc Thiercelin had ‘the worst 48 hours possible’ as he made his way in steep seas, but light airs, towards Christchurch (east coast of NZ) where he will make a decision as to whether to accept external assistance or not (which would disqualify him from the race)
RENDEZ-VOUS WITH GLOBAL CHALLENGE FLEET: Nick was quite happy to hear that 300 miles on his bow are the Global Challenge fleet, themselves racing round the world the ‘wrong’ way (east to west, against the prevailing winds), on their way to Wellington having just cross the Southern Ocean from Cape Horn. This pay-as-you-go race for Amateurs is run by the Challenge Business, so if following Nick inspires you to have a go yourself, albeit in a slightly tamer kind of boat, then check out http://www.globalchallenge2004.com. We hope to link Nick up with one of the Global Challenge boats tomorrow by Iridium.
EXTRACTS OF AUDIO CONFERENCE WITH NICK courtesy of Geolink/Iridium:
‘Breeze has dropped off a lot, but its not that bad, we are still moving. It will get lighter and lighter until I fall out of the breeze...
It was great to cross the Dateline, puts you in the right frame of mind to finish. Before that you really feel like you are half way around the world and going backwards. Now, I feel I am just get closer and closer.
Awesome to have the [Global Challenge] fleet out here – I have company from a safety point of view. It’s a great race and I have great admiration for the crews and Challenge Business’
The New Year With Ellen
Conrad continues to make considerable gains after leaping into 11th place yesterday as HELLOMOTO sails at speed downwind around the south of the easterly moving high pressure over Tasmania, which has trapped Ocean Planet and Arcelor-Dunkerque in light headwinds further to the North
The mental pressure of racing in the southern ocean starts to play on Conrad’s mind as he fights his competitive urge to be courageous and cut through the ice field to jump up the race track, but instead favour of a more northerly track to avoid iceberg alley and live longer…
Not so alone for New Year – it looks like Conrad will have the company of a young lady to celebrate New Year with after all. Ellen MacArthur is on the same latitude soon to roll past him on her 75ft record-breaking trimaran ‘B&Q’…Conrad has double rations of champagne out for the occasion!
Conrad Humphreys interview from onboard HELLOMOTO this morning courtesy of Geolink/Iridium:
“I was pretty surprised to find out via a text message that I’d moved up into 11th place yesterday passing VM Materiaux, I wasn’t expecting that at all, although I knew Tasmania was well up to the North. That was pretty exciting, and now it’s even more important to keep pushing in these great conditions with a good 25 knot NW breeze and 1 reef in the mainsail, genoa and staysail up. This HP ridge extends all the way down to 54 degrees South, so we just have to keep trying to sail around it and then come up on the South Westerlies as they materialise afterwards. It’s quite rewarding to be making places, what’s more rewarding to me, though, is that since leaving the High Pressure ridge at Cape Town I’ve actually taken 300m out of the leaders and nearly 600m out of Nick on Skandia in this Southern Ocean period. I haven’t paid much attention to the position reports, but it’s great to know that down here I’ve been sailing fast and making good miles on the boats in front.
“I spoke to Bruce on Ocean Planet yesterday, and he doesn’t want to come down to 50 degrees south, so he tacked back to the North. I don’t know if he fixed his radar so I imagine he has concerns over the ice for that reason, but I wouldn’t want to be in his shoes as this ridge is drifting east and it’s centred right over the top of him, and I can’t see he’s going to punch through it for the next 5 days, I’d rather be in a gale any day. Arcelor Dunkerque will be upwind in 30 knots for a couple of days, and then possibly have a 24 hour park up but not more than that before the SW breeze catches him and sends him on his way. I could still close a lot more miles on Arcelor Dunkerque, even draw up alongside, but it largely depends on how courageous my course is through the ice. I could easily gybe on the SW wind shift and push off East again, but I’d be down at 54 or 55 S and as we know there’s a huge ice field in that same position. The big difference being that I’d be in 30 knots going downwind as opposed to the leaders who went through it at 10 knots upwind. I don’t think my stress levels would cope with that, particularly with my power issues at the moment. If I am feeling a little more courageous, I could cut the corner a bit and get through that ice, I could well sail past Arcelor. At the moment my gut feeling is that I’ll try to make my way back north and that would allow him to sneak ahead but there could be no more than 100 miles in it by 2nd January.
“I would need to get 400m further north, like Nick, to get over the top of the ice. It’s a real hard one, I haven’t ruled out going through, but I just know that this race is stressful enough without putting yourself through it, which I don’t need to do at this stage in my life. You’re fighting your competitive urge the whole time in your own mind. I know I could cut 300m off the corner here. I think it was Shackleton who said something like it’s better to live the life of a donkey than that of a courageous lion. You’re fighting these urges to go for it, hang on to the sail longer, put your foot down harder, or sail through the ice, and yet you know you’ll spend that whole period living on edge, not sleeping, staying up on deck but not seeing anything. I probably don’t need to feel like that, but there’s a little naughty feeling in me saying ‘go for it’…
“I’m at 52 South and the sea temperature is the biggest difference when you drop even 1 degree, it was hovering about 8 - 9 degrees yesterday but today it just dropped to 6 degrees, and the air is noticeably chillier, but we’re still in the NW breeze so it’s relatively okay. It’s quite good as I’m reading Ranulph Fiennes’ biography of Scott, and you have to remind yourself that those guys were in minus 55 degrees, so it makes me realise that we’re quite warm at the moment – what a good choice of book to have right now!
“I’m looking forward to spending New Year with Ellen! She could come quite close, if she wants to shout down the airwaves to me that would be great. She’ll be in the same pattern going fast and like me she’s quite a careful sailor too, and I don’t think either of us will be taking too much risk. Although she may be on three hulls in a race against time, the competition is still yourself, and in that way we have the same mental pressure, even if the race is different for us both. I expect she’s got her foot down and trying to figure out her plan to go through the ice or maybe we’ll be climbing back up to the north together and we can share a toast. I forgot to drink my Cape Leeuwin champagne so I’ll have extra rations!”
Vendee Globe Report 30 December
Whilst we go about our daily routines 20 lone sailors are racing around the world without a stop.
Each weekday ATWOS will present a report on the 2004-2005 Vendee Globe race. Who will join Lamazou, Desjoyeaux etc. as winners? Who will be a breakout young star like Ellen Macarthur? Which sailors will participate in dramas such as those of Pete Goss & Yves Parlier?
The report will cover the rhythm of the race, whether it's fast or slow, what's the degree of difficulty, is it iceberg territory?
Each day we'll check the standings to see who the leaders are and who else is on the move.
The fleet roundup will cover news of interest from any and all boats both the success's and the inevitable failures.
From the lone sailors will highlight the most interesting communications from the multi national group of sailors.
Rhythm of the Race "1380 miles ahead of Bonduelle, Cape Horn will mark the end of a long southern ocean marathon."
Standings 1. Bonduelle 2. PRB 194 miles back 3. Ecover 279 miles back
Fleet Round Up Golding moves. Stuck North. 5000 miles
From the Lone SailorsBruce Schwab "Today things are going pretty well on the good ship Ocean Planet." Vincent Riou "This strategy has been totally determined by the presence of icebergs. Without them I would never have let Jean go." Mike Golding "My ETA [to Cape Horn] is approximately midday on 3rd January. I’m working the boat hard to get through the transition and it would be nice to break the cape to cape record...apart from anything else it will save us getting low on anything!"
British Boat Takes Hobart
In 60 years of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, Aera has become the third British boat to have won the coveted handicap trophy. Owner of the Ker 55, Nick Lykiardopulo, joins the exalted company of Captain John Illingworth who won the inaugural Sydney Hobart Race in 1945 aboard Rani, and former prime minister Ted Heath who sailed to victory in 1968 aboard Morning Cloud.
Aera sailed into Hobart on Wednesday afternoon but the crew had a nervous wait to see if any of the smaller boats could snatch The Tattersalls Cup away from them. Skipper Jez Fanstone would not allow himself to believe he'd won until it was mathematically beyond doubt. "That was a three-day race and we spent two and a half years preparing for it, and you only get one shot at it. So to bring all the pieces together and to get it right is very satisfying. We came here and did what we set out to do, to beat the boats in our part of the race and to get here in one piece."
Fanstone paid credit to the team around him. "Out there, people were backing each other up the whole way, helping each other through. We've got a lot of experience on board this boat, and we've got a lot of experience in this race. Two and half years ago, when we started building the boat, we knew that we would be coming here to do this race in 2004. We designed a lot of the boat around this race. For instance, we knew that when we put up the storm trysail and the smallest jib that the boat would still be going well."
Many of this year's crew, Fanstone included, raced with Lykiardopulo aboard the old Aera, a Swan 46 which won her division in 1998, another race beset by gale force conditions. But to win the race overall is an achievement that Fanstone will cherish as one of the pinnacles of his professional career. Fellow crew member George Skuodas has competed in the Olympics and for GBR Challenge in the last America's Cup, but he rates this win as one of the most special. "It's pretty big. You can go to the Olympics and sail in the America's Cup and that's all very good - but winning a major ocean race like this is like winning a Major in Golf or a Grand Slam in tennis. This is a big event and it's nice to have on your CV that you won this race against 115 other yachts."
When the six-and-a-half foot Skuodas competed in the 1996 Olympic Games, it was as crew in the two-man Star keelboat for Glyn Charles, one of those who lost his life in the Bass Strait during the fateful 1998 Sydney Hobart Race. For Skuodas, winning this race in such testing conditions held a significance that few others could ever understand.
"I haven't done this race since Glyn died, so it's very poignant. I think a lot of us on board were thinking about Glyn. It's a lonely place out there and he was in our thoughts a lot."
"I'm glad to have won it. Of course nothing will replace Glyn being here, but it's nice to think that he might be looking down on us and that he's enjoying this win as much as we are."
Aera's owner Nick Lykiardopulo and crew enter the record books alongside other famous foreigners such as Ted Turner (USA), Jim Kilroy (USA), Harold Cudmore (IRE), Karl Kwok (HK) to have secured handicap victory in this iconic race.
As Overall Winner on IRC Handicap, Aera will be presented The Tattersalls Trophy and a Rolex timepiece. A presentation will be made to Aera and the Divisional Winners will receive their Winner's burgees (flags) during a public dockside event on the landing outside Constitution Dock in Hobart at 11:00am (AEDT) on Friday 31 December 2004.
The last placed yacht in the race is Gillewa, 60nm south of Gabo Island (off the southern tip of New South Wales) at 2340AEDT, with still 334nm to go.
Top 5 Line Honours standings
1. Nicorette finished at 05:10:44 hours, 29/1/04
2. AAPT - finished at 11:40:42 hours, 29/1/04
3. Brindabella - finished at 13:56:50 hours, 29/1/04
4. Aera - finished at 15:43:43, 29/1/04
5. Seriously Ten - finished at 16:16:38 hours, 29/1/04
(please visit www.rolexsydneyhobart.com for the full list of finishers)
Provisional IRC Overall Standings, recorded at 2340 (AEDT), 30 December 2004
1. Aera
2. Nicorette
3. Ichi Ban
4. AAPT
5. Brindabella
Provisional Divisional Standings, recorded at 2340 (AEDT), 30 December 2004
IRC
Div. A Aera
Div. B Loki
Div. C Nips-N-Tux
Div. D Wild Oats (still racing) Div. E Love & War (still racing)
PHS
1. Seriously TEN
Sydney 38
1. Chutzpah
Volvo 60
1. Seriously TEN
Twenty-one yachts have finished, 41 are still racing and 54 yachts have retired
Now Too Little Wind
The wind is conspiring to help Aera secure handicap victory in the 60th Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race. When the British 55-footer charged up the Derwent River yesterday afternoon she enjoyed 20-knot thermal winds to propel her past the finish line just off Hobart's waterfront. Only a handful of other boats made it to Hobart before dusk, when the wind switched off until daybreak.
By the hour, Aera's grip on The Tattersalls Cup becomes stronger as potential challengers fall victim to the lighter breezes that have now taken hold of the Tasmanian coastline. Swan 48 Loki was a potential challenger on overall handicap, but owner Stephen Ainsworth saw that chance slip away earlier today. "We knew we had to finish at 8.30 this morning to stand a chance of a top three placing but when the breeze disappeared all hope of that faded. But that's yacht racing. In the Rolex Sydney Hobart there are a number of races within the race. There are all sorts of obstacles in the way. Unless you get through them all at the right time, you're not going to win it."
However, Loki still holds top spot in Division B and she will be hoping that the wind will now conspire in her favour to retain that title. Whatever the outcome for the Swan 48, there is no doubt Loki's crew had one of the more comfortable rides across the Bass Strait. Her crew took it in turns to take a shower on board the boat while enjoying the final spinnaker run up the Derwent. Compared with some of the other crews to have stepped ashore at Hobart over the past two days, Loki's have been one of the more sweet-smelling.
While two days ago, the difficulties in reaching Hobart were caused by an excess of wind it is the predominant lack of wind that has meant that by this afternoon only 13 boats had finished. There are some 48 others that need to overcome the fickle breezes before they can reach Hobart. Bringing up the rear and more than 350 miles away in the northern Bass Strait is the 31-footer Gillawa, now the smallest boat still racing.
Skiff sailor Tony Hannan was greatly relieved to have finished aboard the Lyons 46 Austmark this afternoon, and to sail into a sunny, almost-warm Hobart. When asked if he was glad to have done the race, Hannan replied diplomatically: "Well I'm glad I'm here. We had a young bloke on board, only 21, he did it for the first time and I guarantee he'll go again next year. For me, I do one about every 14 years, thanks very much."
"We had the storm gear up in the southerly just after we radioed in... We battled across the Strait. Two days later we eventually went sailing again, as opposed to just getting hammered with waves and a lot of cold wind and water. But you soon forget those moments and you enjoy the spinnaker run down the Tasmanian coast, the sun comes out, and it's not so bad. You forget the worst and remember the best."
Top 5 Line Honours standings
1. Nicorette finished at 05:10:44 hours, 29/1/04
2. AAPT - finished at 11:40:42 hours, 29/1/04
3. Brindabella - finished at 13:56:50 hours, 29/1/04
4. Aera - finished at 15:43:43, 29/1/04
5. Seriously Ten - finished at 16:16:38 hours, 29/1/04
(please visit www.rolexsydneyhobart.com for the full list of finishers)
Provisional IRC standings, recorded at 1800 (AEDT), 30 December 2004
1. Aera
2. Nicorette
3. Ichi Ban
4. AAPT
5. Brindabella
December 29, 2004
Nearing Half Way
KEY DATA DAY 32 1510 GMT: 1 day 21 hours 15 minutes ahead of Joyon
OMEGA: Official timekeeper for Ellen MacArthur
Lat/Long: 50 48 S / 132 52 E (700 miles SW Tasmania / 1365 miles W New Zealand)
Average Boat speed: 18.44 knots (heading E)
True Wind speed: 24.8 knots (direction NW)
Sea temperature: 8.6 degrees C
Distance sailed so far: 12936 miles at an average speed of 17.2 knots
(data communicated by Thrane MiniC via BT Business Broadband)
Update based on data recorded 1510 GMT...check http://www.teamellen.com for the latest data updated hourly
IN BRIEF:
* <
* NEARLY TWO DAYS AHEAD OF THE RECORD BUT MACARTHUR KEEPS HER OWN SCORE which shows that only one person has ever actually finished a solo around the world record attempt on a multihull - and until <
* APPROXIMATELY 800 MILES TO THE HALFWAY POINT...
listen to Ellen's audio, courtesy of Geolink/Iridium, click here http://www.ocftp2.com/audio/ellen/em291204a_uk_e.mp3
IN DETAIL:
<
Despite the extreme conditions that forced MacArthur to take a more southerly route, <
But all the time in the back of her mind, as she approaches the midway point of her voyage, MacArthur is not allowing her advantage to cloud the reality: "I'm pleased we're ahead of the record that's for sure, anybody would be, but at the same time I've got the same mindset as the day I started. It's early days and I'm going to have the same mindset until the day before we hit the finish, if we make it. But it's not over until it's over - we could be an hour behind, an hour ahead, 3 days ahead. It's easy to lose that time and its also easy not to finish and that's unbelievably clear in my mind..." History tells its own story and before MacArthur started her non-stop solo round the world record attempt, only one man had managed to set race solo, non-stop around the world on board a multihull to set a new world record - that man was Francis Joyon and his record time of 72 days, 22 hours, 54 minutes and 22 seconds will stand until <
MacArthur could be at the halfway stage of her attempt in another 48 hours based on the theoretical distance of 23,965 miles that her shore team are using to measure her progress. When the data shows 11,982 miles to go, that is the midway point for <
<
ELLEN EMAIL - 0330 GMT 29.12.04
Sitting here at the chart table soaked again... Already changed clothes twice in the past 10 hours - thank goodness for Arry the air cooled generator (as i type this he's stopped for the third time in 20 mins -nback in a mo)... It's been another very hard slog... yesterday winds much lighter than predicted - so more sail changes, and the stress of hoping that when you pull the reef out you won't be putting it in just an hour later. Yesterday evening it became evident that there was a storm brewing to the west that weas going to hit us hard again - and as the hours ticked by it appeared worse than the xmas storm.... it was right...we're in it - had gusts over 45 knots, and the sea is pretty damn bad. waves breaking all over the place - and the 15m2 storm jib looks gigantic. It's been a non stop night, afternoon and morning. though looking at the clock it's now lunch time local! Just after dark i put up the storm jib, and spent half an hour adjusting the 3rd reef. both done, bearing away to avoid the risk of full on hits with the waves - though there's always the odd one which catches us out.. i got a full frontal [wave] which completely winded me whilst i was rearranging the gennaker in it's bag - and now the protective nettings gone, there's a lot more cold spray to hit the face... Storm jib went up without too many probs - then it was down below to tackle the now three hour charge trying to keep other batteries up.. genny stopped again - hold on ok on.. i guess if my stomachs in my mouth each time we fall off a wave then i can't begin to think what's happening to the fuel and oil in there.. just one more washing machine cycle... i got the batteries up to about 70 percent which under the circumstances was not bad i thought - then set about checking on deck again.. unfortunately the main had filled with a pocket of water - so next stage was another bear away and a 40 minute fight to pump the water out with the bilge pump. i could harldly stand up on deck let alone hold the pump down and work the handle.. it took about 20 goes but on my last one it worked, and i managed to get the sail back on the boom - no longer loaded down with 100 kilos of water
trying to rip it apart. on coming below i managed to get an hour or so on the floor after changing clothes again... at least i slept - then woke feeling hungry - but this time chose to ignore it - and laid my head back on the damp
fleece to snooze again. on awakening there was another 2 hours list of tasks, i bailed out the area beneath the pilot arms - but couldn't work out where the water was coming from.. finally i discover its from the old main engine bay - and there's about half a ton in there coming down the old exhaust which needs to stay open as the air for the generator cooling comes from there. so - i pumped till it was gone - about half an hour - then final part under the floor again.. (generator stopped again, and a wave just thudded on top of the coachhouse) back again!.. so i'm here now having stuffed as much ceraeal in as i can... drank my sports drink dry - and will now spend the next three hours tending to the generator... engineer back on duty! I'm really exhausted, but drying out the boat, and creating that list of jobs for after makes me feel a bit better... later on then.
ex
WEATHER ANALYSIS FROM COMMANDERS' WEATHER:
The strong N winds will be slowly coming down today. Big high swell to the NE and low pressure off the SW produced the strong flow and the worst of it has now passed. It will still be windy today, but better than yesterday, mainly 28-35 kts. Wind will back a little and be more NNW to NW. This will allow a more E heading as opposed to SE.
The NW wind then continues Thurs and Friday, speeds more on the order of 22-32 kts, though. Again, plan will be to come mainly E. This should still maintain good wind speed and a good wind angle which should allow a fast boat speed. Seas should ease a little as well and that should help make conditions a bit better over the next couple of days. Will likely come more NE for a time Friday as breeze drops off and backs more appreciably.
Pattern shows a ridge of high pressure from off the SE part of Australia extending SSE towards 50s/160-163e by 00utc Sat. This will make for lighter winds, lightest occurring near and north of 50s. Beyond this time, wind will back and become WSW and then SW. Course will then be ESE to E, probably passing between Auckland and Campbell Island.
Strategy:
1) Still think it is important to limit the southing as much as you can
2) Want to be close to 51s by 6utc Sat as flow after will back and will force you east or a little south of E
3) Have you passing between the Auckland Island and Campbell Island then
mainly an E course - staying near or north of 51 30s thru 175w
4) Do not forget Mike Golding reported iceberg at 54 44/136e so still do not want to be too far south next week.
Wind forecasts
Wind directions are TRUE, wind speed in kts, time is UTC
Wed, Dec 29 - winds back
15: 330-340/22-32
18: 330-340/22-32 - wind stronger to the E - wind may be more variable in speed
Cloudy with scattered showers and a brief squall possible
Seas subsiding to 12-20 feet
Thurs, Dec 30
00: 330-340/25-32
06: 330-340/25-32
12: 330-340/25-35, near 50 50s/143e
18: 330-340/25-32 - wind stronger to the W and S, lighter to the E
Considerable clouds. A few isolated showers
Seas 12-20 ft
Fri, Dec 31
00: 330-340/20-30 - wind stronger to the W and S, lighter to the E and N
06: 330-340/20-30
12: 330-340/20-25, near 51s/154 50e
18: 330-340/22-15 - winds begin to back
Cloudy to partly cloudy. Seas 12-16 ft and diminishing.
Airlift Planned
Imagine It. Done. 3-4 days from the Chatham Islands after diverting from the race.
Helicopter airlift to Wellington planned for crewman John Masters.
Successful yacht-to-yacht transfer of medical supplies from Team Save the Children.
Fleet leaders now less then 1000nm from the finish line.
After a successful yacht-to-yacht transfer of medical supplies from Team Save the Children, Global Challenge yacht Imagine It. Done. is making her way to Chatham Islands to seek further medical assistance for crewman John Masters.
John will be airlifted to Wellington from the Chatham Islands, as the local facilities are not adequate for his needs, although an airlift at sea is a possibility. “A helicopter will be sent from Wellington to Chatham Island,” said Andrew Roberts, Global Challenge Project Director, “and it could refuel and do an airlift at sea within a 200-mile radius if conditions allow and if the need exists. Right now it looks like it probably will be needed."
John is suffering from a serious abdominal infection and is being treated by onboard medic Dr David Roche, a general practitioner also competing in the race. They are currently approximately four days from the Islands, but the wind is forecast to strengthen to gale force and shift to the northwest making for potentially bumpy, dead upwind sailing.
Although they are currently motorsailing, once the winds rise to gale force the motor is no longer effective and they will make best speed under sail. Preparations have been made onboard to account for the weather and ensure John is as comfortable as possible.
This afternoon they are on a direct course to the islands. Theoretically, they could return to the point at which they left the course and rejoin the race, although it appears that they do not want to restart.
Skipper Dee Caffari admitted that while the safety of all the crew is of course paramount, there will always be a sense of disappointment in unfortunate situations such as these:
“It is gutting to know we cannot complete this leg,” Dee wrote from the yacht this morning, “and I know I have many disappointed crew onboard. Ultimately, people's welfare is of paramount importance but everyone has a little selfish side and I am deeply disappointed at being unable to complete the leg. Trust me, to need the medivac at the most remote part of the leg was not in my planning!
“I can honestly say that I am on an emotional roller coaster at the moment. Doing the right thing, making sure that the patient is OK and thinking of the safety of the crew but also regarding the stopping racing and therefore not completing leg two. It is really difficult to rationalise all sides to the scenario in your head at the same time. Still, nothing a Steinlager won't fix.”
The rest of the fleet is hoping the new wind from the northwest, which marks the end of a light and variable patch, will reduce the 20nm advantage Spirit of Sark is enjoying at the top. Winds up to 35 knots are expected and the yachts to the south, currently trailing the teams to the north, look set to see the strongest gusts. The breeze is being compressed between a high-pressure system and low-pressure system, creating a band of gale force wind and a return to upwind beating and conditions traditionally associated with the Southern Ocean.
POSITIONS Distance to finish
Spirit of Sark 895nm
BP Explorer 915nm
BG SPIRIT 921nm
Samsung 950nm
VAIO 955nm
Me to You 959nm
SAIC La Jolla 976nm
Barclays Adventurer 1,003nm
Team Save the Children 1,036nm
Pindar 1,174nm
Team Stelmar 3,300nm
Imagine It. Done. Suspended Racing
2004 Year in Review: October
Although it's the off season in Muskegon, ATWOS covers sailing on a year round basis. Here we present some of the best stories from ATWOS in October 2004.
32 Knots 3 Reefs
Elapsed Time: 52 days, 01 hours, 30 mins
Fleet Leader: Bonduelle (J Le Cam FRA)
HELLOMOTO: 13th out of 16, passing 600m south of Tasmania
HELLOMOTO is still sailing fast below Australia, soon to pass south of Tasmania and overtake ‘Max Havelaar’ before tonight as ‘Pacman Humphreys’ clocks the 2nd best 24 mileage of 357.2m next to leader Le Cam on ‘Bonduelle’…
Conrad intends to get further north above 50 degrees south before he runs the gauntlet of sailing downwind in 25 knots through the ice floe below New Zealand…
As Conrad approaches the Anti-meridian and the half-way stage of the race, he has 20 more days in the south to go and the temperatures are due to plummet below freezing…
Conrad Humphreys interview from onboard HELLOMOTO this morning courtesy of Geolink/Iridium:
"All’s well on board, we’re ‘submarining’ in 32 knots with 3 reefs and the staysail up. The last two days have been really good and I have a game plan for the next few days. I’m hooked into this high pressure system sitting off the Australian Bight in winds being fuelled by the system moving in from behind to generate stable 25 – 30 knot winds and great steady reaching conditions, which this boat likes a lot. I’m sailing fairly fast, not completely pedal down, but maintaining good averages. I’ve been watching leaders and regularly keeping tabs with them. In fact over the last week or so on average I’m making good progress against them. Watching the GPS every time you go to sleep and finding that you’ve made a 50m jump when you wake up is very satisfying.
“I need to get around this mess in the Tasman Sea caused by the high pressure so I have a waypoint I’m heading down to at 54 degrees south. Over the last 24 hours the breeze has been more consistent in the south and I should be able to carry this high pressure ridge in front of the low behind for the next couple of days and then use it tactically to get myself North a little bit before this SW breeze comes in and pushes me through the ice floe. I don’t want to be south at that point, not just because of the ice, but we would be sailing dead down wind in 35 knots and I’ve no intention of blasting through the ice zone at high speed. All the other boats went through this area upwind, and we’re going to go through it downwind, which means it’s harder to manoeuvre as if you are downwind you have less time to react, and you can’t just come up as the boat massively overpowers and takes off, and you can’t throw in a gybe at short notice, so it’s infinitely more stressful. Upwind, you can crash tack or bear away quickly and have 180 degrees of manoeuvrability.
“The power issue is manageable. I’m not using the radar as it doubles the ampage rate, however as soon as I get to New Zealand it will be turned on as I sail through the ice floe. Temperatures are not too bad, I’ve still got the Northerly breeze to keep temperatures bearable, although the nights are pretty cold. It will change radically when the breeze shifts to the SW, as below 50 S in a SW wind you really notice it, the wind only has to travel 700m from Antartica. It’s below 4-5 degrees in the cabin and outside not much different. The chill factor could get to – 10 degrees or more when the SW breeze comes.
“I’ve covered 1200m at an average of around 16 knots in the last 4 days which is very nice. I’m being realistic and judging my performance every 1,000 miles. It will be great to start counting down the miles home once I’ve passed the half way mark and the Anti-Meridian line in a couple of days time but I would imagine everyone is just desperate to get out of the South, which is still 20 days away for me…”
Weather Brief
HELLOMOTO is sailing on the south side of a high pressure system, which is centred just off the west coast of Tasmania, and will hang on to the stable 30 knot WNW winds for another day before the low pressure system will slow up behind the high and the wind will shift to the south west. HELLOMOTO should have overtaken Max Havelaar by the end of the day today and Conrad intends to dip further south as he continues to ride on the high pressure before then heading north again to position on the right side of the low pressure system.
Under 9000 To Go
The leader of the Vendée Globe has today passed the second Pacific gateway and has less than 9000 miles to the race finish. The leaders have an ETA at Cape Horn in record time, next Sunday, after around 57 days of racing. The distance between the most easterly iceberg sighting this morning (by Mike Golding) and the most northerly (by Jean Pierre Dick) measures a staggering 1600 miles, which is clearly a concern for the chasing pack as they anticipate this Mediterranean sized ice field. While the rich get richer averaging 15/16 knots in the forecast favourable winds all the way to the cape, the trio Josse/Wavre/Dick are set to face strong winds in around 48 hours time, accompanied by big, messy seas. Behind them, Marc Thiercelin’s sponsor Proform has asked the skipper to head for the south of New Zealand for his own safety, so that he can try to make the numerous repairs to his mast in particular. Patrice Carpentier moored off the calms of Research Bay in Tasmania at around 07h00 GMT this morning. He believes his repairs to his boom among other things will take at least 48 hours, and American Bruce Schwab had already snatched 10th place from him by today’s 10h00 GMT ranking, some 400 miles now behind Joé Seeten. The rear of the fleet now stretches out to 4711.6 miles, with Karen Leibovici struggling in a light wind zone with a very painful back and ribs, with big seas in view with the approaching depression...
Leader Jean Le Cam (Bonduelle) has a 175 mile lead over the Vendée Globe fleet as well as the highest average. He has covered 391.2 miles in the past 24 hours at an average of 16.3 knots. “After the big seas of yesterday, today’s conditions are more manageable. As a result I’ve been able to add the sauce. It’s a good day for going quickly. I don’t think there is much standing in our way till we get to Cape Horn with this current system. I remain with an ETA of 2 January.”
Vincent Riou (PRB) has been virtually as quick, with Mike Golding (Ecover) also right on the pace. “The wind is difficult on the back edge of a low pressure system” said Golding earlier today. “I’m being affected by the high pressure a little and the wind has headed a bit making it a little unstable, with shifty, varied winds. It’s comfortable to be in the same system. I may lose some ground on the frontrunners as my angle isn’t so good but not much. I’ve been pushing hard for the past 2 days, hoping to delay falling out of the system but now that’s not so important as the system is breaking up. This trio stand a good chance of ranking well now but Bonduelle is not so easy to catch up. I may be able to close down on him in the Atlantic, for now we’re pretty near our game plan. The most important thing is to get out of the Southern Ocean free of damage. It’s difficult as all you want to do is to push but you need to take care. It’s nerve-racking as there’s still ice around. I thought we’d got away from it. I had just awoken so I turned off the radar and suddenly spotted an iceberg 6 miles away. It was a fairly big iceberg so there could easily have been others around (Mike spotted it at 5.45 GMT this morning). You can see it on the radar but you have to tune it, worrying when you think that I was power reaching at 20 knots yesterday. You can rely on a radar to see something that you can see!”
Clearly still disappointed to be 637.3 miles behind Golding having been neck and neck in the latter part of last week Sébastien Josse (VMI) is nonetheless happy to have made what he hopes will be a permanent repair to his steering system. “I have lined up my rudders and am happy with the result. It works well but it’s true that I’ve only got 10 knots of wind. We’ll have to see what happens in the breeze. I have also managed to hoist a 300 m2 spinnaker (despite breaking his bow sprit in last week’s collision with an iceberg). The winds are fairly unstable but it’s enough for me to escape the calm while I await the strong wind. In any case, I will only attempt to repair my bow sprit after the Cape Horn. It’s too cold here to make resin. For the moment it’s a bit like the calm before the storm. The files show 35 knots. I hope I don’t have more than that. The advantage is that this depression will push us quickly towards the Horn. With the icebergs, the playing field is not so wide. It’s a little like Russian roulette, it distorts the race.”
With further iceberg sightings today from Jean Pierre Dick and Mike Golding, it would seem that this danger remains a major concern throughout this Vendée Globe fleet today as much for the frontrunners as those approaching the zone. Patrice Carpentier (VM Matériaux) and Marc Thiercelin (Proform) have other more pressing matters to deal with however. Patrice has found a calm zone off Research Bay in southern Tasmania to make repairs, starting with his boom, while Marc is soon to make the big decision as to whether or not he can continue. Today, there are 16 skippers still racing.
Quotes from the Boats:
Marc Thiercelin (ProForm): “I can’t work on my boat in the open sea. I am really worried before taking on the Pacific, especially as I have dismasted before (Around Alone 6 years ago). It still haunts me and I don’t want to relive such misfortune. The decision is really playing on my mind. When I start a job I always finish it. It’s the most difficult decision I will have to take. I have never retired from a race in my entire career. This time I’m afraid that the material problems will be more serious than I can deal with."
Mike Golding (Ecover): “It’s a few days to the Horn so I need to get south like everyone. It looks like we’ve got breeze to get there with a new system bring north-westerlies to westerlies. It’s desperately cold and uncomfortable with a southerly swell. It’s very stop and go and it slams at times. I have a header wind so it’s not fabulously effective. The heater takes the edge off the cold and above all keeps the electronics dry. The temperature inside is 0 degrees. When it’s cold you have to eat more than normal to keep warm. Rather than the usual 3000 calories I’m on about 5 to 6000 now in the 3 meals (including cereal). You need a high fat content to have energy to beat the cold. I’ve still got some sliced bread aboard so I can have toast and marmite! I’ve been well rested for the past couple of days though last night was pretty busy with some big wind shifts.”
Conrad Humphreys (Hellomoto): “If the weather holds till after Tasmania I may well be able to pass the next boat before then, after that things look very complicated weather wise. To stay with the wind I need to make southerly. I’m still very much sailing my own race and have 25 knots of north-easterly on a good wind angle of 120 degrees. I’m under full main, gennaker and genoa going very fast without pushing the boat. It’s been good for the morale to pass the others though the most rewarding thing is that I haven’t lost any ground on the leaders. The transition from Tasmania to the Pacific is going to be very difficult and we may be held up for a day or so. By 31st December I think I’ll be the furthest south of the fleet and then I’ll have to tackle the line of icebergs ahead. I intend to pick a line and hope nothing is in the way.”
Nick Moloney (Skandia): “Looks like I’ll be on the wind for a bit longer, I should start reaching for a bit soon though. I’ve got a pretty stringent deadline to get to 170 degrees east in the next day and a bit, although the models show I might run out of wind and miss a good section of flow. Just going as fast as I can now to get there in time, but I could be spending New Year’s Eve becalmed. I’m quite apprehensive about the stretch to Cape Horn. Bit of a mental crossroads. I’m now breaking away from NZ. I’ve got a mental waypoint of 10,000 miles to the finish, which will be 3,000 miles to the Horn.”
Anne Liardet (Roxy) : “It wasn’t very gallant of Conrad Humphreys to have passed me (Laughs). He is going really quickly. I’m not complaining though, I feel in harmony with my boat. I have a good trajectory, wind and sea on the beam and Roxy is gliding along nicely. I’m not getting bored but I admit that I hadn’t prepared myself for the lack of fresh food. I still have some oranges left as well as a few yogurt, which I keep for special occasions. I also celebrated Christmas as our forefathers did, giving myself an orange. I spend a lot of time on the weather so as to position myself well and feel like I’ve been on the right latitude for a couple of days. I’ve been concentrating solely on this project for the past 2 ½ years, and it’s hard to image what I am going to do after the Vendée Globe.”
Vendee Globe Report 29 December
Whilst we go about our daily routines 20 lone sailors are racing around the world without a stop.
Each weekday ATWOS will present a report on the 2004-2005 Vendee Globe race. Who will join Lamazou, Desjoyeaux etc. as winners? Who will be a breakout young star like Ellen Macarthur? Which sailors will participate in dramas such as those of Pete Goss & Yves Parlier?
The report will cover the rhythm of the race, whether it's fast or slow, what's the degree of difficulty, is it iceberg territory?
Each day we'll check the standings to see who the leaders are and who else is on the move.
The fleet roundup will cover news of interest from any and all boats both the success's and the inevitable failures.
From the lone sailors will highlight the most interesting communications from the multi national group of sailors.
Rhythm of the race 381 miles on the counter yesterday. 384 today for leader Le Cam
Standings 1. Bonduelle 2. PRB 197 miles back 3. Ecover 223 miles back
Fleet Round Up Thiercelin ponders. Berg roulette. Fightback
From the Lone SailorsMarc Thiercelin "ccording to the extent of the damage, and whether or not I am capable of making repairs, I will call in outside assistance if need be. I know that I will then be out of the race, but I like to finish what I’ve started. As a result I will complete the course and bring my boat back to Les Sables d’Olonne alone." Conrad Humphreys "All’s well on board, we’re ‘submarining’ in 32 knots with 3 reefs and the staysail up." Mike Golding "You spend four years wanting to get down here and after two weeks of it you spend the rest of the time wanting to get out of it. That is the sum of it."
Linky Sailing News
Racing Aera leads on handicap, Nicorette takes line honors. Skandia recovery
News + 43 hrs. Cheyenne in
Great Lakes Close the canal
Medical Mission at Sea
Each day as the yachts race in the Global Challenge, teams will file daily logs via satellite to the web site.
These log entries are designed to be more than simple position and status reports; they are the teams' way of sharing the excitement and drama as it is seen and felt by those aboard.
Via the Global Challenge's RSS Feed ATWOS will feature selected daily logs.
The boats left Argentina on November 28th headed for New Zealand. Leg 2 will include rounding Cape Horn.
Today's log is from Imagaine It. Done
After a slightly fraught 24hrs Team Save the Children have saved the day and we're back to our normal happy selves. Yesterday began with one of our crew, John Masters, taking a turn for the worse after having been ill for a few days. Out here in the Southern Ocean, over a thousand miles from land, we have to be almost entirely medically self-sufficient. The lack of shipping and a maximum helicopter range of a few hundred miles means rescue from here is more or less impossible. It's been under the immense pressure of these isolated conditions that Dr David Roche, our superstar on board medic, has been working to ensure that John is as comfortable and stable as possible. However, with our stock of the right antibiotics running low and John's fever running high the doc, in consultation with the fleet medical advisors, took the decision that John should be taken off the boat as soon as was practical. Challenge Business's crisis operations plan was immediately stepped up from level 3 to level 1 with a single phone call.
Falmouth Coastguard were brought into the loop to coordinate with the local rescue services and the decision was made that we should stop racing and head for the Chatham Islands off the coast of New Zealand as fast as possible to rendezvous with a coastguard helicopter. Before this could happen, still days away from rescue range, we needed to restock our drug supply.
As an ocean racing yacht we carry an extremely extensive medical kit, containing everything we need to deal with almost every eventuality. What we can't carry is enough of every drug to ensure that we can cater for the continued treatment of a patient for weeks at a time. In this sort of scenario other boats in the fleet can be called on to assist and re-supply a vessel in need. With this in mind, as the closest boat to us, Team Save the Children were requested to cease racing and to turn around to come to our aid. This they did without complaint or hesitation.
With John's condition worsening Team Save the Children turned their engine on and the boat around and between us we started another race for a Southern Ocean rendezvous. At dawn this morning Team Save the Children were sighted and we prepared for a Global Challenge first, transfer of vital medical supplies from boat to boat in the roaring forties of the Pacific Ocean.
Dee and the Team Save the Childrens skipper Paul Kelly acted with their customary coolness and a line was thrown between the two yachts, attached to a waterproof canister containing the drugs. With hearts in mouths we watched the throw and the line reached across first time. Half way across, the canister handle broke and the drugs went in the drink. Displaying his usual selflessness Paul instantly turned his yacht around for the second time and retrieved the crucial med's and the transfer was completed.
Below decks while this was going on the Doc's expert treatment and exemplary professional care had taken effect and John's condition was stabilising and the fever had subsided.
John has now returned to a healthy colour and is happy and smiling again, receiving royal treatment and aware that we can continue to treat him until he can be safely evacuated when we reach The Chatham Islands.
He and we would like to thank everyone, particularly the skipper and crew of Team Save the Children, for all the help and best wishes that we've received.
The Anti Meridian
RACE POSITIONS 0930 GMT: SKANDIA 7th, dropped back to 500 behind VIRBAC as he hooks in to big winds ahead. Next boat behind almost 500 away as well. BONDUELLE extending lead slowly but surely, 190 ahead of PRB.
Nick’s quote of the day from an overnight conversation: ‘Not sure if I’m going to make it or not, got great speed at the moment 12 to 15 knots, just not sure its going to last. I’d really like to be able to stay in the same system as JP [Virbac] if I can, but he’s off now...’
RACE UPDATE DAY GOING IN TO 53nd DAY
SKANDIA APPROACHING ANTI-MERIDIAN: Just over 115 miles to the International Dateline, where Nick will gain a day in his life! 180 degrees East/West will be an important milestone for Nick as he starts to count down the degrees of longitude right back to 0 on the Greenwich Meridian (well in fact Les Sables is just short of this). After this milestone, Nick’s next mental landmark is the 10,000 miles to go mark, just over a thousand miles away.
TRIANGLE TO AVOID: Check out the Meteo France weather maps and you will see a triangle that Nick really wants to avoid, but its not obvious! He has the same old depression trying to swallow him from New Zealand, tracking south east towards him. Then there is a big area of high pressure to his north east, which is providing him with good pace at the moment with a north westerly airflow. And then underneath him there is a low pressure system building in strength. In between the three there is nothing – and this area is very close to him. If he can make it across in time before this area grows he will continue to have a few more days of good progress before having to wait for the next system to catch him. If he doesn’t its going to be a slow few days...
To view the maps visit http://www.nickmoloney.com
LEADERS LESS THAN 1700 TO CAPE HORN: BONDUELLE holding a substantial lead of 190 miles over PRB, who is still being hunted down by Mike Golding on ECOVER – now just 47 miles behind him. Fast and furious sailing conditions, and ‘bitterly cold’, as the leading trio make great progress to the famous Cape Horn, the exit of the Southern Ocean.
THE PITSTOP UPDATE: VM MATERIAUX is still in Tasmanian pitstop, and PROFORM still trying to find shelter in the islands south of New Zealand. OCEAN PLANET has now moved up in to 10th place, and HELLOMOTO continues his great progress back up the fleet after his 3 days stop in the waters of Cape Town. A new generation boat than the older boats around him, but his 4 to 5 knot speed differential has been impressive nonetheless. At 0930gmt he was just 8 miles from taking 12th place from Max Havelaar.
EXTRACTS OF AUDIO CONFERENCE WITH NICK courtesy of Geolink/Iridium:
None today, Nick was busy!
JARGON BUSTER: UNDERSTANDING THE WEATHER MAPS: The weather maps show the isobars of atmospheric pressure, a (D) represents a Depression (low pressure system), and an (A) an Anticyclone (high pressure system). The small fleches indicate the wind strength and direction. The wind direction is from the end of the line with the fleche to the other end of the small line. The wind strength is 10 knots per full fleche (a half fleche therefore being 5 knots). The weather 'fronts' are indicated - blue for cold front, red for 'warm' front and purple for 'occluded' (when cold front has caught up and merged with warm front). In the southern hemisphere, the wind rotates in a clockwise direction around the Anticyclones, and anti-clockwise around the Depressions. The reverse of what happens in the northern hemisphere.
Aera leads Hobart on Handicap
British 55-footer Aera has stolen the handicap lead from Nicorette in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race after crossing the finish line at 15:43:43 hours. Their corrected time under IRC handicap means Nick Lykiardopulo and his team have prevented Ludde Ingvall and the brand new super maxi Nicorette from winning a rare double. Ingvall, however, will be well satisfied to have won line honours in one of the toughest races of the event's 60-year history.
As a Volvo Ocean Race veteran, Aera's skipper Jez Fanstone is well used to racing far from land. In stark contrast to Nicorette's strategy of hugging the Tasmanian coast to escape the worst of the southerly swell, Fanstone took Aera on the most seaward course of the whole 116-boat fleet. At one point the British crew was 150 miles from land. "We were the furthest offshore boat, which we felt was taking us where we wanted to go," explained Fanstone. "We didn't go for shelter under the Tasmanian shore because with the wind direction we didn't think there would be any.'
Aera crashed and bashed her way through some harsh weather. "Forty-four knots and big," was Fanstone's succinct description. "The waves were manageable but the problem was they built up very quickly, they broke on top which wouldn't have been very pleasant in one of the smaller boats. We had to back off occasionally. We went to the trysail but we were still doing 9 knots even with the trysail."
Then the brains trust on Aera spotted something on a weather file that tempted them even further out into the Tasman Sea. "We got this grib file yesterday morning which showed a bit of a left-hand shift going through. At that point we were heading towards Tasmania but we tacked back and went south again, and it came in. Beauty!"
With all the talk of survival sailing, there hasn't been much talk of windshifts and the other niceties of tactical racing. But Aera's bold move may prove to be one that earns them The Tattersalls Cup, the trophy for handicap victory in the Rolex Sydney Hobart. Fanstone is not allowing himself the luxury of believing he has won yet. "We can only tell with the boats that are here, some of the small boats could have a blinder. It's a bit early to say. You have to wait until everyone finishes, don't you?"
Fanstone said he was happy just to have fulfilled Aera's pre-race plan of beating all her similar-sized rivals such as Ichi Ban and Yendys. "All the way through the Rolex Trophy series we were checking in with them, seeing where we were strong and where we were weak. All we could do was win our part of the fleet, we can't influence what happens in front or behind us."
Other finishers during the day were the 66-foot AAPT, Sean Langman's lightweight downwind flyer, and George Snow's Jutson 79 Brindabella. Langman finished runner-up on line honours to Nicorette despite being heavily optimised for downwind sailing. This race had been a hard upwind slog for Langman and his small crew of eight, which included Australia's Olympic 49er skiff representatives in Athens earlier this year, Chris Nicholson and Gary Boyd.
AAPT surged down the New South Wales coast on the first day of the race, but managed to find a patch of no wind in an otherwise wind-ravaged Bass Strait. Langman could do nothing as the bigger boats stomped away from him. Frustration and the desire to make up the lost ground caused Langman and his skiff sailors to put the hammer down. In the process he made an error that could have cost him the boat. "We were trying to get further west and using too much of the waterballast and it knocked us down."
The boat was on its side, the mast parallel with the water, pinned down by the water in the ballast tank. Water was dangerously close to leaking through the main hatch. "I didn,t quite see my life pass before my eyes," said Langman, "but it was pretty serious. We dropped the jib, moved more water into the other tank and just tried to get the mast pointing towards the sky."
Once he'd recovered from that, Langman went into survival mode, and as with Nicorette, he profited from the conservative, shore-hugging approach.
The Bureau of Meteorology forecast predicts another day of southerlies, but with a number of smaller yachts still in the hunt tomorrow will determine whether Aera's bold move out to sea is the one that wins the coveted Tattersalls Cup.
Five yachts have finished, 57 are still racing and 54 yachts have retired
Provisional Line honours standings, recorded at 1800 (AEDT) local time, 29 December 2004
1. Nicorette finished at 05:10:44 hours
2. AAPT - finished at 11:40:42 hours
3. Brindabella - finished at 13:56:50 hours
4. Aera - finished at 15:43:43
5. Seriously Ten - finished at 16:16:38 hours
Provisional IRC standings, recorded at 1800 (AEDT), 29 December 2004
1. Aera
2. Nicorette
3. AAPT
4. Brindabella
December 28, 2004
Ludde's Tour of Tasmania
They say that big boys don't cry, and Ludde Ingvall just about held back the tears as the emotion of winning line honours in the 60th Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race began to sink in. Ingvall and his 15 crewmembers on the 90-foot Maxi yacht Nicorette were red-eyed with fatigue but jubilant and relieved to have reached a damp and chilly Hobart at 5.10.44am (AEDT).
Their elapsed time for the race of about 2 days 16 hours 00 minutes 44 seconds was almost a day outside the record set by Volvo Ocean 60 Nokia in 1999. This year just to bring a brand new boat home in one piece was achievement enough. After the capsize of Skandia and the structural failure of Konica Minolta, Nicorette's victory was a triumph of caution and prudent seamanship.
1st to finish Nicorette Crew
Ingvall, who took line honours in 2000 and with it the Illingworth Trophy, explained his strategy: "When we crossed Bass Straits, the plan was that if it got worse we would head for the shore. So we headed for the shore and from then onwards it was not easy, but it got easier. We were able to sail tactically. We sailed with really small sails at times. These new boats are so easily driven you don't need much sail to get some big speeds."
Nicorette then started tacking in and out of the Tasmanian coastline, with sometimes only a metre of water under the swing keel as she cut inside Mariah Island - a manoeuvre rarely seen in this race's 60 years. "We went into every cove," said Ingvall. "I took the boys on Ludde's 'Tour of Tasmania'!"
If Nicorette had stayed in the big southerly swell further out to sea, it might have been a very different story. "Yacht racing is about eliminating errors," Ingvall commented. "We eliminated a big chunk of errors by heading into the shore when we knew what was coming. The problem is that you launch off waves with such speed and hit the bottom of the wave, and that's when these boats break up."
"It's Formula One. If a Formula One racing driver put his foot down at the start, that's when the whole thing would explode. You really need to learn to control the speed and power of the boat. At one time, the crew had a speed limit of 8 knots, and we said that we must sail no faster."
So Ingvall's refusal to be tempted by speed was what gave him line honours in the race. Now he will wait to see if he can achieve an illustrious Double, and win on IRC handicap. Only five boats have earned that honour in 60 years, so to do so would crown an already extraordinary achievement. At the time of finishing, the greatest threat comes from the British boat Aera with 107 nautical miles to go to the finish. If Nick Lykiardopulo can bring his 55-footer home by 7.04.56pm (AEDT) this evening, then The Tattersalls Cup will be his. AAPT was lying in second place on the water, but Sean Langman, with just under 50 nm to go, has little hope of overhauling Nicorette on corrected time. Plenty of smaller boats could steal Nicorette's thunder if the conditions take a massive shift in their favour. Unlikely, but sometimes anything seems possible in this race.
Ingvall said they had done all they could do, and now they would have to sit and wait to see how Aera and the other boats fare. He wished them well, but wished Nicorette better. "It would be a great honour for the team. It would be the biggest honour of our careers," he said.
Such was the level of emotion, Ingvall would not say whether he would be back to defend his victory in a year's time. "I don't know. Right now I need to think about a lot of things. Just when you see what's happened to Skandia, I would hate to lead 15 smart, beautiful young men into that kind of situation."
But the war-weary skipper made those comments soon after what he described as the toughest two days of his sailing career. "Two days feels like three weeks. In this race, you never know what you get. You have to prepare for the worst." Whatever he might be feeling right now, though, there is the sense that Ludde Ingvall is unable to stay away from the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race. "When I was watching my black and white TV in 1970 I said I wanted to do it. I can't believe that I've won it twice now. It's the biggest race there is."
Rolex Sydney Hobart Race Record: Nokia DEN/AUS 1 day 19 hrs 48 mins 02 secs in 1999 (Expired 8.58AM AEDT on Tuesday 28th December)
Provisional Line honours standings, recorded at 0820 (AEDT) local time, 29 December 2004
1. Nicorette finished at 05:10:44 hours
2. AAPT
3. Brindabella
4. Seriously Ten
5. Aera
6. Ichi Ban
A Look at B&Q To Leeuwin
Ellen Macarthur sailing the 75 foot trimaran B&Q has now set 3 new solo record times:
New solo times for Ellen MacArthur, B&Q trimaran:
Ushant-Equator 8d 18h 20m (7.12.04 0230GMT)
Ushant-Cape of Good Hope 19d 9h 46m (17.12.04 1756 GMT)
Ushant-Cape Leeuwin 29d 14h 5m (27.12.04 2215GMT)
All marks were set just last winter by Francis Joyon on Idec. In addition to Idec Macarthur has outpaced several of the fully crewed boats that have held the Jules Verne trophy from 1993 on.
At the equator she lead Sport Elec and Explorer. Sailing from the Equator to the Cape of Good Hope she was faster than Orange, Enza, Explorer and Kingfisher which she sailed with a full crew on an unsuccessful fully crewed record attempt.
At the Cape of Good Hope she posted a faster time than Sport Elec, Enza and Explorer. From Good Hope to Australia's Cape Leeuwin she was faster both than Explorer and Orange.
At Cape Leeuwin B&Q's time is inside Sport Elec and Explorer.
Of these the most impressive is her edge over Orange from the equator to Good Hope and from Good Hope to Leeuwin. Orange was one of the new type of catamaran's built for the race.
For Ellen to be sailing alone and giving up 30 feet of length to Orange and still be ahead is definitely of note.
2004 Year in Review: September
Although it's the off season in Muskegon, ATWOS covers sailing on a year round basis. Here we present some of the best stories from ATWOS in September 2004.
Nicorette Wins Line Honors
The 90-foot super maxi Nicorette has taken Line Honours in the 60th Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, giving owner/skipper Ludde Ingvall his second victory in four years.
Nicorette crossed the finish line off Hobart’s Castray Esplanade at 5.10.44 am on a chilly and wet morning, sailing up the Derwent River under spinnaker in an 8 knot southerly breeze.
The finish was in marked contrast to the galeforce winds that Nicorette and the other boats in the now decimated fleet have experienced over the past 24 hours.
Her elapsed time for the race of about 2 days 16 hours 00 minutes 44 seconds is more than 21 hours outside Nokia’s record of 1 day 19 hours 48 minutes 02 seconds set in 1999.
3rd Solo Record for Macarthur
KEY DATA DAY 30 1510 GMT: 1 day 15 hours 49 minutes ahead of Joyon
OMEGA: Official timekeeper for Ellen MacArthur
Lat/Long: 48 15 S / 122 13 E (890 miles SE Cape Leeuwin / 1060 miles SW Tasmania)
Average Boat speed: 19.43 knots (heading ESE)
True Wind speed: 32.8 knots (direction NNE)
Sea temperature: 10.6 degrees C
Distance sailed so far: 12,487 miles at an average speed of 17.2 knots
(data communicated by Thrane MiniC via BT Business Broadband)
Update based on data recorded 1510 GMT...check http://www.teamellen.com for the latest data updated hourly
IN BRIEF:
* MACARTHUR SCORES HAT TRICK SETTING ANOTHER SOLO FASTEST TIME TO CAPE LEEUWIN taking over 17 hours off Joyon's time.
* MORE STORM-FORCE CONDITIONS AND IT COULD BE WORSE THAN THE CHRISTMAS DAY STORM. Wind strength already up to 35 knots and increasing fast. Commanders' are forecating sustained 35-45 knot northerly wind, gusting 50-60 knots - Ellen is already back into survival mode after a two of days of 'relative' calm...
* LIGTHER WINDS FORECAST FOR THE NEW YEAR SOUTH OF NEW ZEALAND but that is no consolation to MacArthur approaching the halfway stage of her solo attempt, as she will have to try and find a fast passage through the light wind zone and stay clear of the ice zone to the south-east of NZ.
* CAPTIVATING STORY IS CAPTURING THE PUBLIC'S IMAGINATION... Check out the constant flood of messages that are coming in for Ellen from the general public. Click here http://www.teamellen.com/ellen.asp?artid=1709 or go to http://www.teamellen.com and click on the Read Emails icon. Updated every minute with the latest messages that are, literally, coming in by the minute...
To listen to Ellen's audio, courtesy of Geolink/Iridium, click here
IN DETAIL:
Ellen MacArthur last night set another new solo time from Ushant [the start of her solo attempt] to Cape Leeuwin on the south-west tip of Australia but today it is back to business as usual: "I'm pretty pleased to have got passed the Cape that's for sure...you know you've ticked another box but until you tick the final box, it counts for nothing. It's a positive indication that you're ahead but until that final box is ticked, none of them really count. That's how I'm thinking about in my own mind - it's great to have passed, it's great to be ahead of Francis but at the end of the day we've got a lot more Capes to pass and a long way to get home."
B&Q crossed the longitude of Cape Leeuwin at 22:15:45 GMT last night in a time of 29 days, 14 hours and 5 minutes taking 17 hours and 24 minutes off Joyon's existing time of 30 days, 7 hours and 29 minutes. This is Ellen's third new solo time of her record attempt, having set new solo times to the Equator and the Cape of Good Hope. In comparison, Steve Fossett and his full crew on board the giant 125-ft catamaran 'Cheyenne' took 25 days, 14 hours and 8 minutes from Ushant to Cape Leeuwin and 9 days, 20 hours and 29 minutes to cover the distance between Cape of Good Hope and Cape Leeuwin. This same passage has taken Ellen, on the 75-foot multihull <
OMEGA: Official timekeeper for Ellen MacArthur.
MacArthur is already 890 miles SE of Cape Leeuwin and 1060 miles to the west of Tasmania, as <
This maybe Ellen's third new solo time but tonight she will be sailing in storm-force conditions for the third time since Christmas Day and it could be much, much worse than before: "We're looking at gusts of up to 56 knots on the latest model - it's the worst we've seen so far. There is a low developing on the front behind us which is going to speed down the front which is to our west. I don't know what to do...whether I should put a storm jib on now or what. Might just go without headsail - if it gets that bad, you can't risk going to the foredeck, even with no mainsail and just the mast, we won't stop. Waves already slamming into the side and I'm going to have to make a call on when to 'bail out' and start going more downwind because I'm going to have to do that at some stage. We're going to end up really far south but I don't think we will have a choice. I don't know how much more she can take before we break something...." Although the last 48 hours have seen more moderate conditions and flatter seas [well, 25-30 knots which is pretty full-on for most day racers/cruisers!], <
As <
New solo times for Ellen MacArthur, B&Q trimaran:
Ushant-Equator 8d 18h 20m (7.12.04 0230GMT)
Ushant-Cape of Good Hope 19d 9h 46m (17.12.04 1756 GMT)
Ushant-Cape Leeuwin 29d 14h 5m (27.12.04 2215GMT)
WEATHER ANALYSIS FROM COMMANDERS' WEATHER:
0600UTC Tuesday, December 28, 2004
Ellen will be getting into rougher conditions again over the next couple hours and should experience N winds at 30-40 knots over the next 24 hrs or so. With the stronger winds and possible shifting a little more right into the N-NE at times, she may have to head more E-SE or SE in the next 24 hrs.
As this next low shifts further south, winds will turn left into the N-NW and NW during Wed and Thu, which should allow her to take a course more east. Diminishing winds will also help her turn more east.
She should remain in favorable conditions into Fri, but may become light on New Year's day, as ridge of high pressure tries to move overhead.
Strategy
1) Feel it is ok to ease down toward 50s next 24-48 hours to get into position for best wind over the weekend and into early next week.
2) Do not want you much further south than 50 when crossing the Dateline due to ice threat.
Wind forecasts
Wind directions are TRUE, wind speed in kts, time is UTC
Tue, Dec 28
15: 350-010/25-35
18: 350-010/30-40
Lots of clouds with more numerous showers and a couple squalls. Some gusts into the low 40s after 18 utc ahead of any squalls. Seas building to 15-20 feet, from NNW
Wed, Dec 29 - winds back
00: 350-010/30-40 g 45
06: 340-360/30-40 g 45
12: 330-340/25-35, near 49s/133e - winds diminish
18: 320-330/25-32
Mostly cloudy with more showers and squalls- gusts to 40-50 kts near showers thru 6 utc. Then showers/squalls diminishing. Seas 15-22 feet with peak waves 25-30 feet possible, from N-NW thru 6 utc then conditions slowly improving.
Thurs, Dec 30 - winds lighter to the east and north, stronger west and south
00: 320-330/22-30
06: 320-330/20-25
12: 320-330/18-24, near 49 40s/144e
18: 320-340/17-22
Considerable cloudiness, slight threat of isolated passing showers. Seas continuing to diminish
Mid Pacific
Currently midway across the Pacific Ocean, some 2000 miles from both New Zealand and Cape Horn, the leading three yachtsmen (Le Cam/Riou/Golding), in the Vendee Globe race, are in the most isolated zone of the race. Conditions are such that they look set to glide downwind in an established South-Westerly breeze to the infamous passag, that is Cape Horn, the division between the Southern Ocean and the South Atlantic that marks the home stretch. They are 380 miles from the second Pacific gateway accompanied by a depression. 10th placed Patrice Carpentier is making route for southern Tasmania to make repairs and Marc Thiercelin will decide tomorrow if he is going to head for New Zealand...
Leader Jean Le Cam (Bonduelle) admitted that in contrast to a comfortable lead, the ride is far from smooth, a scenario repeated across the majority of the fleet today. “The wind we has filled in from the south-west and it’s cold. I’m on a perfect heading especially as I haven’t been pushing hard. The future should be good but for now the sea is rough and the radar is still on.”
A steady 150 miles behind the leader for the past 36 hours or so, Vincent Riou (PRB) also had air. “We’ve got a regular 25 to 27 knots of wind and we’re downwind now as opposed to upwind, which is good news. I’m managing to the stop the haemorrhage between myself and Jean and the charts show that we’ve got between 30 and 32 knots. We’ve got good visibility of around 10 miles with some rain showers. It’s a bit grey, it’s very like the typical conditions you’d expect in the southern ocean. I’ve got 18 to 19 knots of boat speed and good sailing conditions where you don’t have to push hard on the boat. The biggest mistake you could make today would be to go flat out and break. You just have to bide your time, I could be sailing an extra 2 knots higher. 150 miles is nothing. Mike was 800 miles behind and now he’s with us.”
Third placed Mike Golding (Ecover) is indeed right with them, now just 200 miles behind second placed Vincent Riou (PRB). “I think I am not going to run out of breeze, so I can keep the pressure on, but it will get a bit lighter. And then there is a new system coming in and hopefully that will even the scores up a bit. I think this thing just moves away suddenly in about 12 hours and then leaves some pretty even flow with some little gaps in it but nothing that is going to cause any massive split. Maybe then I can relax a bit. The wind is shifting around a lot, which is a pain in the neck, but it is more stable than it was. It is not so squally. I am basically sailing on the barometer, trying to stay on the same isobar. It has dropped light a couple of times, but because I am on starboard I just come up and keep the speed on and sail slightly south of east and after an hour or so I am back in pressure.”
A collision with a growler last week that wrecked his bow sprit and the subsequent diversion into an anticyclone to fix the play in his port rudder have cost 4th placed Sébastien Josse (VMI) around 450 miles on Mike. He is now a massive 722.6 miles from the front of the fleet in another weather system.
In that same high-pressure system, 5th placed Dominic Wavre (Temenos) and 6th placed Jean Pierre Dick (Virbac Paprec) have been in an uncharacteristic calm, which the former described today as completely surreal. For the former it was a clear choice between “playing Russian roulette with the icebergs” or hitting the afore mentioned anticyclone. For Dick the timing of the calm could not have been better, and the determined sailor has been able to fix a whole string of serious onboard issues. After contacting 7th placed Marc Thiercelin today (Proform) it would appear that his particular issues (rig, lack of gas, leak, sail problems etc) may, unfortunately, not be reparable at all. The skipper is giving himself until tomorrow to decide if he is going to make a stopover to the south of New Zealand in order to climb the mast and see if repairs are possible.
Around 200 miles behind 9th placed Joé Seeten, Patrice Carpentier has made the decision to moor off the south of Tasmania. Having planned to reach shelter tonight GMT, he intends to fix both his boom and numerous infiltrations of water in what has become a “veritable skating rink with the fuel down below”. He remains in the race.
190 miles behind Patrice, American Bruce Schwab (Ocean Planet) continues to impress in 11th position having “made temporary repairs that he hopes will be permanent” to his radar. The only small leak he has at the moment seems to be coming from a deck bearing.
With his sights now on Benoît Parnaudeau, English sailor Conrad Humphreys (Hellomoto) finally got past Anne Liardet at this morning’s ranking. He is now just 219.2 miles from 12th place having made a pitstop in South Africa over two weeks ago. Currently in Conrad’s wake, the two female skippers in this Vendée Globe, (Anne Liardet and Karen Leibovici), are separated by Raphael Dinelli alone. Karen brings up the rear in this 16 strong fleet with a deficit of 4,492.2 miles on the leader. After a car accident this summer, Karen is suffering from severe back pain, cared for by the race doctor, Jean Yves Chauve, though the spirits are high and she is concentrating on the fact that this was always her decision to take part. Unfortunately she has further issues with her engine, which starts up on its own without charging...
Quotes from the Boats:
Bruce Schwab (Ocean Planet): “Things are going pretty well today as nothing bad has happened and the weather is better. I have let the depression go past me and now I’ve got weird seas but they seem to be dying. I’m now sailing faster even though we’ve got less wind as the seas are smoother. In the recent storm the waves were sometimes really bad and the boat slams. Yesterday we were on a reach and the waves were coming from the opposite direction, which meant we were leaping downwind off one waves and slamming into another which was virtually like going upwind. Though the waves can be 3 to 5m it’s not the size that gets to you, it’s these opposing waves. I spend my time down below at the moment other than to change sails. The bigger genoa is on a roller furler but the heavier staysail is hanked on which means that I have to go up forward and hoist and drop it. If it’s really wet I’ll lie right on the sail. I’ve made a temporary repair to the radar that I hope is permanent! The rudder boot seems to be holding now though I think there is a leak through the deck bearing. The keel still shrieks loudly when I’m going fast and when I’m pounding along it squeaks lowly but I know that it is very secure.”
Nick Moloney (Skandia): “Dry down below, but very wet upstairs, lot of water across the deck, quite bumpy. Something strange happened two hours ago though, breeze went aft 30 degrees and the sea state levelled for a while, and we were doing 18 knots or so. Now the breeze has backed off a bit again, and we’re back to slamming. I’ve had up to 30 knots of wind. I haven’t seen the sun since I gybed, which was two days ago, very overcast and I go through periods of really heavy rain, with no effect on wind, but there are so many waves breaking over the boat the rain doesn’t really effect very much! Since I left Australia the sea state has been so moderate, just wind chop, no big peaking squalls, very smooth. New Zealand, ‘the land of the long white cloud’ as its known...I’m under it now! Australians have another word for New Zealand though...”
Jean Pierre Dick (Virbac Paprec): "It was a great Christmas present getting into light winds yesterday to do my repairs. I fixed an emergency tiller onto one of the rudders to completely free the steering system. I prepared the ingredient: strips of carbon, resin, hardener, syringes, and the mixing pots, a bucket of warm water, gloves...I sanded and scored the automatic pilot ram with the aid of sandpaper and a file so that the resin would hold on the stainless steel. I made up a carbon sock around the ram and rolled the strips of carbon tightly around it. I then sanded the helm to get the paint off and expose the carbon. To make the ram (now covered in carbon) and the helm more rigid I covered the 2 pieces with carbon strips. So that everything dries it needs heat whichisn't easy to find here. Finally I made up a sort of hot water bottle with clothes soaked in boiling water enclosed in a watertight bag around the rudder quadrant. All that was wrapped in a survival blanket. I had to repeat the process several times as the water got cold. It is 12 hours on and I am going to test the repairs in the coming hour as the wind has kicked back in. We'll see what happens but I am happy with myself as it is the first time I have laminated and I haven't lost any ground on Temenos.”
Vendee Globe Report 28 December
Whilst we go about our daily routines 20 lone sailors are racing around the world without a stop.
Each weekday ATWOS will present a report on the 2004-2005 Vendee Globe race. Who will join Lamazou, Desjoyeaux etc. as winners? Who will be a breakout young star like Ellen Macarthur? Which sailors will participate in dramas such as those of Pete Goss & Yves Parlier?
The report will cover the rhythm of the race, whether it's fast or slow, what's the degree of difficulty, is it iceberg territory?
Each day we'll check the standings to see who the leaders are and who else is on the move.
The fleet roundup will cover news of interest from any and all boats both the success's and the inevitable failures.
From the lone sailors will highlight the most interesting communications from the multi national group of sailors.
Rhythm of The Race The Le Cam/Riou/Golding trio are on a gallop in westerlies under 2000 miles from Cape Horn.
Standings 1. Bonduelle 2. PRB 167 miles back 3. Ecover 227 miles back
Fleet Round Up Issues. Proform diverts. Carpentier moors
From the Lone Sailors Patrice Carpentier: "It´s extraordinary to find yourself on a still boat on flat seas in a total calm." J.P. Dick: "“It was a great Christmas present getting into light winds yesterday to do my repairs. I fixed an emergency tiller onto one of the rudders to completely free the steering system." Conrad Humphreys: "But because the generator failed I have to conserve fuel, so unfortunately the next 25-30 days at sea are going to be very unconfortable because I can't afford to waste fuel and the heater is a luxury that I have to go without."
Gambling is Bad
Each day as the yachts race in the Global Challenge, teams will file daily logs via satellite to the web site.
These log entries are designed to be more than simple position and status reports; they are the teams' way of sharing the excitement and drama as it is seen and felt by those aboard.
Via the Global Challenge's RSS Feed ATWOS will feature selected daily logs.
The boats left Argentina on November 28th headed for New Zealand. Leg 2 will include rounding Cape Horn.
I think gruelling describes the last two weeks since writing my last daily log but this time has not been without some comical moments either. For me two spring to mind both involving our Walter on the "Busters" watch:
Firstly Walter bet that Hamish "I don't get my hands dirty"
Oliphant wouldn't clean the heads (toilets) on Christmas day. Unfortunately for Walter Hamish did and the forfeit for loss of the bet was a jaunt around the fordeck dressed in nothing but his birthday suit oh and a life jacket for the purposes of health and safety! There had however been no restrictions on when he should carry this out and to be honest we all thought he would purposely forget (as if we would let that happen!). So we are all at the back of the boat when Walter announces that he is going forward on to the fordeck to do a deck check. Fine , not a bit of suspicion is raised. After some rudementry proding of some deck fixtures he disappears down the forehatch and a few moments later reappears totally in the buff, woopin and a hollering like a cowboy at a ho-down. The most horrific part of the show was him baring is red spotty "gunnel bum" derrière, (a painful condition suffered by many sailors) to the watch and any on looking sea birds and porpoises. Walter I salute you! Athough the whole ordeal was painful for all parties involved you settled your bet in style! And boy you must be more than comfortable with yourself to bare all in 5 degrees if you know what I'm saying!
The second incident was on the fordeck changing headsail to the Yankee 3 that is put up in very high winds. Communication in 35 knots of wind on the foredeck is very difficult with waves crashing over head and the wind blasting your ears. Naturally anything that is said is pretty much to the point and shouted as loudly as possible in order to be heard. So picture the scene, 4 blokes on the fordeck getting the best the southern ocean can offer when from my position at the very front of the boat I see Walter gesturing to me and I hear "wooo wooo waaaa waaa", "What!!" I shouted, "Are the sheets twisted? We need to get this sail up pronto!!" again walter is gesturing this time with greater vigour and again I hear a muffled voice. "What! Is the halyard caught!?!!" I say. This is getting urgent we are racing after all and in this wind we cant afford any cock ups. Another minute or so of confusion contiues when finally the message gets passed on to me along the chain of soaked bowmen on the fordeck and the guy next to me says "WALTER CAN SEE A RAINBOW! " Well thats nice I thought, can we get on with the sail change now!!! Walter you are a true star all the Busters will miss you as we do Sinead.
Our Christmas day has been talked about in the last two previous logs but we had a great day. The rehydrated chicken we are all used to somehow tasted better than usual when eaten with a smidgen of cranberry sauce. However I
must just say that I think any future Secret Santas should have a budget that is greater than 2 pounds each as the yo yo I received broke into 1000 pieces the first time I used it. I was naturally devastated.
Before I sign off Mark Setrem has asked me to thank all of you that sent in Christmas Cracker jokes. They raised many more giggles than groans you would normally associate with cracker jokes.
Hope you all had a fantastic Christmas and I wish you all a happy new year!
Global Challenge Emergency
The Global Challenge Race Office today (28th December 2004) confirmed that due to a medical emergency onboard Imagine It. Done, skippered by Dee Caffari, the yacht has stopped racing in Leg 2 (Buenos Aires to Wellington).
The yacht is now proceeding as fast as possible towards Chatham Island to seek urgent medical assistance for John Masters a core Crew Volunteer.
John has been unwell for several days but his condition has deteriorated and the onboard Doctor, in consultation with Dr Spike Briggs (fleet medical officer) and the A & E department at Derriford hospital Plymouth, have deemed it necessary to seek assistance.
Everyone else on the yacht, and across the Global Challenge fleet, are safe and well and the conditions are currently good.
Imagine It. Done. and the nearest yacht, Team Save the Children, will rendezvous later today so that additional medical stores can be transferred to Imagine It. Done. before proceeding to Chatham Island which is nearly 800 miles away and 400 miles east of Wellington..
Further information will be issued in due course.
Linky Sailing News
Racing Skandia and Konica Minolta retire Nicorette leads. Hobart forecast
News Leeuwin record for Ellen. Security issues
Great Lakes Invasive Species
What Happened to Konica/Minolta
Coming the last two hundred miles by bus wasn’t the way we planned it.” These were the wry thoughts of Stewart Thwaites, the owner/skipper of the New Zealand supermaxi Konica Minolta as he faced the press in Hobart.
Earlier in the day, Konica Minolta, seemingly with the finishing line of the 60th Anniversary Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race there for the taking, fell off a massive wave and out of the race.
“We had a relatively hard night (in gale force winds and big seas) but nothing we couldn’t handle. But we launched off a ten metre wave with no back,” Thwaites explained.
“The bow felt like it was facing the sky and a good proportion of the keel was out of the water,” Konica Minolta’s principal helmsman and America’s Cup sailor, Gavin Brady added. “There was that lonely five seconds while we waited to fall. You hope for a soft landing but…”
When the twenty-seven ton yacht smashed down into the bottom of the wave’s trough “we heard a crack but we were not sure what it was,” Thwaites said.
“It was an all hands on deck situation.” They found that the cabin top had creased between the mast and the sleave of her enormous canting keel, where there are intense structural pressures on the boat.
For an hour the crew attempted to slow down the yacht as they braced the damaged area, but with the boat head on to the big swell and the back and forth motion bending the hull, Thwaites and Brady decided that if they continued sailing there was a real possibility the keel could fall off the boat.
Konica Minolta
Konica Minolta
Daniel Forster
The sails were lowered and they motored towards the Tasmanian coast. Their race was over. “It was a hard decision,” Thwaites said. “We agonised over it, but the consensus was that it was dangerous (to continue).” They moored Konica Minolta in Binnalong Bay and came the last leg to Hobart by bus.
Ironically the damage occurred just five miles from relative security. Brady explained that during the night, after a day of playing cat and mouse with the Melbourne supermaxi Skandia, Konica Minolta took a gamble and sailed very aggressively during the dark, stormy hours. “Normally at that stage of the race you would have everybody below resting but we kept everyone on deck.”
The tactic allowed them to open a substantial lead and this morning, with Skandia forced to retire and no other boat close enough to threaten their lead, they decided to head toward more settled waters close to the coast. “We were only five miles from smooth water when the boat broke,” Brady said.
Thwaites described the tough conditions in Bass Strait as similar to those in 2000, his first Rolex Sydney Hobart. “This race was like a wrap up of the last four. Water spouts, whales, sunfish, two-inch deep hail on the deck and sunny skies and fast downwind sailing, all in one race.” In Bass Strait they encountered two waterspouts, one they seriously had to run away from.
Brady said last night this was the toughest he’d faced in seven Hobarts.
While they were forced to withdraw when so far in front, Thwaites was philosophical. “Last year was much more disappointing (when he trailed Skandia over the line by fourteen minutes after an epic match race all the way from Sydney). It is not as though we made any bad tactical decisions.”
So will he be back? “Every year I say it’s my last time. Yes, I will probably be back,” he smiles ruefully.
Attrition in Sydney Hobart
Harsh weather continues to take a fearsome toll on the fleet in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race. After leaping on to a life raft this morning with the rest of his crew, skipper Grant Wharington is mounting a rescue operation for his super maxi yacht Skandia. No sooner had he made it ashore aboard a police launch, but Wharington took a flight over the yacht this afternoon to see that the boat had capsized, after the damaged canting keel finally broke away from the hull.
Wharington fronted up to the media in Hobart this evening. He was remarkably composed, relieved that he and his 15 crew members had escaped alive and unscathed. "It wasn't what we planned for the day," he said, with typical Aussie understatement.
Skandia with keel damage
"Canting keels are at the cutting edge of technology," he added, "and ocean racing is a dangerous sport. We are like test pilots in Formula One and at this level things can break. We are fortunate to get away with our lives, and to be able to sail another race."
YENDYS crossing SKANDIA's crew onboard liferaft
Helmsman Gavin Brady was similarly thankful to have got away unharmed from the structural breakdown of Konica Minolta. With a westerly chop riding on top of a southerly swell, he said the seas were desperately confused. "Unfortunately we got one wave with the chop and the swell coming together, and our bow stuck in the middle - and that was it - all over. I thought when I heard the bang, and the boat came down off that wave, I thought I was looking at OneAustralia [the America's Cup boat which snapped in half and sank during the Cup in San Diego 1995]. I thought the crack was going to go down the side of the boat, and it was going to break in half. It was pretty scary. Luckily it stopped where the windows are. We were definitely going to snap the boat in half if we carried on."
With those twin retirements, the sole remaining super maxi Nicorette is making slow and careful progress towards Hobart where she could take a classic double win of line honours and IRC handicap.
The co-designers of this brand new and untested Maxi are waiting nervously in Hobart. "I hope to see them coming round the corner here," said Maarten Voogd. "We just hope to get the boat in one piece into Hobart. I think it's fair to say we have the same chance of structural damage as they've got. The boats are really highly loaded. There is no give in carbon, so if it gives, it breaks. There is no margin for error."
While many have wondered if Nicorette's lack of proven sailing miles would be her undoing, Voogd's co-designing colleague Alex Simonis offered an alternative theory. "It may be to their benefit that the boat is so new, because the guys didn't know how hard to push the boat, so they were not going as hard as the others. That may be what has saved them so far." At current progress, and with around 80 miles to the finish, Nicorette is expected into Hobart early tomorrow morning (29th December).
Of the 116 entries, 53 skippers have now confirmed their retirement to the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia. With little sign of the fierce wind and waves relenting, there will be more retirements. Sailors are beginning to realise that simply getting to Hobart in one piece is likely to bring them a good overall result. The race has become a test of seamanship above all else.
Keel failure has been the theme of the past 24 hours, but the steep seas also brought the first dismasting of the race. Veteran skipper Syd Fischer, who was competing in his 35th race to Hobart, reported to the Race Committee that his Farr 50 Ragamuffin had been dismasted due east of Flinders Island. Another experienced campaigner, Geoff Ross, pulled Yendys out of the race when lying in 8th place after tearing her mainsail.
While a number of the leading boats are following Nicorette's philosophy of tacking close to the Tasmanian coastline to avoid the worst of the waves, two notable exceptions are the Farr 52 Ichi Ban and the 55-footer Aera. Nick Lykiardopulo and his team of experienced Brits on Aera are lying in sixth place overall. In these conditions Lykiardopulo will be thankful that he can rely on some round-the-world racing veterans such as skipper Jez Fanstone to give Aera its best chance of reaching Hobart intact.
Despite the brutal conditions, few sailors have a bad word to say about this race. Asked if he'd be back next year, Stewart Thwaites replied: "Every year I say it's my last one, but probably I'll be back." Even for Grant Wharington, with his boat capsized and uninsured many miles out to sea, his enthusiasm for the Rolex Sydney Hobart remains undiminished. "I'll be back," he promised. "This is a great race, isn't it?"
It Creased the Cabin Top
The police launch Van Dieman has safely rescued the crew of Maxi yacht Skandia after keel problems forced last year's winner out of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race. The 98-foot Maxi retired from the race when the hydraulic ram that controls the canting keel snapped, leaving the lead bulb jammed hard over to starboard. Initially it appeared that Grant Wharington and his crew would be able to limp back to shore, but the skipper decided the safer option would be to deploy two life rafts and wait alongside the stricken yacht.
While the Skandia crisis unfolded, her arch rival for line honours Konica Minolta was also forced out of the race after falling badly off a freak wave. Skipper Stewart Thwaites said: "We barrelled off a ginormous (sic) wave, crashed down the other side of it. I was down below, I heard the boat crash, and it came to a stop. The boys said it was twice as big as any other wave." So severe was the landing that it creased the cabin top, but the most serious damage was to the keel attachment point. Thwaites was worried that if they continued into the adverse southerly swell, the keel would break away from the yacht or that the yacht would even fold in half at the crease point. Retirement to the shelter of the Tasmanian fishing village, Binnalong Bay, was the only option.
These retirements have handed the race lead to Nicorette, a brand new Maxi competing in her first race. Launched from a Sydney boat yard just a few weeks ago, this was the yacht that many sailors and media pundits were predicting would fail to last the distance. And it could yet happen, as the fleet crashes and bangs its way to Hobart in southerly headwinds gusting to 40 knots. The race committee of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia is receiving more retirements by the hour, with 42 of the 116-boat fleet having pulled out and another 11 waiting in the haven of Twofold Bay at Eden before deciding whether to continue.
But so far so good for Ludde Ingvall's new 90-footer, which seems to be coping with the rough stuff better than most. The skipper was sounding very relaxed when he spoke on satellite phone from Nicorette this morning. He explained his strategy of heading inshore to finding less severe winds in the lee of Tasmania's eastern seaboard. "As soon as we go out it gets rougher, and it gets calmer as you come inshore. We try to keep ourselves in the 35-knot band. But I think it's going to get worse before it gets better. The forecast seems to be for more breeze today. The seaway is not too bad. We're just trying not to break anything."
Ingvall is aware that luck will play a strong part in the outcome. "It's not the way you want to win a yacht race, although we haven't won anything yet. It just takes one bad wave and you're in trouble," he said, adding his sympathies for the stricken yachts. "It's bad luck, I'm sorry for the other guys, but that's the game I guess. I guess it's a bit ironic about being people saying our boat was not being prepared or not being tested enough, but as it is we're quite comfortable, or as comfortable as you can be under the circumstances."
December 27, 2004
New Global Challenge Leader
IN BRIEF:
- BP Explorer takes the lead after Spirit of Sark’s long reign at the top
- Christmas at an angle is followed by light winds of high-pressure system
- Unusual bout of sunshine brightens up Southern Ocean christmas day
- Yachts regularly in sight of one another after over a month of racing
- Fleet set to bunch even further in light airs
Spirit of Sark led the Global Challenge fleet during Christmas at an angle in the Southern Ocean, but BP Explorer has now stolen the lead.
After a long reign at the top, Spirit of Sark has been toppled by BP Explorer’s shrewd move to the north of the course as a high-pressure system brings ever lighter winds and increasingly close racing.
Throughout the Christmas weekend, teams were continually in sight of their rivals as they entered the final stage of the long and cold leg from Buenos Aires to Wellington. BG SPIRIT and VAIO once crossed within metres of each other, waving to each other in a bizarre match race that reflected the meagre distances between teams across the fleet, even after 5000nm.
Crew Volunteers and skippers knew when they signed up for the race around the world the wrong way, that Christmas would come after a gruelling month of sailing into a series of low-pressure systems that bring high winds and excruciatingly cold waves.
However, the sun made an unusual appearance on Christmas Day, adding the edge to what can only be described as a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
“Uncharacteristically,” wrote Ellen Coomber from Spirit of Sark, “the sun was shining and giving out some warmth and the sea was deep blue beautiful. What a fantastic day for Christmas.”
David Roche, aboard Imagine It. Done, agreed that the rare sunshine was, “a welcome change from two weeks of slate grey Southern Ocean seascapes.” Demonstrating one of the various oddities of spending Christmas at sea, he added, “I unwrapped my presents by the light of my bunk and never have I been so grateful, nor will I ever be so grateful again, to receive a new pair of underpants and socks!”
Christmas carols were sung on deck, tearful satellite phone calls were made to various relatives across the world and the fleet enjoyed an alternative nativity play across 12 yachts, 3 radio frequencies and 2 radio bands.
But as crews wrote of their surprise that they still managed to attain the feeling of Christmas over-indulgence despite their unusual situation, the sailing took hold again as the festivities signalled thoughts of the finish line. And, more importantly, the remarkable fact that most of the fleet still has a realistic chance of winning at this late stage.
In the short term, BP Explorer now looks set to extend their hard won fragile lead over 2nd place Spirit of Sark over the next 24-hours. With the worst of the barren patch of wind developing to the west and south of the fleet, their position as the most northerly team could serve them well.
Team Stelmar were heading north of the course this morning, "to try and skirt an approaching storm and get into safer shipping lane waters," in the words of skipper Clive Cosby. "Now we are headed west again," he added, "to get some miles in the right direction under our belt." Currently 3,439nm behind BP Explorer, having rejoined the race after their second medical evacuation of this leg, they have a huge psychological challenge ahead of them as they make their way to Wellington in time for mandatory maintenance work. They will be taking on a more northerly course in an attempt to avoid the worst of the Southern Ocean now that they do not have the fleet around them, which serves as its own safety net in an emergency.
(Written by Dan Wedgwood)
QUOTES FROM THE BOATS
David Melville - BP Explorer
“Our move to the north of the fleet seems to be paying off as we find ourselves neck and neck with the lead boat, Spirit of Sark. Experience has taught us that much can change during periods of light winds so we must maintain our focus. However, for the moment we are enjoying a spinnaker run at over 9 knots.”
Dee Caffari Imagine It. Done.
“We have just gybed in the light conditions so we can head north of track rather than south as there is a light patch of no wind developing just south of us that will cover the track in a few hours time. We are heading away from this area, desperately trying to pass it unscathed and without stopping. From there we will be in light tail winds for a minimum of a day. It is true that massive gains and losses are made in light airs. Our history illustrates that we are good at gaining miles in the light airs so it is important that we concentrate at this point in time.”
Eero Lehtinen SAIC La Jolla
“Lighter and lighter, like dancing on thin ice... Holding our breath, hoping the wind will not die on us. Playing between the benefits of sailing shorter distance, keeping the kite filled and staying away from the high on our port. Some losses, some gains - it's like my waltzing; one step ahead, two back and three on partner's toes.
“It might be that these coming two to three days in the light and fluky winds will be decisive for the whole leg. We cannot sleep with both eyes closed. As you lose one or two boats out of sight to your right, the next two pop out of the horizon on the left. Incredible stuff, I would have never believed this without seeing it. Did someone say these people are amateurs? The whole fleet is sailing very well; can we get 12 winners' prizes for this one, please?”
Paul Kelly Team Save the Children
“Sailing down the line as fast as possible through the light stuff. There is an option to go north but it is a gamble and there is a risk of becoming detached from the pack. We are basing decisions on limited information so keeping things simple.
POSITIONS Distance to finish
1. BP Explorer 1,220nm
2. Spirit of Sark 1,223nm
3. BG SPIRIT 1,240nm
4. Samsung 1,240nm
5. SAIC La Jolla 1,246nm
6. VAIO 1,247nm
7. Me to You 1,253nm
8. Barclays Adventurer 1,261nm
9. Team Save the Children 1,270nm
10.Imagine It. Done. 1,334nm
11.Pindar 1,480nm
12.Team Stelmar 3,439nm
Keel Damage Forces Skandia out of Hobart
The supermaxi yacht Skandia has been forced to retire from the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race early today, losing control of her massive canting keel and sending out a PAN PAN radio distress call seeking assistance.
Race Control understands the hydraulically ram controlling the keel snapped make the keel inoperable. The keel is jammed over to port.
The 98-footer advised Race Control in Hobart at 01:56 hours this morning that the crew were all OK but they required assistance. The boat is currently about 65 nautical miles east north east of Eddystone Point on the northeast tip of Tasmania, but some 60 miles to seaward.
The Tasmanian Police launch Van Dieman, which had been on station on the northeast coast, has headed out to sea and is expected to take the yacht in tow.
Owner/skipper Grant Wharington from Mornington in Victoria, skipper and owner of the super-maxi, defending line honours champion by a 14-minute margin last year, expressed his disappointment.
" It is a terrible blow to all of us to have to pull out of the race. We have sustained some irreparable damage to the keel and for safety reasons are unable to continue,” Wharington told the Rolex Media Centre in Hobart.
Nobody is hurt, we are under motor traveling at 7 knots in a NE direction and considering either going back to Eden (200 miles away) or sheltering in the lee of Flinders Island. At the moment these are our only options."
Skandia’s retirement leaves the New Zealand super maxi Konica Minolta leading the fleet from the 52-footer Yendys and Nicorette, with galeforce conditions in Bass Strait and the Tasman Sea. South-westerly winds of 30 to 40 knots continue to buffet the fleet and are predicted to reach 40 to 45 knots to seaward, stronger in rainsqualls.
Seas also are rising from 4 to 6 metres to 5 to 7 metres further to seaward, with the swell also rising to 3 metres offshore.
Konica Minolta at 4am was 12 nautical miles south-east of Eddystone Point and still more than 170 miles from the finish. Yendys’ position placed her only six miles astern but 40 miles to seaward of St Helens on the East Coast.
Nearing Cape Leeuwin
KEY DATA DAY 29 1510 GMT: 1 day 9 hours 31 minutes ahead of Joyon
OMEGA: Official timekeeper for Ellen MacArthur
Lat/Long: 45 40 S / 111 05 E (711 miles S by W Cape Leeuwin, south-west tip of Australia, approx 210 miles from crossing longitude of Cape Leeuwin)
Average Boat speed: 18.51 knots (heading ESE)
True Wind speed: 22.5 knots (direction N)
Sea temperature: 10.6 degrees C
Distance sailed so far: 12029 miles at an average speed of 17.1 knots
(data communicated by Thrane MiniC via BT Business Broadband)
Update based on data recorded 1510 GMT...check http://www.teamellen.com for the latest data updated hourly
IN BRIEF:
* BIG GAINS ON THE RECORD CONTINUE as B&Q "straight-lining" it to the east, 400 miles further south of Joyon's historical track...
* STAYING WITH THIS COLD FRONT HAS BEEN CRUCIAL in keeping MacArthur ahead of the pace and this may prove pivotal to her solo record attempt in the long run. The ability to catch up and sail back into the cold front, that could possibly take B&Q all the way to south of New Zealand, is down to the speeds attainable in this 75-foot multihull and the sheer determination of Ellen to 'gear-change' even when totally exhausted after the storm. Sleep deprivation creating a build-up of fatigue is as much a performance factor right now than the wind.
* NEW SOLO TIME TO THE NEXT COURSE 'LANDMARK' OF CAPE LEEUWIN is on the cards as B&Q charges eastwards with approximately 210 miles to go to the longitude of Cape Leeuwin on the south-west tip of Australia...
IN DETAIL:
B&Q continues to make big gains on the record time, adding another three hours since this morning, to cement an advantage of 1 day, 9 hours and 31 minutes at 1510 GMT this afternoon, since MacArthur starting her solo record attempt 30 days ago. Having covered 12,029 miles through the water at an average speed of 17.1 knots, and with only 13,608 miles left on a typical round the world course, Ellen MacArthur has put the pedal to the metal sailing with 2 reefs and a staysail in slightly flatter seas to stay with the cold front that is propelling her eastwards on a direct course: "We're literally just staying with this front as it's moving across to the east which is great because it means we're moving with it. We're moving at the same speed so we're going to be sitting in this for the next few days which means we should get relatively consistent wind from a steady direction. The only problem is, its more northerly than north-westerly [wind direction] and we will suffer a bit more in the waves [as the waves are coming from the side, rather than from behind]. But we should have this more consistent breeze which means we should get to the east straight down the line of where we want to go. So from a boat speed perspective and a gaining on the record perspective, it's perfect."
But MacArthur is acutely aware that any lead can disappear all too easily in this high-stake game: "We've seen so often in this record, you can get 24 hours ahead and then a couple of days later you are just 3 hours ahead so things are easily lost. So although things are looking good right now, it could all change. There's still been some quite big waves so still getting thrown around quite badly this morning and that was pretty horrendous. Now the wind is much more in the north and we've got a true wind angle of 105 degrees which means, once again, we are going into this annihalation session of being hit on the side by the waves and its going to get much worse because in about 18 hours time we're going to have 30-35 knots again. We're going to back down to 3 reefs and reaching at 110 degrees [wind angle] is going to be just terrible - I'm not really looking forward to that very much."
MacArthur's ground to the east on a direct course at an average speed of 20 knots, is in the large part down to the fact that B&Q has been able to stay with this weather system: "I think to be able to sail fast enough - well, literally, sail faster than the wind - to get back through a front is a pretty incredible thing to do. The front did stall and slowed for a very short period in front of us which allowed us to get back inside. But we did have to average about 22 knots all the way through the storm in order to give ourselves the chance to do that. I think its only possible with a multihull, like B&Q, that you can do that kind of thing and you are able to get that speed when you need to. The only thing you've got to be crucially aware of is that you mustn't break the boat - doing that kind of thing, the waves generally get quite big and pushing hard in big waves, is what leads to breakages. It's trying to make that call and trying to find that line so you can push hard when you have to. But it was pretty amazing to sail back through the back of it and go from having really thick, white clouds, pouring rain all the time, no visibility whatsoever, and then a few hours later see a cool moon and no cloud above you and then to go back into the back of it and be in that white cloud again, all over a period of 12 hours was extraordinary. [comparing her track with that of the 2 tailenders of the Vendee Globe that she just passed] In a multihull at least you stand a chance of moving forward and getting out of some of these situations."
As B&Q charges eastwards, 400 miles to the south of Francis Joyon's historical track, MacArthur's prospects of setting a new solo time to the longitude of Cape Leeuwin [south-western most tip of Australia] are growing. Joyon set a time of 30 days, 7 hours and 29 minutes to Cape Leeuwin, crossing at just 39 degrees south on the 22nd December 2003, as intense Southern Ocean storms were still preventing him from diving south closer to the shortest route. For B&Q to set a new solo time, MacArthur must cross the longitude of Cape Leeuwin [115 08 degrees East] before 15:39 GMT tomorrow. At her current speed and progress, MacArthur expects to pass Cape Leeuwin, approximately 700 miles to the south, in the early hours of tomorrow.
WEATHER ANALYSIS FROM COMMANDERS' WEATHER 0600 GMT:
From: Commanders' Weather Corp 0600UTC Monday, December 27, 2004
The front is still close to her and she may have some squally conditions over the next 6-12 hrs as a weak low dives SE, but Ellen is making great progress toward the east. Winds are mainly N-NW at 30-35 knots, which is allowing her sail a little south of east, but the breeze is expected turn more right into the north over the next 12-24 hrs.
She will have to sail with as much east as possible, but the northerly winds may force her a little more to the south later today into Wednesday. Though by later Wed or Thu, winds should diminish some and turn more left into the NW, which make it easier for her to get more easting. Overall, Ellen does not want to get too far south, as she may then get on the wrong side of the next potential storm system next weekend.
Strategy
1) Continue what you are doing, current course near 100-110 looks good.
2) Northerly breeze may force you more to the south over the next 36 hrs, but don't want to get too much south
a) any northing you can will be an advantage for later in the week
Wind forecasts
Wind directions are TRUE, wind speed in kts, time is UTC
Mon, Dec 27
09: 330-360/25-35, squalls to 40??
12: 340-010/25-35, near 45 10S/110 E
18: 330-360/22-32
Considerable clouds with passing showers/squalls.
Seas 15-20 feet
Tue, Dec 28
00: 340-010/24-32
06: 340-010/26-34
12: 340-010/25-35, near 46 10S/120E
18: 340-010/25-35
Lots of clouds and a scattering of showers/maybe an isolated squall. Be prepared for gusts into the low 40s ahead of any squalls
Seas 15-20 feet, from NW
http://www.commandersweather.com
2004 Year in Review: August
Although it's the off season in Muskegon, ATWOS covers sailing on a year round basis. Here we present some of the best stories from ATWOS in August 2004.
Linky Sailing News
Racing Konica leads Hobart in strong winds
News VOR unveiling. ABN recruits. Match racing year
Great Lakes NY ferry $. Superior cleanup
Vendee Globe Report 27 December
Whilst we go about our daily routines 20 lone sailors are racing around the world without a stop.
Each weekday ATWOS will present a report on the 2004-2005 Vendee Globe race. Who will join Lamazou, Desjoyeaux etc. as winners? Who will be a breakout young star like Ellen Macarthur? Which sailors will participate in dramas such as those of Pete Goss & Yves Parlier?
The report will cover the rhythm of the race, whether it's fast or slow, what's the degree of difficulty, is it iceberg territory?
Each day we'll check the standings to see who the leaders are and who else is on the move.
The fleet roundup will cover news of interest from any and all boats both the success's and the inevitable failures.
From the lone sailors will highlight the most interesting communications from the multi national group of sailors.
Rhythm of The Race "Now midway across the Pacific Ocean, around 2000 miles from both New Zealand and Cape Horn, the top trio (Le Cam/Riou/Golding) are in the most isolated zone in this race."
Standings 1. Bonduelle 2. PRB 154 miles 3. Ecover 202 miles back
Fleet Round Up Growler collission. Now a top trio. Press on/finish regardless
From the Lone Sailors J.P. Dick: "For the moment I have a power problem, which is making things difficult. I only had a bit of sunlight and the batteries are low. I went on the computer twice to pick up some technical messages, which hasn’t really helped." Vicent Riou: " I’m managing to the stop the haemorrhage between myself and Jean and the charts show that we’ve got between 30 and 32 knots... 150 miles is nothing. Mike was 800 miles behind and now he’s with us." Mike Golding: " I am basically sailing on the barometer, trying to stay on the same isobar...I sit down reading a book and occasionally punch a few buttons to keep the boat on the boil."
Damage to VMI after hitting a growler
29 Out of Hobart Race
As the leading boats in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race tonight head across a wind and waveswept Bass Strait towards the north-eastern tip of Tasmania, 29 of the smaller boats in the fleet have officially advised the Race Committee that they have retired from the race.
At 5pm this afternoon, 18 boats had retired while a further dozen or so have taken shelter in Twofold Bay at Eden on the New South Wales South Coast. At the end of the 5pm radio position reports (sked) with the fleet, the total number of retirements had reached 29 out of the original fleet of 116 boats that set sail from Sydney yesterday afternoon.
Among the retirements is the Sydney 38, Hidden Agenda, which put into Eden with two injured crew members. Both are in Pambula District Hospital, with one, Ben 'Felix' Croucher, from Sydney, suffering a dislocated shoulder. The other crew member, as yet un-named, has back injuries.
The Tasmanian yacht, Quality Equipment was also sailing into Eden with an injured crew member, although details are not yet available.
Prominent boats to retire during the day have been Quest Travelscene 66 which Tasmanian yachtsman John Bennetto bought to sail in his 44th Sydney Hobart Race. Another has been Prime Time, a new Beneteau 44.7, which had been listed as a potential overall handicap winner.
At the 'sked' the additional retirements included the leading Volvo 60, Andrew Short Marine, along with Estate Master, Pretty Fly II, Tilting at Windmills (runner-up in last year's race on IMS corrected times) and veteran Victorian yachtsman Lou Abrahams with his new Sydney 38, Challenge.
Race Committee chairman Tim Cox said another 15 boats had sought refuge in Twofold Bay as the south-westerly change swept up the NSW South Coast.
Meanwhile, the New Zealand supermaxi Konica Minolta has opened up a lead of about six miles over Australia's Skandia as the two 98-footers charged across Bass Strait well to the east of Flinders Island. By late this evening they should be off the Tasmanian East Coast with about 200 nautical miles to sail to the finish of the 628 nautical mile ocean classic.
Konica Minolta is also leading the IRC handicaps on corrected time as the big boats power away from the bulk of the fleet,
If the strong winds continue, the first boat should reach Hobart late tomorrow afternoon or early evening.
Racing A Depression
RACE POSITIONS 0930 GMT: SKANDIA 7th, great speed in past 24 hours, double lead on PROFORM to 160 miles, and VIRBAC back to less than 500 miles. BONDUELLE still in front of PRB, but ECOVER got pedal to metal and scraping back the miles, 50 from PRB.
Quote of the day: ‘Haven’t seen the sun for two days...New Zealand, ‘the land of the long white cloud’ as its known...I’m under it now!’
RACE UPDATE DAY GOING IN TO 51st DAY
SKANDIA STILL OUTRUNNING THE DEPRESSION! Nick is riding fast to the east, reaching in 20 to 30 knots of wind. Its wet and uncomfortable, but fast and Nick is breaking down the miles of VIRBAC in front of him, gaining nearly 200 miles in 36 hours. He is also finally getting away again from PROFORM who looks to have been swallowed by the centre of the depression (windless zone in the middle), exactly what Nick is racing hard to avoid. The southern tip of New Zealand is now only a couple of hundred miles away, as Nick is aiming to pass in a deep water passage between two shallow (and potentially rougher) areas, one extending south (Snares Depression) from NZ and the other north from the Auckland Islands to the south of him.
REPAIR DAY FOR VMI: Sebastian Josse has let himself be caught up by an area of high pressure, with calms inside it, in order that he can attempt to resolve an ongoing problem with the angles of his two rudders, a result of his collision with a growler a few days ago. The misalignment of the two rudders is causing a big lack of control once the boat goes above 13 knots...
REPAIR DAY ALSO FOR VIRBAC: Jean-Pierre Dick “Tomorrow [today] is going to be a big day, as I’m going to be doing the composite repair on the steering system. I’m going to take advantage of a calm spot to carry out the repairs, which I hope will be permanent. Then, after that, there will be the iceberg zone to get through...I think I’ll be going at around 52° S to avoid the danger zone...” www.jpdick.com
AND PITSTOP FOR VM MATERIAUX: Patrice Carpentier is aiming to find a quiet bay south of Tasmania to make his boom repairs, without assistance, and continue in the race...
EXTRACTS OF AUDIO CONFERENCE WITH NICK courtesy of Geolink/Iridium
Dry down below, but very wet upstairs, lot of water across the deck, quite bumpy. Something strange happened two hours ago though, breeze went aft 30 degrees and the sea state leveled for a while, and we were doing 18 knots or so. Now the breeze has backed off a bit again, and we’re back to slamming. I’ve had up to 30 knots of wind.
I haven’t seen the sun since I gybed, which was two days ago, very overcast and I go through periods of really heavy rain, with no effect on wind, but there are so many waves breaking over the boat the rain doesn’t really effect me very much! Since I left Australia the seastate has been so moderate, just wind chop, no big peaking squalls, very smooth. New Zealand, ‘the land of the long white cloud’ as its known...I’m under it now! Australians have another word for New Zealand though...
Just had a little bit of margin on PROFORM, and I’ve used it to get away from him...its been encouraging for me, as we’re sailing in a configuration where he’s at no disadvantage with the damage he has, yet we’re pulling a bit on him
Ellen's Christmas Email
Well i'm a bit stuck for words this morning.. in fact it's about 3pm local time - that just about sums up my day really.. i have no idea how much
sleep i've had - though i know it's not by far enough... sleep is the rarest comodity out here.. sleep and the time to beat. how many times have i said to myself - shall i eat or sleep. basic but fundamental decisions.. yesterday was a day from hell, with horrendous conditions, and a few 'full on' moments when your heart is literally in your mouth - well it's either that or your stomach, it all feels the same... We got physically picked up by a freak wave yesterday, which made poor B&Q seem smaller than a duck in a swimming pool, that was probably the most scared - as in one moment of the trip - just not knowing where, or how we would land.. it's hardest when you have a few seconds to think about it... normally when the waves hits you it's bang - and the damage is done - when you're thrown, it's a much more prolonged fear - like waiting for the trigger to be pulled - or not as the case might be... We had two 'hits' yesterday... the first was bring thrown, and the second was a solid wave landing on the boat as hard as if an elephant had been dropped on us from heaven. i thank my lucky stars that i was down below at the time, and that the damage was limited - but just to see the elastic parted like butter and the rope bags just ripped off was humbling.. a statment of how irrelevant we are out here, and how we have to 'earn' our permit to pass out here.. It's not a place for bravado or complacency. This is real, very real, black and white real and when you close your eyes - that reality does not slip away. The sounds are only magnified in your head - reminding you that there's no way out but to stay cool. there are no second chances... After the storm yesterday i managed about 30 mins in my bunk as the wind begun to moderate. then it was all hands on deck.. briefly we saw the beautiful full moon - and the wind - which had been up at over 45 begun to decrease.. the start of my sail changes at a time when I scarcely had the energy to feed myself.. Over the period of about 8 hours i did 12 sail changes - from triple reefed main - and staysail - to full main genoa... By the time the wind died to 10 knots at sunrise this morning... Up and down the decks that was swaying around in a massively confused and violently undulating sea.. each time struggling not to fall over, or be hit by a breaking wave thorugh the nets.. by the time i had to pull out that final reef I was close to breaking.. a cold tired and emotionally drained wreck. Sitting, checking for hours and hours with every muscle in your body tense - just waiting for the next thing to go wrong takes its toll - even the anticipation af a real arse-kicker storm makes you feel quite weak at the knees... my mouth was dry, i felt right out of sorts.. fear and grim anticipation work in funny ways... now i'm here at the chart table, and for some reason I felt like getting this down in an e-mial.
i guess somewhere in the back of my mind i know that this will feel better tomorrow - those thoughts will drift away and be faded by the next full moon and the sunset... Incidentally it seems a while since we've seen the sun... another day of sailing through dense white drizzly stormy clouds over a grey powerful sea.. the generator's on so my feet are finally warming - and the kettle's full ready for lunch.. Got that third reef to put in first though.. we're surfing at 26 knots, and the wind jsut reached 35. We've sailed back into the front that left us behind... there really is no rest for us out here... no rest at all... I think we'll celebrate our xmas at new year... well we can always hope.. Christmas was sadly this year - jsut another day, albveit a bad one' in the office.. At least B&Q and I are in one piece...x
Kiwi Maxi Leads Hobart
Smaller yachts struggle in tough conditions
Konica Minolta could be heading for a famous double victory in the 60th anniversary Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race. Not only has Stewart Thwaites' 98-foot Maxi yacht stretched to a five-mile lead over arch-rival Skandia in the battle for line honours, but the Kiwi team also hold a significant advantage on IRC handicap as they surge towards Hobart.
The two Maxi yachts were neck and neck for many hours as they powered down the New South Wales coast yesterday and into the exposed waters of the Bass Strait. Skandia had been holding a narrow lead over Konica Minolta when she lurched to a sudden halt. Grant Wharington's yacht had hit a four-ton sunfish. Konica Minolta contacted their rivals to check they were OK. "They radioed us, and then they shot through ahead of us," said Wharington wryly. The Melbourne-based skipper said the steering hadn't felt the same since, but that they were continuing to push Skandia hard.
The two yachts are using different sail plans to achieve very similar results in the high-wind, close-reaching conditions. Skandia is opting for a more conservative number four jib while Konica Minolta presses on with a larger headsail. Nicorette is a few miles further behind Skandia and might have been closer were it not for snagging and ripping her spinnaker yesterday, a handling error which skipper Ludde Ingvall estimates cost them six miles.
Further back in the fleet, the high winds in the Bass Strait have been taking a heavy toll on the 116-boat fleet. Thirty boats had officially pulled out of the race and 15 others were seeking shelter from the 35-40 knot winds, giving themselves some breathing space and an opportunity to decide whether or not to continue towards Hobart.
One of the more notable retirements was that of Prime Time, David Mason's Beneteau 44.7, which was being tipped as one of the favourites for success under IRC handicap. Mason reported to the Radio Relay Vessel that his boat was taking on water. A broken forestay put paid to 31-foot Grasshopper's plans to finish the race as the smallest boat in the fleet. Two other boats have retired to Eden with injured crew who have since been taken to hospital - the reported injuries are not believed to be serious.
The Kiwis on Konica Minolta are spoiling Aussie domination of the race, and the British crew on board Aera, Nick Lykiardopulo's Greek-registered 55-footer, are currently 8th on the water and 5th under IRC handicap. While the list of retirements in the race continues to mount, all foreign entries are still competing, including Felix Scheder-Bieschin's Vineta from Germany and Jakki Moores' Team Lexar from Great Britain.
Plenty can and most likely will change in the coming 24 hours. Grant Wharington has made it clear that despite his setbacks with a sunfish, he will fight tooth and nail to defend his line honours success in last year's race. In tactical terms, he believes the outcome of the race will be decided overnight as the leading boats reach the north-eastern corner of Tasmania. It is here that they are expected to hit a wall of stronger southerly breezes.
The record time of 1 day 19 hours 48 minutes and 2 seconds, set by the Volvo Ocean 60 Nokia in 1999, looks safe for another year, with the leading Maxis expected to reach Hobart in a time of just over two days, sometime tomorrow afternoon.
Provisional standings, recorded at 2100 (AEDT) local time, 27 December 2004
Line honours
1. Konica Minolta
2. Skandia
3. Nicorette
4. AAPT
5. Brindabella
6. Seriously Ten
IRC Handicap
1. Konica Minolta
2. Skandia
3. Nicorette
4. Yendys
5. Aera
6. Ichi Ban
December 26, 2004
Finish Regardless
Another race has begun for Sébastien Josse (VMI) since his collision with a growler. Jean-Pierre Dick (Virbac-Paprec), Marc Thiercelin (ProForm), Joé Seeten (Arcelor Dunkerque) and Patrice Carpentier (VM Matériaux) are also crippled by various problems, but all have one idea in mind: finishing whatever happens.
. Jean Le Cam (Bonduelle) is maintaining his lead. Mike Golding (Ecover) is now only 60 miles from Vincent Riou (PRB).
. A severe gale for Patrice Carpentier (VM Matériaux) and Joé Seeten (Arcelor Dunkerque).
A different race
One of the revelations of this edition of the Vendée Globe because of his ability to stand his own in an old boat from 1998 against the best skippers, Sébastien Josse (VMI) unfortunately hit a growler last Thursday. His chances of victory have been sharply reduced. The youngest competitor in the event, whose jib boom is broken, must do without his fore sails downwind. In addition to that, he has a problem with the rudder that he hopes to solve tomorrow, when the weather eases off.
For Jean-Pierre Dick (Virbac-Paprec), the race changed quite a while back, when he began to have power problems, as he entered the Indian Ocean. Tomorrow, it will be Jean-Pierre’s turn to enter the iceberg danger zone, but he will be facing that without any radar, because of the lack of power on board. Consequently, the sailor from Nice is going to have to keep further to the north than his opponents to limit as much as possible the risk of an encounter with an iceberg.
Like them, three other competitors still in the race are having to sail below their normal potential. With a broken jib boom and a weakened mast head, Marc Thiercelin (ProForm) had to face up to reality and change his way of looking at the race. The same is true of Patrice Carpentier (VM Matériaux), who tried to repair all by himself at sea his broken boom. Just in front of Patrice, Joé Seeten (Arcelor Dunkerque) spent more than an hour yesterday evening at the top of his mast trying to release his solent, which had exploded in last night’s gale, as gusts reached 60 knots. With the gennaker he lost off Portugal, that means Joé Seeten is now without two important fore sails.
Managing your gains
Jean Le Cam (Bonduelle) made an investment he said, by heading south for a few days. Since Christmas, the Vendée Globe race leader has been reaping the benefits. Just over a week away from Cape Horn, his 153-mile lead over Vincent Riou in second place has enabled him to manage his affairs in a quite relaxed manner. However, Vincent Riou (PRB) and Mike Golding (Ecover) remain serious threats, as there is still over a month to go before the finish in Les Sables d’Olonne.
Getting battered down under Tasmania
Running before the wind with the stormsail. Patrice Carpentier admitted he had no other choice as severe gales hit him south of Tasmania. The seas are foaming and mountainous. It was in this severe gale that Joé Seeten exploded his solent. The two competitors are having to weather it out. The Deep South is living up to its reputation. Almost all of the competitors still in the race had to face a deep low pressure area with gusts in the Indian Ocean. For those at the rear, the Horn, the way out of the southern seas, is still more than 7000 miles away or a month and a half sailing.
Quotes :
Jean Le Cam (Bonduelle) : «I hadn’t slept for a while. It feels really great. I’d been hoping for four days that it would pay off. So I reinvested in my plan. Just like with the slot machines. Fortunately, it paid up. I’m not going to moan, but the investment did cost a lot. »
Mike Golding (Ecover) : « We’ve been working hard to go as fast as possible. It’s going to be tricky right up to the Horn. There maybe another low coming in from the north west, which will put me back upwind for a day or two. It’s now quite rough, although the wind is not so strong. It’s difficult to find the right combination.»
Sébastien Josse (VMI) : «We’re making headway. Things aren’t moving as fast as for those at the front, as I have less wind. I’m going to try to sort out my rudder problem tomorrow morning. I’m waiting for the calms from the ridge of high pressure. Like that, I’ll be able to do some drilling, gluing and refit the rudders so that they’re parallel, as at the moment they’re out of alignment. As soon as I reach 13 knots, I’ve got one rudder scraping the water, which is causing the foam to fly. Of course, I’m still thinking about the ice, as I saw another iceberg yesterday evening. If there was one there, there’s no reason why there aren’t more ahead. We’ll only be out of it, once we round the Horn. As long as I can manage it, I go out on deck every 40 minutes at night to keep watch, but it’s pitch black out there. I can’t go rocketing along, as without my jib boom I can’t compete on the same footing downwind in light and moderate breezes. The race is quite different now. To stay in the first three, you have to be 100% fit.»
Jean-Pierre Dick (Virbac-Paprec) : «Tomorrow is going to be the big day, as I’m going to be doing the layering on the steering system. I’m going to take advantage of a calm to carry out the repairs, which I hope will be permanent. Then, after that, there will be the iceberg zone to get through. I’m going to have to keep a close watch all the time. I think I’ll be going at around 52° S to avoid the danger zone. I’ve already started to head back up north. For the moment I have a power problem, which is making things difficult. I only had a bit of sunlight and the batteries are low. I went on the computer twice to pick up some technical messages, which hasn’t really helped. As for my sleep, things are fine. I had two little naps, so there’s nothing there to worry about. It’s true that the next two days are likely to be quite tiring… ».
Joé Seeten (Arcelor Dunkerque) : «I was in my bunk. The wind got up to 23-24 knots and the boat turned into the wind, and that was when my solent exploded. It’s a very important sail to push the boat along. It literally exploded, so I can’t fix it. I had to climb up to the top of the mast to get it down, and I was up there being thrown around for an hour. I had to check out the mast two or three times. I was afraid I was going to get stuck up there. Now, I’m being battered with 55-knot winds gusting to 59 knots. I’m sailing with the mainsail with four reefs, nothing else and the boat is doing 11.5 knots at 70° to the wind. I went out on deck just now, to get rid of 200-300 litres of water in the lazy bag. Now I’ve got one of the crippled boats. I’ve still got my staysail and my ORC, but I lost my gennaker off Portugal and now no longer have a solent. It’s true that I could have turned off towards Tasmania to get some sails, but I prefer to keep going in the race. »
Benoît Parnaudeau (Max Havelaar-Best Western) : «Before I set out, I was thinking of Titouan Lamazou (the winner of the first Vendée Globe – editor’s note), as we have boats from the same era and he had a great race in 109 days. Very few sailors have done better. So that’s my goal. Then, there’s the American (just in front of Benoît), who is pestering me! I hope he’ll get stuck on the ridge of high pressure that I’ll try to round by the south. »
Anne Liardet (Roxy) : « Things have got worse since yesterday evening. The low has hit us. I’ve got a 30-35 knot wind on the beam, which has reached 38 knots. I’m under the mainsail with three reefs and the staysail. The boat is sailing well, but the sky is grey, completely grey. Not very pleasant, but I’m happy to be where I am doing my own thing. I’ll be reaching Cape Leeuwin sometime later today, which is something I’ve never done before!”
Past Half Way
RACE POSITIONS 0930 GMT: SKANDIA 7th, good speed in past 12 hours, maintained 76 mile lead on PROFORM. BONDUELLE taken biggest lead yet over PRB of 146 miles, and ECOVER only 69 behind PRB.
Quote of the day: ‘I’ve shunted Australia off the map, the next time I see it I would like it to be in the seat in front of me on an aeroplane! I don’t want to hear about any more barbies on the beach...’
RACE UPDATE DAY GOING IN TO 50th DAY
PACE PICKS UP FOR NICK AS OZ DISAPPEARS TO THE WEST: Nick is just passing to the east of the longitude of Cairns, eastern Australia, and is also passing the half way stage of the race. Under 12,000 miles to go now of the 23,700 mile marathon (theoretical distance, see JARGON BUSTER), which will surely be a big moral boost for Nick.
GOING EAST AS FAST AS POSSIBLE: Nick’s pace in the next 24 hours is going to determine his situation for the next week. If he can stay to the east of the depression that is coming up towards him from the south west, then he will be able to ride the moderate to strong north and north west winds all the way to the other side of New Zealand 550 miles away, and in to the Pacific. If not – then the low pressure system will ‘swallow’ him and initially leave him windless in the centre of it, then upwind out the back of it...not a good New Year’s celebration. So, the race is on to stay ahead of it.
DOM WAVRE (TEMENOS) SEE ICEBERG: tracking north of VMI’s previous position as he enters the ‘iceberg zone’, Suisse skipper Dominic Wavre reports his first iceberg of the tour. This sighting was only 18 miles from the spot where VMI hit a growler a few days ago, ripping off his bowsprit. VMI is currently back on track and holding 4th place some 600 miles further east now.
PATRICE CARPENTIER (VM MATERIAUX) IN BIG STORM: Sitting on the back on the depression that Nick is hoping to ride east, Patrice along with Joe Seeten had up to 55 knots of southerly buster to contend with...Patrice is half way through building a repair tube for his boom, broken in an accidental gybe 4 days ago. For now he only needs a small mainsail anyway, due to the strong winds so his broken boom has not been slowing him up!
EXTRACTS OF AUDIO CONFERENCE WITH NICK courtesy of Geolink/Iridium
Right now I’ve got flat water, moderate swell from west, just getting dark, very heavy rain squalls, and I’m coming out the other side of some clouds - when the cloud line lifts it feels like we’re close to the centre of the depression. Changing sails all day between blast reacher and solent, doing great speeds. This is about as good as it gets in the Southern Ocean, as good as it has been since Cape of Good Hope. Good to hear Skandia Wild Thing is winning in the Sydney Hobart!
JARGON BUSTER: The distance to finish measurement that the leaderboard is based on, is worked out on the basis of a theoretical course, the shortest possible within practical limits. Of course due to the wind and sea the boats can never steer this minimum distance, as they are always tacking, gybing or heading around weather systems to make the best speed towards the finish possible – rarely can they sail in a straight line. The theoretical course for the Vendee Globe is 23,700 miles, so Nick has just crossed that half way mark, but will probably still have 13 to 14,000 miles left to sail, rather than just the 11,850 theoretical ones. BUT he’s on the second half of the race, which is good for moral onboard!
26 December + 13 Hours
KEY DATA DAY 28 0810 GMT: 13 hours 47 minutes ahead of Joyon
OMEGA: Official timekeeper for Ellen MacArthur
Lat/Long: 42 49 S / 098 28 E (approx 1360 miles E Kerguelen Is / 1100 miles W Cape Leeuwin - south-west tip of Australia)
Average Boat speed: 21.54 knots (heading ESE)
True Wind speed: 30.5 knots (direction N)
Sea temperature: 12.0 degrees C
Distance sailed so far: 11427 miles at an average speed of 17.0 knots
(data communicated by Thrane MiniC via BT Business Broadband)
Update based on data recorded 0810 GMT...check http://www.teamellen.com for the latest data updated hourly
IN BRIEF:
* PUNISHING STORM OF CHRISTMAS DAY RECEDES OVERNIGHT BUT NOW SAILING BACK INTO THE SAME STORM... B&Q fell out of the back of the big frontal system in the night and now there is a whole lot more to come! As the winds decreased in the night, this piled on the pressure for MacArthur to keep B&Q moving as fast as she could - forcing constant sail changes to go up a gear in speed. "I'm exhausted really, had a bit of sleep in the cuddy in my oilskins, probably about 45 minutes last night. I had to force breakfast down but just had the kettle on for next freeze dried meal... I've done 12 sail changes in 12 hours, from 3 reefs and storm jib to full main and genoa." Now the frontal system that passed over her by the end of yesterday has stalled ahead and B&Q is sailing back into the same storm: "Now back all the way down to 2 reefs and staysail. More to do yet, as we are now right on the back of the first front and crossing again into the 40 knot plus northerlies..."
* CHRISTMAS BOX ON HOLD UNTIL NEW YEAR... Wind speeds are already up to 30+ knots as Ellen starts feeling the effects of the big cold front that she has caught up with again. Winds expected to increase to 35-40 knots, gusting 45 knots, later today. "I've got a few days of this kind of weather and I'm not even going to think about opening my Christmas Box until we are through the worst of this and I can get some decent sleep...probably New Year then!" Ellen will remember this Christmas for a long time to come as perhaps the most hazardous of her solo Christmas' in recent years: "That was the third Christmas I've spent alone! Once in New Zealand just before the launch of Kingfisher when I went camping in the bush on my own, I think I wanted to see what it was like in preparation for the Vendée! Then the Vendée which compared to this was nothing and now this one - all very different.. But think this one is going to stick in my mind for a long time to come."
* SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE SURFING... B&Q heading for Cape Leeuwin, over 1100 miles to her east, on the south-west tip of Australia - the country of surfers and that is exactly what B&Q has been doing to as Ellen explains: "Its been like a surfer riding a wave for the past 36 hours...he sees it approaching and he goes as fast as he can to stay in front, rides its full on, breaking water all around, actually drops out the back but then the waves slows down and he manages to paddle so hard he gets back on the wave and ride it once again. Only its not a very 'clean' wave!"
* B&Q CONTINUES TO BUILD ON ADVANTAGE OVER JOYON... Now 13 hours and 47 minutes ahead this morning at 0810 GMT, Ellen is not letting go easily of her lead over the current record-holder, Francis Joyon. B&Q was at risk of falling behind his time yesterday, for the first time since Day 7 of her attempt, as MacArthur's lead decreased to just two hours. B&Q is now, once again, south of his historical track - the further south, the shorter the course - but on Christmas Eve, B&Q was pushed north of IDEC's track for the first time on this Southern Ocean leg which is why the time penalty was so great. Joyon was forced to take a more north-easterly track towards Australia and now as B&Q continues to head on a south-easterly track, she is building on her lead as each hour passes...
WEATHER ANALYSIS FROM COMMANDERS' WEATHER 0600 GMT:
From: Commanders' Weather Corp 0600UTC Sunday, December 26, 2004
Summary:
1) Looks as though you are now ahead of the front with the stronger NW breeze, but can't be fooled, as the front is not far to your W and SW.
a) Breeze could still drop into the 20-25 knot range over the next 2-3 hrs
b) East heading is good, but would not go too much south of east - winds lighter to the south, as
c) The front is aligned NW to SE over the region
2) But the quicker you get east, the more likely you will see the breeze continue to rise, and will likely become quite rough again after 12 utc
3) Winds most likely increasing up to 30-35 knots by 18 utc and may be gusts to 40-45 knots into Tue.
4) With the front to the west and high pressure to the east (south of Australia), think you will continue with a strong/gusty NW-N wind flow over the next couple days.
a) Winds speeds may avg in the 25-35 knot range into Wed,
b) Then begins to settle down some further to the east on Thu.
c) You should have favorable wind angles, but seas may be on the rougher side
5) The next front is still projected to affect you later in the week, most likely on Friday
6) If latest guidance is correct, then winds would shift into the SW or S-SW behind the front later Fri or early Sat.
Routing:
1) With the stronger NW breeze, suggest getting east as you as much possible, keeping boat speeds as high as you can.
a) don't want to head too much S of E, as you have better chance of lighter winds to the south.
Wind forecasts
Wind directions are TRUE, wind speed in kts, time is UTC
Sun, Dec 26 - much lighter breeze not far to the W and SW closer to the
front
09: 310-340/24-32
12: 310-340/24-32, gusts to 40, near 42 40S/99 45E - stronger wind just to the NE
18: 320-350/30-35, gusts 40-45
Low clouds with periods of rain and may be some squalls with the stronger breeze after 12 utc. Seas becoming rougher again up to 15-20 ft+
Mon, Dec 27
00: 320-350/25-35, gusts 40-45 - much lighter wind to the W
06: 320-350/25-35, gusts 40-45
12: 330-360/22-32, near 43 45S/110 E
18: 330-350/22-30, gusts 35
Considerable clouds with passing showers/squalls. Breeze likely unstable/shifty with showers passing thru. Seas building to 15-22 ft, more wind wave chop
Easy off for Hobart Racers
Skandia makes the most of a sunny start
Defending line honours champion Skandia has stolen an early lead, after the 60th anniversary edition of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race got away to the perfect start under a clear sky.
Grant Wharington's 30m Maxi didn't get the best start of the 116-boat fleet, but when the big blue boat tacked away to the eastern shore of Sydney Harbour towards the massed spectator fleet, she hooked into a stronger breeze that soon put her a boat length in front of Konica Minolta. Line honours is expected to be a hard-fought affair between these two Maxi yachts, much as it was last year when just 14 minutes at the finish was all that separated Skandia from Zana, as Konica Minolta was then known.
Not only has owner Stewart Thwaites changed his yacht's name, but Konica Minolta has been reconfigured with water ballast and a fixed bowsprit, and many pundits have marked the Kiwi Maxi down as favourite to reach Hobart first. Small wonder then that Wharington was tacking so aggressively on the pretender to his title. But while these two were engaged in their private battle, Ludde Ingvall's brand new 90-foot Nicorette, another line honours contender, was scorching up the western side of the Harbour unchallenged.
When Nicorette tacked back over to the middle, Skandia was still ahead by a whisker, but on the next cross it was the 90-footer that held the starboard (right of way) advantage, forcing Wharington into a speed-sapping bear-away behind Ingvall's stern. These two yachts were neck and neck as they charged out of the Heads on a close reach, bows crashing through the southerly swell and the wash of an increasingly unruly spectator fleet. At the seaward Rolex mark, first blood went to Nicorette as she swept past just three seconds in front of Skandia. Konica Minolta was never far behind, and as they passed Bondi Beach these three Maxis were line abreast, making majestic progress down the New South Wales coast.
As they passed Botany Bay, Skandia had eked out a small lead over her rivals. Sailing master Ian 'Barney' Walker will be pleased to have made it past Sydney Heads without incident. While he and the rest of the fleet face winds predicted as strong as 45 knots, Walker said the only thing making him nervous was the massed start. "You've got to be careful getting out of the harbour, not crashing into a spectator boat. Down the track's fine." He predicted an even closer battle this year. "It's going to be tough one, probably closer than 14 minutes," he said, although he believed Nicorette would struggle to keep up. "We and Konica will go as hard as we possibly can, but with a new boat you can feel a bit edgy about how far to push it. Nicorette may back off . and they're also quite a bit lighter than us which may not be fast upwind in the strong conditions." AAPT, Sean Langman's 66-foot downwind flyer, may also struggle upwind but in the early stages of the race was giving the three Maxis a good run for their money. All four of these yachts were averaging 17 knots in a moderate Nor'easter.
Peter Dunda of the Bureau of Meteorology downgraded the severity of the race weather forecast at a morning briefing at the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia. But it is going to be no easy ride. The sailors may have to cope with 45 knots, 4-6 metre seas and temperatures that barely make double figures on the 628 miles to Hobart.
Steven David's Targé might have been one of the favourites for a handicap victory, but two hours after the start the technologically complex Reichel/Pugh 60 pulled out of the race after water seeped into the electrical system that controls her canting keel.
Sailors from overseas were looking forward to the race with a mixture of excitement and apprehension. A crewmember from Stormy Petrel, Scotland's Corrie McQueen was relieved to see the forecast looking a little kinder but was still slightly nervous about her first Rolex Sydney Hobart. "I think we're going to have to watch the weather quite closely as we go down the coast," she said. Germany's Philipp Kadelbach was also keeping a close watch on any changes in the weather. "We expected to use the northerly wind at least until Eden, but it looks like it's changing to the south already on the first night. That's bad, but the good thing is the predicted winds and waves are not as bad as they could be," said Kadelbach, sailing on Felix Scheder-Bieschin's 49-foot cruiser/racer Vineta.
For young Brazilian Olympic aspirant, Edgardo Vieytes, his biggest concern was the temperature. At the helm of one of the smaller yachts in the race, a Mumm 36 called Abbott Tout, he can expect a wet and wild ride to Hobart. "It's exciting, I'm looking forward to the racing, but not the cold weather at the end. I hope I don't freeze in the race. Brazilians don't like cold weather. We shouldn't be allowed to do races below 20 degrees," he laughed. Perhaps the inclement Tasmanian weather would better suit a hardened professional America's Cup sailor from Scotland, George Skuodas? "No, I don't think so. Nobody likes the cold weather," said the six-and-a-half-foot man mountain sailing on board the 55-foot, Greek-registered Aera. But after all the preparation and the nervous tension leading up to the start, he's glad just to be getting on with it.
Rolex Sydney Hobart Race Record: Nokia DEN/AUS 1 day 19 hrs 48 mins 02 secs in 1999
To beat this Record the first yacht must cross the finish in Hobart before 8.58AM (AEDT) on Tuesday 28th December.
December 25, 2004
White Water Christmas
KEY DATA DAY 27 1110 GMT: 11 hours 35 minutes ahead of Joyon
OMEGA: Official timekeeper for Ellen MacArthur
Lat/Long: 44 01 S / 090 47 E (approx 1100 miles E Kerguelen Is / 1400 miles W Cape Leeuwin - south-west tip of Australia)
Average Boat speed: 17.74 knots (heading ESE)
True Wind speed: 33.5 knots (direction N)
Sea temperature: 10.0 degrees C
Distance sailed so far: 11072 miles at an average speed of 17.0 knots
(data communicated by Thrane MiniC via BT Business Broadband)
Update based on data recorded 1110 GMT...check http://www.teamellen.com for the latest data updated hourly
B&Q IS FIRMLY IN THE STORM, GALE-FORECORCE CONDITIONS are making Christmas Day, a day of survival for Ellen. Already experiencing 35-40 knots of winds from the north/north-west and very rough seas, wind expected to increase up to 45 knots and gusting 50 knots [Force 10] at times as the storm gets closer to B&Q. Here is what Ellen had to say about it....
FROM ELLEN MACARTHUR CHRISTMAS DAY MORNING 1000GMT:
Right now, we are in the centre of a storm - the only white Christmas about this Christmas, is the breaking waves all around us... The conditions are horrendous, the waves are huge and the boat is getting physically thrown around.
I've had virtually no sleep, I've been in my oilskins now for 12 hours and I'm just hoping this front is going to go over without doing too much damage to the boat or to me.
Right now, we're in the front of a storm, so you can say we're pretty much in the middle of the storm. It is moving across us but it's actually going to slow in front of us and we'll end up sailing back into that same storm even if we fall out of the back of it today. I'm sailing in and out of a pretty angry front.
It doesn't feel like a different day, to be honest, I've not been to find my Christmas bag at the back of the boat - it is just too rough. I'm just trying to look after the boat, look after myself, just keep everything turning until things get a little bit better at the end of this storm. I'm hanging in there, I'm very tired, pretty cold now, spending a lot of time outside trimming the sails. It's been a pretty tiring Christmas so far but just looking forward to seeing the light at the end of the tunnel in a few days.
There's a lot of jolting and earlier this morning we did get taken by this one wave that literally just picked us up and threw us... The boat spun to starboard, she landed almost dead downwind and then span 40-50 degrees. Then everything went quiet as the wave broke over the back of the boat and then as that wave broke on the back it slewed the boat round and we ended up pointing back up the wave, and then we had another wave break right over the front of the boat before we could carry on. That's when we were doing 20-21 knot averages so you can imagine what the inside of the boat was like... It's just really testing.
You've kind of just got to hang in there, really. We're in it now, it's hammering us but we've just got to try and deal with it as best we can. The boat is just unbelievable - she has taken so much hammering. We've got to stay fast in this or we will fall out of the back of this and things could go horribly wrong...
Australia Behind
RACE POSITIONS 0930 GMT: SKANDIA 7th, small gains on VIRBAC for the first time in a week, but PROFORM has continued to sail up with better wind, now just 58 miles behind in 8th. BONDUELLE taken biggest lead yet over PRB of 120 miles, and ECOVER only 101 behind PRB.
RACE UPDATE DAY GOING IN TO 49th DAY
NICK PUTS AUSTRALIA AND CHRISTMAS BEHIND HIM: ‘I’ve moved Australia off my screen, and Christmas is definitely gone now for me, I’ve got to look forward to New Zealand and get on with it’ said a slightly emotional Nick after a day of too many reminders of the comforts on land that he is missing – Australian barbeques, Christmas lunches, family gatherings. All of them at the end of a satellite phone, none of them in reach, and still half the planet to circumnavigate (Nick should reach half way point in mileage terms within 24 hours). Mentally the last few weeks since the big capsize have been tough going for Nick, it really knocked him of his stride. But he’s battled away, got the boat back together, and now needs to get across a difficult weather transition and potential storm off NZ, to get in to the train of depressions that will take him towards Cape Horn 4,500 miles to the east. Having past the longitude of Hobart an hour ago, the focus is eastwards not north to Aussie!
LEADERS HOOK IN TO FIRST PACIFIC DEPRESSION: But not all plain sailing, as VMI and ECOVER see more icebergs...
AUSSIE NICK’S NEXT LANDMARK NEW ZEALAND: Always tough for an Australian to talk about New Zealand, but right now Nick is looking at South Island a lot on his screen as the forecast is for a depression to sit right in his way, forcing him close to the centre with the possibility of stronger winds and seas. ‘I’m sailing as hard and fast as I can at the moment as I might have a chance to get round it, the sooner I get across to NZ the better. Pretty tired, am just napping on the bean bag by the cabin door just inside – its pretty cold outside. Am hand steering through the squalls.’ Southern tip of NZ is 800 miles to his east, and the band of icebergs another 500 miles east from there. This is one giant obstacle course!
THANKS FROM NICK FOR ALL THE MESSAGES: Thousands of emails have come in for Nick from the website...a big thank you from Nick and the team. Just one request from Nick...no more mentions of Christmas please! Time to move on...to New Year maybe...
Socks for Christmas
Elapsed Time: 48 days, 00 hours, 00 mins
Fleet Leader: Bonduelle (J Le Cam FRA)
HELLOMOTO: 14th out of 16, 1,000 miles SSW of Cape Leeuwin, Australia
HELLOMOTO clocked the highest boat speed of 16.2 knots in the fleet this morning and is now in a 25 – 30 knot NW breeze, which will rapidly build to 40 knots by midday Christmas Day, and the special forecast predicts gusts of up to 75 knots by the end of the day.
Conrad and HELLOMOTO passed the official waypoint and are now well prepared to get through this storm and stay on the front edge of the system to take them towards Tasmania in the next 3 days and overtake Roxy…
Conrad couldn’t have asked for more appropriate Christmas presents after his generator broke down: a mini hot water bottle and some thermal socks, and a small bottle of Southern Comfort!
Conrad Humphreys interview from onboard HELLOMOTO this morning courtesy of Geolink/Iridium:
"My Christmas presents couldn’t have come at a more appropriate time – I got some Goretex socks and a mini hot water bottle from my wife, both of which are going to be very useful in keeping me warm now! My Mum got me a small bottle of Southern Comfort – how apt! And also an audio book of Ranulph Fiennes autobiography. I think today of all days I will allow myself to turn on the stereo and listen to it for an hour, although I need to keep the stereo off otherwise. I’ve eaten the equivalent of two Christmas lunches already – boil in the bag turkey and potatoes – and scoffed a Christmas pudding with a trickle of cream which Mum packed just for the occasion.
“We should see 40 knots by lunchtime today and gusts of up to 60 knots by the end of the day. I am so relieved to have passed the waypoint as now I am free to crack off the sheets if need be. The front started coming through and I hoisted the storm jib to head up as I was 20 miles from the waypoint and didn’t want to get caught on the wrong side of it. Luckily the wind freed and now has shifted back to the NW so the waypoint is due South of me now. The race organisation sent a special Meteo France forecast predicting 75 knot gusts. Their forecasts tend to be a bit high on average but for this area I’m expecting 50 knots and then gusts adding another 20% on top of that. I hope I can stay on the leading edge of this system and keep my foot down sailing at around 18 knots boat speed on average so that this could carry us all the way to Tasmania in about 3 days time.
“My aim is to overtake Roxy in the next 72 hours and I’ve caught up to 115 miles behind already. It’ll be hard work and stressful to keep ahead of the system, I’ll only sleep in 20 minute cat naps now when I can but it will be difficult. It’s already 25 – 30 knots now and building quickly and I’ll just give it my best to put the pressure on the next boats. Max Havelaar is still 350m up ahead so I won’t get past him until after the International Date Line. But then we will be in iceberg alley and all of us will take our foot off the pedal then until we’re through it.
“It’s been a bit stressful charging the engine in these conditions. It’s a seawater cooled engine using the same valves as the generator. As we were going quite fast the engine wasn’t sucking up well, too much air was coming in so it started overheating and that made me pretty nervous. I had to slow the boat down to get it running properly but we’re back up to pace and the engine is working ok so it’s just been trying to find the right balance with the sea state and amount of heel.
“I’ve spent a lot of Christmas Day trying to take photographs of albatross, and they keep eluding me but I got one in the end! The sea and air temperature is about 4 degrees and there are some interesting cloud formations, which are tell tale signs of the impending storm. I’m well fed & rested, alert and the boat is prepared. I’ve got the storm jib ready and the reefing set up. HELLOMOTO will get me through it…but if there’s a 20 metre wave with my name on it there’s nothing I can do about that…”
December 24, 2004
Hobart WX
The organisers of the 60th Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race have left competitors in no doubt of the severe conditions that stand in their way when they leave Sydney Harbour this Sunday, Boxing Day. Chairman of the race committee Tim Cox stressed that the onus for each yacht's safety lay squarely on the shoulders of the skipper. "For anyone who was thinking there might be a postponement, that is not my intention," he said.
While the first 24 hours offer a rapid downwind ride down the coast of mainland Australia, conditions could turn very nasty soon afterwards, according to Peter Dunda from the Bureau of Meteorology. Speaking to representatives of each of the 117 boats on Christmas Eve at the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, Dunda warned that Monday would bring south-westerly winds averaging 35-45 knots, combined with temperatures in the low teens. By Tuesday he predicted the winds would be averaging 40-50 knots, with waves reaching heights of 6-9 metres. The nervous silence in the room turned to nervous laughter when Dunda added: "It looks like there will be hail showers embedded in there."
Few sailors would contemplate heading out into such a forecast were it not for the prestige of a classic ocean race driving them on. One of Australia's best-known sailors and yacht designers is at the helm of Targé, the Reichel/Pugh 60 that won the Rolex Trophy in Sydney just a few days ago. Targé is a high-tech yacht that has suffered some worrisome breakdowns in recent months. "We retired in the Flinders Island Race with front rudder problems," Murray admitted. "It's a computer controlled boat, and when the computer's not computing, things aren't good. I think we've learned to live with operating this electronic gadgetry. We understand how to use it. But the boat is very light ...so it's not a dream forecast for us."
Murray, and indeed most sailors, say the forecast looks set to favour the 'big three' - last year's line honours winner Skandia, last year's runner-up Konica Minolta, and the newly-launched Nicorette. Despite such a big test so early in the life of Nicorette, her skipper Ludde Ingvall remains confident: "We're absolutely ready. I'd rather have a new boat than an old boat. We've completed our tests. We've been checking our crew manoeuvres. If the boat is correctly engineered it should be able to take anything the Bass Strait throws at us."
Measurement issues have swirled around Skandia these past days, but skipper Grant Wharington claimed to be unbothered by all the fuss. "Same bun fight, different year," he quipped. "There's always something going on in relation to measurement. The eyes of the world are upon us, but we produced our measurement certificate and nothing changed really. We were ready to answer any questions that were out there and we didn't have anything to hide. Our weight now is published as slightly different from what it was, but no one knows if the load cell is different from the one in Melbourne. Our preparations have been fantastic."
Wharington has left no stone unturned in his quest to defend last year's line honours victory. "We've just put a new mainsail up yesterday for the first time. The rule when you're going to Hobart is that to get there with the same mainsail you need to put up a brand new one."
AAPT has been trialling a new sail of a very different kind - a high-flying kite to be used instead of a more traditional spinnaker - but skipper Sean Langman said he would be leaving it in Sydney. "Given the forecast, I think my wife is at home rigging it up as a canopy for Christmas lunch. We'll go with what we know works, and we'll save the kite for another day." Langman said that after a couple of retirements in recent years, he was keen to finish the race. "I want to get to Tasmania, that's the first goal, I've got a holiday booked down there afterwards."
British sailor Jakki Moores on Sydney 38 Lexar is another who would be happy just to make it to Hobart in the face of such a foreboding forecast. "We're going to have a tough time, but we're well prepared and we've been practising our reefing manoeuvres," she said. "You don't come here not expecting to see big waves."
The Rolex Sydney Hobart starts from Sydney Harbour, off Nielson Park, at 1310 AEDT/local time (0210 GMT) on Boxing Day, Sunday 26th December 2004. A live telecast on Network Ten (Australia) will screen from 1300 until 1400 AEDT.
Generator Kaput
Elapsed Time: 47 days, 01 hours, 20 mins
Fleet Leader: Bonduelle (J Le Cam FRA)
HELLOMOTO: 14th out of 16, 600m SW of Cape Leeuwin, Australia
HELLOMOTO is making headway east ahead of this storm which will kick in with 45 knots on Christmas Day for both Conrad and Ellen MacArthur who is zooming up on ‘B&Q’ just under a day’s sailing away from him…
Conrad declares his generator has gone KAPUT and no longer works. This means that he must shut down a lot of his electrics and ration his fuel consumption – as the engine is less efficient than the generator at charging – and will have to conserve power for when he needs to use his radar to sail through the iceberg minefield ahead…
Conrad wishes everyone Happy Christmas wherever in the world you are and is glad that although he is out there on the other side of the world he feels close to home thanks to advanced satellite communications technology…
Conrad Humphreys interview from onboard HELLOMOTO this morning courtesy of Geolink/Iridium:
"Yesterday I spent the whole day with the generator in bits trying to find the problem. Unfortunately there is nothing we can do, it’s something mechanical that’s broken down, the generator is completely KAPUT. That means we are back to charging on the main engine. We calculated fuel for this race of 4 litres a day based on 100 days and took an extra 80l in reserve based on the generator. To stay with the same power consumption the engine would use up 10 litres a day whereas the generator uses 4 litres a day so you can see the problem. I’ve got 200 litres of fuel, I’m doing better than scheduled, about 30 litres more than I should have at this stage, but we’re going to have a very low powered rest of the race and we’re going to have to really economise for the next 50 days. I’ve got everything switched off, I’m just running the pilots and the B&G electronics and I’m switching the computers on just when I am doing weather and navigation. I’ve got no heating or lighting, the big concern is as we move into the ice field I need to conserve power to run the radar, as I’m not sailing through that minefield without the radar.
“It does mean we will have to fix the tiller on the starboard rudder. Coming up the Atlantic there’s a lot of starboard tack sailing and if I’m having to hand steer then we need to sort that. I’m not overly concerned right now, I’ve got enough gas on board to keep the cabin warm, I’ve used so little up until now and we have 10 spare gas canisters left. It’s yet another challenge being thrown at me but one we can rise to. Life on board will be less bearable but in 10 days time I shall know more about my reduced consumption rate and how I’m doing. It’s like being a mole, living in darkness!
“This morning was interesting as I was on a Southerly starboard gybe and was expecting to head up north as the wind shifted round to the NW. But the last 6 hours the wind has been stronger in the south and the high pressure moved north. Last night I gybed away from it as in the long term I need to get north as on Christmas day we’re going to get hit with 45 knots. I’ve been heading east for the last 6 hours at around 14 knots boat speed which is what I wanted to do, make some ground ahead of this low pressure system. I’m at the same latitude as the first waypoint and I mustn’t drop down below any more, as it would then be a fight to get back up to cross it. I’m waiting for the breeze to clock round to allow me to go 1 degree further north.
“So Happy Christmas to Mike, Nick and everyone else ahead and behind me! Well, those guys ahead will already be tucking into their Christmas meal and opening presents already! Hopefully I can wish Ellen a Happy Christmas tomorrow too, it looks like she and I will be in the same system tomorrow and sharing the same storm force weather conditions by midday on Christmas Day but she is a few degrees further north than me right now. I’m sure I’ll stop over a cup of coffee tomorrow and have a pensive moment or two about being here on Christmas Day, but I am constantly blown away by the hundreds of emails I’m getting and of course I’ll be talking to my wife, family, team and close friends on the satellite phone so in a way I still feel like I can be there with them too. Happy Christmas to everyone supporting me, I hope you get what you want from Santa, all I want is a calm exit from the Indian Ocean but it all may change tomorrow!”
1st Ice Casualty
RACE POSITIONS 0930 GMT: SKANDIA 7th, slipping back further on VIRBAC (6th) to 696 miles, and and PROFORM as she sails up in better breeze, now just 114 behind. ARCELOR (9th) also only at 235 now, much further south. BONDUELLE leads by just 2 miles, but downwind conditions now kicking in. ECOVER at his closest yet, just 203 miles from leader.
RACE UPDATE DAY GOING IN TO 48th DAY
VMI SIGNIFICANTLY DAMAGED AFTER HITTING ‘GROWLER’: A broken bowsprit and a damaged rudder system on VMI were the main results of a heart-stopping collision with a ‘small’ 20 to 30 ton (estimate by skipper, the boat was stopped dead whilst sailing at 12 to 13 knots) chunk of ice hovering below the surface. Overnight skipper Sebastian Josse slowed down, headed ‘out’ of the ice zone to the north west whilst he and his shore team evaluated the options for repair to the steering system, but then set off again fast to the east at about 2300gmt, with it repaired. The structural integrity of the boat was intact, including the ‘crash box’ [see JARGON BUSTER]
ICE ON THE MIND: ‘There is no way I’m going in there [the iceberg zone]...’. Nick has a pretty clear plan on approaching the ice zone south of New Zealand, one that I think we all agree on! No question - icebergs cause enormous stress for any sailor, but in particular the solo one. Radar alarms work to a point, but the growler that JoJo (Sebastian Josse, VMI) hit was submerged, and too small for radar to pick up. Even some of the larger bergs are transparent on radar. BONDUELLE has seen another iceberg this morning, that’s almost 3 days of ice stress for Jean le Cam.
VARIABLE CONDITIONS FOR NICK: ‘at one point today I dozed off with full sail up in just 15 knots of wind from 310, and woke up with the boat smoking in 33 knots of wind from 240...it doesn’t make it easy to rest! A lot of rain squalls around making life a bit difficult, but we are clearing the southern point of Tasmania ok at the moment. I’ll soon be able to gybe and make better VMG, as I’m sure it looks pretty bad on the leaderboard at the moment. I’ve not had any other lane to get south’
SEISMIC ACTION! Race Management received notification last night of a sizeable earthquake off the Macquarie Islands, south of New Zealand. It measured 8.2 on the Richter Scale and occurred between 3000 and 4000 metres below sea level. Effectively sailing on the other side of what is essentially a massive, virtually vertical wall under the seas in this area, Dominique Wavre may still experience difficult seas as he approaches the zone. It is clear that there is considerable activity in this region with another earthquake measuring 4.5 around the South Sandwich Islands yesterday morning, and another last Friday evening in the same zone measuring 5.2...Source www.vendeeglobe.fr
PATRICE BATTLES ON: ‘I consider that the Vendée Globe is a fine and great adventure for those who love the sea and competition. As with any adventure, there are the difficult moments where you really have to dig deep into your resources. The sea is worth it though. We don’t have the choice in any case! I thank you again for all your encouragements and will speak to you on the airwaves again soon...’ For the full emotional letter from Patrice, check out VM MATÉRIAUX_PATRICE in french, and vendeeglobe.org for a translation in english...
JARGON BUSTER: ‘Crash box’ – all the Open 60s have sacrificial bow sections so that if they hit something the first bit to break is a foam core half metre section that absorbs some of the shock. This bit can actually break off completely without damaging the structural integrity of the boat. The boats have at least 6 watertight compartments as well, so it takes a serious amount of damage to cause a major safety problem. Of course any damage is not good for performance, and a collision with an iceberg growler cannot do great things for the mental state of the skipper....
B&Q Day 27
KEY DATA DAY 26 0710 GMT: 3 hours 37 minutes ahead of Joyon
OMEGA: Official timekeeper for Ellen MacArthur
Lat/Long: 42 53 S / 078 19 E (523 miles NE Kerguelen Is / 1820 miles E Cape Leeuwin - south-west tip of Australia)
Average Boat speed: 14.70 knots (heading ENE)
True Wind speed: 18.5 knots (direction NW)
Sea temperature: 12.3 degrees C
Distance sailed so far: 10,512 miles at an average speed of 16.9 knots
(data communicated by Thrane MiniC via BT Business Broadband)
Update based on data recorded 0710 GMT...check http://www.teamellen.com for the latest data updated hourly
IN BRIEF:
* FAST NIGHT BUT <
* CAUGHT BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE ON CHRISTMAS DAY... As Ellen said two days ago "it is going to hit us, we can't get away from this one.." and as the storm approaches that much is now certain. Gale-force conditions are forecast bringing 35-45 knots of wing [Force 8], gusting in excess of 50 knots [Force 9-10] generating mountainous seas - it will be self-preservation both for Ellen and <
* STRONGEST WIND EXPECTED CHRISTMAS DAY between 35-45 knots, gusting 50 knots as north-westerly breeze starts to build in strength tonight. Ellen will try and stay ahead of the storm for as long as possible but Commanders' Weather now believe that the cold front will pass over <
* MESSAGES FLOODING IN FOR ELLEN BY THE MINUTE... Over 6,000 messages have been received at <
* UPDATES OVER CHRISTMAS: No emails, but Ellen's website will be updated on both Christmas Day and Boxing Day so you can check Ellen's progress at http://www.teamellen.com. [MEDIA NOTE: a press update will be sent by email by 1200 GMT on both Christmas Day and Boxing Day].
* ELLEN'S OC SAILING TEAM MATE UPDATE: Nick Moloney on Skandia holds 7th place in the Vendee Globe, but Sebastien Josse, VMI, hit 15m growler yesterday sustaining some damage but continuing with race. This icefield to the south east of NZ will be a concern for Ellen as well. http://www.nickmoloney.com
http://www.teamellen.com
WEATHER ANALYSIS FROM COMMANDERS' WEATHER 0600 GMT:
Ellen continues to move quickly to the ENE and E and that is the objective today. She will be positioning herself to be better able to handle a strong cold front that will be approaching Christmas day. NW to NNW flow will slowly clock and increase during the course of Friday. As the wind clocks, it will steer Ellen more to the east and then a little south of east Friday night and during Christmas day.
Deep low pressure far to the south will have a cold front coming east and this front will reach Ellen on Christmas day. Winds will become strong ahead of the front Friday night and into Saturday. There will be increasing shower and squall activity ahead of the front. The strongest winds likely to occur between 0600utc Sat and 1800utc Saturday. A period of 35-45 kts is likely with some gusts over 50 kts. Stronger winds will be the further south, so that is one reason we have headed more ENE. This will also temper the sea-state some, although she will still have to deal with very large seas later Christmas Eve night and Christmas day.
We will try and stay ahead of the front as long as possible. Low pressure will develop along the front Sat night and head SSE. Right now, it appears the front will overtake Ellen between 1800utc Saturday and 21utc Saturday. We will then try and proceed eastward before wind drops off and stay east of that low which will come close to Ellen on Sunday. Very light winds will occur Sunday near the low and west of the front while strong NNW winds to the east. Goal will be try and get back into those stronger NNW winds east of the front.
Routing: Same priorities - get some northing and get E as quickly as
possible during the next several hours
1) If we go N of 42 30-43S, that is okay
2) as wind clocks more and increases later Fri, a more E and ESE course
3) do your best course to take care of you and the boat when the stronger
wind develops
Wind forecasts
Wind directions are TRUE, wind speed in kts, time is UTC
Fri, Dec 24
09: 330-350/22-28 - wind stronger to the S and W, lighter to the N and E
12: 330-350/22-30, near 42 50s/80 15e - most of our northing should be in
around now - clocking wind
18: 340-360/22-32
Partly cloudy. Increasing threat of showers during the night. Seas becoming confused overnight. Seas 8-12 ft will build to 10-15 feet
Sat, Dec 25
00: 340-360/24-34
06: 340-010/28-35, gusts to 40-45
12: 360-330/35-45, squalls to 50-55, near 43 30s/90e
18: 340-300/40-30, front very close, probably just E of the cold front-
wind stronger to the S and E
Mostly cloudy with showers/squalls. Some heavy squalls with gusts to over 50 kts. Seas very rough - building to 25 ft+ and probably coming from both the N and W
December 23, 2004
VMI has hit a growler
Sébastien Josse (VMI), currently 4th in the Vendée Globe, contacted his shore crew at 1530 GMT to report that he had just hit a growler at 53°46'S/176°52'E. At first sight the boat structure doesn’t seem to have been damaged and the monohull is not taking on water. However, the pulpit and the bow sprit are broken.
It is daybreak in the Antipodes. Sébastien Josse (VMI) has not spotted any icebergs on his radar. Nevertheless, he did see his first one with the naked eye which was 50 metres long and 3 metres high. It was rounded in shape and melting. He then hit a small growler (or small iceberg) under the water which flipped up the rudder just prior to a violent impact with another growler which was 15 metres long and 1.5 metres high. Hit at 12-13 knots, the growler didn’t move, which makes Sébastien believe that it must weigh between 20 and 30 tonnes. Fortunately the French skipper was not injured in the collision.
The youngest skipper of the race dropped his mainsail and took photos of the damage to analyse it with his shore crew. The latter are in direct contact with the boat’s architect Pascal Conq, and Hubert
Desjoyeaux, manager of the yard where VMI was optimised over recent years.
Sébastien Josse is currently making 7 knots, on a heading of 50°, with 20 knots of wind and a 3-4 metre swell. He has not yet checked the damage to the crash-box, but has been able to check that the hull structure has not been damaged. He is 500 miles south-east of New Zealand.
Cold Christmas
A Colder Christmas for Conrad
Elapsed Time: 46 days, 01 hours, 15 mins
Fleet Leader: Bonduelle (J Le Cam FRA)
HELLOMOTO: 14th out of 16, 800m SW of Cape Leeuwin, Australia
HELLOMOTO is trucking along scoring the highest boat speed in the fleet at 15 knots in more northerly winds this morning and has pulled back to within 200m of 13th placed ‘Roxy’ after being becalmed yesterday
Conrad intends to gybe south later today with the forecast wind shift to the SW in order to cross the first ‘virtual gateway’ imposed by the race rules at 47S between 103 – 113 E
HELLOMOTO is experiencing power issues, and Conrad gets covered in oil trying to find the source of the problem with his generator. All non-essential electrics have been shut off, including the heater, for the time being, and so Christmas will be a lot colder now too
Conrad Humphreys interview from onboard HELLOMOTO this morning courtesy of Geolink/Iridium:
"HELLOMOTO is going along at 15 knots in a good breeze for now. The wind is more northerly but will swing back to the West and then eventually to the South West. In about 6 hours I’ll gybe south, then the breeze is due to swing back to the North West and build rapidly. I want to safely get North of the first of the Southern Ocean ‘gateways’ we have to pass at 47 S and between 103 and 113 E so that afterwards I have room to manoeuvre the boat with the incoming storm force conditions…
“…I can’t talk for long actually, as I’m just trying to work through some issues with my power supply. The generator is still working but making an odd noise so I’m just trying to get to the bottom of it so I can determine the problem and fix it. I’m literally covered in oil, my hands, clothing, face…and there’s black slippery stuff all over the floor too. As a precaution I’ve gone back to basics and shut off any non-essential electrics, so that includes the heater. I’m going to have to cut back on communications until I’ve sorted this out too. Last night I shivered in my sleeping bag as without a heater in the cabin, you come downstairs into an equally cold environment and once your body is cold it is really hard to get yourself warmed up again from the inside. I can fully empathise with Jean-Pierre Dick right now with his frostbitten fingers…it looks like my Christmas is going to be pretty cold now too.”
Linky Sailing News
Racing Minor Collision for Ellen
News VOR items
Great Lakes New Cutter. Ferry bid supported. All set for Hobart
Ice Obstacle Course
The head of the fleet in this Vendée Globe are delicately picking their way through an iceberg minefield, the danger zone strewn across 177˚E, just before the passage of the International Date Line South-East of New Zealand. The first to spot a 2 mile long iceberg at around 0900 GMT this morning, an anxious Jean Le Cam (Bonduelle) quickly spread the word behind him, second placed Vincent Riou (PRB) immediately tacking north in reply. Three hours later, the latter had passed two huge icebergs, Le Cam having spotted around 10, an enormous whale completing the picture. Careful as they are being, their lead over Mike Golding (Ecover) and Sébastien Josse (VMI) has stretched out over the course of the day, though the English sailor has a 20 mile lead over VMI. Dominique Wavre (Temenos) is the first of the chasing group to have passed the Tasmanian gateway, Jean Pierre Dick (Virbac Paprec) hot on his heels with a startling average of 366.4 miles over the past 24 hours. He is only one of the entire 16-strong fleet to have racked up over 300 and his 20.4 knots of instantaneous speed epitomises the fighting spirit aboard the ‘powerless’ Virbac Paprec...
Jean Le Cam (Bonduelle) was uncharacteristically lucid in his comments at today’s radio session, anxiety tangible in his words. “I have seen icebergs and the bad news is that they are all over the place. The good news is that the visibility is good and the radar works well. I saw one which was 100 metres high. I’m now going left and right and haven’t got a clue what to do. I think I’ll be up on deck all night. The gauge that measures the temperature of the water is no help as the water remains the same temperature unless you’re really close. The first iceberg I saw was about 2 miles long with 2 little ones beside it. I haven’t seen any growlers but all in all I must have seen 10 icebergs and 1 huge whale, 5 meters from the boat last night. I should be in that iceberg area for another 5 hours, at least that’s what I hope. Fortunately there is not too much wind and the sea is calmer which helps me to stay on watch. The wind is now down to 16 knots.”
Vincent Riou (PRB) in second was clearly pleased to have a guide, even though he soon realised how widespread the danger zone actually was. “I have already had the iceberg information and we’re right into it. I wouldn’t want to be what Jean is and I hope I won’t be in the same situation in a few hours...” Unfortunately, this hope didn’t last long as he made his first sighting just before 1100 GMT, four miles to the east of 55 02S 177 37E, in a water temperature of 7.7°, with another spotted at 1300 GMT, 2.5 miles away at 130 degrees of the following position: 54 53S 177 49E in a water temperature of 8.1°C. “I’ve changed course to try and cut between the ice zone spotted by the New Zealand Rescue Centre and those spotted further south by Jean Le Cam. My radar is on and has been on for the past 2 days. I’ve got my binoculars out and will be spending the night on deck. It’s weird that the water temperature hasn’t changed though, especially just 4 miles from them. I’m in pretty good shape otherwise so it’s not a problem not to sleep for the next 48 hours. We’re going to stay slow and prudent. The night is clear and we have good visibility even in the darkness. I’ve got 20 knots of wind and not too much sail on. I just hope we don’t have this throughout the Pacific or we’ll have to go further north than we are.”
With Jean making his first sighting four miles windward of the boat at 55 46 65S and 177 46 17E, it would seem that there is ice everywhere along 177 degrees East. The original report from the New Zealand Rescue Centre reported 15 icebergs further north, just to the east of Campbell Island. Jean’s sighting was further South of this zone and Vincent’s between the two. Clearly the more sightings that are reported the easier and, more importantly, safer it will be for the chasing pack.
Mike Golding (Ecover) will be the first to benefit from this information, even if he is physically tired. “According to the reports the ice is around 270 miles to the north-east of me, but that hasn’t affected my tactics. I’m making my choices as regards the weather but I think there is a good chance that there is ice all the way along this longitude. My radar works well though. I’m not tired through lack of sleep but I am physically tired. I’m still recovering from the trough in a depression which was painfully hard. My arms are aching and I need to rest but I’m mentally OK. I’m very happy with the boat and it’s looking like I should be in touch with the leaders when we pass Cape Horn. It did look bleak a few weeks ago but I’m capitalising on my gains now and seem to be approaching my game plan. It would be good if the four of us could race up the Atlantic together. VMI and I have made enormous inroads into the lead duo so I’m happy.”
Still sailing with wind on the nose for the foreseeable future, the chasing pack are hoping to reap the benefits of the much reduced pace up front, with 7 to 10 knot averages over the past 4 hours. Mid fleet from Virbac Paprec back to Max Havelaar Best Western are really on a roll with as much as 20.4 knots of instantaneous speed from the former, despite the power only being provided by the solar panels. VM Materiaux (Patrice Carpentier) is the only one to have an instantaneous speed under 10 knots but having broken his boom yesterday evening there is clearly good reason for this. Further back in the fleet, Conrad Humphreys (Hellomoto) reports trickier sailing conditions with wild wind shifts.
Quotes from the Boats:
Conrad Humphreys (Hellomoto): "It’s quite tricky sailing, I gybed 5 times in the last 24 hours, just trying to stay in this patch of wind which seems to be funnelling between these two high pressure cells. You have to really feel the boat, know what angles to steer. I seem to have got a little corridor which has kept me going, although I made a mistake last night as the wind shifted into the South West and I gybed and took a southerly option knowing that perhaps the breeze was slightly stronger in the north. I’ve got 13 knots of breeze at the moment and doing a course of about 050 sailing at 9 - 10 knots. The only other news to report is that I am getting a bit smelly! I feel like I’ve been in a wheelchair for a month though, as I’ve hardly used my legs on the confines of this boat, I’m going to have to do some special exercises to keep up the lower body strength and stop my legs wasting away. However, these moderate conditions have allowed me to catch up on rest and I’m really in the groove in terms of my sleeping, eating, sailing pattern. I’m very focused and really enjoying the trip. I’ve had my fair share of obstacles so far, and I’m sure there’ll be a lot to come, but the fact that I have come through them has left a good lasting impression on me.”
Nick Moloney (Skandia): “Just fixed the outhaul and lazyjack jammer, working through the job list. Just got a broken batten and the wind wand at the top of the mast to go. Also fixed my blast reacher, and still working on the Solent boot. Got a bit of sleep last night as I didn’t get any the two nights before...got about 5 hours last night, so that’s good!’ Also fixed the webcam, now I’m a computer expert as well! I’ve been attacking jobs two at a time, then stopping, eating, resting and then attacking the next ones. I’ll be going up (the rig/mast), just got to pick the right window. The sea state is quite messy and still got rain squalls. We’ve got another 3 windows (weather calmer) in the next few days to go up. I broke batten 3 in a crash gybe a couple of days ago. Its killing me as during my sleep I’m making all the repairs, then I wake up and realise that I haven’t done them! One of the weather models I’ve got this morning shows 50 knots upwind for the Sydney-Hobart fleet on the 28th, just carnage. If that eventuates I doubt they would start the race.”
Marc Thiercelin (Pro-Form): “The weather’s ok, a nice sky, a nice day. Nick’s from around here so I’ll follow him, sailing down south. The gas is leaking so I’m losing a bit more everyday. I think I’ve got around 8 days left. The masthead has been a problem since the boat got knocked down and the mast is moving around like spaghetti. I’m looking for a solution as to how best to fix it. Maybe I’ll stop and go up the mast. I don’t know. I have to motivate myself. There’s not really a competition here.”
Patrice Carpentier (VM Matériaux): "I was sailing under a 3 reefed main yesterday and there wasn´t much wind so I was really surprised to find that I had broken my boom. I didn´t spot it at first, I just noticed that my mainsail looked odd. I do hope to make repairs but the boom has broken right into two near the middle - perhaps I can join the two carbon pieces together - for now I have simply cut both parts so the ends are not jagged. I´m going to need to make a lot of northerly to get flatter seas to do the work as I´m currently on "a mountain which keeps moving". I don´t feel that confident in my abilities though I believe I have the tools to do the job. Even if I can get back into the race I won´t really be racing though and that´s really hard to swallow..."
Vendee Globe Report 23 December
Whilst we go about our daily routines 20 lone sailors are racing around the world without a stop.
Each weekday ATWOS will present a report on the 2004-2005 Vendee Globe race. Who will join Lamazou, Desjoyeaux etc. as winners? Who will be a breakout young star like Ellen Macarthur? Which sailors will participate in dramas such as those of Pete Goss & Yves Parlier?
The report will cover the rhythm of the race, whether it's fast or slow, what's the degree of difficulty, is it iceberg territory?
Each day we'll check the standings to see who the leaders are and who else is on the move.
The fleet roundup will cover news of interest from any and all boats both the success's and the inevitable failures.
From the lone sailors will highlight the most interesting communications from the multi national group of sailors.
Rhythm of the Race "After two further sightings of icebergs by leader Jean Le Cam (Bonduelle) this morning the future at the front of the fleet isn’t looking too bright."
Standings 1. Bonduelle 2. PRB 48 miles back 3. Ecover 267 miles back
Fleet Round Up Compression continues. Press on. OP to make repairs
From the Lone Sailors Mike Golding: "“But it’s one of those things, you just have to press on. It’s a huge ocean and there’s plenty of sea that doesn’t have ice in it." Jean Le Cam: "I have seen 2 other icebergs. I was curious to see them up close somehow so I got to within 100 meters of them. It was a very pretty sight with greeny-blue seas around." Bruce Schwab: "After a lot of agonizing, I have decided to head north to fix the radar."
1/2 A Watch of Relative Peace
Each day as the yachts race in the Global Challenge, teams will file daily logs via satellite to the web site.
These log entries are designed to be more than simple position and status reports; they are the teams' way of sharing the excitement and drama as it is seen and felt by those aboard.
Via the Global Challenge's RSS Feed ATWOS will feature selected daily logs.
The boats left Argentina on November 28th headed for New Zealand. Leg 2 will include rounding Cape Horn.
Today's log is from Vaio
Ylva - I had it all planned, it was going to be one calm night watch, 4 hours sleep and then a day of mother watch. The day did not really start as planned.
When we, Alfa, was on watch the wind increased from 9 to 20 knots and the first three and half hours we worked a lot with the trim to get the boat going fast. We were pleased to keep the speed over 8 knots in winds of 12. I have to admit that when the wind started picking up I sat and had a little pray the last 10 minutes of watch to not get more then 20 knots, and we didn't.
Then Romeo came on watch, clearly without doing any wind prayers. 30 seconds later the wind was 24 and increasing. Now 2 hours later we have changed everything possible to something smaller and we have a constant wind of 30 knots. I still haven't gone to bed and will probably not get the easy
mother watch I had planned.
Try to lean 30 degrees while doing cooking and cleaning for a day and you will see what I mean. You might rightfully wonder why I do not go straight to bed but hang by the computer; no it is not because Ben will tell me off if I don't (not this time) but because I am waiting for my Swedish radio interview. What I miss most from Sweden except for my family is actually to speak Swedish so it is always a happy time of the week.
Kat - a wet and windy watch, wave bashing (ahem, I
mean "surfing and trying to avoid the speed crushing bow bounces off the top of the 4m swell we have out there") as we have for the past 24 hours. I'm now starting to enjoy the
heavy weather on what the watch call my "happy pills" instead of dreading the stomach wrenching seasickness that used to arrive.
As Ylva said, it was literally 30 seconds into Romeo watch that everything went crazy, but with Amedeo standing in for Billy (getting his weekly sleep through the night) in the cockpit on the sheets, we had a speedy set of sail changes and reefs. I now can't imagine what it's like to be back in the Solent, sun shining, learning how to drop and hoist a sail on a flat boat. There seems to be so little deck space when we are heeled over, and everything from sail bags to sail ties to foredeck boys end up in my snake pit, cluttering up the floor and lying on my halyards.
Fortunately I had half a watch of relative peace (29 knots constant, salt spray stinging in the eyes from low and high side) in which to get my pit tidy again. There is something that messy boys just DON'T understand about tidying up!
Rich - We certainly do get those watches and days when we are flat out trying to keep our little world together down here but life does go on elsewhere! It was great news therefore to hear, via email a couple of nights ago, that my wife and I have just completed a sale on our house in Auckland while I was deep in the Southern Ocean and she was still enjoying her holiday in South America!
We started the ball rolling mid October and I ended up signing papers to go conditional literally on the way to Auckland airport on 26th October! The date for completion was 16th December so I was distracted for a couple of days knowing it was 16th in NZ, only 15th with us and waiting for Marama to fly from BA home to get the news! I can now concentrate on sailing VAIO full speed ahead for Wellington and my circumnavigation knowing I have the joys of house hunting to look forward to. Perhaps I'll wish for another watch like this morning instead?!!
Jonesy here having completed another "lumpy" mother watch. It is not easy cooking at a 45 degree angle but you get used to it. I just wish my body would get used to the bruises. I can't believe it is only 2 days to Christmas. Without any of the normal festivities it doesn't feel like it is
actually that time of year.
For me it is the first time I will be away from home for Christmas so I will miss my family and friends but we have a great day planned with my VAIO family. It will definitely be a Christmas to remember.
Alex - After 7 hours and 50mins of no wind and 3 lemons (0.00 Knots) on the speedo 2 days ago, one's mind wandered to ways to improve the situation. Hence the Medhurst Anti-becalmed Device (MAD) (not to be confused with the
now defunct MADD).The device involves 6 exercise bikes in a row along the rail linked in series to a single drive shaft and pulley to a Dutch-style windmill mounted on the rear backstay. Rotated at about 1,000RPM it is calculated to create sufficient draft to keep this 45 tonne monster moving
at a snail's pace. The crew would be fuelled with PSP Sports drink of which we have copious unused supplies - thus killing 2 birds with one stone.
So, instead of hearing Amedeo shouting from the depths of the companionway for a sail change such as " Beeelee [Italian for Billy], "we're going Yankee 1" or "Beeelee, we're going spinnaker" next time we are becalmed we will hear "Beeelee, we're going MAD."
Ben - MAD certainly not needed today - sort of day where you see the Southern Ocean at her very best and hopefully with it our performance - racing all very tight and the tempo certainly starting to pick up on VAIO as she's pushed to giving us the best possible speed and course. Just on a break from deck navigator - hands very cold and enjoying a hot choccy - in general I never get cold - am the sort of person that has aircon on in the car the whole time and windows on the house open in winter!
Also should mention the media team have a new recruit in the form of Alex Medhurst's daughter Molly who is coming out to NZ and will be looking after all the daily logs / photos and video footage - welcome to the team Molly and look out for her logs and photos etc from NZ!
Right back to the deck for another 45 minutes of dark, cold, rough decknaving!
Go VAIO GO!
Minor Collision
KEY DATA DAY 25 0710 GMT: 15 hours 57 minutes ahead of Joyon
OMEGA: Official timekeeper for Ellen MacArthur
Lat/Long: 44 17 S / 068 55 E (270 miles N Kerguelen Islands)
Average Boat speed: 14.63 knots (heading SE)
True Wind speed: 18.6 knots (direction WNW)
Sea temperature: 9.3 degrees C
Distance sailed so far: 10084 miles at average of 16.8 knots
(data communicated by Thrane MiniC via BT Business Broadband)
Update based on data recorded 0710 GMT...check http://www.teamellen.com for the latest data updated hourly
IN BRIEF:
* MINOR COLLISION WITH UNIDENTIFIED OBJECT IN THE NIGHT... A heart-stopping moment for Ellen on <
* NOT MUCH SLEEP AS ELLEN SPENDS 8 HOURS REPAIRING WATERMAKER AGAIN... The collision-moment would have got Ellen's adrenalin running at full pelt, which was just as well, as she needed the energy to fix one of her watermakers again - an exercise that took 8 hours of hard labour through the night. And now, this morning, she has spent another couple of hours bailing out a small amount of water from one of the sealed compartments in the starboard float [the outer right-hand hull] which the sensors picked up on a few days ago. Ellen does not know how the water has entered the float but the amount of water inside is not causing a great deal of concern, as even a tiny leak through the base of a rigging chain-plate can build up over a number of days and weeks...
* 10,000 MILES ON THE CLOCK... <
* ELLEN GYBED BACK ON TO STARBOARD JUST BEFORE MIDNIGHT... As the wind clocked to the south-west, Ellen gybed <
* OBJECTIVE FOR TODAY IS TO GYBE BACK TO ENE... Commanders' Weather forecast gentler 15-23 knots of breeze today and advise Ellen to gybe back as soon as she can this morning to get back to a east-north-east direction to stay away from the strong conditions in the south. The wind is expected to increase tonight from the north-west, generated from a low pressure system in the south that is coming east and high pressure in the north also moving east, that are funnelling increasing winds across the region. The wind will continue to build up to gale-force strength [35-45 knots] on Christmas Eve and early Christmas Day with gusts up to 50 kots [Force 10] at times. Ellen must try and stay north of 44-45 degrees south because below the conditions are even worse. The challenge for Ellen will be, if the winds turn more to the north they will be side-on to <
* <
WEATHER ANALYSIS FROM COMMANDERS' WEATHER 0600 GMT:
Ellen has continued to make steady progress. Weak trough now to the east and the WSW flow will be clocking during into the WNW today. As the wind does clock, the main objective will be to move towards the ENE. Winds will be less today than yesterday, generally 15-23 kts.
Big area of low pressure well to the south with its associated cold front will be coming east. The combination of the deep storm and higher pressure off to the N and NE will start to bring increasing NW winds later Thurs night and Friday. The NW winds will become more NNW and N ahead of the front Christmas Eve and Christmas day. The winds will become strong during Christmas Eve night and Christmas day with potential of 35-45 kts with gusts over 50 kts for a time late Friday night and Christmas morning. The strongest winds will be to the south of 44-45s, so it will be important to stay north to be better able to cope with the system and the big seas with it.
The front will be close by later Sat and Sun and it will be slowing down. Just behind the front, winds will become very light, while strong NNW winds continue east of it. This will be another hurdle to deal with over the weekend.
Strategy
1) best speed to the east or a little south of east
2) want to be back on port as soon as the WNW wind develops and then fast as possible to the ENE and NE - probably around 09-11utc
3) will want you at or N of 43s, NOT south of there to try and avoid strongest winds and seas and give us a better chance of not getting bogged down in the front
Wind forecasts
Wind directions are TRUE, wind speed in kts, time is UTC
Thu, Dec 23
09: 250-270/14-20 - wind may spike to 22-24 kts briefly
12: 270-290/15-20, near 44 50s/70 50e, going back to port and as fast as possible
18: 290-310/15-20, winds lighter to the E and N
Variable cloudiness. A brief passing shower?
Seas 12-16 feet 1st half of the day then 8-12 feet the 2nd half of the day
Fri, Dec 24 - wind clocking - may need to get even further N-
00: 290-320/18-24 - as fast as possible to the ENE
06: 320-340/20-28 - wind lighter to the N and E
12: 320-350/20-30, near 43s/80e
18: 330-350/20-30 - we must have our northing in between 12-18utc
Partly to mostly cloudy. Increasing threat of showers overnight..
Seas becoming confused overnight. Seas 8-13 ft will build to 10-15 ft but with peaks up to 16-18 ft.
http://www.commandersweather.com
JARGON BUSTER : VMG is Velocity Made Good ie the resultant speed B&Q is making towards the actual finish as opposed to the actual speed sailed through the water. It is very rare that a raceboat can sail directly towards its destination due to the direction of the wind at that time, or the long term strategy required to avoid calms or storms. If its possible to sail directly towards the finish then VMG will equal boat speed. For the mathematicians, the VMG will be the cosine of the angle between actual course and the direct course, times the boat speed across the ground ie always less than the boat speed. This means that although Ellen has sailed over 10,000 miles now through the water, her distance made good is considerably less at approx 8,700 miles.
Slow Going
RACE POSITIONS 0930 GMT: SKANDIA 7th, slipping back further on VIRBAC (6th) to 480 miles, and small gain on PROFORM (8th) at 195 miles. BONDUELLE almost out of the upwind stuff, but not the icebergs. 48 mile lead on PRB, ECOVER 3rd at 267 miles.
RACE UPDATE DAY GOING IN TO 47th DAY
WEATHER NOT LOOKING SO HELPFUL FOR SKANDIA: ‘Still hoping to be south of Tasmania for Christmas Day, but not looking so good right now. Jean-Pierre is on fire, he’s really got away by being able to hang on to the cold front. He should slow down soon, but so will I...’. An air of frustration onboard Skandia this morning, as light winds from the wrong direction slow up Skandia’s progress. VIRBAC meanwhile recorded the fleet best of 363 miles in the last 24 hours...
PATRICE CARPENTIER (VM MATERIAUX) OPTS TO FIX IT! Patrice has opted to continue racing and try to repair his broken carbon fibre boom using part of his spinnaker pole...its going to be a long job it seems.
THE ICE ‘MINEFIELD’ shows no sign of letting up, with more icebergs spotted this morning by BONDUELLE. Very stressful times for these skippers, who daren’t shut their eyes for long...the rest of the fleet undoubtedly starting to feel the stress as well...
BONDUELLE AND PRB PASS IN TO THE WEST having crossed the Anti-Meridian last night, which puts them in to westerly longitudes once again. Now they will be counting the westerly degrees down all the way to Les Sables d’Olonne...
SKANDIA DATA LOG 0930 GMT: data brought to you by BT Business Broadband, transmitted via Thrane&Thrane
LAT/LONG: 47 05 S / : 135 35 E; due south of Adelaide...
WIND: 15 knots from the west
BAROMETRIC PRESSURE: 1000Mb
Speaker Series
US SAILING, national governing body for the sport, and Mount Gay Rum, Official Rum of US SAILING, have announced the launch of the Mount Gay Rum Speaker Series. The grassroots, educational series will deliver high quality seminars to sailors nationwide and will be hosted by select sailing organizations and yacht clubs.
The 2005 Speaker Series will feature as many as ten events with
subjects that range from "Understanding the new racing rules" to "An
inside look at the Olympic Games." The racing rules seminars will allow sailors to interact directly with prominent experts like Dave Perry, Butch Ulmer and Dick Rose in discussing the new 2005-2008 racing rules, which go into effect on January 1, 2005.
The Olympic-themed events will feature Athens medallists like Kevin Burnham (Gold medal, 470 class) who will share a first-hand perspective on his Olympic experiences, from training to the podium.
The 2005 season of the Mount Gay Rum Speaker Series kicks off on January and will run through April. Markets currently on the schedule include:
* Pascagoula, Miss.
* Blue Point, N.Y.
* Seattle, Wash.
* Houston, TX
* Chicago, Ill.
* Boston, Mass,
* San Francisco, Calif.
* Westport, Conn.
60th Hobart Race
A forecast of gale-force winds could hardly be more appropriate for the 60th anniversary of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race. Ever since Royal Navy officer John Illingworth won the inaugural race in 1945 by battling through a 36-hour gale, the 628-mile race to Tasmania has become established as a classic that sailors love and fear in equal measure. When the fleet of 117 yachts cross the start line in Sydney Harbour at 1pm this Sunday, they can look forward to a typically rough ride across the notorious Bass Strait.
Grant Wharington's Maxi yacht Skandia is back to defend her line honours victory from last year, but measurement problems in the lead-up to the race have distracted the Melbourne sailor from his preparations. And the other 98-foot Maxi that Wharington beat to Hobart by just 14 minutes last year is back with a different name and a radically different keel. Kiwi Stewart Thwaites has changed Zana's name to Konica Minolta, and he has ditched his fixed keel for a canting-keel arrangement to rival Skandia's. Canting keel technology is very much in vogue, and line honours winner in 2000 Ludde Ingvall returns to the event with a brand new Nicorette, a 90-foot swing-keeled yacht that has yet to be raced in anger.
Further down the size scale, British entry Aera shows much promise after finishing third in the Rolex Trophy, the inshore racing series which finished in Sydney last weekend. Nick Lykiardopulo has brought together a strong team including Volvo Ocean Race veterans Jason Carrington and Jez Fanstone.
Fanstone is one of the world's most experienced ocean racers, but he is not underestimating the task ahead. "This is my fourth Sydney Hobart. They've been three of the most miserable races I've ever done, and I'm not expecting this one to be any different. We did the '98 race on the old Aera, a Swan 46. We did 2000 in the old generation Whitbread 60, and then in 2001 on News Corp as part of the Volvo Ocean Race.
"The last three races have all been pretty uncomfortable. It's a love-hate relationship, but you do it because you're competitive and because you love yacht racing, and the build-up to it, the preparation and getting the crew together. But there are times out there when it's not a very pleasant place to be. There's no point in getting upset about it, though. If you've got a good boat with a good chance of winning then you want to get out there and give it a good crack."
One of the unique aspects of the Rolex Sydney Hobart is that it always starts on Boxing Day, which means that for any overseas competitor Christmas at home with the family is impossible. For Fanstone, the wrench from home has been particularly difficult as his wife gave birth to a baby daughter just five weeks ago. He is trying to be philosophical about it. "When you come over here, you've made that decision to miss Christmas. When you go racing you can't whinge about it. Yes, you're away from family, and yes, I've got a five-week-old daughter at home and a 22-month son who's going to be loving Christmas. But they're all well, their mother's well, and my role is to get to Hobart as fast and as safely as I can."
While Fanstone has experienced the worst that this race can throw at a sailor, others are about to experience it for the first time. Philipp Kadelbach is member of a German crew racing Felix Scheder-Bieschin's 49-foot cruiser/racer Vineta. Kadelbach comes from a strong dinghy racing background, but the prospect of 628 miles through rough seas is entirely different. His lack of experience does not mean he is unaware of the risks. "The danger is what makes it so special - that things have happened in the past, and that things could quite easily happen this time. So our first expectation is to arrive safely in Hobart, but the second expectation is to deliver a strong performance. The boat is brand new and we should be able to finish in the top quarter of the fleet."
It is hard to pigeonhole the Rolex Sydney Hobart as either a race or an adventure, because it is certainly a bit of both. It attracts Olympic sailors and explorers alike. Three-time World Champion in the Olympic 49er skiff, Chris Nicholson, is crew member of Sean Langman's Open 66 AAPT. Nicholson will be expected to get to grips with AAPT's pioneering use of kite-flying technology to harness the wind from above mast height. They are pushing the boundaries of high technology and very much treating the Rolex Sydney Hobart as a Grand Prix race.
For Robert Swan, skipper of The Active Factor, he is pioneering an entirely different technology for very different reasons. The British explorer, the first person ever to walk to both the North and South Poles, is using sails that at the conclusion of the race will be recycled into 13,000 600ml Coke bottles.
People have very different reasons for competing in the Rolex Sydney Hobart, but anyone that has the courage to take part earns the respect of the entire sailing community.
The Rolex Sydney Hobart starts from Sydney Harbour, off Nielson Park, at 1310 on Boxing Day, 26th December 2004. A live telecast on Network Ten (Australia) will screen from 1300 until 1400.
December 22, 2004
Two Join MBIA Hall
John Ennenga, General Manager of Whitehall Landing in Whitehall, Michigan and Russ McNamara, Immediate Past Chairman for the Michigan Boating Industries Association were inducted into the Michigan Boating Industries Association (MBIA) Hall of Fame for the year 2004. Both were honored at an awards lunch held during the 2004 Recreational Boating Educational Conference (RBEC) and MBIA Annual Meeting, December 8-10 at the Grand Traverse Resort in Traverse City, Michigan.
Both Ennenga and McNamara have been determined by the MBIA Board of Directors to be outstanding contributors to the recreational boating industry in Michigan. They are being recognized for longevity, dedication and professionalism. Each received a recognition plaque and will be added to the Hall of Fame recognition wall at the MBIA's office in Livonia, MI.
The MBIA Hall of Fame was developed in 1991 to recognize those who have made extraordinary achievements in or contributions to the recreational boating industry. The award recognizes an individual who, over the years has proved to be outstanding in furthering the MBIA's objectives of advancing the recreational boating industry through promotion of education, dissemination of knowledge, the introduction or development of innovative techniques, and the commitment to quality, service and growth. This award is given to those who have been dedicated to the perpetuation of the highest ideals, trust and professionalism for the industry.
Storm for Christmas
KEY DATA DAY 24 1510 GMT: 17 hours 23 minutes ahead of Joyon
OMEGA: Official timekeeper for Ellen MacArthur
Lat/Long: 44 23 S / 062 51 E (355 miles NW Kerguelen Islands)
Average Boat speed: 18.66 knots (heading ESE)
True Wind speed: 28.9 knots (direction NNW)
Sea temperature: 12.7 degrees C
Distance sailed so far: 9801 miles (average 16.8 knots)
(data communicated by Thrane MiniC via BT Business Broadband)
Update based on data recorded 1510 GMT...check http://www.teamellen.com for the latest data updated hourly
IN BRIEF:
* SURVIVAL MODE FOR CHRISTMAS as there is no avoiding the forecasted storm expected to hit <
* SEARCHING FOR THE BEST CORRIDOR EAST, be it to the north or the south, the goal is to hook into the best weather corridor going east and stick with it... The differences between Francis Joyon and MacArthur both on the clock and in the north-south divide are negligible at this stage...
* B&Q 350 MILES NW OF THE KERGUELEN ISLANDS... A place that holds mixed emotions for MacArthur having passed these islands twice before - once during the 2000 Vendée Globe and then, again, during her ill-fated, fully-crewed Jules Verne record attempt...
IN DETAIL:
It will be survival mode for Ellen MacArthur on <
The Southern Ocean is a continuous game of trying to keep in the best 'weather corridor', gybing with each wind shift generated by the frontal systems, to keep moving in an easterly direction. The low pressure systems from the west roll around the globe, unchecked by any land mass, and can build in strength and power from the effects of other weather systems to the north or south. <
This afternoon <
On day 24, <
WEATHER ANALYSIS FROM COMMANDERS' WEATHER 0600 GMT:
Ellen has been in a more stable pattern the past 24 hrs or so and is making great time heading east with moderate northwester lies.
Big low pressure to the south combined with the ridge of high pressure to the north is allowing for a favorable W-NW or NW breeze. Wind speeds have been in the 20-30 knot range and seas are fairly comfortable. Think she should remain in the favorable W-NW or NW breeze thru much of Wed, but the breeze turns more W to W-SW for a time on Thu, before shifting back into the NW later Thursday into Friday.
It still looks as though Ellen will have to contend rougher conditions Christmas Eve and day as the next important frontal system approaches from the west. There is potential for N winds at 30-45 knots ahead of this front and she will most likely have to get further north to be in better position to handle this system.
Routing:
1) Gybing around 1800UTC - looking for a persistent left shift to gybe on, probably around a TWD of 270-275 or left
a) if wind speeds become too light, consistently 18 kts or less, then we gybe as well
2) Will return to port gybe in roughly 24 hrs and then we will need as much boat speed as possible since we will be racing the next cold front
a) heading a little N of east should be okay
Wind forecasts
Wind directions are TRUE, wind speed in kts, time is UTC
Wed, Dec 22
15: 270-300/20-28
18: 270-290/20-30, gybing
Mostly cloudy, maybe a few scattered squally showers around and after 1800UTC. Seas 10-15 feet
Thu, Dec 23
00: 270-240/25-35 and squally, unstable breeze, maybe a gust to 40
06: 240-260/20-30, unstable/shifty
12: 270-300/18-24, near 46 10s/70 50e, going back to port and as fast as possible
18: 290-320/20-25, winds lighter to the east!!
A few squally showers early with the WSW wind then cloudy to partly cloudy as the winds become NW again.
Seas 10-16 feet 1st half of the day then 8-14 feet the 2nd half of the day
Fri, Dec 24 - wind gradually turning right and increasing
00: 300-330/22-30
06: 300-330/22-30
12: 310-340/22-30, near 44 50s/82e, as fast as possible to the E
18: 330-360/24-32 - we must have our northing in around this time as winds come forward a bit
Partly to mostly cloudy. Increasing threat of showers overnight..
Seas becoming more confused overnight with peaks up to 16-18 feet.
Sat, Dec 25 - may need to be further north to be in better position with
the stronger N winds!
00: 350-020/25-35
06: 340-010/30-35, squalls to 50
12: 350-320/26-32, squalls to 45-50, near 45 50s/92 50e
18: 330-300/22-30, staying just E of the cold front
Variably cloudy to cloudy with bands of showers/squalls. Some maybe
on the stronger side with gusts to 50 knots.
Seas rough - building to 20-25ft+
http://www.commandersweather.com
2004 Year in Review: July
Although it's the off season in Muskegon, ATWOS covers sailing on a year round basis. Here we present some of the best stories from ATWOS in July 2004.
Friendly Flashing Buoy
As with many people I am heading home for the holidays. Back to the scene of the friendly flashing buoy of my youth. The below story written by my father shows why to this day I always still take notice of flashing buoys and lights as I arrive at work in the early AM.
Oh yes, the friendly flashing buoy. How it helped get my son to bed at reasonable hours during pre school years. Our home is located on the shores of Green Bay with Door County and it's many lights in the distance. A couple of miles away from our house is a Coast Guard Lights buoy, #1A the Menominee Shoal Buoy also used as the Menominee Sea buoy.
At night this same view would show a red flashing buoy
An unintended use of this buoy came to light during the winter months while getting son Ike into the sack. After several trips the length of our home, we said good night to the Friendly Flashing Buoy.
A buoy much like the Freindly Flashing Buoy
If I didn't walk too fast to Ike's bed room he went to bed for the night. If I was fast walking him to bed he would say, "Do more walks."
Off we would go and usually say good night, again, to the Friendly Flashing Buoy. Some times several times. In not many years Ike was introduced, close up, to the Friendly Flashing Buoy from our sail boat Perfection or maybe our sailing dinghy Amazon. Those were fun times!
The Groove is Found
Elapsed Time: 45 days, 01 hours, 30 mins
Fleet Leader: Bonduelle (J Le Cam FRA)
HELLOMOTO: 14th out of 16, SW of Cape Leeuwin, Australia
HELLOMOTO is moving along in a corridor of breeze between two light patches of calm and Conrad is well rested and the boat prepared in the run up to his Christmas when the next big low pressure is due to arrive bringing 45+ knot winds or much worse…
In light of yet more attrition in the race, this time VM Materiaux’s broken boom, Conrad has every confidence in HELLOMOTO to get him round as she has been around this race track before and the lessons have been learnt from 4 years ago…
The challenges past have made a lasting impression on Conrad, and he has found his groove to keep himself going so that he feels able to better cope with what is still to come…
Conrad Humphreys interview from onboard HELLOMOTO this morning courtesy of Geolink/Iridium:
"It’s quite tricky sailing, I gybed 5 times in the last 24 hours, just trying to stay in this patch of wind which seems to be funnelling between these two high pressure cells. You have to really feel the boat, know what angles to steer. I seem to have got a little corridor which has kept me going, although I made a mistake last night as the wind shifted into the South West and I gybed and took a southerly option knowing that perhaps the breeze was slightly stronger in the north. I’ve got 13 knots of breeze at the moment and doing a course of about 050 sailing at 9 - 10 knots. Not ideal because the group that Skandia is in has kept in good pressure and made good ground but looking ahead they may slow up as well on the transition into the Pacific. It’s true that the high pressure that normally sits over Australia and New Zealand at this time of year tends to block the progression of the low pressure systems. Fingers crossed we’ll come in with a couple of these depressions and be sailing fast passing south of Australia. It’s swings and roundabouts, I’m pretty upbeat at the moment, although it’s a difficult position.
“This low pressure behind could be fairly vicious, it could drop like a real stone and become a mighty depression. I haven’t had a chance to see what weather Ellen’s been getting but I know she’s in this system not far behind. There’s not much I can do it’s probably a little safer in the north, where there is some space to manoeuvre, it’s due to hit around midday on Christmas Day with around 45 knots of north westerlies. By then the system could be quite mature and so may be starting to disintegrate and drift south, but these lows also have a habit of reforming so it could be around for a few days. I am also approaching the first of the southern ocean gateways which I have to stay north of according to the rules, so I don’t want to have to be trying to get north right in the middle of this system.
“Thankfully, none of the jobs on the boat are affecting boat speed and HELLOMOTO is in really good shape. All the skippers know full well how long your kit has to last for, so between the last Vendée Globe and this one, we all had to make some careful choices with any new developments on sails or rigging. I spent a lot of time talking with Mike Golding, the previous skipper, who has himself put all the lessons he learnt from last time into his new boat, and it just goes to show as he has so far suffered less problems than other boats because of that fact. We haven’t changed much on HELLOMOTO, she’s pretty much the same, and this gives me a lot of confidence down here in the Southern Ocean as she has been here before and come through.
“Well, only other news to report is that I am getting a bit smelly! I feel like I’ve been in a wheelchair for a month though, as I’ve hardly used my legs on the confines of this boat, I’m going to have to do some special exercises to keep up the lower body strength and stop my legs wasting away. However, these moderate conditions have allowed me to catch up on rest and I’m really in the groove in terms of my sleeping, eating, sailing pattern. I’m very focused and really enjoying the trip. I’ve had my fair share of obstacles so far, and I’m sure there’ll be a lot to come, but the fact that I have come through them has left a good lasting impression on me.”
Linky Sailing News
Racing 1/3rd of the way + 20 hours
News Coke bottle sails. Who rates what?
Great Lakes NY ferry plan
Vendee Globe Report 22 December
Whilst we go about our daily routines 20 lone sailors are racing around the world without a stop.
Each weekday ATWOS will present a report on the 2004-2005 Vendee Globe race. Who will join Lamazou, Desjoyeaux etc. as winners? Who will be a breakout young star like Ellen Macarthur? Which sailors will participate in dramas such as those of Pete Goss & Yves Parlier?
The report will cover the rhythm of the race, whether it's fast or slow, what's the degree of difficulty, is it iceberg territory?
Each day we'll check the standings to see who the leaders are and who else is on the move.
The fleet roundup will cover news of interest from any and all boats both the success's and the inevitable failures.
From the lone sailors will highlight the most interesting communications from the multi national group of sailors.
Rhythm of the Race The frontrunners are currently 3440 miles from Cape Horn.
Standings 1. Bonduelle 2. PRB 29 miles back 3. Ecover 311 miles back
Fleet Round Up Broken boom. Virbac fastest. Meals
From the Lone Sailors Nick Moloney: "One of the weather models I’ve got this morning shows 50 knots upwind for the Sydney-Hobart fleet on the 28th, just carnage. If that eventuates I doubt they would start the race" Jean Le Cam: "“It’s not very comfortable our here. Conditions are difficult but reasonable but I won’t complain." Dominic Wavre: "I’m almost stopped. I have my own private high and 100m visibility. The seas are quiet and I’ve got 7 knots of wind."
Not Comfortable Out Here
A depression wedged to the south-east of New Zealand, is giving the leaders prevailing easterlies on the nose, while those behind are being swept downwind by a train of eastbound depressions. Set to pass the International Date Line tomorrow morning, the front of the Vendée Globe fleet are progressing at 45° from the route around 150 miles from the iceberg zone, while behind they are swallowing up the miles with ease, a situation which is set to change for the better on Christmas Eve. While Bonduelle continues to run the show with PRB as supporting act, third place is less stable today with Sébastien Josse (VMI) now back in place after letting Mike Golding (Ecover) take the reins for the 1000 GMT ranking earlier today.
The atmosphere amongst the head of the fleet is one of caution today as they near the ice zone east of Campbell Island. The depression far up to the north of them will remain stationary, forcing the leader to zigzag forward, thus covering more miles. Jean Le Cam (Bonduelle), Vincent Riou (PRB), Sébastien Josse (VMI) and Mike Golding (Ecover) will be heeled over for two or three days, close-hauled playing with the wind shifts, wind on the nose and 15 sizeable icebergs on the horizon. The gear will be under pressure as the boats slam through the waves, while the sail changes will try to respect both power and safety. The leaders will have to wait until Friday for a southerly airflow to kick in and enable them to make a direct course as a result of a depression dropping south and the disappearance of an anticyclone between the Antarctic and the fleet. Averages up front until then will be just 150/170 miles over a 24 hour period. After that time it would seem that no blockages are in view for the Pacific at present, though there are still 3000 miles to go until Cape Horn.
Behind them, the trains of depression continue to push the fleet in the right direction. Dominique Wavre (Temenos) is set to keep coming back on the head of the fleet though he is currently enveloped in a zone of transition south of Tasmania, which he hopes to escape in 10 hours time. Once free of the zone he hopes to hit southerlies and being 800 miles back from the top four, it is distinctly possible that the evolution of the current weather systems will means that he escapes upwind sailing altogether.
Nearly 600 miles behind him, Jean Pierre Dick (Virbac Paprec) is racing along unimpeded, other than his list of technical issues. He has made the best average of the past 4 hours with 15.4 knot averages. Of the whole fleet not a single skipper has racked up over 300 miles in the past 24 hour though the top distance goes to Joé Seeten (Arcelor Dunkerque) in 10th ahead of Bruce Schwab (Ocean Planet). Joé has covered 299.9 miles in the last day.
Further back the rear of the fleet is going to have to deal with the low pressure and the wind shifts in a front. Nothing exceptional is in store for them with the temperatures teasing 0° and waves as high as two or three storeys.
Quotes from the Boats:
Anne Liardet (Roxy): “My pilot was on "wind" mode as I slept and of course, when the said wind shifted from the N-W to W, Roxy followed suit...It was the movement of the boat that ended up waking me up as it wasn’t taking the waves in the same way... In between times, I had gone quite a long way too far north north-east. On the positive side I really slept well. Today the weather is good, between 9 and 12 knots of wind (it would be better if the sea was less of a boiling pot) and I made the most of the opportunity to hoist my gennaker. There wasn’t too much damage, a little damage near the head of the sail with a few little holes around it. I repaired the rip with some stick on material, but I am dubious about whether it will hold in the salt and damp.”
Jean Le Cam: “It’s not very comfortable our here. Conditions are difficult but reasonable but I won’t complain. The sea isn’t calming down while the wind is lighter and there’s 1 to 2 miles visibility. I’m spending more time inside than out but I did last for 10 minutes in the cockpit without my foulies on. The water temperature is 6.8˚. Things are going to be pretty tricky ahead as we’re heading straight into the iceberg zone. I’m just waiting to see what happens. Up ahead there upwind, upwind, upwind and then some downwind. I see us at Cape Horn on January 2nd at worst but it all looks very complicated.”
Vincent Riou: “It’s grey and it’s raining and I’ve got the wind on the nose. It’s 7 to 8˚ outside. Any news about the icebergs? I think it must be isolated because the water temperature is quite high. I’m still 150 miles from the position given. I imagine the water will get colder when approaching the zone and if they’re big the radar will warn us. We should get there tomorrow and the visibility should be good. For now I’m sailing upwind with 15-20 knots of wind and the water is at 8˚. There are average seas since they have calmed a little since yesterday. It’s depressing to know that it will last for 2 days. To be sailing upwind here and now is not something I expected. We’re currently beating too but by the 24th we should find downwind conditions so there will be something to celebrate.”
Sebastien Josse: “I’m a bit upset but it’ll pass just like the weather conditions. I’ll just have to be patient for the next 24 hours and the beating should stop so I can work on catching Mike again. Even if we still have upwind conditions it’ll be better. I should lose 50 miles at worst. The boat is at 100% of its potential so I’ll stay patient. We got closer to the 2 frontrunners but they’ll reach the next low before us and escape again. I’ll need 18 knots of downwind to eat my Christmas dinner...”
Dominic Wavre: “I’m almost stopped. I have my own private high and 100m visibility. The seas are quiet and I’ve got 7 knots of wind. I’m making 8 knots of boat speed under spinnaker. The air is 8˚, the water 6˚ and we’ve got 100% humidity. I steered for several hours as it’s the only way to get the boat moving at times. I’m glad to still be sailing downwind while the frontrunners are upwind. In 10 hours I should get more wind. I’d like to catch up with those at the head of the fleet...I see they’re waiting for me! I’d like to sail faster to catch up with them as soon as possible. I think I can get back 100 miles on them. In the meantime I’m pleased to say that I’ve repaired my Fleet 77 with a fleece and then covered it with resin.”
Karen Leibovici (Benefic): “We’re gliding along in rather good weather. We’re making downwind in 12/20 knots of south/ south westerlies. Yesterday I was in a no wind zone which wasn’t much fun though I did manage to climb the mast and clean the boat. I also called some of the inhabitants on the Kerguelen Islands which was nice. Technical problems and bad conditions are very tiring and you need to get some energy somewhere to motivate yourself again and phone calls do boost my spirits...”
Conrad Humphreys (Hellomoto): “This high pressure has been chasing me down. I was becalmed for about 4 hours yesterday then the wind clocked round to the North and was sailing fast close-reaching with the gennaker up in north easterly winds until it moved back to the north west. The wind is a bit fickle at the moment and I’m expecting for the next 24hrs to be sailing with this high pressure. Thankfully the winds are more northerly than forecast so I can sail slightly south of course which I need to do as there is more wind further south and often it’s difficult to actually get south so I’m stoking down in 18 knots of breeze now. I’m feeling really fresh, the conditions are really nice, it’s allowing me to regroup, it’s good for morale making miles down the track and seeing a small edge of Australia appear on the map. I’m enjoying the messages of support coming in from all over, and especially from supporters from home in Devon. I get this really strong vibe, a sense that something is pushing us along, like when I am sleeping or eating, it must be everyone willing me along, and I’m so proud to be representing Plymouth, it’s such a great city, and I’m amazed by how much support I’m getting back at home.”
Nick Moloney (Skandia): “I realised by just moving around, dropping and hoisting sails, that I’ve lost so much strength. So I’ve started exercising this morning, and I realised today I’ve got to eat more. I’ve got to concentrate on shoving in the food, not even sure I could pull myself up the mast at the moment. I have been eating less than the planned diet. Originally I thought I had brought too much food, but now I’m wondering if I’ve got enough. And I’ve got a beard that keeps getting caught in the velcro of my thermals. I’m trying to hang on to the front side of the depression, this wind could carry to Tasmania, so need to do the best I can to stay with it. Expecting the wind to increase tonight. The sea state is unbelievable compared with the Indian, it’s just been a treat today. The crossed seas we had for 15 days did my head in.”
Bruce Schwab (Ocean Planet): “After more than 3 years, 1-1/2 times around the world, 4 transatlantic crossings without any problems at all, the mounting for our radar dome has a serious issue: The upper bracket for the actuator arm that controls the radar angle was thru-bolted to the platform that our Nobeltec Insight 2 radar is mounted on. From what I can see, the bolt and washer pulled a small chunk of fiberglass right out, and the bolt and bracket are still attached to the actuator arm which are now hanging off to the side. ‘If’ I can get up there, it shouldn’t be too hard to just tie the radar horizontal, which will work ok.”
Two at a Time
RACE POSITIONS 0930 GMT: SKANDIA 7th, slipping back on VIRBAC (6th) to 340 miles, and gaining on PROFORM (8th) at 190 miles. BONDUELLE still bashing upwind in 1st, ECOVER back in to 3rd.
QUOTE OF THE DAY FROM NICK: ‘I’ve got to get myself strong again. I’m eating 4 meals a day and snacking in between. My legs are like matchsticks. I”m doing some pressups and exercising.’
RACE UPDATE DAY GOING IN TO 46th DAY
UP AND DOWN, IN AND OUT: Rain squalls a constant interruption to an otherwise relatively stable situation, each squall bringing extra wind to keep Nick on his toes. Wind continues from the WNW, allowing Nick to sail due east. Reasonable conditions but its complex ahead. ‘I’m hoping to be able to weave in and out and get past Australia, maybe south of Tasmania on Christmas Day’.
PATRICE CARPENTIER (VM MATERIAUX) BREAKS HIS BOOM: On this 3rd Vendée Globe, Patrice reported last yesterday that he had broken his boom as a result of an accidental gybe. He is considering his options, as he doesn’t believe he has the material onboard to repair it. Currently sailing in 45 knots of wind to the south west of Cape Leeuwin.
BONDUELLE SEES THE MUCH REPORTED ICE! As expected from the MRCC New Zealand warnings, Jean le Cam spotted on radar and visually this morning a number of icebergs ‘the size of half of Ile de Groix’ (ie a mile long!).
WEATHER FOR SKANDIA: Looking more complex ahead with a transition zone between Australia and New Zealand...’those two countries never get on well, so I reckon they have to throw up some trouble in between them!’ was Nick’s explanation this morning! See http://www.vendeeglobe.org/uk/meteo for Dom Vittet’s explanations and charts this morning...
WEBCAM REPAIRED! Damaged in the storm, with only Mast and Cabin cams working now, the WEBCAM button on the website is up and running again...
SKANDIA DATA LOG 0930 GMT: data brought to you by BT Business Broadband, transmitted via Thrane&Thrane
LAT/LONG: 46 21 S / : 130 00 E; still under Oz, its a wide country!
WIND: 18 to 20 knots from the WNW, more complex systems ahead
BAROMETRIC PRESSURE: 1000Mb
AUDIO EXTRACTS courtesy of Geolink/Iridium
To listen to the full audio : ‘Just fixed the outhaul and lazyjack jammer, working through the job list. Just got a broken batten and the wind wand at the top of the mast to go. Also fixed my blast reacher, and still working on the Solent boot. Got a bit of sleep last night as I didn’t get any the two nights before...got about 5 hours last night, so that’s good!’
Also fixed the webcam, now I’m a computer expert as well!
I’ve been attacking jobs two at a time, then stopping, eating, resting and then attacking the next ones. I’ll be going up (the rig/mast), just got to pick the right window. The sea state is quite messy and still got rain squalls. We’ve got another 3 windows (weather calmer) in the next few days to go up. I broke batten 3 in a crash gybe a couple of days ago. Its killing me as during my sleep I’m making all the repairs, then I wake up and realise that I haven’t done them!
I don’t really get hallucinations, but I start dreaming in the day like in The Transat (race earlier this year).
I’ve got to get myself strong again. I’m eating 4 meals a day and snacking in between. My legs are like matchsticks. I’m doing some pressups and exercising.
Right now I’m making course slightly north of east. There are two options, I could take some southerly route when the breeze shifts (to west), but I want to hang around 46 South as all the models show very light winds to the south later. There is another low that is going to form between New Zealand and Australia that is going to throw headwinds at us. I”m going to hang on here I think and try and scrape the bottom of Tasmania, and hopefully its fly on by, and maybe for Virbac and Temenos its not so good. I hope to be south of Tasmania on Christmas Day, but I need to be a bit quicker than I am now to do that.
One of the weather models I’ve got this morning shows 50 knots upwind for the Sydney-Hobart fleet on the 28th, just carnage. If that eventuates I doubt they would start the race’
JARGON BUSTER: MRCC? The world’s oceans are divided in to a number of regions that are monitored and controled in terms of maritime safety by different countries and co-ordination centres. The fleet are passing between Austalian and New Zealand MRCCs at present. In the time of of a crisis, it is the MRCC that manages all the rescue actions and recieves the emergency position signals.
Just Eat It
Each day as the yachts race in the Global Challenge, teams will file daily logs via satellite to the web site.
These log entries are designed to be more than simple position and status reports; they are the teams' way of sharing the excitement and drama as it is seen and felt by those aboard.
Via the Global Challenge's RSS Feed ATWOS will feature selected daily logs.
The boats left Argentina on November 28th headed for New Zealand. Leg 2 will include rounding Cape Horn.
Today's log is from BG Spirit
It is official - BG SPIRIT needs to go on a diet. And we are not talking about the crew! It has been discovered today, and I have to say this quietly to avoid hurting her feelings, that BG SPIRIT herself has been found to be a little on the heavy side.
Searching through the galley cupboards today revealed a startling array of leftover food. Packets of boil-in-the-bag meals of various flavours, pasta, sauces, cake mixes, salt, even chocolate bars, to name a few of the items we have in excess. Top of the list is 47 packets of boil-in-the-bag 'Spotted Dick and Custard'. It seems that not everyone has been eating their pudding at mealtimes!
Yes I know that weighing in at 57.24 tonnes she is what many would say, to put it kindly, heavy boned, but in yacht racing every bit of excess weight has an impact on the boat speed. Basically the more weight we carry, the slower we go. Our own personal kit is limited to what we can bring with us -
for example, two sets of thermal underwear each. We share as a crew things like toothpaste, suncream, and shower gel. The bilges are mopped out hourly to remove even the tiniest amount of water. Removing excess weight is the name of the game!
So to improve her figure a special diet regime is to be implemented by the crew. It is to be called the 'Eat It' diet and involves every crew member eating more! What is not eaten will be thrown over over the side. The result
being that one way or the other the excess weight will just fall off into the sea and result in a leaner, meaner BG SPIRIT!
I've started by munching through a Yorkie bar while writing this log! The Eat It diet is as easy as that!!
(Note that for those wishing to embark on the BG SPIRIT Eat It Diet after the Christmas binge, the entire crew will shortly be available for hire in New Zealand.)
December 21, 2004
CAN-AM CL-16 White Sail Regatta Entry Forms Now Available
Hilton Beach, Ontario Canada- December 21, 2004. Mason Phelps of Phelps Media Group, Inc. is announcing today that its website has been up dated in preparation for the Second Annual Can-Am CL-16 White Sail Regatta.
Organizer’s of the Can-Am CL-16 White Sail Regatta promises the 2005 event to be even bigger and better than its premier event of 2004.
The Can-Am CL-16 White Sail Regatta is scheduled to take place off the shore of Hilton Beach on beautiful St. Joseph Island on August 6 and 7, 2005.
New to the website, the 2004 list of competitor including photos of each of the CL-16 sailboats that participated, the sail number, name of the skipper and home port.
A schedule of each of the five races over the two-days is posted as well a course description.
The website also identifies the disbursement of prize money, totally $7,500.
Up for grabs are two trophies- the CL-16 White Sail Regatta trophy with a total purse of $5,000 and the newly introduced Hilton Beach Cup will an additional $2,500 purse.
The awards will be presented at the awards ceremony Sunday afternoon at the Hilton Beach Hotel.
Registration forms are now available to download off the website. Registration is limited to 30 boats.
Notice to competitors will be posted on an official notice board to be located near the registration office. Any change in sailing instructions will be posted on the board by 9 a.m. on the day it is to take affect.
Signal ashore will be displayed on the official notice board as well.
PMG staff and members of the North Channel Yacht Club of Desbarats are working together to improve communication between racing coordinators on the water and land.
Details surrounding marine fair at the Second Annual CL-16 White Sail Regatta have not yet be finalized.
Learn more about the Can-Am CL-16 White Sail Regatta and it sailboats on the regatta’s official website by PMG staff at www.hiltonbeach.com/regatta.
Falling spacecraft in the area
After 4,000 nmiles, racing still exceptionally close
Yacht racing so close that yachts nearly collide!
The Southern Ocean is a millpond!
Very light conditions for the fleet
Tim Johnston’s arm operated on in Buenos Aires. Interview on race website
Emergency Maritime Centre in New Zealand warns of falling spacecraft in the area!
MORE NEWS
Five of the yachts are racing so close in the midst of the Southern Ocean that two of the yachts nearly collided!
Eero Lehtinen, skipper of SAIC La Jolla comments: “Unbelievable fleet racing in the middle of Southern Pacific as 5 of us (boats) are within 3 miles lined up reaching West in fresh southerly winds. Before the wind shift as we were still beating we had a close port/starboard situation with Samsung where we cleared their bow only a few boat lengths ahead of them, of course on port tack! Funny thing is that in case of a protest situation there would have been 3 witnesses to choose from! Instead happy waving and cheering was exchanged from boat to boat. Fantastic to have such a close race, the crew is more motivated than ever before!”
Out in the lead is Spirit of Sark, determined to hang on to their slim lead: “Once again we are in and out of light airs and are losing miles and then gaining them back on a regular basis. As a result we have BG Spirit and BP on our heels.
“They appear to be following us and attempting to grind us down. We are all determined for this not to happen. We have been racing for about 4000 miles and have been in the front for at least half of it. We are a focused and robust crew that will do our utmost to deter any attempt to alter the front position, whatever the weather.”
Snapping hard is BP Explorer in second, 27 miles behind, currently match racing with BG SPIRIT a further two miles behind. Just 12 miles behind BG SPIRIT is VAIO with SAIC La Jolla another 24 miles back. There is then just five miles separating the next five yachts, with positions swapping by the hour between SAIC La Jolla, Barclays Adventurer, Me to You, Samsung and Team Save the Children (5,6,7,8,9th respectively)!
As James Allen, skipper of Me to You comments: “Still sight of several yachts so match racing with them, while generally trying to head direct for Wellington but also drop south a little to line up for more favourable winds in a couple of days.”
Conditions have been relatively calm over the past day or so, causing the front yachts to ‘park up’ - frustrating for the lead yachts but excellent for the back runners. Barclays Adventurer actually described the Southern Ocean as a ‘millpond’ explaining that the conditions ‘out there’ were really quite bizarre, although giving plentiful respite to the crews.
It is not surprising that the unpredictable conditions have been a cause of frustration to the fleet as Dee Caffari, skipper of Imagine It. Done. explains, “We have been becalmed, and we have been in 30 knots of breeze. We have had rain and we have had sun. We have been sailing downwind and we have been sailing upwind. We have had the biggest sails up and the smallest sails up. We definitely have not had the notorious weather of the Southern Ocean yet. We have had sneak previews but nothing to make your toes curl.”
Over the next 24 hours the wind will stay in the west and steadily increase to around 20 knots. Thursday should see the low-pressure system to the south and the east, which will intensify bringing winds of 30+ knots, with squalls of 40 knots, predominately from the southwest.
There could be other things to look out for, apart from clawing the miles in the mild weather, as Anthony Campbell exerts in his daily log from Team Save the Children: “To top skipper Paul's day off, he has just showed me an email from the emergency maritime centre in NZ warning of a dangerous area in the Southern Ocean, not far from where we are.
“To use the precise words in the email it says "area temporarily dangerous due to falling spacecraft"- if it's not one thing it's another!!“
QUOTES FROM THE BOATS:
Stuart Jackson, Barclays Adventurer:
Wind is expected to come northerly and then easterly. Attempt to stay on the most making tack but will be focusing on speed as the weather goes round
Dee Caffari Imagie It. Done
“We are progressively sailing through strong reliable breeze during the day and then light and variable breeze at night. This is very frustrating and takes a large amount of concentration from the watches especially at night when it is light.
“That is the easiest time to take miles from the leaders with that extra bit of effort at night. This also means that while it is easy to change down a gear with sails as the yacht is becoming overpowered it is easy to detect it is not always easy to change back up the gears. This is more apparent as the conditions worsen. Everybody would physically like a little rest and sail the yacht underpowered for a little. This is a bad habit to get into and makes it mentally tough for the watch leaders to keep that drive going.”
Eero Lehtinen, SAIC La Jolla
“Trailing Barclays slightly south of the Rhumb line, with wind veering slowly and giving us a better angle. Managed to shake Team Save the Children, Samsung and Me to You slightly behind us during the night.
“Great sailing everyone's fully switched on as the neighbours make it much more intensive and concrete than when racing only against numbers... The three closest boats ahead of our group are not that far away. The next few days should be giving us rather speedy progress, waiting for a nice little parking lot for the leaders to catch up. At this point we’re minimising risks, sailing fast and waiting for others to make the moves and mistakes. Roughly two more weeks to go which looks like a closer than close finish. The closest ever round the world fleet I believe!”
David Melville- BP Explorer
“An predicted a front will soon pass over the fleet. Once again this will challenge the yachts' ability to respond smartly to varying conditions. Meanwhile we are pleased to have established a slight lead over BG Spirit and Vaio.”
Amedeo Sorrentino VAIO
Working our way towards and around the depressions forecast ahead (and the intervening lighter patches). Not sure what to do about falling satellites! No guiding stars visible (whether in the Orient or not)
FLEET POSITIONS
Distance to finish
Spirit of Sark 2,220
BP Explorer 2,247
BG SPIRIT 2,249
VAIO 2,261
SAIC La Jolla 2,285
Barclays Adventurer 2,286
Me to You 2,288
Samsung 2,288
Team Save the Children 2,290
Imagine It. Done 2,338
Pindar 2,496
Team Stelmar 4,106
Another AC entry
The El Reto syndicate, representing the Real Federación Española de Vela - Spanish Sailing Federation, has become the eighth challenger for the 32nd America’s Cup. The Société Nautique de Genève, the Defender of the America’s Cup, accepted the Spanish Challenge on the 17th December.
El Reto, which is Spanish for ‘The Challenge’ will be Spain’s fourth challenge for the America’s Cup. On three previous occasions Spanish yachts have raced in the Louis Vuitton Cup, Challenger Series for the America’s Cup - in 1992 and 1995 in San Diego and in 1999 in Auckland.
The El Reto syndicate is a new team headed by Agustín Zulueta, a well known racing yacht project manager in Spain. Zulueta said: “With the 32nd America’s Cup taking place in Spain all the elements are ready for us to mount a competitive Spanish Challenge. Our objectives now are to get structured with our team and main sponsor Iberdrola, to organise boats so that we will be ready to race competitively next June during the Valencia Louis Vuitton Acts and to develop our long term strategy for the Louis Vuitton Cup and 32nd America’s Cup in 2007. We have a lot of work to do!”
Michel Bonnefous, president of AC Management: “We are delighted to have a Spanish challenger. This is a very positive step for the success of the 32nd America’s Cup. With the Louis Vuitton Cup and the Match in Valencia, Spain and a strong ‘Domestic Team’ in El Reto the America’s Cup’s values will be naturally communicated to a much wider Spanish audience.”
The current line-up of challengers that will do battle over the next three years for the right to meet Alinghi in the 32nd America’s Cup Match are:
BMW ORACLE Racing, USA
+39 Challenge, ITA
Team Shosholoza, RSA
Emirates Team New Zealand, NZL
Luna Rossa Challenge, ITA
K-Challenge, FRA
The 7th challenger, accepted 17th December, identity to be revealed in January
El Reto, ESP
Next for Orange II
The Orange II maxi-catamaran, skippered by Bruno Peyron and his crew, was re-launched this lunchtime in front of the submarine base in Lorient.
The memory of the loss of the Jules Verne last winter was erased by the new records established this summer: The world 24h record (706.2 miles at an average of 29.29 knots) and the Mediterranean record (17 h 56 mins and 13 secs, at an average of 25.53 knots).
The three months spent on dry land in Lorient bring to an end the preparation and technical adjustment phase to get her ready to tackle once again the round the world crew sailing record.
Bruno Peyron has officially acknowledged today that he will be tackling the Jules Verne Trophy very soon (held by Olivier de Kersauson and the crew of the trimaran Geronimo in 63 days, 13mins 59secs) and the absolute world record (held since last winter by the American Steve Fossett, in 58 days, 09mins, 32secs).
Orange France is once again alongside Bruno Peyron and his crew for this new attempt at the Jules Verne Trophy.
The crew for this circumnavigation, which is currently being drawn up, will include 13 or 14 people. Priority has been given this winter to the best helmsmen.
The official website, which will allow everyone to follow Orange II's latest odyssey was opened this morning: www.maxicatamaran-orange.com.
Interview with Bruno Peyron :
Setting out around the world for the third time!
This large boat was built more than a year ago, to try to make it the fastest yacht on all the oceans of the world in the next five years. Consequently, our ambitions involve various goals, of which the circumnavigation is the top priority. The fact that we have already done that, that we are lucky enough to know the route well, and that we have experience in this type of boat, means that we are in a position, where we can win our bet in the coming years. Going back there for the third time doesn't make it an obsession in my eyes. It's rather like asking an athlete if he is going to try to beat the 100-metre record for ten years. It's the desire to achieve a great performance in a universe we know a little bit better now, but which can still teach us a lot of things...
The preparation of the boat
The whole team has been busy working this summer to solve the little problems that we have had since last winter. Today, we have rudders that work perfectly. The problems with the crashbox and the transformation of the propulsion system have been resolved. The other area of work concerned the improvement of the boat's performance. This work involves learning to manoeuvre the boat, which is very powerful. We covered more than 20,000 miles in 6 months, so we know how to push her forward and to make her go quickly. Orange II is today in a perfect configuration.
The crew
I still pay as much attention to the spirit of teamwork and each crewman brings a complementary skill to the others. One thing is new this year. We realised that the quality of the helmsman was even more important than we first thought. Firstly, because the boat is so fast, but requires you to be alert at all times. Then, on the contrary to a monohull, the difference in speed between a good helmsman and an excellent one can reach between 3 and 5 knots on a giant multihull. You can well imagine what a difference that makes in terms of mileage at the finish... I thus paid particular attention this year in choosing my crew to make sure that in each of the three watches, there were at least two good helmsmen. In the choice of my crew, I decided to give priority to the Dream team (the winning crew from the Jules Verne Trophy 2002). You'll therefore find names like Yann Elies, Philippe Péché, Ronan Le Goff, Yves Le Blévec, Jean-Baptiste Epron, Florent Chastel, but also those, who were with me last winter or this summer, like Roger Nilson, Jacques Caraes, Sébastien Audigane, Lionel Lemonchois, Nicolas de Castro and Ludovic Aglaor...
The Jules Verne Trophy or the absolute circumnavigation...
Whatever name you give to it, this route is really astonishing, when you look at the number of attempts that have been made with relatively little success. The most amazing performance is of course, Steve Fossett's, which doesn't need any comment. A perfect journey, good control, a good crew, a fine boat, excellent navigation, and then that little lucky boost, which such a performance requires. It should be said that Fossett's crew managed to steal 4 days from us uniquely on the final stretch back up the Atlantic between the Equator and the finish. However, luck only smiles on the bold and projects that are well organised. The little stroke of luck only came to them at the end. So if they hadn' t managed 58 days, they would have done 60 or 61. Kersauson's performance is almost more "normal." There was some fine sailing with a well prepared boat, but with some difficult weather, which Fossett didn't encounter, which was the main difference between the two. Both of these performances are very respectable from a sporting point of view, and are now our two goals.
Worse to Come
KEY DATA DAY 23 1510 GMT: 21 hours 37 minutes ahead of Joyon
Lat/Long: 45 23 S / 052 14 E (710 miles W Kerguelen Is)
Average Boat speed: 18.76 knots (heading SE)
True Wind speed: 23.4 knots (direction NW)
Sea temperature: 6 degrees C
Distance sailed so far: 9344 miles (16.7 knot average)
(data communicated by Thrane MiniC via BT Business Broadband)
Update based on data recorded 1510 GMT...check http://www.teamellen.com for the latest data updated hourly
IN BRIEF:
* <
* PASSED THE CROZET ISLANDS, NEXT THE KERGUELEN ISLANDS 710 miles down the track, to the east of which the next big depression is due to form
* AFTERMATH OF ROUGH CONDITIONS REVEALS SLIGHT RUDDER MOVEMENT AGAIN but not serious as Ellen continues to use 'wedge technology' to stabilise the situation...
* CHRISTMAS PRESENT - STORM ON 25TH...it's out there, it's looking slightly less powerful [but still 50 knots] as Ellen considers her options to avoid the full-on power of the storm...
IN DETAIL:
<
Ellen has survived the 24-hour ordeal of constant Force 8 winds [34-40 knots] gusting up to 55 knots and huge seas after managing to gybe back on to port, towards the north east, late yesterday afternoon in 40 knots of breeze - in itself is no easy feat which involves dropping the mainsail entirely but leaving the headsail up to help manoeuvre the boat through the gybe: "In many ways we were forced south because of certain sea mounts [the North African Rise] which meant that we couldn't really gybe because the sea conditions were far too dangerous in those areas of rapid shelving. I was pushed to the south, 50-55 knots of breeze was the most we saw and a sustained 40 knots for a long period of time. It was pretty hairy but I have to say that the boat was absolutely incredible. To be surfing at 25-28 knots in that amount of breeze in those waves, to be handling as well as she did - I was just absolutely over the moon with her performance, it was fantastic."
In the aftermath, Ellen spent the morning checking the 75-foot trimaran: "I discovered a problem with the steering system yesterday night which is not major but the bottom bearing of the laystock for the main rudder was moving a little bit and some of the screws had undone themselves. So I've made some small carbon wedges up this morning and I've wedged them all the way round and taped them up there, but it looks like it should be okay. The second issue is that I've been back down with the main rudder today and see that we've had some more movement there. I've been tightening up the fuses for the kick up system and also just taping some more wedges in the back. So it's been all-hands on this morning, lots of practical work trying to just tick the boxes to make sure the boat is okay for the next stage." The advice from shore team's Technical Director, Neil Graham, is to keep to using the 'wedge technology'!
Despite the storm-force conditions, <
Today Ellen took out the second reef in <
WEATHER ANALYSIS FROM COMMANDERS' WEATHER 0600 GMT:
Conditions have improved some for Ellen over the past 12 hrs or so. Winds are now mainly in the 20-28 knot range with seas not as rough as it was 24 hrs ago.
Ellen will be a favorable following breeze over the next few days with high pressure to the north (near 40s), and broad deep low pressure way down between 55-60s. This low will send a series of weak fronts her way during the course of the next few days. Winds turn more right into the NW ahead of each front or trough, and then turns left into the W behind the fronts. Winds speeds not too tough, mainly in the 20-30 knot range, but could be higher and lower at times.
Between the high and the low, the best breeze for her should be close to 45s, but may need to go further north if too strong, and more south if the breeze becomes lighter.
A more important storm system could affect her over the weekend, and she will need to keep a steady pace to remain ahead of this system. This still is still 5-6 days away and it could change.
Wind forecasts
Wind directions are TRUE, wind speed in kts, time is UTC
Tues, Dec 21
09: 300-320/19-26- winds slightly lighter ahead of you to the N and E
12: 300-320/18-25, near 45s/51e
18: 290-320/22-30
WeVariably to mostly cloudy, risk of a passing shower. Seas subsiding to 10-20 feet, mainly WSW swell
Wed, Dec 22 - winds tending stronger to the south, lighter north!!
00: 290-320/20-30
06: 290-320/24-32
12: 280-310/24-32, near 46s/61e
18: 270-290/24-32, squall to 35-40 kts weak frontal passage
Partly to variably cloudy with a few passing showers, possible quick hitting squall or two later in the day. Seas 10-15 feet from the W and WSW
Linky Sailing News
Racing GBR Match Racing
News Hobart race weight issues New President
Great Lakes Lake Express laid up. Possible ferry loan
Wind Info Returns
RACE POSITIONS 0930 GMT: SKANDIA 7th, holding steady distance with VIRBAC (6th) and PROFORM (8th). BONDUELLE bashing upwind in 1st, ECOVER and VMI have re closed the gap to less than 300 miles with ECOVER in to a podium position for the first time.
QUOTE OF THE DAY FROM NICK: ‘The seastate is unbelievable compared with the Indian, its just been a treat today. The crossed seas we had for 15 days did my head in’
RACE UPDATE DAY GOING IN TO 45th DAY
ANOTHER DAY OF DIY: Nick has been working away on his post-capsize job list, ticking off more jobs every day. Just two jobs left to fix on the deck, and down below starting to get some order. Nick also managed to get wind direction data working from the masthead last night, and combined with wind speed from his backup wind wand on the stern the B&G pilot is now functioning much better...100% better! Skandia bit the bullet yesterday and made some good ground to the south to ensure he did not run out of wind in the north...operation successful, as he is once again surfing along nicely in strong westerlies...
LEADERS STILL FIGHT WIND AND KEEP ICE WATCH: the 15 icebergs reported by New Zealand MRCC [Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre] are now less than a 100 miles from the leading duo, as they carefully choose their tacks to make best progress to the east but also dodge this ‘minefield’. They will actually sail to the south of the icebergs, which is a very unusual thing to be doing, but these bergs are very very far north.
WEATHER FOR SKANDIA: Nick surfing to the east just ahead of a cold front, which is pushing past the same depression that has been keeping him company for almost a week now. This cold front is forecast to continue pushing all the way to the east of Australia, maintaining moderate to strong winds for Nick right through to the other side of Christmas.
SKANDIA DATA LOG 0930 GMT: data brought to you by BT Business Broadband, transmitted via Thrane&Thrane
LAT/LONG: 46 09 S / : 120 10 E; under Oz!
WIND: 25 to 30 knots from the WNW, and looks to hold for a few days
BAROMETRIC PRESSURE: 1000Mb
AUDIO EXTRACTS courtesy of Geolink/Iridium
‘Oui, en plein forme!
I’m having a good day on the work list today, so I’m much happier. I managed to build one wind wand [see JARGON BUSTER] out of the two we had. I have the wind direction coming form the top of the rig [mast], and the wind speed data from the deck. She is a completely different boat, no more fishtailing [boat heading unsteady], its just great. The boat is off. Such a relief. Feels like it did two weeks ago, and I feel great about that. The boat has felt so out of sorts for such a long time, and I haven’t been comfortable to push, or to sleep. Soon as I got it going, she was smoking at 22 knots...felt great. Boat accelerates now when a wave hits it rather than sliding around. Its great...
Job list? I’d like to get up the rig and get the spare forward wind wand up. Still got a broken outhaul and lazyjack jammers. Still can’t fix the tiller on deck, that is slipping still, which isn’t helping the autopilots, so want to get on top of that at some stage. Down below...spent some time trying to fix Solent boot leak but no progress. Everything tidyish. The Papermache is under control in the back.
I realised by just moving around, dropping and hoisting sails, that I’ve lost so much strength. So I’ve started exercising this morning, and I realised today I’ve got to eat more. I’ve got to concentrate on shoving in the food, not even sure I could pull myself up the mast at the moment. I have been eating less than the planned diet. Originally I thought I had brought too much food, but now I’m wondering if I’ve got enough. And I’ve got a beard that keeps getting caught in the velcro of my thermals.
I’m trying to hang on to the front side of the depression, this wind could carry to Tasmania, so need to do the best I can to stay with it. Expecting the wind to increase tonight. The seastate is unbelievable compared with the Indian, its just been a treat today. The crossed seas we had for 15 days did my head in.
It doesn’t feel like Christmas yet, more like Ground Hog day. I think I’m going to get some light airs soon, so maybe then I’ll decorate the place. I really feel it though when I speak to my nieces and nephews, that’s quite emotional.
JARGON BUSTER: WIND WAND? Solo sailors spend most of the time with their boats on autopilots. These pilots are very sophisticated, taking inputs from gyro compasses and wind instruments at the top of the mast, making very fast calculations to try and respond to the changes in wind and waves and keep the 60 foot boats underneath their sails and the boats heading in the right direction! Its a hell of technical challenge with the boats surfing faster than the wind, down towering waves that can throw the boat on its side very quickly. The pilot is the skippers’ best friend, or worst enemy if its not working...Whilst the pilots can steer to a compass heading, these boats accelerate so easily, therefore creating a rapidly changing wind angle, that the boats cannot be pushed very hard using this basic mode. Instead they are set to steer to a constant true wind angle. The key input therefore is that of wind angle and wind speed. The ‘wands’ are the carbon fibre mini-masts that are fixed right at the top of the mast, with wind vane and anenometer fixed to them.
JARGON BUSTER: MRCC? The world’s oceans are divided in to a number of regions that are monitored and controlled in terms of maritime safety by different countries and co-ordination centres. The fleet are passing between Australian and New Zealand MRCCs at present. In the time of of a crisis, it is the MRCC that manages all the rescue actions and receives the emergency position signals.
Stuck in the Middle
Elapsed Time: 44 days, 02 hours, 10 mins
Fleet Leader: Bonduelle (J Le Cam FRA)
HELLOMOTO: 14th out of 16, east of the Kerguelen Islands at 46 South
HELLOMOTO is stuck in a high between two low pressure systems as Conrad enjoys unusually balmy weather for the Southern Ocean to give him a respite before the weekend hits…
No peace for the wicked as a big storm is forming for Christmas, which is forecast to blow 35 – 40 knots by Boxing Day, but Conrad reckons it will ‘drop like a stone’ and be much worse potentially…
Conrad is now sailing through different time zones each day and yet trying to live also by GMT so his body doesn’t get out of synch, which means he has found a way to get in more than one breakfast a day!
Conrad Humphreys interview from onboard HELLOMOTO this morning courtesy of Geolink/Iridium:
"This high pressure has been chasing me down. I was becalmed for about 4 hours yesterday then the wind clocked round to the North and I HELLOMOTO was sailing fast close-reaching with the gennaker up in north easterly winds until it moved back to the north west. The wind is a bit fickle at the moment and I’m expecting for the next 24hrs to be sailing with this high pressure. Thankfully the winds are more northerly than forecast so I can sail slightly south of course which I need to do as there is more wind further south and often it’s difficult to actually get south so I’m stoking down in 18 knots of breeze now.
I’m feeling really fresh, the conditions are really nice, it’s allowing me to regroup, it’s good for morale making miles down the track and seeing a small edge of Australia appear on the map. I’ve been sailing the boat fast, trying to get away from this light weather which seems to be following me down the course at the moment. But over the next few days there’s a big change and I think quite a nasty storm which could develop over Boxing Day and potentially widen enough that we may have to track quite far north to keep on top of it, so I’m monitoring that to see how it develops. We’ll start feeling the effects of it on Christmas Day, the forecast is for 35 – 40 knots but the barometer could drop like a stone and we could end up with 50 knots by the 26th.
The conditions are amazing this morning, it’s still very, very warm and it must be about 10 or 12 degrees outside, and out of the wind you could be in a pair of shorts, it’s that warm! Well I say this morning, but it’s actually this evening here, so I’m totally off track! Last night was bizarre as I didn’t really have a night. I must have worked through the night, and shut my eyes only to wake up in full daylight, but I can’t remember it ever getting dark. It only dawned on me this morning how short the night was. My last round the world race, I kept changing the time on my watch for every time zone I passed and I always had breakfast when the sun came up, but now my routine is set to GMT so I’m eating breakfast at 4pm. Strangely enough, my body actually feels like it’s breakfast time now, but actually the sun’s going to set in 2 hours time.
I can see lots of tiny black birds but no albatross right now. Albatross are incredible. All they do is swoop around, you never see them do anything else, and the big ones only appear when it’s blowing 50 knots it seems. So I know why there aren’t any flying around me now as it’s not windy enough for them!
I’m enjoying the messages of support coming in from all over, and especially from supporters from home in Devon. I get this really strong vibe, a sense that something is pushing HELLOMOTO along, like when I am sleeping or eating, it must be everyone willing me along, and I’m so proud to be representing Plymouth, it’s such a great city, and I’m amazed by how much support I’m getting back at home.
Weather Brief
The fleet is in three distinct weather systems. For probably the first time the leading boats are in the least favourable conditions, having to tack up wind in a corridor of headwinds between the high pressure system in the Pacific and the low centred off New Zealand. Added to which, they are also in alert mode with reported sightings of icebergs to their north. The next pack, led by Temenos (Wavre) is still hanging on to the low pressure system travelling below Australia and enjoying fast sailing. Then the back markers, led by Max Havelaar (Parnadeau) and including HELLOMOTO, are in the effects of the high pressure system in the Indian Ocean to the west of Australia. However, behind them a low pressure is gathering force and could extend itself wide across the race course, forcing the boats at the back to head quite far north to escape the worst.
Upwind Duel
As the leading 4 boats taking part in the Vendée Globe 2004 race battle it out in headwinds across the Pacific Ocean, Jean Le Cam (Bonduelle) has snatched the lead, for the 5th time since the start of the race, back from Vincent Riou on PRB. Excluding a position report from the first day of the race, when Jean Pierre Dick (Virbac Paprec) pipped them to the post, the Riou/Le Cam duo have continuously headed the fleet, with a maximum distance of 103 miles between them, on 15h00 GMT on 15 December. Bonduelle has led for 18 days and PRB for 25. A very northerly sighting of 15 large icebergs south of New Zealand has been the main cause for concern amongst the leaders today. Sailing in 25/30 knots, Jean on a more direct course under Campbell Island to pass the ice zone to the east of the archipelago. Behind them Sébastien Josse (VMI) and Mike Golding (Ecover) have reduced their deficit on the duo, the latter having closed in to 320.1 miles. The frontrunners are in prevailing easterlies with no change in the upwind conditions in view for the next 48 hours. For the second pack in the Indian Ocean, conditions have relaxed considerably in the past few days. It is grey, rainy and generally fresh, but the swell has eased and, bar the odd rare shift, the wind is an established westerly. At the back of the fleet there must be a certain relief as there are no big wind shifts in views and nothing nasty on the horizon. Joé Seeten (Arcelor Dunkerque) and Conrad Humphreys on Hellomoto are firing on all cylinders in the clement conditions. The British sailor is the fastest of the fleet over the past 24 hours having covered 321.9 miles.
Today’s new leader, Jean Le Cam (Bonduelle) sounded rather apprehensive about the coming days with the sighting of ice reported by the Rescue Coordination Centre in New Zealand advises that 15 large icebergs have been sighted in position 52 36 S, 177 17 E at 1830 GMT. This is approximately 300 nautical miles east of Campbell Island to the south of New Zealand. “It’s not very nice to get news of icebergs. It’s surprising as it’s not cold and the water is currently 6˚, and as much as 8˚ just three hours ago. It’s odd that they’re there. I think they must be old icebergs that have drifted there, and there presence in such temperatures must mean that they are sizeable. At 52˚ south we can’t go north of it. We’ll have to go onto starboard and head right. It looks like we’ve got upwind conditions for a while but for now we’ve got good visibility and we’ve had sun which makes a pleasant change; I’d almost forgotten that it existed.”
19.8 miles behind, the sun was also a welcome sight for Vincent Riou (PRB). “It’s the first time we’ve seen it in 5 days. Knowing that there are icebergs on zone makes it all the more surprising. I can’t say that I’ve changed course to avoid the zone but I probably tacked a bit sooner than I would otherwise have done. I’ve chosen to change to round it on starboard tack with the warmer water. You have to concentrate on such situation first, and your race takes second place. I won’t lose much anyway. The weather forecast is very complicated as not all the forecasts say the same thing and it changes on a daily basis. It’s going to take some major brainstorming and it will be difficult to sleep. Physically I’m in good shape but mentally I wish we were further down the track as it doesn’t look like we’ll be in the Atlantic for New Year.
In fourth place, 320.1 miles from the head of the fleet, a very tired Mike Golding (Ecover) is feeling rather daunted by this new threat of icebergs but has no desire to change course. In contrast to Jean, Mike admitted to having his radar on at all times. “I’m not terribly happy about the prospect of seeing ice, particularly as I don’t have a gauge to find out the water temperature. I’ve got my radar on all the time and I’m on the look-out as much as possible. At the moment the visibility is pretty good, 5/6 miles, though it’s night right now so you can’t see over the bow. It’s been a tough 24 hours, especially the last 12 as I’ve been working through a trough of low pressure. I’ve done a lot of races but just now I’ve never felt so physically tired, though the mileage is good. Conditions are fairly stable now in terms of wind though the seas are fairly rough. I’ve been through 2 sets of foulies, boots and mid-layer. I’m sailing upwind hoping for an opportunity to sleep as it hasn’t been possible really for the past 36 hours. In the coming week we’re not going to make an awful lot of progress towards the mark. I’m going to keep on my northerly course as it’s a big ocean and I think there’s plenty of room for all of us...”
Heading the second pack, Dominic Wavre continues to plug away in fifth, racking up 11.7 knot averages in 24 hours. Jean Pierre Dick (Virbac Paprec) is over 600 miles behind him, easing along his wounded boat despite the intense pain in his frostbitten fingers. “I’ve been lashing around the boom and the mast to prevent the gooseneck from breaking and I’ve been working on a piece which links the rudder with the automatic pilot. Hands are so important for fixing, for supporting yourself, for everything, but they are giving me an awful lot of pain. It takes a lot of energy to take every problem as it arises and try and fix it. I think the engine and the generator problems were just bad luck but the rest was probably my responsibility. I hope the other half of the race will be luckier, my main focus is going to be safety.”
A partner in the “battle of the wounded’, 7th placed Nick Moloney spent a busy day cleaning up Skandia yesterday and feels like he is mentally back in the race today, inspired by being in home territory. “As soon as I passed Cape Leeuwin the sun came out and it was fantastic. I’m almost in shape downstairs now and have been working on deck a bit. I’ve still got problems with my wind instruments so it’s difficult to keep on the same course and I’ve been crash gybing quite often. I’ve also got a leak through a winch and I’m having to bail 5 buckets of water a day. In the storm I lost all my video equipment and some food was lost as well. I may arrive in Les Sables looking like a matchstick! As regards the iceberg sighting, I would be very happy not to see any. I’ve seen some every time I’ve been in the southern ocean but this is the first time I’ve been alone and I think it would be very stressful to sleep. My objective is to be south of Tasmania on Christmas Day, just south of my family mid-course. We’re going to have to watch out for those behind though.”
For those in Moloney’s wake, the atmosphere is very favourable for comeback with Joé Seeten (Arcelor Dunkerque) and Conrad Humphreys (Hellomoto) really piling on the pressure in established westerlies with a gentle swell...
Quotes from the Boats:
Conrad Humphreys (Hellomoto): I’ve got a plan for catching the next couple of boats ahead. I’d be very happy finishing the race, that’s number one. I’ve set myself some targets between now and passing International Dateline, Cape Horn, crossing the Equator etc.. and I’m going to work my way as high up the fleet as I can, looking at the current attrition rate there maybe more boats which won’t make it past New Zealand, but a Top Ten is still possible, maybe better than that, but I would be delighted to get ahead of this next group, there’s 800m between me and Ocean Planet, at a minimum that’s an central focus of mine to try and get that far. That finish line is so clearly etched on my mind that I have even written one word above the doorway onboard Hellomoto..."FINISH"
Norbert Sedlacek (Brother): The skipper made it back home to Austria yesterday following his retirement from the Vendée Globe. A crowd of friends, his sponsor and the media were awaiting him and Norbert will now spend Christmas with his family before returning to South Africa to repair his monohull. A banner at the airport in Vienna read "Rendez vous in 2008" and there is no doubt that we haven´t heard the last of Austria...
NB: Roland Jourdain (Sill et Véolia) officially retired from the race today. He has arrived safely in Hobart and will be spending Christmas with his family.
Vendee Globe Report 21 December
Whilst we go about our daily routines 20 lone sailors are racing around the world without a stop.
Each weekday ATWOS will present a report on the 2004-2005 Vendee Globe race. Who will join Lamazou, Desjoyeaux etc. as winners? Who will be a breakout young star like Ellen Macarthur? Which sailors will participate in dramas such as those of Pete Goss & Yves Parlier?
The report will cover the rhythm of the race, whether it's fast or slow, what's the degree of difficulty, is it iceberg territory?
Each day we'll check the standings to see who the leaders are and who else is on the move.
The fleet roundup will cover news of interest from any and all boats both the success's and the inevitable failures.
From the lone sailors will highlight the most interesting communications from the multi national group of sailors.
Fleet Round Up "The leaders [have] prevailing easterlies on the nose."
Standings 1. Bonduelle 2. PRB 26 miles back 3. Ecover 285 miles back
Fleet Round Up Golding takes 3rd. Southern Ocean sights. Bilou retires
From the Lone Sailors Mike Golding: "“I think it [3rd place] is more a legacy of the move to the north. That was always going to take a long time to pay out, but now it has. It is a gain but if I had just followed the rest I didn’t see any prospects for me. I felt I would have fallen further behind. But it is a lot of work and stress." Bruce Schwab: "As it approached, the wind cranked up to 40-45 and clocked to almost straight out of the north, then the barometer plummeted to 984.5 as the center went over." Vincent Riou: "It’s grey and it’s raining and I’ve got the wind on the nose. It’s 7 to 8˚ outside."
December 20, 2004
2004 Year in Review: June
Although it's the off season in Muskegon, ATWOS covers sailing on a year round basis. Here we present some of the best stories from ATWOS in June 2004.
Luckiest Person in the World
NEW CALL IN FROM A LESS STRESSED ELLEN:
"Still got 40 knots of wind, and 40 foot seas, but we've gybed - it was a big one! But feel much better now heading north of east away from this system, not a great angle but its the right thing to do. We are still being thrown around, the sea is very confused. Every few minutes my heart ends up in my mouth as I feel the boat suspended above a wave trough...then we come crashing down. At night it is something else...."
EMAIL FROM ELLEN ON BOARD <
It's about to go dark down here, and the waves are no smaller. In fact, now we've gybed they seem bigger and more powerful than before. I am completely in awe of this place. The beauty of those immense rolling waves is endless and there is a kind of eternal feeling about their majestic rolling that will live on forever. Us watching them roll along - with nothing to stop them makes <
they seem cheekier today - getting closer and playing with the wind on our forestay. I stand in the cockpit and stare - I think i must be the luckiest person in the world to be here seeing, feeling, smelling and touching all this with my own eyes and sesnses - I feel alive. Though its quite frightening being here and feeling poor <
the end of the earth, we are isolated, isolated but on the other hand completely free. I am glad we have come down here and seen this storm. It's a reminder of how small and insignificant we are on this planet - but at the same time what a responsibility we have towards it's protection.
Survival Conditions
KEY DATA DAY 23 1310 GMT: 19 hours 24 minutes ahead of Joyon
Lat/Long: 46 48 S / 41 55 E (420 miles west of Isle de Crozet)
Average Boat speed: 16.35 knots (heading 155°, SE)
True Wind speed: 29.6 knots (direction 306°, NW)
Distance sailed so far: 8888.9 miles
Data communicated by Thrane MiniC via BT Business Broadband
Update based on data recorded 1310 GMT...check http://www.teamellen.com for the latest data updated hourly
IN BRIEF:
* SURVIVAL CONDITIONS FOR ELLEN as she is forced to sail closer to the depression than she would like.
* FORCED TO HOLD SOUTH EASTERLY GYBE due to ‘cauldron’ created to north east by North African Rise – depth goes from 2000m to 200m
* COMMANDERS LOOK FOR SAFE PASSAGE RATHER THAN SPEED. To finish fast, you first must finish.
* A FEW GLIMPSES OF LIFE ONBOARD via the WEBCAM button on site.
IN DETAIL:
In a short, to the point, call to OC Mission Control this Ellen explains the extreme conditions she is experiencing:
"I’ve got 40 to 45 knots of wind with gusts up to 53 (so far) and mountainous seas. 'I am ***** my *****' right now [quite nervous…], and there is nothing I can do. I don't want to gybe north east yet because it would mean crossing the North African Rise, where the water depth goes from 2km to 200 metres – it’s bound to be a real cauldron there. But the further south I go the worse the wind and sea is getting. I am getting launched sideways down waves, like falling off the edge of a cliff on skis. I’ve had the boat heeling at 35 degrees (unusual and not good for a multihull) as we’ve been thrown down some giant waves."
It’s a fine line between too much and too little, and this morning Ellen has found herself with way too much. Drawn further south by the angle of the wind than she had wanted, she then got blocked from gybing to the north because of a large Ocean shallows area called the North African Rise. A plateau of just 200 metres depth, surrounded by 2000 metre depths, this area is likely to be a real cauldron like a giant shorebreak on a beach. Ellen is already in extremely dangerous seas, and so cannot risk anything worse. The downside means she has had to hold a south-easterly gybe that continues to take her closer to the depression to the south – and therefore in to continually stronger winds and rougher conditions as well. ‘I don’t have many options right now. I don’t like that’
See the Meteo France weather maps at http://www.teamellen.com to understand the situation, with the depression now passing under her. A second cold front associated with the depression is approaching from behind.
The strategy in these kinds of conditions is one of pure survival. There is no question of squeezing extra speed, it’s a case of safeguarding boat and skipper. That doesn’t mean there isn’t speed, but it isn’t always wanted. ‘At one point I launched off a wave and was soon doing 35 knots totally out of control, it doesn’t take much to get 8 tons of trimaran moving – and we are in a giant mogul field right now. Unfortunately the ‘mountain’ is sloping in several directions at once and when we get lifted up by a wave from the side its really frightening as we are getting thrown sideways. I am literally gripping on to the chart table with my fingernails.’
WEATHER ANALYSIS FROM COMMANDERS' WEATHER 0600 GMT MONDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2004 :
Very rough conditions for Ellen early today will gradually improve.
Ellen's strong( 25-35kt gust 50kt) westerly breeze early today will be diminishing slowly as high pressure slides eastward north of her along 40s. However very high westerly swells of 15-25 feet with peak swells to 30+ feet will continue. Conditions are even worse further south so Ellen is expected to gybe to port and head ENE later today.
This more northern course will take her to lighter winds (20-25kts) and improving seas around and north of 45s Monday night and Tuesday. The trick will be to stay out of lighter air (10-15kts) closer to the high not to much further north toward 43n