Along with the cold weather sweeping over the Volvo Ocean Race fleet, as they edge closer to the finish line in Cape Town, came the first spotting of an albatross. The leading four boats in the Volvo Ocean Race are now deep into Albatross territory. Each boat in the race has been provided with a laminate card by the Save the Albatross Campaign with pictures of the different breeds of albatross and their descriptions.
“It is a pretty awesome sight at first, soaring across the waves. It is impressive how big these birds are, not to mention how far they can fly in one hit, “wrote Simon Fisher from second placed ABN AMRO TWO (Sebastien Josse), adding, “Makes our race pale into insignificance really, when you think that an albatross will fly the whole way round the Southern Ocean just to find food.”
The crew onboard Ericsson (Neal McDonald), who are nursing their injured boat, have had time to get the camera out and film some birds. Jason Carrington, the team’s resident boat builder, reported today on the bird life around them.
“We have seen a few albatrosses. That is part of the cool bit of sailing, you see some pretty neat things and albatrosses are maybe the coolest as they are huge. We were just reading our chart and it tells us that they can be 3.5 metres across in wing span. They are very impressive; they just swoop by the boat.“
Adrienne Cahalan, navigator on third placed Brasil 1 (Torben Grael) said yesterday, “This is my fifth time sailing through the South Atlantic and Southern Ocean and I have seen fewer Albatross than any other time since 1993.”
The Volvo Ocean Race is working closely with the RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) and their global partners, BirdLife International, to raise awareness of the plight of the albatross. 60,000 of these magnificent birds will die as a result of long line fishing throughout the course of the Volvo Ocean Race and surveys indicate that 19 of the species are in danger of extinction. Adrienne urges everyone to “please join the fight to save this precious bird and in doing do maintain the balance of the oceans which is so important to human life itself.”
As ABN AMRO ONE (Mike Sanderson) and ABN AMRO TWO (Sebastien Josse) run through the 500 nautical miles barrier conversations are returning to more land based topics. Simon Fisher (ABN AMRO TWO) explained exactly, what are on the young minds of his team mates, apart from the awe-inspiring albatrosses.
“Much of the conversation on board is now about what is coming up in Cape Town, a cold beer, a shave, a shower, night clubs, parties, girls.... Every topic has been extensively covered from a variety of angles as we near the finish!”
At 1600 GMT today Brasil 1 is 100 nautical miles behind second place ABN AMRO TWO but are currently sailing slightly faster and are have reduced the gap by 13 nautical miles in the past 24 hours. But it doesn’t look hopeful that the Brazilians will be able to catch them by Cape Town, as the breeze is predicted to stay strong and will bring them steadily into the coast and Table Bay.
We have little over 24 hours worth of racing for the first four yachts, in leg one of the Volvo Ocean Race. All the crews’ family and friends are gathered for their arrival and the inevitable parties. The highs and lows, thrills and spills will be retold to hundreds of family, friends and total strangers in Cape Town, in the coming weeks. But as we know this is a close race in extreme conditions, so anything could happen in the final day of this leg.
An update on movistar (Bouwe Bekking) came in yesterday with the official news that the boat will be retiring from leg one. Pedro Campos, movistar’s General Manager clarified the situation last night. “We have assessed the pros and cons of the situation and the final decision has been really difficult to make. The team has decided to send movistar directly on a cargo ship, to Cape Town this weekend.
“The team is going to Cape Town on the 4th December to continue with our preparations. The boat will take two weeks to reach Cape Town, during this time we are going to continue to train. The crew has sailed really well during the first leg. We were in first place and I’m really happy with the performance of the boat and sails.“
The Black Pearl arrived in Cape Town on November 27 after an uneventful flight on the Antonov 124. She was then transported to "Pirate City", in the harbor area, which will be our base of operations for the next four weeks. We again want to thank our partner Pescanova for their generous and useful support to the team by making the flight to Cape Town possible.
The shore team is arriving in Cape Town this week after getting a well deserved week off. Basically they had gone hard since early August without a break. The crew is taking this week off and will arrive in Cape Town December 7th. The goals of this week are for the shore team to install the new wedges and bomber doors for the keel and finish up a few other jobs on the boat. The plan is to be sailing by the 10th and then go offshore on the 12th for a few days of ocean sailing and sea trialing to make sure all is well with the repairs. Leg 2 will be one of the most demanding of the race for both the boat and the crew physically. I don’t think either can possibly be over prepared so I think we are using our bit of bad luck on Leg 1 to gain a leg up on Leg 2.
After we return, we will then have two events on the 16th and 17th December. On the 16th we will have a presentation of the team and the boat to 1000 school children of Cape Town. On the 17th we have a corporate sailing day for Disney.
The next race for us is the in-port race on December 26th. Obviously, we will be looking to get some good scores in the next few races to try to recover what we lost on leg one. As I said before, this is a long event and there may be other breakdowns.
ABN AMRO ONE (Mike Sanderson), leading the Volvo fleet in the leg one race to Cape Town, is standing on and sailing further miles but heading towards much more breeze, which should set them up for a fast ride in the closing stages. Both ABN AMRO TWO (Sebastien Josse) in second place, and Brasil 1 (Torben Grael) in third, gybed at around 0700 GMT this morning, have opted for the more direct route, but the breeze to the north of them is lighter.
Further back in the field, Sunergy and Friends (Grant Wharington) has also turned the corner, around the bottom of the South Atlantic High and should start to pick up some good sailing conditions to bring her into Cape Town.
A shower, a beer and a shave, are some of the things the crews are now focussing on as Cape Town draws nearer. “Every topic has been covered extensively from a variety of angels as we near the finish,” wrote Simon Fisher (ABN AMRO TWO) tonight. “Everyone is in need of a little rest and relaxation including our boat. The job list grows ever longer as time goes on too. Not only with stuff we have broken, but also stuff we need to improve before we head into the Southern Ocean,” he added.
With a shade over 600 nautical miles to go before they see the welcome sight of Table Mountain, the crew onboard ABN AMRO ONE (Mike Sanderson) are pushing the boat as hard as ever, maintaining a high speed of 18.4 knots, over two knots faster than their nearest rival, ABN AMRO TWO (Sebastien Josse). Even Ericsson (Neal McDonald) with their canting keel fixed in the centre, is managing 14 knots, but they have lost a lot of ground and are now 360 nautical miles behind the leader. Brasil 1 (Torben Grael) is now nearly 100 nm ahead of them in third position, while Sunergy and Friends (Grant Wharington) brings up the rear now 1865 nm out of touch.
It is not the leaders, ABN AMRO ONE (Mike Sanderson), who are ‘smoking in’ towards the finish, it is the chasing pack. With just 242 miles to go to the finish, it should have a stress free run in for Sanderson and his boys, but it seems that Mike Sanderson’s team has been dealt a very unfortunate weather forecast for their approach to Cape Town and Sanderson is afraid that the weather gods will be dealing out as much as 10 knots less to his team on ABN AMRO ONE.
“So yet again we are going to have them all smoke in on us... but I am a firm believer that what comes around will go around. Even though we have seen a big lead get eaten away at by just having a weather wall in front of us, I am sure that by the end of this 8 month long regatta it will all average out, and yet again, it will be the people who have the fastest, best prepared, best sailed boat that will win the Volvo Ocean Race. “
Sanderson’s team has to watch out for the ‘kids’ as they have nicknamed their team mates on ABN AMRO TWO (Sebastien Josse) in second place, who in turn have to keep an eye on third placed Brasil 1 (Torben Grael). Only Ericsson (Neal McDonald) poses no threat as they race their boat gently towards the finish unable to power the boat up due to the damage sustained yesterday.
By this time tomorrow the winner of leg one should be safely tied up to the dock in Cape Town, but, in the meantime, the position reports are going to be very exciting as we watch the crews giving up miles just to stay in between their competitors and the finish line. Watching from afar and rather enviously is the team on Sunergy and Friends. “It is a little disheartening to see that the leaders will start to arrive in Cape Town sometime in the next 24 hours or so. They have had a dream run, which we have envied from afar,” wrote Campbell Field today.
As 2005 draws to a close, the Offshore Challenges Sailing Team can look back on a year of extreme highs and occasional lows, of great results and also bitter disappointments - such is the world of sport and adventure that we love! We look back on the year, and also to the future, for our professional sailors.
ELLEN MACARTHUR : A RECORD YEAR ENDING IN A CAUSE CLOSE TO HER HEART
It goes without saying that Ellen's highlight of the year was setting a new solo non-stop round the world record onboard the trimaran <
WHERE WILL ELLEN BE THIS CHRISTMAS?
Ellen will be leaving for South Georgia in the middle of December to pursue a cause close to her heart. The numbers of birdlife of the Southern Ocean and in particular the albatross are being massively depleted due to long-line fishing and this winter Ellen will be accompanying biologist, Sally Poncet, for two months on her annual birdlife survey on South Georgia. It will be the first time since Ellen began her professional sailing career in 1997 that she has taken time out to pursue a personal project.
For more information on this story, click here http://www.teamellen.com/en/article.asp?artid=3011
For me information on the Save the Albatross campaign, click here http://www.birdlife.org/action/campaigns/save_the_albatross/index.html
NEXT SAILING OBJECTIVE : ASIA TOUR 2006
Since the 75ft trimaran B&Q returned to the UK in early November, she has been undergoing a complete checkover and mini-refit in Cowes before being shipped out to Japan this winter for Ellen's next very unique challenge. Sailing will begin at the end of March when Ellen and a crew will aim to establish a new record circuit between a number of major Asian cities. Running from Japan and onto five Chinese ports including Hong Kong China, Taiwan ending in Singapore around mid-May. This is perhaps one of the most ambitious projects the team have undertaken. It is a huge logistical challenge of organisation and red tape before B&Q even arrives in China and then she will be venturing out into unchartered territory for the first time as she attempts to establish a number of new crewed records - in such a way that other projects can go and challenge them in future years, filling a gap in the market (for sponsors in particular) for Asian based professional sailing challenges. For more information on this tour, click here: http://www.teamellen.com/en/asia2006.asp
WHAT NEXT FOR ELLEN?
Perhaps the most frequently asked question to Ellen now is "what are your plans beyond 2006?" As yet, Ellen has not decided and will be spending some of her time in South Georgia contemplating her future in the sport of top level professional sailing. The current sponsorship contract with her title sponsors B&Q and Castorama, expires towards the end of 2006 and they are also currently reviewing the sponsorship programme. It is ten years ago that Ellen embarked on her first big sailing challenge, and she hasn't stopped since. The next challenge that she could take on is likely to be a very tough one mentally, requiring a full-on 3 year programme - a decision therefore not to take lightly after ten years of non-stop action. What can be certain is Ellen isn't about to stop loving the ocean, so watch this space!
SPECIAL CHRISTMAS ELLEN DVD AND BOOK OFFER
A special DVD documenting Ellen's highs and lows of her record attempt has now been followed up by a pictorial book from Michael Joseph/Penguin also called 'Race Against Time' that includes 287 pages of stunning photographs and Ellen's email logs. You can now buy both products for a special price of £30.00. For more information, click here http://www.teamellen.com/en/article.asp?artid=1245
BBC SPORTS PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR
It is now possible to vote online for your favourite sports personality. These votes go towards deciding the shortlist of candidates for the various awards. If you would like to nominate Ellen MacArthur for Sports Personality of the Year, go to http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tv_and_radio/sports_personality_2005/4353078.stm and cast your vote. But remember, if Ellen makes it through to the shortlist, you will have to vote again on the night at the Awards ceremony on Sunday, 11th December by phone or text.
NICK MOLONEY : END OF ONE PROJECT, START OF A NEW ONE
NEW FOUR YEAR CONTRACT FOR NICK
Nick has officially signed another 4-year contract with the Offshore Challenges Sailing Team that will run through to the summer of 2009. He initially joined the team to pursue his dream of competing in the solo Vendée Globe and his focus is, once again, based around another Open 60 campaign whilst at the same sharing his vast sailing skills with other crewed campaigns and events: "The past few years with Offshore Challenges have been a rollercoaster of highs and lows, and when it came down to it, I really didn't want that to stop. We have made a new four-year agreement that will help me realise my future ambitions and give me the flexibility to work with other projects. It was great to be back in touch with the Volvo Ocean Race through my association with Paul Cayard's Pirates of the Caribbean team but I am also really excited by the announcement of the Barcelona World Race which is a really motivating race for me to do. I think the IMOCA circuit is where the action is and I hope to be part of it in the future," commented Nick.
TIME TO COMPLETE A MISSION
Nick has always been a 'man with a mission' as he is a particularly driven individual. In 1996 he set himself three specific sailing goals and the final one was to compete in the non-stop, solo Vendée Globe race. On Sunday, 7th November Nick crossed the start line onboard the Open 60 Skandia - destiny unknown. He battled many demons both in his mind and from nature - raging Southern Ocean storms and the torment of the Doldrums but, finally, on 14th January after 68 days at sea, Skandia rounded Cape Horn heralding the final run home to the finish line off Les Sables d'Olonne only to suffer keel failure off Rio de Janeiro 10 days later. Disbelief turned to dismay as Moloney awaited a tow line into Rio, his Vendée dream in shatters.
Now Nick is back on sea to complete his goal of circumnavigating the globe solo. Skandia had just finished the Transat Jacques Vabre in fifth place with Brian Thomson and Will Oxley and on Friday [25.11.05] the shore team saw Nick board Skandia on his own with the aim of returning to the finish line off Les Sables d'Olonne unassisted. To follow Nick's return passage, go to http://www.nickmoloney.com
After this Nick will be returning to Australia to compete in the Sydney-Hobart race onboard Alex Thompson's Open 60 Hugo Boss - Nick's fee is allegedly to be a new Hugo Boss suit! Nick will be dividing his time between his family and knocking on a few corporate doors in search of funding for his future campaigns, and will certainly be in Melbourne for the Volvo Ocean Race stopover.
SAM DAVIES : THREE YEARS ON AND TIME TO MOVE ON
As Sam's third Figaro season comes to a close so too does her successful three year partnership with Skandia and the Offshore Challenges Sailing Team. After much discussion it has been decided that Sam's contracts with both Skandia and the Offshore Challenges Sailing Team will not be renewed. Sam's focus remains with the Figaro circuit and she plans to compete in a fourth season of competition. Both Sam and the Offshore Challenges team are proud of their achievements over the last three years that saw Sam finish 10th overall in the Championnat de France in 2004 and taking outright victory in her final event of this season, the Vendée Defi.
As the sailors' careers evolve, changes in the team are inevitable and although we are sad to see Sam leave the Offshore Challenges Sailing Team, it is in recognition that our joint objectives have been met.
"We are sure that Sam could ultimately become the first foreigner to win the French dominated Solitaire du Figaro race, and wish her every success for her very focused objective in the future. We have no regrets about having worked with her on this first three years of learning in this very tough circuit," commented Mark Turner.
The Offshore Challenges Sailing Team will be expanding again in the near future with both young rookies and more experienced mature athletes. The long-term plan remains the same which is to manage between three to five sailors in the Offshore Challenges Sailing Team representing a range of extreme sailing disciplines and, in particular, have two or three Open 60 campaigns in the 2007-2009 cycle of IMOCA events.
2006...bring it on!
US SAILING, national governing body for the sport, together with Vanguard Sailboats, Official Sponsor of US SAILING, are sending a team of talented youth sailors to represent the U.S. at the Laser Radial Youth World Championship in Brazil next month. Scheduled for December 10 to 17, the World Championship is held in Fortaleza, Brazil. The five sailors who make up the US Laser Radial Youth World Team are: Cam Cullman (Rye, N.Y.), Cameron Friedman (Crown Point, N.Y.), Kyle Rogachenko (Collegeville, Pa.), Jerry Tullo (Staten Island, N.Y.), and Blake Warner (Newport Beach, Calif.).
As part of a nationwide program to support youth development for sailing, the US Laser Radial Youth World Team was created to encourage young sailors to get more experience on the international race course. The five sailors have each received a grant to apply toward the expenses incurred in attending the World Championship. The sailors were selected based on their individual rankings on the Laser Radial Grand Prix in 2004. The program also provides funding for a coach to accompany the team. US SAILING's Youth Development Coach Mike Kalin (Cambridge, Mass.), who earlier this year coached the US Youth World Team at the Youth World Championship, will accompany the sailors to Brazil.
For information on the Laser Radial Youth World Championship, please visit the event website at www.2005laserworlds.com.br. In addition to the members of the US Laser Radial Youth World Team, three other young American sailors are competing in the event: Tedd Himler (Manhasset, N.Y.), Joe Lepis (Manasquan, N.J.), and Fred Strammer (Nokomis, Fla.).
The crews on the top four yachts, in the Volvo Ocean Race 2005-06, are becoming anxious again, as they have less than 1000 nautical miles to go to the finish. The top placed yacht, ABN AMRO ONE (Mike Sanderson), is hoping for a steady breeze into the finish, whilst the yachts behind are praying for more fickle winds to allow them to catch up and possibly overhaul their rivals.
The big news of today is that Ericsson (Neal McDonald), at 00.45 GMT last night, had a failure occurring in their keel movement system. After a few minutes of work, Richard Mason managed to lock the keel in one safe position. They are now sailing with reduced capacity but are still managing an average of 14 knots toward the finish. Neal (McDonald) revealed exactly what happened on board this morning.
“We were reaching along at speeds of over 20 knots and quite pleased with ourselves, as we felt at last conditions had allowed us to make a come back at the Brazilians, as a pleasant evening’s sail quickly became a nightmare. A massive bang took us all by surprise, “what the hell was that?”
“I had been running the boat square down wind to slow the boat down for our survey (of the damage) and decided as we could not find any damage we'd come back to course. Coming up on to a reach the boat simply heeled over out of control practically capsizing! Immediately we all knew what was wrong.
“With the initial danger over I breathe a sigh of relief, then of course comes the awful realization that we can no longer race the boat hard. Any hope of catching the Brazilians has gone. Devastating. The guys are mortified. I guess we should all be pleased we are in one piece and in reasonable shape to get to Cape Town, albeit slower than we'd like, but it’s hard to see it in that manner right now. “
Onboard ABN AMRO ONE today, Crusty (Mark Christensen) explained, that as the days pile up on this leg, a ‘Groundhog Day’ situation is starting to occur. To spice things up though, they have been betting on the ETA (estimated time of arrival) to Cape Town, which will result in the winner receiving their jackpot and promptly having to buy drinks for the rest of the crew with it.
“What day are we up to? Day 14, 15? Who cares? What's for lunch? Who cares and what does it matter anyway, it all tastes the same, (it doesn't and some of the meals are quite good). The legs get broken down into sections, the start, the race for pecking order, where the positions are established and the opening moves of the navigators executed and then played out.
“Then the ‘Groundhog days’ where each day seems as the day before and the day after, boats try to pass the boats around them and gamble on bigger losses for bigger gains. The leader protects the side of the race course he wants and sometimes ‘spends’ a little lead to consolidate or increase his lead. Finally is the last 1000 miles, the race to the finish. If you are leading, you want nice steady breeze, probably a reach with no tacking or gybing. If you are behind you want the opposite.”
The crew on board Sunergy and Friends (Grant Wharington) seem to be having one of those “Groundhog Days” too, as navigator Campbell Field sarcastically wrote this morning.
“We have the same sails up, the same wind speed, same wind direction, same food, same conversations, same bad jokes from the same people, same same same same same same. The only change really is the temperature has dropped very slightly to a more liveable level.”
Brasil 1 (Torben Grael) is currently in third and 113 nautical miles behind ABN AMRO TWO (Sebastien Josse). The crew are pushing hard, with the aim of eating up some of the distance between the second boat and themselves but navigator, Adrienne Cahalan still had time to tell us about the wildlife surrounding them in the South Atlantic.
“Yesterday, near 34 30S 16W we saw some seabirds but up until then, the only birds we had seen were a couple of gulls near Fernando de Noronha. There were about three of them but, they did not come close to the boat, not like an albatross would do, to see what was going on onboard.
“But today near 34 34S 08 45W we saw a group of seabirds brown in colour the same as yesterday, which came closer to the boat. An albatross with brown wings and white underbelly also briefly flew close to the boat alone.”
Last night, Ericsson was reaching at 20 knots, in 22 knots of wind, when a failure occurred in the keel movement system. The boat had to be stopped to allow the crew to inspect the damage. Ericsson is now sailing towards Cape Town, the leg one finish of the Volvo Ocean Race, under reduced sail to avoid overloading the system. The crew is in no danger.
“We were reaching on starboard tack at a speed of 20 knots,” explains Ericsson skipper Neal McDonald. “The boat was fully loaded, but these were normal sailing conditions. At 0045 GMT we suddenly heard a loud bang. We immediately stopped the boat and took the mainsail down to investigate the problem. There was no visible damage, but it was obvious that the keel was flopping from side to side! After a few minutes work, Richard Mason managed to lock the keel in one safe position. We are now sailing towards Cape Town in a much reduced capacity.”
The details of the reasons of Ericsson’s keel problems are not yet known, and the team will investigate the system thoroughly once the boat arrives in Cape Town. As one crew member summarises: “We are in no danger, but we are very annoyed because we have lost the opportunity to sail the boat properly.”
Leading the fleet, ABN AMRO ONE (Mike Sanderson) and the youngsters on the second team boat ABN AMRO TWO (Sebastien Josse) now have less than a 1000 miles to sail to Cape Town, and, based on their current speed, the estimated finish will be in the early hours of Thursday morning, while third place Brasil 1 could finish later that night. Sunergy and Friends still have 2539 miles to run and their arrival into Cape Town is looking like 7 December, but they are still too far away to predict this with any accuracy.
The leading four boats racing in the closing stages of leg one of the Volvo Ocean Race are now south of the latitude of Cape Town. At some point in the next 24 hours, they will have to start thinking about making some northing towards the finish. Lucky for leaders ABN AMRO ONE (Mike Sanderson), the front they are currently riding is likely to help them out once it finally catches up with them. When the front passes over the fleet, winds will back from northwest to southwest and south. This should allow a gybe from port to starboard and a course slightly north of due east, thereby creating just enough leverage to make the finish in Cape Town.
Unless the weather changes from the forecast over the next 48 hours or so, there will be no significant slow downs for the boats and the chances for a lead change will dwindle further. It is possible that conditions close to the finish could be more variable as the effects of the South African land mass are felt. If ABN AMRO ONE is unlucky with a localised wind effect, such as hole in the breeze downwind off Table Mountain, there could be a last minute chance for the following boats to catch up. It may be a long shot, but when it comes to yacht racing and weather, anything can happen!
So much for throttling back, both ABN AMRO ONE (Mike Sanderson) and ABN AMRO TWO (Sebastien Josse) have their foot to the floor, and both boats have broken the monohull 24-hour world speed record of 530.19 nautical miles set by movistar on her delivery from Australia earlier this year.
At 1600 GMT today, ABN AMRO ONE had sailed 538 nautical miles in the preceding 24-hour period and ABN AMRO TWO had covered 533 nm. The speeds and distances of both boats are still climbing and both records are subject to official ratification by the Word Sailing Speed Record Council.
“We are absolutely charging along now, on record pace. Without a doubt this is definitely life at the extreme. The whole boat is shuddering and shaking as we crash through one wave to the next. All the winches and blocks are screaming and cracking like cannon fire under the load. Water is pouring down the deck and into the hatch so we have to bail out every half an hour or so to avoid turning the leeward side of the boat into a swimming pool,” wrote Simon fisher, navigator of ABN AMRO TWO this afternoon.
“On deck it’s like standing in front of a fire hose and you have to hang on to stay in the cockpit. Only an hour ago, Bicey (Nick Bice) was swept off the stack (of sails on the windward side of the boat) and down the cockpit whilst trimming.”
“However, despite all this hardship and hassle right now, there is nowhere else in the world I would rather be right now. This is me at my happiest, tearing through the south Atlantic with the speed in excess of 30 knots. It’s a difficult feeling to describe, a mixture of adrenaline and excitement, fear and apprehension. We are pushing the boat to its limit but it’s in control and for now we’re the fastest on the track,” concluded Fisher.
As the fleet in the Volvo Ocean Race 2005-06 falls into lighter breeze the teams are feeling the pressure again. Every navigator is burning the midnight oils, trying to predict the weather from their forecasts and covering their backs, trying to insure the opposition doesn’t squeeze past.
Brasil 1 (Torben Grael) has taken the lead in the past 12 hours as they are the most easterly yacht therefore the nearest to the finish, but they are not the most southerly yacht. Navigator Adrienne Cahalan, and her skipper Torben Grael, made the decision to head east a few days ago, which, at the time, looked like a risk-taking decision. They were the only yacht taking this view, but now it could be paying off.
“The fleet is getting closer and closer together and nerves are being stretched as we all choose the moment to turn the corner around the high pressure system and head more directly towards Cape Town.” Writes Adrienne Cahalan today. “We are on the inside so we are probably on the edge of the lighter wind, but that is the trade off for sailing shorter miles. We have covered 4600 miles since the start but after Fernando, not all of it has been towards Cape Town. As Torben says it is only the Father who knows who will come out in the best position.”
Mike Sanderson (ABN AMRO ONE) has also been feeling the stress, which is understandable as his lead over the rest of the fleet has diminished greatly over the past two days as he hit the brick wall of fickle breeze. He is still currently 54 nautical miles south of his team mates on ABN AMRO TWO (Sebastien Josse) and he and his team are feverishly trying to eek out every tenth of a knot that they can.
“What stinks is sitting here watching a lead that you chipped away at day after day get swallowed up in a few lousy scheds, as that is exactly what has happened and still is happening for that matter. The smaller of the two high pressures that had to move aside and join up with the big south Atlantic high has decided that it is going to park itself right where we need to go.”
However the younger brothers on ABN AMRO TWO are feeling pretty happy with themselves. Si Fi (Simon Fisher) explained the reason for their cheery outlook.
“It has been an exciting time for us, having seized the lead (from Ericsson) the mood is tense as we battle to extend and protect our position. A sail change on one boat is quickly matched by a change on the other and boats have been moving around the ocean like they are connected by elastic, one never getting too far away before the other somehow manages to catch up. This surely is what offshore racing is all about.”
Currently in fourth, but only by a small margin is Ericsson (Neal MacDonald). Yesterday Neal seemed frustrated in his email from the yacht but showed it’s not all negative on board with this interesting and slightly disgusting fact, “We still manage a laugh now and then too – Tom (Braidwood) came on deck this afternoon and asked where the tooth brushes were kept - we all looked at each other and burst into tears of laughter -10 days into the race and he had not even cleaned his teeth yet!”
Today at 0900 GMT Sunergy and Friends passed the scoring gate at Fernando de Noronha, not only scoring one and half points but allowing them to achieve another milestone in the race to Cape Town. The crew on board this yacht are definitely the clear winners when it comes to optimism, but naturally they are missing home like the rest of the fleet as Campbell Field told us this afternoon.
“We all know it's Friday, and would love to pop down the pub after our watch for a quick pint and grab some fish and chips on the way home. We'd also love to take a shower, put on some clean clothes, eat a solid meal, use a toilet that is not persistently trying to buck you off, use a toothbrush that you are certain is yours because it is exactly where you left it, have some sugar with our coffee - all not necessarily in that order. It'll just have to wait for another 10 days.”
The two-boat Dutch team of ABN AMRO ONE (Mike Sanderson) and the ‘young fellas’ onboard ABN AMRO TWO (Sebastien Josse) have shown a clean set of heels to both Brasil 1 (Torben Grael) and Ericsson (Neal McDonald) as they lead the Volvo Ocean Race fleet at a scorching pace towards the finish in Cape Town. ABN AMRO ONE has sailed 519 nautical miles in the last 24-hour period, just short of movistar’s monohull world record of 530 in 24 hours.
Blue skies and stiff breeze was the order of the day yesterday, with more of the same expected today. The youngsters on the second Dutch boat are pushing very hard. A gentle word of warning came from Mike Sanderson, this morning, saying “We need to be grown up about it and keep this thing in one piece though.”
Brasil 1 and Ericsson have positioned themselves a little to the north, while Team ABN AMRO has blasted off further south with both their boats. Changeable weather is forecast for the next few days and it will be interesting to see what develops.
If ABN AMRO can keep up this relentless pace, she is estimated to arrive in Cape Town on December 3rd, but there are 1781 nautical miles to go.
After several days of waiting, ABN AMRO ONE (Mike Sanderson) has at last hooked into the strong westerly breeze which is propelling his team quickly towards Cape Town for the finish of leg one of the Volvo Ocean Race at a rate of over 17 knots. What a relief for skipper Mike Sanderson who, over the past few days, had seen Brasil 1 (Torben Grael) eat his lead down to almost nothing. “I wouldn’t swap any part of what we have on ABN AMRO ONE for anything,” Sanderson wrote yesterday.
The order in the chasing pack has not changed overnight, although ABN AMRO TWO (Sebastien Josse) is catching second placed Brasil 1 quickly and is achieving the highest average speed of the fleet. They are just five miles behind Brasil 1, while fourth placed Ericsson (Neal McDonald) are another 20 miles behind again but sailing quicker than Brasil 1.
In the next 24 hours, we can expect to see ABN AMRO ONE and perhaps the others, start to clock up 400 nm 24 hour runs once again.
Sunergy and Friends are now reaching at 15 knots. “A bit bouncy, but, hey, nice and fast,” wrote navigator Campbell Field this morning, after they spent most of yesterday hard on the wind.
At 0400 GMT this morning, the leader board for leg one of the Volvo Ocean Race showed Brasil 1 (Torben Grael) as the new leader, which indeed she is, in terms of distance to the finish in Cape Town. However, she is 74 nautical miles to the north of ABN AMRO ONE (Mike Sanderson) and 59 nm to the east, and much closer to the windless centre of the South Atlantic High.
Mike Sanderson is continuing his relentless drive south and the weather conditions look to be in his favour, but the next few hours will be critical. “We will probably have to hang on for another 12 to 18 hours and then we will be in good shape to see the breeze fill in,” wrote Sanderson yesterday afternoon.
ABN AMRO TWO (Sebastien Josse) and Ericsson (Neal McDonald) are still slogging it out, and have been covering each other’s every move. But at 1000 GMT today, ABN AMRO TWO had a 40nm advantage over Ericsson who is not able to match her speed.
At 0900 GMT today, Sunergy and Friends (Grant Wharington) passed through the scoring gate at Fernando de Noronha and are now making reasonable progress down the Brazilian coast, reducing their deficit to 725 nautical miles.
As the Volvo Ocean Race fleet carries on the slog south to the magic corner in which they will turn for the run into Cape Town, minds are wandering back to loved ones back on shore.
ABN AMRO ONE (Mike Sanderson) sent in a very unusual but heart-warming QFB (quote from the boat) last night. A letter from Crusty (Mark Christensen) to his six year old daughter Maddy. It was an account of life onboard a Volvo Open 70 for the eyes of a child, which is not only revealing, but serves as a fabulous explanation for the not so nautically minded.
“Do you know that daddy sleeps in the middle of the day as well as at night? In fact daddy gets to sleep for four hours, about the same time as it is from breakfast until lunch time, every eight hours, about as long as you are at school.
“The only bad thing about being onboard the boat is that there is no shower or bath and so everyone is a bit stinky. Do you know what we use instead to wash ourselves? Wet wipes, the same thing mummy uses to wash Bonnie’s bottom!! We get about four each a day, not really enough to clean ourselves with.”
Onboard Brasil 1 (Torben Grael) Adrienne Cahalan told us in a radio interview today that she and the rest of the crew were missing friends and family but this is leading to a stronger bond within the team.
The ABN AMRO TWO (Sebastien Josse) boys also seem to be bonding as a crew, especially as they have managed to overtake Brasil 1 and Ericsson (Neal McDonald) again, in terms of southern most boat (not nearest yacht to the finish) out of the three. Si Fi (Simon Fisher) explained how their meal times and watches are like clockwork now and not only are they doing well, but they are “having fun at the same time”.
“I guess it is a testament to what a good team we have developed into over the past few months that we can all co-exist in each others pockets and yet manage to still have a great time. The atmosphere is always laid back, and there is always someone with a good story to tell.”
On the track ABN AMRO ONE seems to have fallen into the area of lighter breeze directly to the south of them and are now heading back south west to catch the stronger breeze. As they fell into this, Ericsson, Brasil 1 and ABN AMRO TWO have reeled them in substantially.
ABN AMRO TWO is only 78 nautical miles to the north of ABN AMRO ONE and Brasil 1 only 87 nautical miles. Brasil 1 is the most easterly of the yachts, leaving the other two (Ericsson and ABN AMRO TWO) battling within a few miles of each other.
Ericsson is only five miles behind ABN AMRO TWO despite a very unlucky incident last night when a halyard broke leaving a sail dragging in the water, for the second time on this leg. Richard Mason gave us an update today, on the hard decision of when to turn left and why it’s a special day aboard Ericsson.
“We are about 300 - 400 miles away from starting our left hand turn to Cape Town. This is a crucial move as the earlier you turn the less the distance, but the catch is that you can end up in a lot less wind.
“Tim Powell enjoyed his 35th birthday today. He was surprised with a short video from his family wishing him all the best. Nice to get a message from home. Otherwise for Tim it was business as usual. Celebrations will have to wait until we get on the dock. “
It is also a special day onboard Sunergy and Friends as they crossed the equator around 13.30 GMT today. We are yet to be informed if King Neptune and his court have visited the yacht but it looks like they seem to be out of the doldrums at last, fingers crossed!
The heat is on for the Open 50 monohull boats racing to Brazil to finish before the clock stops on the race next Monday 28th November. All 5 teams now have between 68 and 965 miles to go from the first to the last, and solid leader Gryphon Solo (Harris / Hall) is due to arrive overnight tonight or Friday morning early depending on how light the wind goes this evening. The tension is even more heightened on the race course between the four boats battling it out for 2nd and 4th place in the fleet. The Anglo-American team on Artforms (Stone / Owen) has been struggling a bit this morning, sailing through an area of wind for which they didn’t have the headsail, and 3rd placed French team on Vedettes de Bréhat (De Broc / S. Escoffier) have eaten a bit into their lead, now only 16 miles behind with the last 300 miles to go. The Artforms skippers are feeling the pressure, as Merf recounted on a brief satellite phone call today: “We’re glad to be sailing along like a train now with full main and spinnaker flying, back with the right sail combination for the breeze, and we’re just charging down to Salvador as fast as we can. But our lead is not safe at all, as the wind is due to go light and patchy this evening. We could do without the stress of having Vedettes so close behind us but we’re on great form, it’s a great way to finish a race! I think it’s too early for us to know whether we’ll sail our own race in or position ourselves between them and the finish. We’ve only got 5 bottles of water left on board but we’re okay, not dehydrated right now. Just make sure there are cold caipirinhas waiting for us when we get in!”
Six hundred miles behind are the next two 50 footers Top 50 Guadeloupe and Polarity Solo (Metcalf/Finn), the elastic hasn’t stretched with still 35 miles between them. They are both crossing the Equator today, positioned 1 degree apart in longitude to the west of the rhumb line, but are still not clear totally of the Doldrums.
Paul Metcalf sent in his ‘Squall Report’ today: “Ooo we got them Doldrum blues.... Reefs in , reefs out, ballast in, ballast out, sails up, sails down...In the last 24hrs we have had 2 knots of wind and 37 knots of wind - in fact that was in about the same 20 minutes. Have not yet been becalmed though the wind is generally light, but the squalls coming through - especially at night make for hard work.
"About 4am last night we picked up a big squall on the radar and attempted to avoid it but to no avail, I was in the middle of putting the first reef in when it hit faster than we anticipated, the wind rising almost immediately from 8knts to 35+ (F7-8). Straight to 2 reefs and no headsail and we were still laid almost flat in the first gusts. Got the boat on her feet and under control and blasted off as high as we could keep her as the wind was South Easterly. It became manageable about an hour or two later when we could get back on course, but the thought of a sudden wind shift as can happen keeps you close by the pilot and helm, eyes glued to the instruments and the windex.
“We drove around a couple of big black clouds today - it seems if you can catch the edge or the smaller clouds there is a bit more wind to make use of, but what's under the cloud seems to be too unpredictable to be of much help - guess I need more practise. Right now we have had an hour of consistent wind - our first since we entered the area so we are making course on a close reach but at an average 8 knots. Got to go, feel a sail change coming on...Paul”
IMOCA 60 MONOHULL UPDATE
The 10th 60ft monohull boat to arrive will be Maisonneuve-Région Basse Normandie (Dejeanty / Toulorge) during this evening Brazilian time. 11th placed Brazilian Open 60 Galileo (Antunes / Coldefy) has still 350 miles to go until they are finally home!
ORMA 60 MULTIHULL CLASS - RACE CLOSES WITH ARRIVAL OF GITANA X
Gitana X (Duprey / Le Roux) closed the ORMA Open 60 trimaran fleet race last night after crossing the line in 4th place at 2206 local time (01:06:33 GMT) Wednesday 23rd November. They took 17 days, 11 hours 6 mins 33 seconds to complete the 5,190 mile course at an average boat speed on the direct route of 12.38 knots, and finished 3 days 9 hours 20 minutes 4 seconds after Banque Populaire.
ORMA 60 Multihull Rankings in the 2005 Transat Jacques Vabre
1-Banque Populaire (Pascal Bidégorry and Lionel Lemonchois) in 14 days 1 hour 46 minutes 29 seconds, at an average speed of 15.37 knots.
2-Gitana 11 (Frédéric Le Peutrec and Yann Guichard) in 14 days 4 hours 50 minutes 15 seconds at an average speed of 15,23 knots, 3 hours 3 minutes 46 seconds from the leader
3-Géant (Michel Desjoyeaux and Hugues Destremau) in 14 days 5 hours 27 minutes 44 secondes at an average speed of 15.20 knots, 3 hours 41 minutes 15 seconds from the leader
4-Gitana X (Thierry Duprey du Vorsent and Erwan Le Roux) in 17 days 11 hours 6 minutes 33 seconds at an average speed of 12.38 knots, 3 days 9 hours 20 minutes 04 seconds after the leader
Over the next few position reports, it is likely that ABN AMRO ONE’s lead will be reduced as, after the rounding point of Ilha de Fernando de Noronha, the mark that they will next be measured to becomes the finish line in Cape Town.
Mike Sanderson (ABN AMRO ONE) is digging south now because the south Atlantic high sits right in his path to Cape Town, but how much to pay to the south is the question? The boats that paid the most to go west in the first half of this leg got paid back with interest. Will it be the case of he who digs the furthest south makes the biggest gains? Only time will tell.
“The game we’re playing at the moment is sticking to the safe route, heading south and basically eating up the miles so that as every six hours ticks by we receive weather information that takes us further and further across to Cape Town,” Sanderson explained today.
The chasing pack are pushing southwards in 12 knots of breeze, and only 7 nm separates Ericsson (Neal McDonald) in second place from fourth, Brasil 1 (Torben Grael) in fourth, with ABN AMRO TWO sandwiched between them.
Still becalmed in the doldrums, Sunergy and Friends (Grant Dalton) are surrounded by towering clouds and heavy rain storms.
US SAILING, national governing body for the sport, has announced that on-line registration for the 2006 US SAILING Rolex Miami OCR is now open. A mainstay on the winter circuit for Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls, the 17th Annual US SAILING Rolex Miami OCR is expected to bring together hundreds of sailors from about 30 countries to Biscayne Bay from January 22-27, 2006. Registration information and other regatta and Winter Circuit information can be located at www.ussailing.com/Olympics/RolexMiamiOCR
The event, ranked as Grade 1 by the International Sailing Federation (ISAF), is a mandatory event for the 2006 US Sailing Teams as well as the Canadian Team; a country qualifier event for the 2007 Pan American Games; and one of the first Grade 1 events for the new Neil Pryde RS:X board. Competitors will also enjoy exciting racing, improved facilities, and new race formats with on-the-water judging in the finals.
The competition will be raced in all classes selected for the next Olympic Games: 49er, 470 (Men & Women), Finn, Laser, Laser Radial, Neil Pryde RS:X (Men & Women), Star, Tornado, and Yngling. Racing will also be held for the 2.4mR and Sonar, two of the three events selected for the 2008 Paralympic Games. ISAF recently announced that the UD-18 will be the third and new Paralympic class, but because the equipment is currently not widely available, it will not be used in the 2006 Rolex Miami OCR.
On-Line Registration
On-line registration is now open for competitors and coaches at www.ussailing.com/Olympics/RolexMiamiOCR. Early registration is recommended and encouraged by discounted fees for entries received by January 16, 2006. Registrations received after January 16, 2006 will be subject to late fees.
New Winter Circuit
To ensure sailors can maximize their time in Florida training, US SAILING has teamed up with several U.S. and North American Class Associations to create a new Winter Circuit for Olympic and Paralympic class sailors in the Biscayne Bay area. Thus far, more than twenty regattas and training camps in various classes complementing the Rolex Miami OCR have been scheduled to date, with more to come. Visit the US SAILING Rolex Miami OCR website for details on each event, www.ussailing.com/Olympics/RolexMiamiOCR.
This morning brought a definite smile to the faces of the fourth placed ABN AMRO TWO (Sebastien Josse) crew as Ericsson (Neal McDonald) popped over the horizon. They have been reeling them in ever since. Until tonight, that is.
“It is impressive after so many days at sea that we still have such a close race on our hands. It has certainly lifted our spirits a little, having hauled in Ericsson. The next step it somehow to get past. And stay in front,” writes navigator, Simon Fisher.
Tomorrow is the day set for leaders, ABN AMRO ONE (Mike Sanderson) to turn the corner and set up for the fast run in to Cape Town, and, if they have selected the right place to make the turn, then what a ride it will be.
The positions at 1600 GMT today showed ABN AMRO TWO in third place, but by tonight, Ericsson had fought back to overtake her. Brasil 1 (Torben Grael) is in a solid second position, 42 nautical miles behind, but sailing an easterly course which will put her in a good position once she makes the turn for Cape Town. Her 24 hour run has been 359 nm, against ABN AMRO ONE’s 332 nm, while ABN AMRO TWO sailed the furthest at 353.
Sunergy and Friends have managed a miserly 250nm, but at least the crew was able to have a fresh water wash from rain coursing down the mainsail. Navigator, Campbell Field, reported that three of the crew now smell very nice, but the others are not so good. The large turtle that overtook them a day or so ago has turned out to be a very rare Leatherback turtle of which there are less than 1500 left on this planet. Campbell says that if it overtakes them again, he will take a photograph this time.
Mare Verticale, skippered by Joe Seeten and the Italian Cecilia Carreri, arrived in 9th position in the IMOCA Open 60 Monohull fleet at 06:16:08 GMT in the middle of the night here in Brazil. They have completed the course in 17 days, 16 hours, 16 minutes and 8 seconds with an average boat speed on the direct route of 10.23 knots, arriving 4 days, 6 hours, 57 minutes and 6 seconds after Virbac-Paprec.
Two more Open 60 monohulls are still racing at sea with under two days left to go: Maisonneuve-Région Basse Normandie, skippered by Jean-Baptiste Dejeanty and Alexandre Toulorge, and the only Brazilian entry, Galileo, skippered by Walter Antunes and Raphaël Coldefy. These two Open 60’s are in company with the leading 3 Open 50 monohulls, as leader Gryphon Solo, skippered by Joe Harris and Josh Hall, is just 7 miles behind the 10th Open 60, with under 300 miles to run. Artforms (Stone / Harris) and Vedettes de Bréhat (De Broc / S. Escoffier) are separated by 32 miles, roughly 30 miles ahead of Galileo, as they sail to the East of Fernando de Noronha Island aligned on the same route now on a drag race to the finish under 600m to go.
This race has highlighted several duels in the various fleets, Virbac-Paprec and Sill et Veolia most notably, also Ecover and Skandia, Gitana 11 and Géant, UUDS and Roxy, where the finish times after over 4,400 miles of ocean have been separated by less than 30 minutes. The passion put into racing from the skippers still out there is no less, as another two pairs of boats are in the final days of their oceanic match race.
Firstly, the Anglo-American duo of Kip Stone and Merf Owen, having made the biggest comeback in the whole fleet after their pitstop in Lorient, to now be in 2nd place 256m behind Gryphon Solo, are engaged in the most exciting battle for the podium spots with the French skippers Servane Escoffier and Bertrand de Broc on Vedettes de Bréhat. The 3rd placed French boat is positioned slightly to the East and benefiting from a better sailing angle, whereas Kip and Merf are certainly on a faster and newer Open 50 monohull. But the playing field levels after thousands of miles of ocean-racing, with the wear and tear and physical fatigue taking its toll, and when your sail wardrobe is somewhat lacking, as Kip explained in his log today:
“Now it's a 660 nautical mile reach/run down the coast to Salvador where we'll get the chance to see how well we're able to hold on with our reduced headsail options. We're able to sail high and we're able to sail low, but without our Code 5 reacher, we're forced to improvise our way through the middle. With the wind forecast to back as we make our way down the coast, this race within a race may hinge entirely on how quickly the wind swings around and for how long we're caught in the transition. Either way, it's a thrill for Merf and me just to find ourselves in the thick of it so close to the end, hardly imaginable when we cast off from Lorient two weeks ago. So, we're enjoying every moment of this ride and we're doing everything in our power to make it very difficult for them to slip by.”
Bertrand de Broc (Vedettes de Bréhat), on the other hand, aired his concerns about still being able to catch up with Artforms before the finish: “This morning, we both passed to the East of Fernando de Noronha. Artforms passed 20 miles ahead of us. The wind backed over night, and at this sailing angle, they are faster than us. It’ll be hard to catch them, we’d like a bit more Easterly direction in the wind, above 90 degrees. Hope keeps us motivated! We want to be able to set the small gennaker. We’re doing everything possible on board, but not over-doing it as we don’t have much ground to gain, and we don’t want any breakages right now. The breeze is forecast to soften. With the speeds we have been clocking, we should be 200 miles ahead of ourselves but we have made some routing errors and hadn’t sailed much together before the start. We hope to finish by the end of Friday, as long as the wind doesn’t shift to the south much more.”
Still in the Northern Hemisphere and stuck in the Doldrums between 3-4 degrees North are the next pair of boats in the Open 50 Monohull class, Top 50 Guadeloupe and Polarity Solo, skippered by Paul Metcalf and Ryan Finn, only 25 miles apart with 700m to go. Their respective boat speeds are starting to tick over 7 knots as they both near the Equator and nose into the new breeze. Speaking to the Anglo-American team on the satellite phone today, Paul did remark that their boat speed had been constant for the last hour, which was a hopeful sign, but night time may land them back in squall city. Ryan has his own ‘game’ to play in this sticky patch of unpredictable weather between the two hemispheres: “Well, I call it Squall Ball, we play this game in the Gulf of New Mexico, where the conditions can be pretty similar. On a boat out there, you’re like a pin ball bouncing off the squalls that come in. It’s pretty chaotic, they sneak up on you, 35 knots under a cloud, we’ve seen quite a few here and seem to have been in this for a couple of days. I was hoping we would be through higher up like the guys ahead.”
Leaders Harris and Hall on the red rocket, Gryphon Solo, have under 300m to go and should be arriving from Thursday afternoon local time, in good time for the American Thanksgiving, but I have a feeling it’ll be rum cocktails and Champagne Mumm on the menu tomorrow night!
The last 60ft trimaran, Gitana X, is due to arrive tonight into Bahia.
In the Volvo Ocean Race, the drag race south is in top gear today with Ericsson (Neal McDonald), ABN AMRO TWO (Sebastien Josse) and Brasil 1 (Torben Grael) chasing ABN AMRO ONE (Mike Sanderson) who, at present, are still pulling away. But will they hit a brick wall, as the projected weather data shows there is a patch of light fickle breeze ahead of them. This may cause a concertinaing effect in the fleet before they make the left hand turn to Cape Town dodging below the St. Helena high (South Atlantic High).
The fleet is currently reaching down south on starboard tack, pushing out every last decimal of boat speed possible. The extra few hundred miles they are sailing gives the navigators a bit of breathing space in which to make the important decision – when to turn east for the final dash to the finish in Cape Town.
It also allows the crews to tickle up the temporary repairs they made in the first few days of racing. ABN AMRO TWO’s navigator Si Fi (Simon Fisher) explained what life aboard is like at the moment.
“Fortunately everyone's wet stuff has now dried out and been put away as the boat was starting to resemble a Chinese laundry with underwear, t-shirts and socks hanging everywhere!”
On the Volvo Ocean Race no one gets away from doing menial tasks onboard and Moose (Mike Sanderson), the skipper of ABN AMRO ONE, is no exception. He revealed that yesterday was his first day on galley duty, which is one of life’s “hateful jobs”.
“Galley duty involves, hot washing all the four plates, spoons and mugs and cleaning out “the Pot”. With reference to our meals on board, it is quite simply a matter of putting two pre-prepared bags into the now clean pot, boiling two kettles of fresh water and pouring them onto this dried powder and stirring for a while.”
“Then the most important part comes… you put the lid on it, tap it three times and say…” I want this to be beef stroganoff” or whatever it said on the packet. This part is really important, as if you don’t prepare your mind for what it is supposed to be then it would have absolutely no idea….., I wish you could have all seen Gordon Ramsey, the famous Chef, spit our glorious food out when he got to sample it a few weeks ago.”
Life onboard Ericsson has also been easier of late with the breeze making work and sleep onboard bearable but has failed to remove the smell of old socks, Neal McDonald said this morning. They can currently see ABN AMRO TWO to leeward and Brasil 1 is just out of sight to weather. Before the start Neal thought that it would be unlikely that the boats would be this close but he is very pleased how it has turned out, as it’s more exciting and tense racing for them all.
Overnight Brasil 1 has been heading more easterly than the rest of the fleet and has made up on Ericsson, who, with ABN AMRO TWO, are still on a strictly south course. The scoreboard is showing ABN AMRO ONE’S lead diminishing, but this figure is deceptive as it’s based on the projected course the boats should be sailing to Cape Town and not the actual path they will be following south of the St Helena High. ABN AMRO ONE is in fact 163 nautical miles in front of the others based on the straight line distance between them and the following pack on their course south.
Finally, the cheery boys on Sunergy and Friends (Grant Wharington) have had lots excitement to fill their days in the doldrums, with the first operation of the race. Barney (Ian Walker) unfortunately announced he had a small carbon splinter stuck in his foot and, after eight very enthusiastic offers to remove it, he settled on Fraser Brown’s medical expertise.
Disappointingly, it turned out that the splinter was only 0.5 mm long, leaving the crew to refocus their attention on their own medical issues, which include rashes and chafe, which is very common in the warm, moist weather you experience in this region.
So, just when they thought they had seen the last of the never ending light winds and storm clouds and were about to pick up the highway south to the equator and scoring gate, a crew member tempted fate recalls Campbell Field today.
“Yesterday GT (Graeme Taylor) quite inappropriately stood up and proclaimed: 'that was the doldrums, we are off now, into the trades in a few hours'. Nine heads fell into blistered and sore hands, a collective sigh was expelled boy, here we go!”
Obviously after this statement every massive black cloud and wind hole to be found has been dogging Sunergy and Friends for another 24 hours but things should be looking up in the next few hours and King Neptune is plotting for their soon arrival.
The next few hours are going to be difficult for ABN AMRO ONE (Mike Sanderson), the current leaders of leg one of the Volvo Ocean Race, as they continue their drive south in search of the strong westerlies. They are now sailing towards a light wind band, which will slow them down, allowing the chasing pack to close the margin considerably. ABN AMRO ONE is approximately 320 nautical miles off the coast of Brazil, 652 nm north of Rio De Janeiro which features as a stopover port later in the race.
Now only 49 nm behind ABN ARMO ONE and closing quickly is Brasil 1 (Torben Grael), who has reduced the deficit to just 49 nm and achieving a higher 24-hour run (329nm) than ABN AMRO ONE (322) and sailing faster. Grael has kept his easterly position approximately 40 nm east ABN AMRO TWO (Sebastien Josse) and Ericsson (Neal McDonald) who is sandwiched between them. Sunergy and Friends (Grant Wharington) has gained 14 nm in the last six hours, but are now out of touch with the rest of the fleet.
Will ABN AMRO ONE run into a brick wall, allowing the rest of the fleet to concertina together? The pattern will emerge throughout today.
As ABN AMRO ONE (Mike Sanderson) continues to steal a march on the chasing pack in the charge south, the race for second place is as tight as ever.
At 0400 GMT this morning, Brasil 1 (Torben Grael) slipped past Ericsson (Neal McDonald) to take up second position, and was just two nautical miles ahead of Ericsson, with ABN AMRO TWO (Sebastien Josse) in fourth, just eight nm behind.
ABN AMRO ONE has now reached the half way stage in this 6,400 nm leg to Cape Town and is driving relentlessly south in search of the stronger westerly winds that flow over the far southern reaches of the Atlantic Ocean. She is now 236 nm off the Brazilian coast, 300 north east of Salvador.
At 1000 GMT this morning, Brasil 1, the most easterly of the bunch by 18 nm, and Ericsson, in the middle of the pack east to west, continue to fight it out. Brasil 1 has increased her margin to five nm, although Ericsson has the edge on speed. ABN AMRO has slipped slightly, but her speed is the same as Ericsson and she is the most westerly of the trio.
Sunergy and Friends has started to move again after very frustrating 24 hours when they were only able to achieve 122 nautical miles at an average speed of 5.1 knots.
Time at sea notoriously makes people do slightly strange things. For ABN AMRO ONE skipper Mike Sanderson the pressure of the last few months seems to have manifested itself in singing songs as they round the Ille de Fernando de Noronha, off the coast of Brazil – ABBA’s classic ‘Fernando’ seems to have been the song of choice as the team clock 3.5 points, rounding the first scoring gate in the Volvo Ocean Race.
For Mike, it was an important moment in the Volvo Ocean Race. After a disappointing in port race the pressure was really on for the team to show they had indeed created a boat capable of winning the Volvo Ocean Race. It is still too early to say whether this is the case or not but by rounding the scoring gate in first place the team have shown that the boat has power in the right conditions.
Mike’s singing appears to have subsided and he and his team have turned to what lies ahead. They are well aware that they have a long way to go to Cape Town and despite having a relatively easy passage through the doldrums the South Atlantic has many tactical pitfalls to navigate. Mike explains “The weather info that we receive as a fleet from Volvo only goes out five days, so that's not long enough for us to be able to route our way across the Southern Atlantic. So the game we are playing at the moment is sticking to the safe route and heading South. We are basically just eating up miles so that as every six hours ticks by we receive weather info that takes us further and further across to Cape Town. Over the next few scheds you will see our lead come down a lot - this is for two reasons; firstly because after Fernando, the mark that we are measured to becomes Cape Town and because of the Big South Atlantic High that sits pretty much exactly in the way you will see the fleet digging some distance to the South. But how much do you play to the South is the big question, the boats that paid the most to go West in the first half of this leg got paid back with interest, will it be the case of he who digs the furthest South makes the biggest gains here? Time will tell.”
Spirits on board ABN AMRO ONE are high as they set their sights on Cape Town, meanwhile behind them their younger ‘brothers’ on ABN AMRO TWO are having a slightly different battle. Although the points for second, third and fourth places have now recently been decided around the scoring gate at Fernando (where ABN AMRO TWO passed in fourth place) the separation between the three boats remains tiny with Ericsson 4 miles ahead at 16.00GMT this afternoon and Brasil 1 just 3 miles ahead. “We sailed around the island with Brasil 1 just ten minutes ahead, if that,” continued Fisher. “So it is all close racing. We can still see Ericsson up in front so we are back to the job of catching them again. We’ve done it before, so there’s no reason why we can’t do it again.”
Ahead the forecast looks favorable for ABN AMRO TWO. “Round the island we are offshore upwind now, and it is just going to be like this plugging south for the next few days, hanging on or catching the other guys, until we get a bit further south and then the South Atlantic high will start presenting us with options and it will also be a bit more of a reach which we are definitely more comfortable with. We are looking forward to the lift and then we’ll start charging into them. And then there should be some breeze and downwind into Cape Town,” Fisher concludes.
In other words while the tight three way fight for second place is likely to continue for another 48 hours, once the wind starts to back round to north of east we can expect to see ABN AMRO TWO lurch forward and up the rankings again.
Latest positions
ABN AMRO ONE
Position: 1st
Lat: 07.07.46S
Long: 032 37.09W
Distance to finish (DTF): 3245 nautical miles
ABN AMRO TWO
Position: 4th
Lat: 04 36.22S
Long: 032 29.32W
DTF: 3332 nautical miles
Next position report: 22.00 GMT
Today we spotted land for the first time in 10 days. And then swiftly
waved it goodbye again, dropped the staysail and headed up in to the
breeze. That was our passing of Fernando de Norohna, the first of the
scoring gates in our race around the world. We were a little disappointed to end up going round in fourth place having managed to hang in there with Brasil 1 and Ericsson for so long. However, in the end they were able to convert their windward gauge into a safe forward position and we ended up locked safely behind with the two boats in our sights. It is now just a case of chasing hard and slowly grinding them down once more. With over three thousand more miles to go the race is still very much on!
For some the sight of the Island was a reminder of what people miss on the shore, for some people it was a nice cold can of Coke, and with sighting of a nice long sandy beach a few of us started to talk about going for a surf. The thing I am really starting to miss now though is variety. I just caught myself rummaging through the day bag looking for something that would satisfy my appetite. However I pulled out nothing. I certainly haven't been going hungry but the monotony of the diet has definitely set in. As it turns out the most satisfying thing to have passed my lips today was an old salty piece of chewing gum found in my pocket - at least this tasted vaguely of something fruity!
On a more positive note however, we have made our transition into the
southern hemisphere. A special moment for Bicey, (Nick Bice) as it is the fast time back in his half of the world for three years. God only knows how excited he will get when Australia appears over the horizon!! All in all it was a quiet transition, King Neptune conspicuous by his absence.
For such a young crew it is surprising that we have all already crossed the equator so the spray glue and old freezed dried food were not to be seen as we went from north to south. However the crossing we made in June is still quite fresh in some people’s minds and still good to have a laugh about!!
Until Tomorrow,
Si Fi
(Simon Fisher – Navigator)
The Ericsson Racing Team has today rounded the scoring gate in second place, on Leg One of the Volvo Ocean Race 2005-06. The passing of the gate at Ilha de Fernando de Noronha, off the coast of Brazil, represents a key milestone for British Skipper Neal McDonald and his team. They pick up 3 points on the scoreboard, bringing their current total to 6.5 and retaining their position at the top of the Volvo Ocean Race leaderboard. The latest position report showed Ericsson 87 nm behind leader ABN One, and 7 miles ahead of Brasil 1 in third.
The scoring gates are an exciting new feature for this year's Volvo Ocean Race, where the fleet is able to score additional points, which count towards the overall results. Whilst ABN One maintains overall lead on Leg One, the past three days have seen Ericsson, Brasil 1 and ABN Two battle it out for second place. Some skillful navigation through the doldrums by Ericsson navigator Steve Hayles, combined with two consecutive fastest 24 hour runs, saw Ericsson sneak ahead yesterday morning.
Skipper Neal McDonald commented: "Steve [Hayles] managed to find us a very nice little gap through the doldrums, where we managed to overhaul Brasil 1 & ABN Two. It has taken us a while to find the best sail combinations, but we have a good rhythm now and we are sailing along nicely. It's warm and overcast and we are currently sailing at 14 knots in pleasant south-easterly trade winds. We have Brasil 1 in sight behind us and ABN Two approximately 3 nm behind them."
McDonald continued, "I am pretty amazed at the speed at which ABN One is going, but it's a long race and we've all got areas to focus on. The most important part of this leg is to realize our areas of weakness and use that knowledge to improve. We need to work on a couple of sails which we aren't so happy with and Jason's job list for the boat is ever growing! It's been an amazingly quick run so far, the weather has been very kind to us, but we are only halfway there."
Indeed, now the team's focus will switch to the second part of the leg. As Steve Hayles points out, his team has passed some important milestones in the passed two days. However, "once we leave the island in our wake, there's the halfway point in the leg about 200 miles later and so on and so forth until, before you know, the next milestone is the finish line in Cape Town."
Fort Worth, TX (November 21, 2005) - Sally Barkow (Nashotah, Wis.) has done it again: she has won another major Championship title, one of eight she has earned this year. This time, it's US SAILING's U.S. Women's Match Racing Championship, which she sailed with crew Debbie Capozzi (Bayport, N.Y.), Anna Tunnicliffe (Norfolk, Va.) and Lee Icyda (Newport, R.I.). Hosted by Fort Worth Boat Club, the event was raced in J/22s and sponsored by Rolex Watch U.S.A. and Dry Creek Vineyard.
The Championship was marked by trying weather conditions: race organizers had to abandon racing on Friday, the second day of the event, due to a lack of wind. On the final day, Saturday, abbreviated semi-finals (first to 2 points) and only one consolation round robin were sailed under cloudy skies with a south wind at 3-5 knots. In semi-final 1, Katy Lovell (New Orleans, La.) won the first two matches against Betsy Alison (Newport, R.I.) and Sally Barkow beat Liz Baylis (San Rafael, Calif.) in three matches to move into the final round.
In the final round, the wind began to shift way right, then way left before what little velocity they had completely shut off and the race committee was forced to sit and wait for the weather patterns to settle in. A shift to the north was predicted for the day, but unfortunately, there was too little time remaining for a complete final and petit-final round and only one match in each was sailed before the Race Committee made the decision to abandon. Barkow, who had won the first race in the finals, got to celebrate another major Championship win.
Just two months ago, Barkow won the Women's World Match Racing Championship title and climbed to third place in the International Sailing Federation's Women's World Match Race Rankings. The impressive list of Championships Barkow has won this year also includes the Yngling Women's World Championship, US SAILING's Rolex International Women's Keelboat Championship, Semaine Olympique Française in Hyères, and US SAILING's Rolex Miami OCR. A member of the 2005 US Sailing Team, Barkow is campaigning for a spot on the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team - Sailing in the Yngling class.
By winning US SAILING's U.S. Women's Match Racing Championship, Barkow has been presented with the Allegra Knapp Mertz Trophy and has qualified for a position at the Regional Finals for the International Sailing Federation's (ISAF) Nations Cup.
At 0130 GMT this morning ABN AMRO scored 3.5 points as the team passed through the first scoring gate at the Ilha de Fernando de Noronha in first position. They add this to the one point they scored in the in-port race in Sanxenxo. If they finish the leg in their current position, they will have a cumulative total of 11.5 points.
Ericsson, (Neal McDonald) is now 27 nm from the scoring gate, having gained a massive 34 nm in the last six hours. They will score three points to add to their in-port race score of 3.5. They will retain the lead overall with 12.5 points if they manage to hold off Brasil 1 (Torben Grael) and ABN AMRO TWO (Sebastien Josse), who are racing neck and neck, and finish this leg in second place.
Rather than immediately turning from the scoring gate to the southeast, and on a direct course to the finish, the crews will keep their bows pointed almost due south for several days. The plan will be to make as much southerly progress as possible in order to negotiate the more favourable downwind sailing conditions on the western periphery of the South Atlantic high. This is also known as the St Helena anticyclone after the small British Overseas Territory located in the central South Atlantic Ocean between Angola and Brazil. The centre of this high is often located near St Helena and lies directly in the path between the scoring gate and the leg finish in Cape Town.
Once far enough south, the boats will hope to pick up the stronger westerly winds associated with lows and fontal systems over the far southern reaches of the Atlantic Ocean. These westerly winds will carry them on a speedier path to Cape Town.
Current reports are indicating that the first boat might well finish in Cape Town on November 30th, although Sunergy and Friends could be up to a week behind them. They continue to make reasonable speed, but are still 964 nm adrift from the leading pack.
Banque Populaire (the old Bayer Crop-Science launched in 2002) skippered by Pascal Bidegorry and Lionel Lemonchois crossed the finish line to take victory in the ORMA Multihull 60 class at 1246 local time (15:46:29 GMT) after 14 days, 1 hour, 46 minutes and 29 seconds racing at sea at an average boat speed on the direct route of 15.37 knots (actual distance covered was 5,940m at 17.59 knots average boat speed on the water).
Obliged to tack the last few miles going somewhat slowly in the dying midday airs the blue and white multihull picked up a little more speed to finish in style across the line under the heat of the noon sun. Bizzarely, most of the population of Salvador were crowded around the marina roads, however, their heads were turned to watch the Grand Prix motor racing that is deafening the Centro Nautico Marina today where the Transat Jacques Vabre fleet are moored.
During this Transat Jacques Vabre, Pascal Bidégorry and Lionel Lemonchois clocked some breath-taking speeds with a personal best for the boat, 583 miles in 24 hours when they were careering towards the finish from Ascension Island between the two 0900 GMT position reports on 18th and 19th November at an average boat speed of 24.29 knots!
Banque Populaire has beaten the reference time for this route between Le Havre and Bahia, set by Groupama in 2001 (14 days 9 hours and 3 minutes) by 7 hours and 17 minutes. Pascal Bidegorry has had a charmed first season with his new sponsor, with two offshore victories, IB Group Challenge and now the TJV, plus two 2nd places out of 5 races in the GP circuit, and 3 wins at Vigo and Lorient. Pascal has won the ORMA Multihull World Championships with a significant advance over Gitana 11 and Géant.
In fact, Gitana 11 is still holding off Géant from usurping their 2nd place won rounding Ascension Island by just 16 miles at the last position report, both boats averaging over 20 knots boat speed in the strong SE Trades, and they are expected to arrive from 2145 GMT (1845 local time).
IMOCA 60 CLASS UPDATE
UUDS (Laurent / Massot) and Roxy (Liardet / Merron) are 89 miles apart in 7th and 8th place, currently racing past Recife and on their last 24 hours at sea in this race. UUDS is expected in from 0900 GMT Monday morning and Roxy from 1300 GMT according to the ETA’s given on current boat speed and distance to go. Galileo (Antunes / Coldefy), the Brazilian Open 60 entry closes the march 1,334m from the finish and currently enduring Doldrum conditions at 6 degrees North out to the West of the race course.
OPEN 50 CLASS 2 MONOHULL UPDATE
Gryphon Solo (Harris / Hall) has seemingly been not too held up in the Doldrums, soon to cross the Equator and feel the deliverance of the SE Trades ahead. Second placed Artforms (Stone / Owen) has slipped under the 200m barrier and lies 176m in their wake with 1064m to run. The 2nd Anglo-American team in turn are sailing at reduced speed throughout today of around 4-6 knots through the Doldrums. They positioned way out at 30 degrees West, their nearest rivals behind Vedettes de Bréhat trying to shave off some miles on the clock at 27 degrees West, but suffering much more, and slipping 55miles behind in 3rd. As the final two Open 50’s start to head into the Doldrums with 35 miles separation in the rankings, Polarity Solo (Metcalf / Finn) will hope to be better positioned over at 28 West compared to their rivals ahead Top 50 Guadeloupe quite far in the East at 25 West. As Ryan Finn commented: “The Doldrums lie ahead, the results are still up in the air, so to speak!”
Official Rankings at 14:44:00 GMT
IMOCA Open 60 Class
1. Virbac-Paprec (Dick / Peyron) arrived at 23:19:02 GMT, 18th November 2005 after 13 days, 9 hrs, 19 minutes 2 seconds racing, average btspd on water 14.32kts over actual distance sailed of 4,600m
2. Sill et Veolia (Jourdain / MacArthur) arrived at 23:54:03 GMT, 18th November 2005 after 13 days, 9 hrs, 54 minutes 3 seconds racing, 35 minutes 1 second behind winner, at an average btspd on water 14.95kts over actual distance sailed of 4,588m
3. Bonduelle (Le Cam / De Pavant) arrived at 09:29:52 GMT, 19th November 2005 after 13 days, 19 hrs, 29 minutes 52 seconds racing, 10 hrs 10mins 50 seconds behind the winner, at an average btspd on water of 14.11kts over actual distance sailed of 4,676m
4. Ecover (Golding / Wavre) arrived at 14:46:25 GMT, 19th November 2005 after 14 days, 0 hrs, 46 minutes 25 seconds racing, 15 hrs 27 mins 523 seconds behind the winner, at an average btspd on water of 13.74kts over actual distance sailed of 4,628m
5. Skandia (Thompson / Oxley) arrived at GMT, 19th November 2005 after 14 days, 1hr, 14 minutes 11 seconds racing, 15 hrs 55mins 19 seconds behind the winner, at an average btspd on water of 13.66kts over actual distance sailed of 4,605m
6. Pro-Form (Thiercelin / Drouglazet) arrived at GMT, 19th November 2005 after 14 days, 3 hrs, 5 minutes 6 seconds racing, 18 hrs 35mins 6 seconds behind the winner, at an average btspd on water of kts over actual distance sailed of 4,676m
Pstn / Boat / Lat / Long / Hdg / DTF / DTL
7 UUDS 10 30.60' S 35 52.32' W 11.8 229 218.9 0.0
8 Roxy 9 06.60' S 34 42.48' W 12.5 217 308.4 89.5
9 Mare Verticale 3 25.84' S 31 45.88' W 11.8 210 709.5 490.6
10 MRBN 2 41.28' N 30 18.20' W 9.3 214 1079.1 860.2
11 Galileo 6 27.08' N 28 16.28' W 5.7 197 1334.3 1115.4
Open 50 Monohull Class 2:
Pstn / Boat / Lat / Long / Hdg / DTF / DTL
1 Gryphon Solo 1 58.64' N 29 20.56' W 8.9 222 1064.1 0.0
2 Artforms 5 30.88' N 30 12.12' W 5.7 220 1240.6 176.5
3 Vedettes de Bréhat 5 12.00' N 27 11.04' W 8.6 203 1295.5 231.4
4 Top 50 Guadeloupe 8 54.92' N 25 51.24' W 9.5 214 1529.6 465.4
5 Polarity Solo 10 45.56' N 28 45.52' W 8.0 196 1566.4 502.3
ORMA Open 60 Class 14:44:00 GMT:
Pstn / Boat / Lat / Long / Hdg / DTF / DTL
1 Banque Populaire 13 08.64' S 38 25.88' W 12.1 286 12.6 0.0
2 Gitana 11 13 46.72' S 37 23.52' W 21.5 291 83.7 71.1
3 Géant 13 42.92' S 37 02.32' W 21.2 293 99.6 87.1
Quotes from the Boats:
Monohulls:
Miranda Merron (Roxy): “We are level with Recife, and 400 miles from the finish line. Yesterday was uneventful - just fast, wet, trade wind reaching. For once, there was not one single squall, which made a pleasant change. There are a number of chores and rituals to get through today, not least an attempt at getting presentable. There are NO amenities on board beyond a camping gas stove for cooking, a small salt water tap, and two buckets. If you sit in the aft-most compartment, you can reach out through where the rudders are, and scoop water, so will be spending some time there later trying to turn dreadlocked plait back into normal hair. Tonight we will have to be extra vigilant as there are often small unlit fishing boats near the coast, and the moon won't rise until several hours after dark.”
Ryan Finn (Polarity Solo): “We now have a race within a race to make the 10 day cut-off time behind Virbac. It just keeps getting more interesting! Last night was very difficult sailing as we spent the evening at a very awkward point of sail where we were underpowered with the genoa, but overpowered with the spinnaker. There is no sail to fill that slot so we sailed slowly with the genoa at a higher angle and then set the spinnaker this morning to get back on course. It roughly a 35 degree split between the two sails in this light air. I knew we were giving miles away to Top 50, but there is not much to do about it. Still it makes my stomach ache to think about. The Doldrums lay ahead, so the results are still up in the air, so to speak.”
Pro-Form Press Conference:
Eric Drouglazet : “Several times the boat just accelerated full throttle down a wave, I shouted at Marc to tie me to the winch, with two turns, and I helmed like that, that’s how full on it was. We took off at 25 knots boat speed, both rudders clean out of the water, we were sailing downwind with 50 degrees of tilt! Upwind with the mast leaning across the water, you have to imagine it, then you begin to say to yourself, we’re really sailing on the edge! We just raced all out the whole way, with as much sail area up as possible, a bit like sailing the Figaro.”
Marc Thiercelin : “Skandia is a newer boat, only 4 years old, whereas Pro-Form is 9, that’s quite a difference in age, but we were happy that we had a great duel with them.”
Eric Drouglazet : “In 5 years, the evolution of these boats is huge, but we held our own all the same…With 400 miles to go, we had Skandia to leeward, we were in control, but in pure boat speed, we couldn’t do any better. Marc and I work well together, he knows his boat by heart, what and how to fix everything. He just plies me with coffee and I keep steering, I supply him with sandwiches and he repairs everything from A Z!”
As the team onboard ABN AMRO ONE approached the equator, they received a letter:
“Dear team members of ABN AMRO ONE, I know that most of you went through my gates several times. Once again I wish you a warm welcome. Sorry not to be with you, I have to prepare the ceremony for one of your colleagues few miles behind. I am confident that you will run the ceremony for Robert Greenhalgh and his first crossing of the equator according to the tradition and to the rules.
For this purpose I name Young Kiwi Dave ( David Endean - busted leg): minister 1; I name Irish Justin (Slattery - Lord of the foredeck): minister 2; I name Kiwi Moose (Mike Sanderson - Lord of the Maori hook): minister 3; I name Tony Big T (Tony Mutter - steering pedestal tester) Lord of the sawing machine: minister 4; I name Crusty (Mark Christensen Lord of the broken bodies) minister 5; I name Sidney (Gavignet) - the marvelous Lord of nowhere): minister 6; I name Kiwi Brad (Jackson - Skunk Lord of the ugly smells): minister 7; I name Jan (Dekker - shark tooth) Lord of Cape Town: minister 8 and Stan.....The Man (Stan Honey): minister 9.
Please proceed.
Yours sincerely King Neptune”
So the team proceeded. We have not had a report as to the fate of Rob Greenhalgh, but they crossed the equator and now have 130 nm to the first scoring gate on the course at Fernando de Noronha, off the Brazilian coast.
ABN AMRO TWO, who was overtaken by Ericsson (Neal McDonald) this morning, and Brasil 1 this afternoon, are regretting tempting fate yesterday when navigator Simon Fisher said, “Our efforts were finally rewarded yesterday evening when we managed to finally get past Brasil 1 (Torben Grael) and into the second place spot.” Fisher wrote today, “When I said I didn’t want to tempt fate with the doldrums yesterday, it turns out that was exactly what I did! In the early hours of the morning we were overtaken by a particularly nasty squall, which meant plenty of sail changes in rough conditions. A lot water over the boat, the whole crew soaking wet and then… complete calm.” Ericsson is now only 10 nm from the equator.
Having had excellent luck with a quick path through the doldrums, the leading pack of four have successfully entered the southeast trade winds blowing across the equator from the southern hemisphere. After several days of fast reaching north of the doldrums, the wind angles are now tighter as the boats negotiate their way toward the first scoring gate. Wind speeds have recovered from a remarkably healthy 10-12 knots in the doldrums to 15-18 knots in the southeast trades.
Relatively even and steady conditions are expected across the fleet for the next 24 hours. This will leave few opportunities for the ABN AMRO TWO, Brasil 1 or Ericsson to close the gap with the leader. In fact, as the boats make further progress toward the south, the winds will start to back left, opening the wind angle to a reaching mode – the mode with which ABN AMRO ONE has shown formidable strength. With wind speeds holding mainly a moderate strength, ABN AMRO ONE may very well start to widen its lead once further.
Sunergy and Friends is north of the doldrums and tooling along in 15 knots of northeast trade wind. Unfortunately, their path through the doldrums does not look to be as easy as the first four boats experienced. Some squalls and thunderstorms have developed and now separate the northeast trade winds from the southeast trade winds. Sunergy and Friends will have to negotiate these squalls with strong wind gusts followed by frustrating lulls, before they will be rewarded with the southeast trades and the first hints of the southern hemisphere weather.
Keehi Lagoon, Honolulu, HI Beautiful weather again today (over 80 degrees) but considerably lighter air (3-8 knots). Wind-Leeward courses starting at 10:30am finished the series (total sixteen races in each division) by shortly after 2pm. Andrew Campbell (Georgetown 06) sailed consistently to retain his lead in the Men's Championship to win his third Glen Foster Trophy for the Singled-Handed Collegiate Men's Championship (won in his Freshman, Junior and Senior Years). Andrew is the first person to win this event three times.
In the Women's event Yale Senior Molly Carapiet had a solid day to pass Friday's fleet leader Paige Railey (Freshman South Florida) to win the Jane Ludtz Trophy for the Collegiate Single-handed Women's Championship.
No protests were filed throughout the event.
College Sailing offers a big thanks to Andy Johnson and the UH Sailing Team; Vanguard Sailboats; Jury Members Joe Cochran, John Myrdal, Mike Pinckney & Graham Woodworth; Race Committe Guy Flemming, Scott Melander & Jesse Andrews; the UH Athletic Department and Honolulu Community College Marine Center Staff for making this event possible.
Tonight there will be a banquet and awards ceremony over looking Waikiki Beach and the Pacific Ocean at the Elks Club Lodge.
ATLANTIC OCEAN-- After yesterday's frustration when Simon Fisher confessed to confusion on why ABN AMRO TWO was not making the same progress as her sister boat, ABN AMRO ONE, things finally slipped into place for the young crew today. In the last report ABN AMRO TWO has not only taken second place moving away from Brazil 1 but has also posted the fasted and longest 24 hour run of the fleet.
Speaking from the boat, Navigator, Simon Fisher said, "It has been another great 24 hours aboard ABN AMRO TWO. Our efforts were finally rewarded yesterday evening when we managed to finally get past Brazil 1 and into the second place spot. However I am sure that holding this place will be as hard as or harder to keep than it was to gain in the first place so there is no time for relaxing."
Holding second place was not the only concern for Simon as ABN AMRO TWO, which has not performed too well in light winds to date, entered the Doldrums. "So far we have got off lightly", said Simon, "but we are by no means in the clear yet. I write this with some amount of trepidation as I don't really want to tempt fate but we have sustained good winds all the way to four degrees north now so there is only a few hundred more miles to go. Even the thunderstorms have been kind to us rather than the frustrating wind zapping clouds we had a few days ago. These big black clouds have had plenty of wind and lots of rain in them."
“It hasn’t been too bad,” added Watch Captain, Nick Bice. “We’ve had easterly breeze the whole way so far between 15-18 knots. We’ve just been dodging a few thunder clouds. A few are starting to develop and when they develop, they develop very quickly so you’ve got to have your wits about you.” The thunder clouds that bring with them the squalls, come in two flavours. “We try and work out whether they are blowing or sucking - whether they are going to take all the wind away or whether we are going to get some wind in front of it,” explains Bice. “Generally you get some wind in front of the cloud. Fortunately we have been lucky enough to be in front of every cloud so far and escaped around the side of it as opposed to getting stuck in the middle.”
However, as the temperature rises life on board has become less pleasant for the crew. "Sleeping is hard as it is so damn hot. With black walls everywhere and regular spray over the deck the interior is becoming like a sauna. I've had to abandon my bunk in favour of my rather more uncomfortable navigation seat. Sleeping is slightly easier as there's a little more air there. Still we cannot complain", he continued, "life is good and it's only 500 miles now to the first of the scoring gates. If we can mantain our position until then we'll be in good shape!!"
Latest positions
ABN AMRO ONE
Position: 1st
Lat: 04 28.01N
Long: 30 03.40W
Distance to finish (DTF): 3878 nautical miles
ABN AMRO TWO
Position: 2nd
Lat: 05 49.43N
Long: 30 14.12W
DTF: 3955 nautical miles
Next position report: 22.00 GMT
The leading pack in leg one of the Volvo Ocean Race is now in the doldrums, and although they are having an easy ride, it is hot, hot, hot onboard. The black carbon fibre hulls of the Volvo 70s are making sleeping impossible. With black walls everywhere and regular spray over the deck, the interior is now rather like a sauna. Some boats have opted to use small fans, but Simon Fisher, navigator on ABN AMRO TWO (Sebastien Josse), currently in second position, says he’s sleeping in the nav station just because there is little more airflow.
The stifling conditions, punctuated by dramatic rain clouds, have meant that at least everyone has been able to enjoy a fresh water shower. These are only short lived as it is only a matter of minutes before a wave comes rolling back from the bow and soaking the crew in salt water again.
Adrienne Cahalan, navigator on Brasil 1 (Torben Grael), still in third place, wrote today, “We are now at 6N and so far have passed easily through the ITCZ (inter tropical convergence zone known as the doldrums). We watched ABN AMRO ONE ahead barely skip a beat through and so with that and the satellite pictures; we hope that the last few degrees will not be too painful passing this notorious normal area of calms.”
This afternoon, all boats in the racing fleet have been chipping away at ABN AMRO ONE’s lead, but her nearest rival, ABN AMRO TWO, is still 66 nm behind her. Brasil 1 is 80nm behind and Ericsson (Neal McDonald) in fourth, is 89nm behind. Sunergy and Friends are still making reasonable speed but are now 982 nm behind ABN AMRO ONE, as they get to grips with their new racing machine.
“It is has been another great 24 hours onboard ABN AMRO TWO,” writes navigator Simon Fisher. “Our efforts were finally rewarded yesterday evening when we managed to get past Brasil 1 and into second place spot. However, I am sure that holding this place will be as hard, or harder, to keep than it was to gain in the first place so there is no relaxing,”
Thoughts onboard have been turning to the imminent crossing of the equator and the ceremonies planned for those onboard who have not crossed it before. Onboard Brasil 1, everyone has, allegedly, done so, therefore there is no need for a special ceremony. Not to be out done, the crew has suggested that they should have at least some kind of ceremony for the only girl onboard. Adrienne is not in favour of this. Can you blame her?
Now back in Denmark, the skipper of the damaged movistar, Bouwe Bekking has had time to reflect. He says the reality has finally hit him hard. In an extract from his message today, he writes, “Our navigator was monitoring the wind speed and wind direction continuously and passing on the optimum course to sail. The watch captains were making the right sail calls, and the bowman was executing perfect sail changes in difficult conditions. The helmsman was driving fast, but controlled, and the trimmers were adjusting the sails all the time. Just routine sailing, running our normal watch system. I realise these area my boys, THE BEST TEAM I HAVE EVER SAILED WITH.”
CLASS 2 OPEN 50 MULTIHULL FLEET
The Father-son pair Franck-Yves and Kevin Escoffier onboard their 2005 Van Peteghem / Prévost Open 50 multihull crossed the finish line of the 2005 Transat Jacques Vabre first in the whole fleet and winner of the Multihull Open 50 class at 20:13:59 GMT (17:13:59 local time) gliding along on one hull at 13 knots on starboard tack in the golden sunset light off Salvador followed by a flurry of spectator boats in their wake. They have also set the reference time for the Multihull Class 2 division of 12 days, 6hrs as only Mollymawk in 2003 has completed the race but in 27 days 15 hrs 58 minutes and outside the rankings...read on for the stats ...
Franck-Yves Escoffier spoke about his pride at being the first across the line ahead of both Open 60 classes: “I announced at the start that this is the boat’s first transat, and it was built to attract people to race in this class. It’s a fun boat, beautiful to look at, and at an affordable price…our aim was to show off the boat, show it can go quickly, hopefully keep up with the Open 60’s, and now our dream is coming true!”
The new Open 50 trimaran Crêpes Whaou !, launched this year in April 2005 has proven her winning potential on her maiden transatlantic race. This Mark van Peteghem and Vincent Lauriot Prévost design is the first boat built according to the new rules for the 50ft class brought out last winter. These regulations include a certain number of constraints, including the number of appendages (4 max), no bow sprit, no swing masts allowed and certain construction materials. With only one damage on the mainsail track, which meant that the boat had to be sailed with one reef in the mainsail for several days after the Canaries. The other problem outside their control was the collision with a mammal at the Cape Verde Islands which resulted in a small leak through a crack in the daggerboard casing. Amazingly, the second Open 50 multihull, Gifi (Demachy / Langlois) is 1,800m behind off the Cape Verdes.
IMOCA 60 CLASS PODIUM COMPLETE
The race record for the Transat Jacques Vabre was destroyed by 3 days and 4 hours last night when French skippers Jean-Pierre Dick and Loick Peyron on Virbac-Paprec crossed the finish line at 20:19:02 local time (23:19:02 GMT) as victors of the IMOCA Open 60 class after 13 days, 9 hours, 19 minutes and 2 seconds at sea. After the final polling at 1900 GMT showed Virbac-Paprec to be holding the smallest of leads at 8.7m ahead of Sill et Veolia, the gybing battle to the finish in pitch black Brazilian night left everyone guessing whose masthead lights would appear out of the darkness in All Saints Bay first. The blue and white hull was lit up as she creened along on starboard tack at a fair rate to take a well-deserved victory by the smallest of margins ever recorded in the history of this race just 6 miles!
This is the second consecutive victory in the Transat Jacques Vabre for the Farr Open 60 skippered by Jean-Pierre Dick, after he won the 2003 edition, with co-skipper Nicolas Abiven. This time, they were the first boat also to rip apart the record set by Roland Jourdain and Gael Le Cleac’h on Sill Plain Fruit in 2001 of 16 days, 13 hours and 23 minutes.
Just 35 minutes and 1 second later it was the turn of the red hulled Lombard design, Sill et Veolia, to appear out of the night on the same trajectory in the steady inshore breeze and cross the line off the CENAB at 20:54:03 local time (23:54:03 GMT) to the sound of fireworks. These 4 skippers set a ‘Dantesque’ pace in this transat, never separating more than 32 miles during their non-stop 4,340m race on a nearly identical route for the last 2 weeks. Virbac-Paprec sailed just 12 miles more in terms of actual distance, proving that these two new generation Open 60’s from different designs are equally matched over what has been a battle for boat speed all the way from Le Havre, France.
At 06:29 in Salvador (09:29:52 GMT) the appropriately Brazilian coloured yellow and green Open 60 monohull glided across the finish line on port tack sailing close hauled at 10 knots boat speed in the bright early morning conditions to take 3rd place in the IMOCA Open 60 monohull class. Le Cam and De Pavant took 13 days, 19 hours, 29 mins and 52s, which gives them a 10 hour, 10 minute and 50 second deficit on winner Virbac-Paprec.
Quotes from the Press Conference:
Virbac-Paprec
Jean-Pierre Dick on the pontoon: “It’s been fantastic, it’s such an incredible feeling to arrive in Salvador as we did, after such a fight which turned into a pure battle for boat speed at close quarters. It’s just as good as my first victory in this amazing race, maybe it’s more satisfying this time as the standard of competition was so high and the boats so close together in performance. I’m loving my job!”
Jean-Pierre Dick: “The duel with Sill et Veolia was incredible. It was like the longest arm-wrestling competition! When you think we were never more than about 30 miles apart the whole way, it’s just mind-blowing. We had pretty similar weather routing, the course we both sailed were faultless, and so it was down to pure boat speed in the end, where we had to push the boat 100% all the way. Our strength was to never feel defeated and always to keep pushing hard. It must have been just as tough for Bilou and Ellen. Even this afternoon, they sailed an excellent course, we had the foresight to place ourselves in between them and the line, as otherwise if we’d stayed offshore we would certainly have finished second.”
Loïck Peyron : “These boats are really wet, worse than on a multihull. We have time to see the waves coming but not to avoid them. I haven’t sailed a monohull for 13 years, and I’ve found they’ve progressed enormously, in speed, in performance. If they make them less wet why not do another Vendée Globe ? My problem is that I have many things I want to do in my life. Virbac-Paprec is an extremely well balanced boat at the helm. We helmed an awful lot, these are very physical boats, very powerful, it’s been fascinating. In the gusts, the feeling of safety is undeniable compared to a multihull, there’s no comparison, not even a hint of danger, even downwind under spinnaker, we can pose on deck no problem.”
Jean-Pierre Dick on Loick Peyron: “Loïck has an extraordinary experience as an offshore sailor. Paradoxically, the thing I learned most from him in this race was about my well-being, life onboard, how to manage stress, to stay zen, to keep pushing permanently but stay calm.”
Loïck Peyron on JP Dick: “Jean-Pierre is really a one-off, he’s gone directly from racing around three buoys in a regatta to racing between three continents around the world. If he has any fault, it’s that he always wears his head torch, day as well as night, I don’t know, maybe he thinks there’ll be an eclipse of the sun! He has blinded me on several occasions!”
Jean-Pierre Dick: “Two-handed is more than just two solo sailors together, we sail the boat at 100% as if there were 5 crew on board. But on the other hand, you sleep less, but you sleep much better. I like the idea of doing more races like this, longer, just as passionate, with a great balance between the technical aspect of racing and then the pleasure of the competition. Frankly, the IMOCA class has a beautiful future ahead.”
And finally…when asked what was the technical ‘problem’ Bilou and Ellen were sure they had at one point when Sill et Veolia was able to briefly take the lead last weekend, Loick responds: “Ah, the technical problem that Bilou and Ellen thought we had…well, okay we’ll confess, it was a real nightmare, the zip got jammed on the sleeping bag and Jean-Pierre was stuck inside for hours…!!”
Sill et Veolia
Roland Jourdain : “It was a great duel, with bad weather on our side of the course. At times it was tough to be sailing at night through the storm already with a minimum of sail up and having to say to myself : okay, now we’re going to have to reduce sail below the minimum ?”
Ellen MacArthur : “It’s been two years since I’ve raced two-handed, the pace was really high, it was extremely tough sailing through those two nasty fronts at the start. It’s been exhausting, we’ve been sailing at our max the whole way and it was amazing !”
Roland Jourdain : “We really had to earn out ticket to the tropics ! Saying that, we really do have incredible boats, the number of waves that we’ve conquered, saying to each other, is this the one that’ll end our race…but the boat held on, again and again…we just flew, i twas magical sailing.”
Ellen MacArthur : “One difference in sailing monohulls is that you have a bigger range of sails to choose from unlike on a multihull, so there is definitely more work on deck changing sails as you are more limited on a multihull.”
Roland Jourdain : “In any case, these races are never the same each time you do them, I’m just happy to finish on the podium and not have to walk home with the keel under my arm. If the next Vendée Globe is going to be sailed at the same pace, it’ll be super tough ! We could sustain this pace for longer though, so maybe we have to increase the miles for a transat. I think the factors that went against us here are small…our friends ahead navigated their way rather niftily through the Doldrums, they’re a formidable pair of sailors. Perhaps it was just down to bad luck that that cloud trapped us in the Doldrums for half an hour, as after the Equator, as Virbac was the first boat into the SE Trades with a slightly better wind and sailing angle.”
Crepes Whaou!
Franck-Yves Escoffier
“For Kevin and I to win it’s a really important moment, there was quite an intense feeling for us when we crossed the line. I have three sons and I’ve always wanted to do things with them and my wife as without her we wouldn’t be here. On this Transat, we sailed the boat to 95% of her potential only in the last 4 days. We were more like at 80% and we built up to a crescendo at the end, Kevin and I aren’t pro’s, our life is spent fishing and we adore that, it’s through my job as a fisherman that I can spend all my time on the water. Don’t forget that if we hadn’t had to stop for 6 hours (3hrs 30mins for the mainsail track, 2hrs 30 mins for the daggerboard leak) we would have arrived a lot earlier! It’s a great story, the fishermen who decided to enter a yacht race…
“The Open 50 multihull, a class of the future? I’m not trying to trump the Open 60 class, as they are incredible boats without which we would never have built Crêpes Whaou ! as there are so many lessons learned from Open 60 design which we have benefited from. I’m a sailor from the old school and I wanted to take the best from the Open 60 design and avoid what I don’t like in these boats for transatlantic voyages. So, yes, the Open 50 design will have a good future, as not everyone can pass from a Figaro to an Open 60 trimaran. The moulds belong to Crêpes Whaou ! and the CDK boatyard, but they are available and were built to construct 7 or 8 boats from them. I’d like to see that happen, then there’d be a great class for competition”
MULTIHULL UPDATE: ORMA 60 FLEET
In the ORMA 60 trimaran class, Banque Populaire (Bidegorry / Lemonchois) has pulled out a 89m lead over Gitana 11 (Le Peutrec / Guichard), in turn now 62m ahead of Géant (Desjoyeaux / Destremau), all three now charging at full pelt 25 30 knots under gennaker downwind towards the finish line 475 miles away now.
OPEN 50 CLASS 2 MONOHULL UPDATE
Gryphon Solo (Harris / Hall) are hopefully starting to see the light at the end of the Doldrums tunnel and they have not sailed below 10 knots average boat speed in the last 24 hours, a deliverance of sorts for them no doubt as they now head towards the Equator, still maintaining a 234m lead over 2nd placed Artforms (Stone / Owen). Kip and Merf themselves have edged ahead by a few more miles to lie 36m in front of Vedettes de Bréhat (De Broc / S. Escoffier) as they enter the Doldrums area this weekend.
Official Rankings at 14:44:00 GMT
IMOCA Open 60 Class:
1. Virbac-Paprec (Dick / Peyron) arrived at 23:19:02 GMT, 18th November 2005 after 13 days, 9 hrs, 19 minutes 2 seconds racing, average btspd on water 14.32kts over actual distance sailed of 4,600m
2. Sill et Veolia (Jourdain / MacArthur) arrived at 23:54:03 GMT, 18th November 2005 after 13 days, 9 hrs, 54 minutes 3 seconds racing, 35 minutes 1 second behind winner, at an average btspd on water 14.95kts over actual distance sailed of 4,588m
3. Bonduelle (Le Cam / De Pavant) arrived at 09:29:52 GMT, 19th November 2005 after 13 days, 19 hrs, 29 minutes 52 seconds racing, 10 hrs 10mins 50 seconds behind the winner, at an average btspd on water of 14.11kts over actual distance sailed of 4,676m
Pstn / Boat / Lat / Long / Hdg / DTF / DTL
4 Ecover 12 56.92' S 38 07.52' W 12.9 198 26.9 0.0
5 Skandia 13 02.20' S 37 47.88' W 12.0 200 45.7 18.8
6 Pro-Form 12 41.32' S 37 37.44' W 11.6 211 59.9 33.0
7 UUDS 5 47.72' S 32 35.84' W 14.3 209 563.3 536.4
8 Roxy 3 40.44' S 30 43.20' W 15.4 217 690.1 663.2
Open 50 Monohull Class 2:
Pstn / Boat / Lat / Long / Hdg / DTF / DTL
1 Gryphon Solo 5 17.76' N 27 55.88' W 12.1 167 1280.0 0.0
2 Artforms 9 47.92' N 28 36.80' W 13.3 184 1514.4 234.4
3 Vedettes de Bréhat 9 12.32' N 25 38.84' W 13.3 199 1550.6 270.7
4 Top 50 Guadeloupe 13 00.60' N 23 50.76' W 10.0 207 1802.1 522.1
5 Polarity Solo 14 57.72' N 28 30.84' W 10.1 185 1812.3 532.3
ORMA Open 60 Class 10:52:00 GMT:
Pstn / Boat / Lat / Long / Hdg / DTF / DTL
1 Banque Populaire 12 39.20' S 30 27.60' W 13.5 223 475.3 0.0
2 Gitana 11 12 44.60' S 28 55.16' W 22.6 240 564.7 89.4
3 Géant 11 30.80' S 27 58.00' W 23.6 259 628.1 152.8
4 Gitana X 5 07.08' S 16 51.28' W 10.8 078 1693.8 1218.6
Open 50 Multihull Class 2
1. Crepes Whaou! (F-Y / K Escoffier) arrived at 20:13:59 GMT, 18th November 2005 after 13 days, 6 hrs, 13 minutes 59 seconds racing, average btspd on water 16.10kts over actual distance sailed of 4,738m
FROM ELLEN AT THE FINISH:
How do you think this race was won and lost?
Well, we really struggled after the Equator because we were behind and the way it works is like it’s a little bit like an escalator and whoever gets off the front keeps on taking more and more miles. Basically, Virbac got away and he pulled away more and more and more in better breeze all the time so we got stuck behind.
Just tell what you and Roland tried to do in the last 24hours to get back on Virbac-Paprec?
We tried to close the gap 24 hours ago and we basically said we’ve got to try everything to get back those miles, so last night after the last position report we headed quite a long way inshore and that worked brilliantly and we managed to get back down to 15 or 13 miles this morning. But that still wasn’t enough so we tried something else this afternoon and, again, that worked really, really well but not well enough and we got down to 8 miles but it wasn’t good enough.
How are you feeling now?
I think we’re pretty glad to be in but pretty frustrated to be second… We sailed a very hard race, I think we sailed a good race, we were pretty unlucky in the Doldrums and things just didn’t really go our way. But we tried everything we could to pull back what we could but sadly it wasn’t enough.
What do you think about the pace of these newer generation Open 60s?
I think the speed has been absolutely incredible. I’ve sailed 60-footers a lot but this was really something different. Sailing two-handed normally helps a little bit and you’re not too tired but certainly within the first week we were absolutely exhausted. I mean so tired that Bilou (aka Roland Jourdain) fell asleep drinking a cup of tea in front of me and just dropped the tea! It really was extraordinarily hard and it seemed that every time we tried to sleep it was another sail change but we just kept pushing and that’s what kept us up with the leaders.
Were you happy to be racing with Roland Jourdain?
It was fantastic racing with Bilou [Roland Jourdain] and to get back to the 60s…brilliant boats, they really are. They go through anything and it was great to be sailing on one again. But sailing with Bilou is very special – I very much took on this race because Bilou asked me to do this and we both got an enormous amount of pleasure doing this race together. We laughed so much and I think I’ve laughed more with Bilou in this race than over the past year! Sure we didn’t win and a little bit upset because of that but I’ve certainly got no regrets going out there and doing what we did. It was an amazing race.
Have you spoken with Jean-Pierre Dick and Loick Peyron [Virbac-Paprec crew]?
They jumped on the boat as soon as we tied up! I think they were pretty happy certainly to get in first.
A tug towing two barges ran into rough seas this afteernoon, grounding one barge, while attempting to find a safe haven.
The tug, Holly Ann, owned by Holly Marine in Chicago, was towing two empty barges from Muskegon, Mich., to Chicago when seas increased to 10-12 feet and the captain decided to head for safety. The tug lost propulsion and steering while it was making its way toward the Holland Channel. The tug and first barge drifted to the Lake Michigan contractors’ dock and tied up on the pier. The second barge hit the pier, which snapped the towline, and grounded at Holland State Beach.
There was no pollution or injuries reported and no visible damage to the barges or tug.
The Coast Guard Marine Safety Detachment in Grand Haven conducted a towing safety exam and casualty inspection and found no damage to the tug.
As soon as the seas calm, the captain of the Holly Ann plans to recover the second barge and bring both barges into Holland Channel. The cause of the casualty is under investigation.
We have at last pointed her at the barn door, and we are off. Less
cryptically, we have at long last gybed for the last time for the next few days, and are enjoying a good ride at 15 to 18 kts, at about 135 TWA, heading directly south. A long wait, made even longer while watching the folks in front enjoy 1000nm of this! This means hopefully our 6 hourly scheds will not appear to be so dire! We did discuss gybing every 6 hours to coincide with the scheds so that each 6 hourly run looked better, but that wasn't a very smart option.
Of course, Murphys law kicked into action at around gybe time, a bit like the telephone ringing just as Coronation Street has started (or for the Aussies that I am surrounded by....Neighbours or Home & Away)...this all hapened as another delightful meal was served. Well not so delightful, as we have started our rotation of the meals, and today’s evening treat was Beef with Dill. We had this 7 days ago (I think), which indicated that we have exhausted our menus diversity, and we are into repetition - no more surprises. Beef with Dill next Friday then (which I have yet to figure out, I am more used to Salmon with Dill, but hey, I'm not fussy).
So, the off-watch-going-on completed their meal and threw the dirty dishes at the galley and ran on deck. As the on-watch-coming-off sat down to tuck in, George Clooney (Jeff Scott) started calling for the stack (moving every piece of equipment that we are allowed to move to change the trim of the boat and make her go faster). A few slightly disgruntled crew, with half of the first mouthful, were caught in a dilemma: tell him to wait and suffer lower performance for a 5 to 10 minutes, or put the food down and get on with the job. Neither were opted for, and we all went for the indigestion choice...wolf it all down as fast as it could be shovelled in, then run around madly moving everything. A fair enough compromise I think...
So, we are now off - our 30 minute averaged data is boatspeed 15.08 knots, in 15.8 knots of windspeed, at 135 True Wind Angle. The stars are out, the moon not yet up. Another reason why we love coming to sea to race yachts around the ocean.
TAFN, better go on deck and contribute.
Campbell Field.
Sunergy & Friends.
One of several things that differentiates the Volvo Ocean Race from racing around the buoys is that the Volvo fleet goes out of sight of land and out at night. It also lasts eight months and not a few hours. Night sailing, particularly in the tricky conditions the leading pack area experiencing, makes it just that much harder.
According to the satellite image today, nasty squalls are moving towards the fleet in an easterly wave off Africa. Squalls are largely unpredictable and frequently occur at night when they are hardest to see. The crews have to rely on their onboard radar to track the squalls around them. While they can provide a short period of stronger winds, rapid wind shifts and sudden increases in wind speed make it hard for the sailors to take advantage of the added wind pressure. As an added complication, squalls often leave large calms to the east, something everyone wants to avoid.
For all its challenges, night sailing can also be exhilarating and beautiful. Campbell Field, navigator onboard Sunergy and Friends wrote a few moments ago, “The stars are out, the moon not yet up. Another reason why we love coming to sea to race yachts around the ocean.” This crew are particularly happy as finally they have gybed for the last time for a few days, the wind has filled in and their speed is back up.
There has been no change in the order during the last six hours. ABN AMRO TWO (Sebastien Josse) is still in second place and is still 93 miles behind leader ABN AMRO ONE (Mike Sanderson). Brasil 1 (Torben Grael) in third place and Ericsson (Neal McDonald) in fourth have both lost few miles to the leader in the last period.
The Father-son pair Franck-Yves and Kevin Escoffier onboard their 2005 Van Peteghem / Prévost Open 50 multihull crossed the finish line of the 2005 Transat Jacques Vabre first in the whole fleet and winner of the Multihull Open 50 class at 20:13:59 GMT (17:13:59 local time) gliding along on one hull at 13 knots on starboard tack in the golden sunset light off Salvador followed by a flurry of spectator boats in their wake. They have also set the reference time for the Multihull Class 2 division of 12 days, 6hrs as only Mollymawk in 2003 has completed the race but in 27 days 15 hrs 58 minutes and outside the rankings.
Franck-Yves Escoffier spoke about his pride at being the first across the line ahead of both Open 60 classes: “I announced at the start that this is the boat’s first transat, and it was built to attract people to race in this class. It’s a fun boat, beautiful to look at, and at an affordable price…our aim was to show off the boat, show it can go quickly, hopefully keep up with the Open 60’s, and now our dream is coming true!”
“For Kevin and I to win it’s a really important moment, there was quite an intense feeling for us when we crossed the line. I have three sons and I’ve always wanted to do things with them and my wife as without her we wouldn’t be here. On this Transat, we sailed the boat to 95% of her potential only in the last 4 days. We were more like at 80% and we built up to a crescendo at the end, Kevin and I aren’t pro’s, our life is spent fishing and we adore that, it’s through my job as a fisherman that I can spend all my time on the water. Don’t forget that if we hadn’t had to stop for 6 hours (3hrs 30mins for the mainsail track, 2hrs 30 mins for the daggerboard leak) we would have arrived a lot earlier! It’s a great story, the fishermen who decided to enter a yacht race…
“The Open 50 multihull, a class of the future? I’m not trying to trump the Open 60 class, as they are incredible boats without which we would never have built Crêpes Whaou ! as there are so many lessons learned from Open 60 design which we have benefited from. I’m a sailor from the old school and I wanted to take the best from the Open 60 design and avoid what I don’t like in these boats for transatlantic voyages. So, yes, the Open 50 design will have a good future, as not everyone can pass from a Figaro to an Open 60 trimaran. The moulds belong to Crêpes Whaou ! and the CDK boatyard, but they are available and were built to construct 7 or 8 boats from them. I’d like to see that happen, then there’d be a great class for competition."
The new Open 50 trimaran Crêpes Whaou !, launched this year in April 2005 has proven her winning potential on her maiden transatlantic race. This Mark van Peteghem and Vincent Lauriot Prévost design is the first boat built according to the new rules for the 50ft class brought out last winter. These regulations include a certain number of constraints, including the number of appendages (4 max), no bow sprit, no swing masts allowed and certain construction materials. With only one damage on the mainsail track, which meant that the boat had to be sailed with one reef in the mainsail for several days after the Canaries. The other problem outside their control was the collision with a mammal at the Cape Verde Islands which resulted in a small leak through a crack in the daggerboard casing. Amazingly, the second Open 50 multihull, Gifi (Demachy / Langlois) is 1,800m behind off the Cape Verdes.
After winning the Route du Rhum in Open 50 Multihull class with his old boat, Franck-Yves Escoffier and his son Kevin worked on the plans and followed the construction at CDK Composites boat yard closely.
Crepes Whaou! Race Stats
Arrival Date: Friday 18th November 2005 at 20:13:59 GMT
Elapsed time: 12 days 6 hrs 13 minutes 59 seconds
Average speed on the theoretical route, 4,340 miles: 14.75 knots
Actual distance covered on the water : 4,738 miles
Average boat speed over ground (4,738 miles) : 16.10 knots
The U.S. Coast Guard officially accepted the Coast Guard Cutter MACKINAW (WLBB-30) Wednesday.
This marked the first day the ship's crew took responsibility for the cutter, and the cutter was placed into a temporary “In-Commission Special” status. It was launched into the Menominee River at Marinette Marine Corporation April 2 and has since been undergoing outfitting and sea trials. The cutter's official commissioning is tentatively scheduled to take place at her homeport of Cheboygan, Mich., June 9, 2006.
MACKINAW is a one-of-a-kind 240-foot icebreaker and buoy tender, built at the Marinette Marine Corporation shipyard. The Coast Guard's Great Lakes Icebreaker Replacement Project, a major acquisition to replace the WW II-era CGC MACKINAW (WAGB-83), began in 2001 when the contract was awarded to Marinette Marine. MACKINAW is the 31st ship to be built for the Coast Guard by Marinette Marine.
The ship’s primary missions are: Maritime Homeland Security, Ice Breaking, Aids to Navigation, Law Enforcement, Marine Environmental Protection, and Search and Rescue.
The principal characteristics of MACKINAW are: Length: 240 ft, Beam: 58.5 ft, Draft: 16 ft, and Displacement: 3,500 Long Tons. The major equipment components aboard MACKINAW are: 3 Caterpillar 3612 diesel generator sets providing a total of 9390 KW for propulsion and ship’s service; two Azipod azimuthing propulsion units capable of combined 9,200 shaft horsepower; a bow thruster which provides 500 horsepower; in addition to one 20 Ton hydraulic 60 foot telescoping beam Appleton Crane.
The ceremony took place at 11 a.m., onboard the cutter. Richard McCreary, Vice President and General Manager of Marinette Marine Corporation, presented the cutter to Cmdr. Jim Knight, Commanding Officer of the Project Resident Office, who received the cutter on behalf of the Coast Guard. The responsibility of the cutter was then transferred to the Commanding Officer of MACKINAW, Capt. Donald Triner along with the crew of 10 officers and 46 enlisted who became the “Plankowners” of the new vessel.
MACKINAW will remain dockside in Marinette for several weeks while the crew trains aboard the cutter and outfits it with necessary equipment. Prior to departure, MACKINAW will be holding an open house as a gesture of appreciation to the residents of Marinette and Menominee for supporting all 31 Coast Guard crews. The event will be held Dec 7th from 12 to 5 pm, at the K & K Warehouse pier in Menominee, and all residents of Marinette and Menominee are invited to come and enjoy the ship.
All going well on Ericsson after a pretty fast and hard first few days. The body has taken a decent beating after being washed face first into the life raft while pumping the bilge pump.
I thought I was ok with my safety tether clipped on but the wave had
enough force to wash me back and flip me over head first into the raft. My first thought was to worry about my nose and face, this being my biggest asset, and I will need to call on my good looks for my modeling career after the Volvo is over.
After shaking it off, I found I had split by lip open, banged my nose, a lump the size of a golf ball on the side of my head and a very sore fore arm. The fore arm is giving me the most problems and is wrapped in a splint and has limited use at times.
The rest of the night I had a few more spills and have a bruise the size of my hand on my hip, where I was pushed against the reef line from a wave while running the second reef line.
These boats are something to respect as the moment you turn your back, you will find yourself getting washed back by a wave that is about chest height and coming at you as if you were in the surf on a beach in Aus.
Things have calmed down a lot since then and we are now racing along
trying to find a few extra miles here and there, and seeing what the next big cloud will bring us, the boat is al dry and we are settling into the watches and the bodies getting use to the good old freezed dryed food, which is as good as is has ever been.
Tom Braidwood
The Volvo Ocean Race 2005-06 literally started with a bang, on November 12, 2005. It was fired from the canon of the Swedish ship Gothenborg by HM King Juan Carlos of Spain and signified that the final months of waiting were over.
The Saturday before, crowds had gathered in Sanxenxo, Galicia in north-west Spain, to watch the very first in-port race, in which His Majesty took part, sailing onboard the home town boat, movistar (Bouwe Bekking). His daughter, the Infanta Dona Cristina of Spain, became an honourary pirate and sailed with Capt’n Cayard onboard the Black Pearl, and HRH Prince Carl Philip completed the royal trio, by racing with Ericsson, the final winners of the race.
Not exactly royalty, but causing a big ‘stir’, ABN AMRO ONE (Mike Sanderson) invited celebrity chef, Gordon Ramsay, to join their team for the in-port race, but their luck did not hold and they finished in sixth position. Premier Challenge (Grant Wharington) was still putting their boat back together after their dash to Spain and did not make the in-port race at all.
On a rainy day in Vigo, crowds of up to a million people lined the shores and went afloat to watch the start of the race. The final farewell was delivered in person by HM Juan Carlos and Premier Challenge found a last minute sponsor and renamed themselves Sunergy and Friends.
That night the gales set in and the crews had a baptism by fire. The young thrusters on ABN AMRO TWO (Sebastien Josse) were in pole position at 2200 that night, but the next day dreams came apart the very next day when movistar reported a sickening loud crack and a bang as one of the ram shelves collapsed. This is the structure on which the hydraulic ram, which moves the keel from side to side, is mounted. Bekking said there was no other option other than to head to Portimao in Portugal to assess the damage.
The next victim of the storm was Paul Cayard and his team of Pirates, who suffered leakage around the keel of the Black Pearl. They limped to Cascais, also in Portugal, with worried looks on their faces.
The third casualty was the newly named Sunergy and Friends, who broke the fitting which holds the boom to the mast. They made a repair which didn’t hold up and the decision was made to pitstop in Madeira to repair the damage properly.
Meanwhile back out on the race track, and in the teeth of gale, the 1000 GMT position report on day two showed ABN AMRO TWO leading from ABN AMRO ONE, Brasil 1 and Ericsson Racing team.
On day two, Mike Sanderson, skipper of ABN AMRO ONE described the event as “seriously hardcore,” after they wiped out their leeward steering wheel, the steering pedestal and the safety frame that goes around the wheel, in a massive broach and ended up fitting their emergency tiller and bailing out the back of the boat.
On day two, The Black Pearl arrived in Cascais and movistar arrived in Portimao also in Portugal, having both suspending racing. Volvo Ocean Race CEO said, “It is a blessing in disguise that these problems have happened early in the race and not in the inhospitable Southern Ocean, thousands of miles from land.” Brasil 1 took a slender lead over ABN AMRO ONE and held on to it until 0400 on day four, 16 November, when ABN AMRO stole it away from her again.
By day four, 15 November, the leading pack was now in the north east trade winds, gybing downwind. Sunergy and Friends had reached Madeira, where the boat was tied up to the dock while the crew made their repairs, returning to the race track later that day.
The air temperature rose on day five and the crews exchanged wet weather gear for shorts and t-shirts as they raced on in a dying breeze. The main decision for the fleet was where to cross the doldrums, the light wind zone which lay between them and the scoring gate of Fernando de Noronha on the Brazilian coast. On shore, His Majesty, King Juan Carlos of Spain, telephoned the movistar team with an offer of assistance, after the boat was hauled out of the water in Portimao, revealing extensive damage to the port dagger board and part of the rudder.
But on day six, 17 November, when the fleet was 274 nm north of the Cape Verde islands, the black hull of ABN AMRO ONE made her move on Brasil 1 (Torben Grael) and swept past and into the lead. Sunergy and Friends were still bringing up the rear, aiming to try something different. “We’re not going to roll the dice on this one,” wrote navigator Campbell Field, “just be aware that we have to be a little more clever.”
Today, day seven, the plan of heading south on ABN AMRO ONE has paid handsome dividends and by 1600 GMT today they led Brasil 1 by 93 nautical miles. Fellow team members on ABN AMRO TWO (Sebastien Josse) were only two nm behind, with Ericsson in fourth place, now 112 nm in arrears. Sunergy and Friends are ploughing a lonely furrow, sailing in completely different wind conditions, 933 miles behind. Paul Cayard officially retired from this leg and announced that he has decided to fly the Black Pearl to Cape Town, to make sure she is fully repaired and to give the team time to take the boat offshore for some testing prior to the next leg which takes the fleet deep into the southern ocean. Movistar (Bouwe Bekking) has not made an official decision on their future plans.
As the trade winds train take the fleet even further south, the crews are finally recuperating and starting to reveal to the world, what their lives are like onboard Volvo Open 70’s.
For Mike Sanderson (ABN AMRO ONE) and his navigator Stan Honey, the past few days have been very mentally stressful. They admitted that they drew up plans, with famous old-school navigators, Mike Quilter and Ken Campbell (shore team navigators), back in March. The plan was to head in a more westerly direction to find their infamous ‘road’ south. They waited patiently but were sure that most of their team were more than a little worried about this decision as they watched Brasil 1 (Torben Grael) and Ericsson (Neal McDonald) lead the fleet south. But it seems as though sticking to there guns has paid off and at 1600 today they are 93 nautical miles in front of their nearest rival Brasil 1(Torben Grael).
So for Mike eventually the stress has been relieved for a while and his problems seem to have lessened, “Life on board is good, the boat is now dry downstairs which is just a massive bonus, we have given ourselves for this leg four little plastic fans, and just by getting a little circulation running it seems to not only get rid of the smell of Crusty’s feet but also dry the boat out nicely.”
On ABN AMRO TWO, Si Fi (Simon Fisher) has also been fretting over his tactical decisions, as they chase down Brasil 1. Since 1000 GMT today, they have gained six miles on the second boat, proving the boys are really in the groove and his fretting has paid off. “In light of the fact that ABN ONE is so fast why haven't we passed Brasil 1 yet? Especially as we have a near identical sail inventory to ABN ONE.
“Are they using something different than we are? Or are they just that much faster? No doubt the first reason we haven't yet passed the Brazilians is because they are a team of very formidable sailors. However this isn't something we were going to accept lying down so after a quick meeting with our skipper Seb (Sebastian Josse) and our two Watch Captains Bicey (Nick Bice) and Beavis (Scott Bevis) we agreed to be a bit more experimental with our sail selection at the possible expense of a few miles.
“This has turned out to be a good gamble. Firstly I managed to finally get some sleep without the fear of being overtaken and secondly by mid morning this morning and several sail changes later, plus a very wet and slightly tired crew we are back up to a pace where we might stand some chance against the black boat! And hopefully finally pass Brasil 1...”
Steve Hayles (Ericsson) summed up the leg one or perhaps the race motto aptly today with “Work hard when you are awake and sleep hard when you are not!”
Despite Ericsson sailing team falling back to fourth they have kept up with ABN AMRO TWO throughout the past 24 hours, so as the weather is hotting up, so is life onboard. Navigator Steve Hayles gives us an insight:
Welcome to Steve’s world.
“I can hear the muffled voices of the guys on deck calling for trim changes to be made to the sails and the big mainsheet winch system which is about 6 inches from my head suddenly starts whirring. The only other sound apart from the water rushing past the hull is the whirring of the watermaker which is busy turning sea water into fresh water, something we do twice a day to make sure that we don't carry too much extra weight for any longer than necessary.
I’m off to the galley now to grab a cup of water before it all disappears; which in itself is not as easy as it sounds. I could easily get there on the leeward side but I would get a few dirty looks for being on the 'wrong side' so I am going to crawl around in the dark over the tools and wet clothing with my night vision ruined from looking at this computer screen and try not to cut myself again on the winch system or bash my head again on the bulkhead like I seem to most of the countless trips I make every night to and from the nav station.”
Not everyone seems to be affected by this hot and sticky weather; the Brazilians aboard Brasil 1 are in their element and not giving it a second thought. Even Brasil 1’s leg one special guest, Horacio Carabelli, is enjoying the ride.
“Typing in the nav station of a Volvo 70 is more a sensation of riding a derailed Sao Paulo underground train than sailing a racing yacht. These machines are one of a kind, capable of covering long distances even in light air. To be on deck during the watches is really exciting, you are never bored as in past long passage races.”
Sunergy and Friends are still enjoying life out in the Atlantic, busying themselves with a “maintenance day”. Campbell Field says, “Our bowman, the baby of the fleet 'Becksy' took a trip up the mast to swap a halyard over and check that everything was in order. A rope splicing fest was conducted downstairs and in the cockpit making spares for the days ahead in case any of our strops, sheets or halyards suffered from chafe.”
The leader board has stayed the same for the past 24 hours, which is good news for some and very bad for others. ABN AMRO ONE has maintained her great boat speed in these reaching conditions, consistently achieving a 24 hour speed of two knots more than the other yachts.
IN BRIEF:
~ 107 MILES REMAINING (1500 GMT) to the finish line off Salvador de Bahia as SILL ET VEOLIA try desperately to stay in touch with their Open 60 rivals onboard Virbac-Paprec.
~ TIME IS RAPIDLY RUNNING OUT FOR JOURDAIN AND MACARTHUR who have at times been sailing a knot faster than Dick and Peyron, but the final leg of the race course might not be long enough for them to have the time to pass.
~ NEW MONOHULL RECORD IS WITHOUT DOUBT as leaders expected later tonight [2200-0000 GMT] which will see them take over 3 days off the current record of 16d 13h 23m
~ LATEST ROUTING SHOWS SILL ET VEOLIA’S ETA as 2344 GMT tonight [note local time -2hours GMT]
FROM ONBOARD SILL ET VEOLIA VIA PHONE TODAY:
“We’re sailing downwind in steady Trade winds and just trying to get to the finish, sailing at around 13 knots in the heat. Our ETA depends on if we slow down overnight. Would be great to turn up for cocktail hour but it looks more like we’ll arrive for after dinner coffee. There could be a wind shift before the finish, we’ll be fighting right to the finish. It’s tough because we are so close but not close enough yet. Even though the forecast is for wind all the way to the finish we’ll be looking for any opportunity. Between sunset and sunrise, we don’t know yet if there will be a real drop in the breeze or not, that remains to be seen. If there was a drop in the wind and Virbac-Paprec made one bad gybe then we could sneak past… Last night we were on watch together and slept outside so we could see each other. This race has been so fast, they get faster each time these Transats, we’ll have to lengthen the course next time!”
Roland Jourdain, skipper, Sill et Veolia
IN DETAIL:
There is no time for email logs, just a few hasty words via the satellite phone for Roland [Bilou] Jourdain and Ellen MacArthur, as they funnel all their energy and focus into getting to the finish line ahead of Virbac-Paprec. That is all they have time for, little else, apart from what counts as survival – eating, re-hydrating and sleeping when they can. On day four [10.11.05] of the seventh edition of the 4,340 mile Transat Jacques Vabre race, Sill et Veolia having held the lead since the off, slipped into second and the battle with Jean-Pierre Dick and Loick Peyron on the Bruce-Farr designed Open 60 Virbac-Paprec began in earnest. On day nine [13.11.05] the Anglo-French duo pushed hard to regain the lead in the afternoon after passing the Cape Verde Islands only to lose it again that night to their adversaries. The battle has raged on with no more than 26 miles separating them since that point. And it is going to the wire, neither of these two teams giving any ground whatsoever.
It has been the speed of Virbac-Paprec in the tight-reaching conditions over the last few days that has allowed them to hold the edge as the Farr designed 60 enjoyed their perfect sailing angle and benefited from a slightly taller 27m mast. But since passing Recife yesterday night the wind rotated firstly into the east then further into the north-east, allowing Sill et Veolia to take advantage of their Lombard-designed boat that revelled in the fresh broad-reaching conditions. Jourdain and MacArthur pushed hard taking 10 miles out of the leading French duo’s lead by 0500 GMT this morning. In these broad reaching conditions that look set to continue through today with 15 knots of breeze from the north-east, Sill et Veolia will need to sail over a knot faster in the final 100-mile sprint to Brazil to stand any chance of getting passed.
But time is running out, Jourdain and MacArthur will be praying for a drop in the wind to give them more time to overtake, or for Dick and Peyron to make a mistake. The pressure must surely be building on the leaders as they face the prospect of one error costing them the race. However, barring any change in conditions or damage onboard, the two leaders will make their final gybe into All Saints Bay (approximately 2 miles from the finish line) later tonight and one of them will establish a new monohull course record, smashing the existing 16d, 13h, 23m record set by Jordain in 2001 onboard the old Sill. Although they might be just too tired to care!
OPEN 60 RANKINGS 1500 GMT:
1. VIRBAC-PAPREC / DISTANCE TO FINISH 92.6 MILES
2. SILL ET VEOLIA / +14.8 MILES
3. BONDUELLE / +97.5 MILES
4 ECOVER / +167.6 MILES
5. SKANDIA / +211.4 MILES
EMAIL LOG FROM BRIAN AND WILL 1211GMT 18/11/05
[unedited]
Hi
The battle is really on with proform now 330 miles to go and she is right on our outside hip, just where we saw her at dawn this morning. We had a good day yesterday holding her back with her upwind advantage over us and now we need another good day and night to finish ahead of her. We are locked into the same speed as her, as we have been since the start and it’s going to be full concentration on both boats until the finish. Tonight may be the deciding factor as we may get out of sight of each other. Then tomorrow we will find out where we are again for the downwind duel to Salvador.
The race has been fantastic so far and this photo finish only makes it more so. Both us and Proform have really pushed our older boats and I am really pleased that we are up with the newer boats.
Brian and Will
IN DETAIL:
SKANDIA and PRO-FORM, the two leading second generation Open 60’s are in a true match-race to the finish. During the night, as predicted PRO-FORM skippers, Marc Thiercelin and Eric Drouglazet sailed lower and faster than SKANDIA, gradually narrowing the gap between them from eight miles last night to one mile at 0500GMT this morning. SKANDIA increased that distance to 2.4 miles by 1100GMT, only for PRO-FORM to make further gains to put them 1.9 miles behind at by 1500GMT. Although SKANDIA is holding 5th place both boats are in sight of each other and Thompson and Oxley are by no means in a safe position.
SKANDIA and PRO-FORM are almost on the latitude with SKANDIA around 25 miles off the Brazilian coastline. PRO-FORM is on the same heading four miles further offshore, so both are expected to be sailing in similar conditions at around 12 knots, in a 15-knot ESE breeze.
In the past when these two have raced alongside each other SKANDIA has proved to be quickest, however, skipper fatigue and sail wear and tear can all effect the outcome. The major factor which will come in to play in the finishing stages are the unpredictable local effects typical of inshore racing.
As Brian explained before the start: “As we approach the coast the big decision will be how far off the coast to be. Close in and you will have more wind in the daytime, less at night, and the risk of hitting unlit fishing boats and their gear. Offshore it's a steadier breeze but more miles to sail. By then we will probably be match racing another boat to the finish...” It seems that Brian’s prediction was right, and there is no doubt that the SKANDIA ‘boys in blue’ [as they are known!] will push themselves right up to the finish line.
A couple of miles before the finish line, the fleet will gybe to enter the Bay of All Saints (Todos os Santos) for their final run to the finish line. There is a big sandbank situated at the entrance which needs to be carefully negotiated, and deciding whether to go inside or outside will be the final tactical decision of this race. With 304 miles to go, SKANDIA is expected to finish tomorrow mid-morning. For latest news on this go to www.skandiatjv.com
There is another intense battle going on for first place between VIRBAC-PAPREC and SILL ET VEOLIA. Race leader VIRBAC-PAPREC lost 12nm overnight to SILL ET VEOLIA and at 1500 GMT, VIRBAC-PAPREC was 92.6 miles from the finish with SILL ET VEOLIA 14.8 miles behind in 2nd. VIRBAC-PAPREC is estimated to finish tonight at approx 2230GMT.
OPEN 60 MONOHULL POSITIONS 1500GMT 18/11/05:
1. VIRBAC-PAPREC 92.6 miles to finish
2. SILL ET VEOLIA +14.8 miles
3. BONDUELLE +97.5 miles
4. ECOVER +167.6 miles
5. SKANDIA +211.4 miles
6. PRO-FORM +213.3 miles
The Damage to The Black Pearl-Cascais, November 18, 2005
After properly inspecting the Black Pearl, we are now in a position to report on the damage.
1. Bulkhead C, midway from the bow to the mast, has broken. There was
shearing of the frame along with compression of the vertical beam.
2. The "bomber doors" which seal the Keel box at the hull, have been
ripped off.
3. A bolt that holds the keel pins in has sheared
That is the main damage. We also had a complete instrument blackout
earlier on Saturday night. This included our computers and therefore I could not write any text so the information coming off our boat may have appeared slow or non existent. I was in telephone communication with race officials.
My priority on Sunday was to get the boat back to land safely. This was not easy as we were caught in a low pressure cell that had formed off the coast of Portugal and we experienced gusts of 50 knots and very rough seas. We sailed with Storm jib and trisail all day Sunday and Sunday night and at times had to lower the storm jib as there was too much sail area up. It was the windiest and roughest conditions I have been in at least 8 years. As our true wind angle was about 80 degrees, we had breaking waves crashing on the deck at times.
The reason why I don't want to sail the boat to Cape Town is that it is unsafe to sail without the "bomber doors". To explain; the keel cants 40 degrees each side of center. The axis of this rotation is 150mm up inside the boat. Therefore there is a hole in the bottom of these boats that is about 400mm (1.5 ft) wide. This hole is the bottom of the keel box which is "recessed" into the boat. The Bomber doors not only make the hull fair as the keel swings from side to side, but they protect the inside of the keel box from high pressure water force. Without them the lid to the keel box and the rubber gaskets that seal the hydraulic ram arms, which actuate the swinging of the keel, are exposed to high pressure water.
When we discovered the situation early Sunday morning, the lid to the box was bulging upward and strained the fasteners while water was squirting into the boat due to the 35 knots of water pressure and the rams seals were bulging like ‘cows utters’. Not one to withdraw from racing easily, in this case, I immediately called for the crew to take all sails down and slow the boat to less than 10 knots.
So this particular damage is not one that can be band-aided. New parts have to be made in the UK and flown to us. This will take over a week. Then they have to be fitted which will take 3-4 days to do well. We might be able to do this and then sail to Cape Town but we would arrive just before the in-port race on the 26th, if all went well. If we had another issue along the way we could well miss Leg 2. And why? To gather 2 points?
I have decided not to pursue that option but rather to transport the boat to Cape Town and rejoin the race in an organized and prepared manner. I need to turn this negative into a positive. With my team, we believe we have devised a plan to do that.
The boat will stay here in Portugal until the 25th when it will go by
air cargo to Cape Town. We will be working on the boat in the time before it flies and the time after it arrives. We hope to sail again around December 12th for a few days of sea trials offshore.
PC
Pirates of the Caribbeans
As the fleet moves further south and the weather improves, it has given the crews a sunnier outlook and a chance to get their bruised and battered bodies out for inspection.
Although the teams left Vigo ready and raring to go, in as best condition they could, after the first night was damage to boats and also to a few unfortunate crew members. Everyone is aware that the new Volvo Open 70’s are ‘Volvo 60’s on steroids’ as described by Richard Mason onboard Ericsson (Neal McDonald) but they are finding this out first hand now, and the ointment is coming out in full force.
Neal McDonald yesterday recounted, “Getting warmer has also allowed the peeling off of a few layers and the chance to compare some of the battle wounds from the first night. Man, have some of the boys collected some whopper bruises - mainly from being washed down the deck into something more solid than the human body. Guillermo (Altadill) has damaged two little fingers and Tommy (Braidwood) his forearm in just this way. Neither complains and both get on with their jobs with little more than the odd wince - but they keep smiling - you have to be crazy to do this race- and certainly you need a good sense of humour.”
ABN AMRO ONE (Mike Sanderson) also has a few slightly injured crew. What with two of their crew being washed into the steering station and taking it out as well as themselves. Mark “Crusty” Christensen started this leg with a broken arm, but, as a four-race veteran his expertise was needed onboard. So he bravely got on with the job knowing the first few days would be hell for him heading into a storm already injured.
“The forecast was bad. For me it was not ideal, with a broken arm and with no chance to wear the specially constructed carbon fibre cast that our trainer and shore crew had made, I would just have to be extra careful. So what happens, the first big wave I try to hold on and pain shoots down the arm. Then 24 hrs later Sid (Gavignet) and I get washed back and hit the back lifelines, arm and ribs again. Just more bruising but it all adds up. So now I have had the cast on for two days and it feels much better, although I am limited to driving and trimming. I am sure I will waste away without the grinding and moving sails, but it should save my arm.”
Trimmer and pitman Dave Endean (ABN AMRO ONE) also took an unlucky wave a few days ago, his skipper, Mike Sanderson, seems to relieved that one of his right-hand men is up and about again.
“Good news for us on board today was that Dave Endean was moving around the boat again and able to do his watches after yesterday taking a heavy wave while up on the bow and badly straining his knee. Jan (Dekker) and Justin (Slattery) are doing an ‘Oh-so-kind and motherly job’ on making sure though that it is all strapped up. We have a really good knee brace on board so that is really helping, keeping him all locked in. It was amazing how by having Dave out of action for a night, dropping from 10 guys down to nine, was a whole lot more work.”
Today, Timo Malinen, Volvo Ocean Race medical co-ordinator, is very proud to say that so far his team has received no requests for medical advice from the yachts since the start.
“It just goes to show how well prepared these guys are now and how their medical training and kit has been so comprehensive that they can all deal with these situations quite happily on their own. They are all very good at their roles and their hard work is paying off. I would happily be treated by any one of these medics.”
On the race course it is all change in the charge south with ABN AMRO ONE getting a considerable spurt on and overtaking Brasil 1 (Torben Grael) and Ericsson (Neal McDonald) and extending this lead to 35 nautical miles in the past 19 hours. The fleet is now 262 nm to the west of the Cape Verde islands. The young boys (ABN AMRO TWO) in the other Kouyoumdjian-designed yacht must be giving Ericsson something to worry about, over the past 12 hours they have been reeling their prey in. And in the last two hours it’s paid off and we can reveal that they have taken third position from Ericsson at 0400 GMT today with only 4 nm difference.
The crew of wild card, Sunergy and Friends (Grant Wharington) are still as buoyant as ever with Campbell Field (navigator) happily looking forward to his big decisions in the up and coming doldrums. But at present he seems just happy to tell us avidly about life onboard a Volvo Open 70 in what he describes as fun and exhilarating sailing weather.
“A little bit about the environment I am sitting in right now...I'm sitting here surrounded by black carbon, a couple of PC screens, GPS, Radar and a couple of radios, all we really need to satisfy our IT needs at sea. A few inches above my head is the base of a grinding pedestal that comes through the deck connecting it to a variety of gearboxes and switches to direct the drive to a few of our winches. This also serves to drip water down my back at irregular intervals, half deafen me when it is in use, and it reminds me that next time I go to sea to cut my hair a bit shorter.”
Through the night and today, the two leading Open 60s Sill et Veolia and Virbac-Paprec have been locked in a close and fraught battle for first place in the two-handed Transat Jacques Vabre 4,340 mile race. Sailing in a south-easterly breeze of around 25 knots with a TWA (True Wind Angle) just forward of the beam at around 80 degrees, the boat speeds are high on this point sail averaging around 15 knots. The battle has been raging for days but the tension is reaching its peak as the two teams of Roland Jourdain and Ellen MacArthur on Sill et Veolia and Jean-Pierre Dick on Virbac-Paprec get closer to the Brazilian coastline where the ‘Last Chance Saloon’ awaits...
Jourdain and MacArthur will be hoping that the final 350-mile stretch of this race along the Brazilian coastline to the finish port of Salvador de Bahia, will give them their final reprieve. Sailing closer to the land will effect the current stable conditions found in the South-Easterly Trade Winds – offshore of Recife (currently 100 miles away) tomorrow night the winds will start to rotate into the east and once passed Recife could turn further into the north-east. Combined with the thermal effects caused by the difference in the land and sea temperatures, the breeze can at times become patchy both in strength and direction. If Sill et Veolia can get passed Virbac-Paprec this will be the time. For now, Dick and Peyron’s Open 60 is faster than Sill et Veolia – not only does she sport a taller rig (thereby increasing her sail area) but the current wind angle is suiting her perfectly allowing her to sail at times 3 knots faster. For example, in one half-hour period Virbac-Paprec maintained an average speed of 18 knots compared to Sill et Veolia at 15 knots – a speed difference that equates to an advantage of 1.5 miles over 30 minutes. At every position report since 0300 GMT this morning, Virbac-Paprec keeps pulling away by another mile or two. Jourdain and MacArthur are going to have to sail out of their socks to hang on to this ‘rocket ship’, at least until they are within sight of land. Other possible scenarios are if Sill et Veolia can stay further to the east for longer than Virbac-Paprec, on a faster point of sail, or take a radical option to stay well offshore until the final possible moment but then they will be sailing a slightly longer course and will ultimately let their rival out of their sights. However, desperate times sometimes call for desperate measures.
Whatever the outcome, the winning boat, barring any disaster, looks set to smash the current monohull course record of 16 days, 13 hours and 23 minutes set by Roland Jourdain onboard the old Sill in 2001. Arrival before 0323 GMT on Saturday (19.11.05) will see an incredible three days stripped off the current record time.
Pepe Ribes, Volvo Open 70 movistarar's bowman, arrived yesterday at the DesafÃo Español 2007 headquarters with the drift keel and rudder to undergo repairs at the team's facilities. Repair work has already started on these two appendages by engineers from the Spanish team and King Marine, the shipyard in charge of construction of the new Spanish boat for the America's Cup.
Agusta Zulueta, Racing Project Manager, commented that repairs will take place in three stages; first, the drift keel and the rudder, already arrived at headquarters; then repairs at the shipyard and
on board at Portimao.
Gabriel Mariani, manager of King Marine, pointed out that six compositespecialists are on their way to Portimao to undertake bulwark repairs. On the drift keel and the rudder, Mariani said that they could be ready in three or four days; the ruptured pieces prove that they are the result of a strong collision.
ABN AMRO ONE is flying. “The guys have got the boat just ‘on fire’. We are seeing speeds of up to 25 knots in just 17 knots of wind,” wrote an elated skipper, Mike Sanderson late last night. It’s payback time for this team as their pre-race plan begins to show dividends and Brasil 1 (Torben Grael), their nearest rival is now 78 miles behind them, losing out 15 nm in the last six hours. The second Dutch boat, ABN AMRO TWO (Sebastien Josse), now averaging the slowest speed of the leading three, finds herself 86 nm behind her team mates, while Ericsson (Neal McDonald) is only managing to average 15.1 knots and now brings up the rear of the leading four, 93 nm adrift.
Sunergy and Friends are now sailing in a completely different wind pattern with the breeze at less than 10 knots, leaving them 868 nm behind ABN AMRO ONE following their pitstop in Madeira to repair the boat.
With the boat speeds nearly matching, and, in the case of ABN AMRO ONE, exceeding, the wind speeds over the last 24 hours, the leading pack of four is quickly making its way through the trade winds. Conditions yesterday were as good as they get, with flat seas, sun, and wind speeds in the high teens. Still, no one is sitting back and enjoying the ride, as decisions made now will have a big impact on the next few days.
Over the last 24 hours we have seen the east/west split of the fleet narrow dramatically as the boats all struggle to choose the best lane to cross the doldrums - the light wind zone which lies between the current positions of the boats and the scoring gate at Fernando de Noronha. The northern edge of the doldrums is still sitting at about 7 deg North (between 26W-31W, the yachts longitude), so speeds will decrease once the boats arrive at the doldrums in the next day or so.
Subject: Crew Log 18/11/05 DAY 7
Over the course of the last 24 hours I have been fretting. Fretting and trying to come to terms with the fact that ABN AMRO ONE is unbelievable fast reaching. To be fair it is something I have known for a long time now, having done a whole summer of two boat testing against them, but being a competitive soul It is something I have tried not to admit to myself. Now that they are 88 miles ahead of us I have just about come to terms with it. This is no doubt something much harder for the other crews to deal with having just been blown out of the water by a boat the they know little about other than it isn't that quick in the light!!
Therein lies my next problem. And what I've been fretting about. In
light of the fact that ABN AMRO ONE is so fast why haven't we passed
Brasil 1 yet? Especially as we have a near identical sail inventory to ABN AMRO ONE. Are they using something different than we are? Or are they just that much faster? No doubt the first reason we haven't yet passed the Brazilians is because they are a team of very formidable sailors. However this isn't something we were going to accept lying down, so after a quick meeting with our skipper Seb (Sebastien Josse) and our two Watch Captains Bicey (Nick Bice) and Beavis (Scott Beavis), we agreed to be a bit more experimental with our sail selection at the possible expense of a few miles. This has turned out to be a good gamble. Firstly I managed to finally get some sleep without the fear of being overtaken and secondly by
mid morning this morning and several sail changes later, plus a very wet and slightly tired crew, we are back up to a pace where we might stand some chance against the black boat! And hopefully finally pass Brasil 1...
I'm once again left waiting nervously on the edge of my nav seat for the next position report!
Cheers,
Si Fi.
(Simon Fisher, navigator)
BMW ORACLE Racing, the only US Challenger for the America’s Cup, has a boat-building team in place and is entering final preparation for the construction of its first race boat in the Seattle, WA region of the United States, the team announced today.
The first of the team’s two new race boats for the 32nd America’s Cup in 2007 will be built at a purpose-built site in Anacortes, WA. The small town nestled in the San Juan Islands is a hub of maritime industry. The region provides a blend of maritime and aerospace resources.
“Our boat-building team has been on site in Anacortes customizing the construction site and getting ready for building our boats for several months now,” said Chris Dickson, CEO, BMW ORACLE Racing. “We are now confident we have the best facility and the best team and are now ready to start construction.”
As an American entry representing San Francisco’s Golden Gate Yacht Club, the team is bound by the rules to build the hull of their two new race yachts in the United States. The boats will ultimately race in Valencia, Spain, site of the 32nd America’s Cup in 2007.
Seattle also serves as home of the BMW ORACLE Racing structural engineering team. Headed by local sailor and designer Paul Bieker, the structures team chose Seattle as a base to be near the construction site. The Seattle structures team includes three BMW engineers: Thomas Hahn, Christoph Erbelding and Ingo Raasch.
As an equal team partner, the international automotive group BMW is importantly involved in the development and construction of the new high-tech yachts. In Valencia and Seattle, BMW engineers led by Prof. Dr. Raymond Freymann, Director BMW Group Research and Technology, are integrated in the design team in order to bring in BMW technological competence into the sports of sailing. Prof. Freymann: "The close collaboration between our employees on the one side and the exchange of informations between Seattle and Spain on the other is an efficiently working system. I'm therefore confident that we all as a team will make the hull of the yacht lighter and stiffer at the same time. We'll increase the speed of the yacht. The door to success in 2007 is open."
BMW ORACLE Racing’s Mark Turner, Tim Smyth and Mark Somerville are managing the boat construction. The three were involved with the construction of USA 71 and USA 76, the team’s 2003-generation race boats.
The moulds and other tooling for the 80-foot America’s Cup Class yacht are being manufactured at Janicki Industries in nearby Sedro-Woolley. “With a custom-made boat, it is essential to have quality control every step of the way,” Turner said of the team’s choice of Janicki. “Janicki’s work in the aerospace industry provides us with the precision we are seeking in our tooling,” Turner said.
“Last campaign, we built the tooling at Janicki and the hulls in California. This time we consolidated our operations by building the hulls in nearby Anacortes,” Turner said. “So far, we are finding this to be a more efficient approach.”
The construction site for the carbon fibre composite race boats is located in Anacortes at a 20,000-square-foot purpose-built facility. Due to the competitive nature of the America’s Cup, the boat-building remains a highly secure process. The non-descript facility in Anacortes has been customized to offer aerospace level technologies and quality levels. And like the automotive or aerospace industries, innovations are protected and the construction kept under wraps until the boat sails in Valencia. Any competitive advantage gained in design and construction methods will remain a closely guarded secret of the team.
The construction follows an intensive research and development program to develop what the team hopes is a fast design. “Quality construction is the key to bringing our design concepts to life,” BMW ORACLE Racing Design Coordinator Ian Burns said. “Through a precise custom boat-building process, we can ensure the right materials and methods are applied to the build. With high-tech composite materials, precision of construction is critical to ensure that engineering specifications are met,” Burns said.
"The technology involved in composite boat-building is becoming a science in itself. The build team has spent the last few months very well, taking this science to the next level by combining the talent of some of the best people in the America's Cup game with the aerospace technology available in the Seattle area. The design team has been highly impressed by what we've seen in Anacortes."
The construction of an America’s Cup Class yacht is a highly-specialized trade. The high-tech tooling is developed for precision accuracy to ensure faithful reproduction of the design team’s shapes. The carbon fibres are layered onto the mould and then baked in a large oven ensuring the lightest and strongest possible structure.
BMW ORACLE Racing has an experienced in-house team of about 15 boat-builders working on the project. Some 30,000 man hours will go into the construction of the race yacht. The first of two new race boats is expected to sail in Valencia in spring 2006.
Portsmouth, R.I. (November 17, 2005) - US SAILING, national governing body for the sport, and Vanguard Sailboats, a leading manufacturer of small sailboats, have announced today that they have extended and expanded their partnership. Since the two Rhode Island-based leading sailing organizations first teamed up nearly two decades ago, the partnership has continued to grow. The new partnership agreement runs through 2009 and includes a wide range of support, from the U.S. Championships and US Sailing Teams to an ongoing commitment to help grow youth sailing at all levels.
The new agreement consists of several parts:
* Vanguard ensures that the competition at six U.S. Championships and the 2007 U.S. Olympic Team Trials will be held in evenly-matched, new boats that Vanguard provides (as well as transportation for the boats, insurance, on-site service, and more);
* Vanguard continues to support Olympic hopefuls and top sailors in the country as Official Sponsor of the US Sailing Team;
* Vanguard provides continued support of developing the growth of youth sailing at all levels by helping to provide for coaching, by continuing its presenting sponsorship of US SAILING's National Sailing Programs Symposium and support of the US Laser Radial Youth World Team.
"The partnership positions Vanguard Sailboats as a top-level sponsor of US SAILING," said US SAILING's Executive Director Charlie Leighton. "Vanguard significantly enhances participation and the level of competition in the sport and that aligns perfectly with US SAILING's mission. The partnership will support programs for instructors, coaches, junior sailors and Olympic hopefuls."
"US SAILING and Vanguard Sailboats are two organizations dedicated to helping the sport grow and making sure people can enjoy their time on the water," said Vanguard Sailboats President Chip Johns. "Our partnership has been very successful over the years and we look forward to continuing this into the future."
17 November - Five days into the Volvo Ocean Race and the four leading boats have already completed almost 1,600 nm en route to Cape Town, averaging 14.4 knots in the powerful Volvo 70s. Things are hotting up, as the leading pack of four races towards the doldrums with just 31 miles between them. Despite a troublesome start followed by frustrating shifty conditions, Ericsson has been closing in on the leaders. The latest position report put them in third place, 9 nm behind second place Brasil 1, with ABN Amro One now heading up the pack.
It has been a very difficult start to the first offshore leg of the Volvo Ocean Race. The wild wet conditions of Saturday night resulted in three boats being badly damaged and having to head in for repairs. Five boats are currently racing, with Sunergy and Friends heading up the rear, whilst movistar and Pirates are still out of action. The Ericsson Racing Team has had her fair share of breakages, including a broken halyard and debris wrapped round the keel and rudder, which they dragged in the water for 24 hours.
"Neal and I have been snatching sleep on the wet sails next to the nav station, still wearing our oil skins and harnesses," commented navigator Steve Hayles. "Our focus has been on catching up on the miles lost and inching our way to the front of the pack. I am constantly analysing the other teams' runs and predicting which sails they are using."
Racing has been close between the four front runners, with positions changing by the day. A frustrating day on Tuesday, being dogged by clouds, wind shifts and areas of little or no breeze, was replaced by more favourable conditions yesterday allowing Ericsson to close in on Brasil 1.
"The wind gods have come back and given us their smile," commented Ericsson Racing Team skipper Neal McDonald yesterday, as the team made up some of the ground lost during Saturday night's storms. "Conditions are breezy with windless patches and we are currently sailing at 20 knots in 20 knots of breeze. The temperature is warming up and we are peeling off our layers."
The wild conditions of the first night left the boat and the crew feeling battered and bruised. "We have broken lots of little bits on the boat and these require a lot of manpower to repair. Despite this we are fairly comfortable with the boats performance and glad to be in reasonable condition. We will have much worse storms to come in the Southern Ocean!"
In the next 24 hours or so, the teams will hit the ITCZ; the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone, better known as the doldrums. The teams will be concentrating on getting their angles right and crossing the doldrums at their narrowest point. As Guillermo Altadill commented, "this will be the tricky part of the race where the boats will spread out. The first team to get out of the doldrums and meet the south-east trade winds in the right place will have the best chance of winning the leg."
Brasil 1 has chosen the most easterly course as they enter this windless zone which lies between them and the scoring gate Fernando de Noronha, whilst the ABN boats have positioned themselves further west where they hope for more winds. Ericsson lies between the two and we will only know in a few days who made the best decision.
‘Black Betty’ as the crew of ABN AMRO ONE (Mike Sanderson) affectionately refer to their black Volvo 70, is romping along. Averaging over one knot faster in the last six hour period, she has extend her lead to a comforting, but not comfortable, 20 nm lead over Brasil 1 (Torben Grael). Her average 24 hour speed is a sparkling 16.8 knots against Brasil 1’s 14.9, leading to a 24-hour run of 402 nm against Brasil 1’s 358.
The leading four are now 274 nm north of the Cape Verde Islands in an east to west split of 55 nm. Neal McDonald’s Ericsson has lost out over night and although she is hanging on to third place, she is now 29 nm adrift, with ABN AMRO TWO (Sebastien Josse) on her hip just two nautical miles behind and closing.
Sunergy and Friends (Grant Wharington) are back in the race and trying something different. They clearly will not catch the leaders by following in their wake. The four boats ahead are further south and sailing in different wind conditions. “We’re not rolling the dice on this one,” wrote navigator Campbell Field, “just be aware that we have to be a little more clever.”
History has proven that a 500 or 600 nm deficit is not a disaster when you have around 5,000 nm to go, and this thought is keeping Sunergy and Friends positive and focused.
Now that the storm has passed, the leading pack, racing towards the first scoring gate at Fernando de Noronha, off the coast of Brazil, has been able to swap oilskins for shorts and t-shirts, dry out their boats, repair the damage to both boat and bodies, and settle in to life at sea.
With easing winds, food has now become more interesting, and onboard Sunergy and Friends (Grant Wharington) they have spiced it up with a few cloves of garlic. Apparently no one minds the smell too much. “Lunch is ready, but we don’t even eat together anymore due to the smaller number of crew,” wrote Steve Hayles from Ericsson (Neal McDonald) currently in third place. “You eat when you can, sometimes hot and some times fold. The food is served in sealed containers and stored in your own little pouch.”
Tonight’s report has seen ABN AMRO ONE (Mike Sanderson), averaging 18.4 knots during the past six hour period, has swept into an 11 nm lead over Brasil 1, who has topped the fleet since Monday. Ericsson is breathing down her neck, just a mile behind, while ABN AMRO TWO (Sebastien Josse) is sticking with her twin and sailing a westerly course. She is 23 miles behind the leader, but sailing faster.
Well we now feel like we are in a yacht race, not in a holding
pattern/reconstruction mode. We have been 'champagne yachting' for the last 18 hours, and to beat the over used quote to death 'It couldn't get much better than this'... it's not too hot, it's not too cold, it's not too windy and it's not to light. We have had our big bertha 'C1' spinnaker up all day, a full main and Spinnaker Staysail, gybing on the 10 to 15 degree windshifts that are coming our way due to cloud action and the change in the weather systems around us. With winds ranging from 15 to 25 knots and an average of 18 or so, we have averaged 15.9 knots of boatspeed over the last 24 hours, making our total miles run about 380 miles. Top speeds of 24.5 knots in 25 knots of wind, you could say we are fair ripping along - and for the sailors out there - that is at our VMG running angle! This all isn't really reflected in our overall run for the day and distance from the other boats because we have been gybing down the track rather than sailing in a straight line at the mark like our friends from
Brazil, Holland x 2 and Sweden ahead of us (and New Zealand, Australia, Spain, Denmark, America, UK etc).
There are two reasons for this, 1) the other boats are further south and therefore sailing in a different wind direction than us and 2) part of our strategy for the next 1000 miles or so is to set ourselves up a little differently as we are not going to catch them by following them. I'll not go into too many details, but you would have to agree that we will have to be a little different to get back in the game. We are not rolling the dice on this one, just being aware that we have to be a little bit more clever.
There were a few discussions on the boat today about the fact that history has proven that a 5 or 600 mile deficit is not a disaster when you have around 5000 miles to go. In the last Volvo Race 30 or 400 mile leads/deficits evaporated in days. So, a message to all our supporters out there, don't give up hope, we haven't!
A little bit about the environment I am sitting in right now...I'm sitting here surrounded by black carbon, a couple of PC screens, GPS, Radar and a couple of radios, all we really need to satisfy our IT needs at sea. A few inches above my head is the base of a grinding pedestal that comes through the deck connecting it to a variety of gearboxes and switches to direct the drive to a few of our winches. This also serves to drip water down my back at irregular intervals, half deafen me when it is in use, and it reminds me that next time I go to sea to cut my hair a bit shorter. I'm perched on a black carbon shelf, while my butt goes completely numb. I can smell dinner ready to go in the galley, Lamb Stew and couscous - smells great. Fraser has put us on to a winner with tickling up the freeze dried, the snuck on board with a handful of fresh garlic - slicing up a clove into your meal works wonders. I doubt I'll get away with this at home, but here, the smell doesn't bother anyone. The off watch are devouring it while getting ready to go on deck for their stint on watch, and the off coming watch will be down in 10 minutes to have their go at it. I usually have to remember to shout out a few times so they don't forget me back here in my little black box. I like my food, even freeze dried.
I can hear the guys on deck enjoying the ride, and pushing the boat as hard as they can. Water bashing the hull while we surf to 20+ knots. All good fun.
I had better sign off, go and claim my dog bowl full of re-hydrated food. Then I better have a bit of a kip before a scheduled radio call with the other boats, then at midnight I get some new weather information to confuse myself with for a few hours.
Good night to you all out there,
Campbell (Field – navigator)
Premier Challenge
In the IMOCA and ORMA 60 fleets, there can only be two winners, but no predictions can yet be made as the top three boats in both classes are still vying for victory out on the race course under 100m and a few hours apart from each other after carving up over 3,000 miles of ocean already. On the right hand side of the track, three Open 60 trimarans are locked in a tacking battle towards the Ascension Islands, on the left hand side along the direct route the top 3 Open 60 Monohulls have just crossed the Equator and are now pointing their bows directly to Bahia, followed in hot pursuit by the next 3 boats within a 50 mile radius.
With only two boats, the strategy for the leader is simple to align yourself between the finish line and your adversary to remain in control. But when there are more than two boats at play, the game goes up a level, and the leader has to decide eventually which adversary is more dangerous than the other…so we see the leading boat in both fleets, Banque Populaire and Virbac-Paprec, repositioning themselves relative to more than one opponent just behind them, albeit the Multihulls are tacking upwind, the Monohulls close reaching on a direct heading SW to the finish.
IMOCA 60 CLASS UPDATE
The ‘Grand National’ for the Open 60 IMOCA class is turning into a three horse race between Virbac-Paprec (Dick / Peyron), Sill et Veolia (Jourdain / MacArthur), Bonduelle (Le Cam / De Pavant) and will turn into a real gallop to Brazil as the wind starts to build to 20 knots off the South American coast now that they are getting into the steady SE Trades. In these slightly more moderate 15 20 knot winds than the 20 30 knot breeze in the Northern Hemisphere Trades, and sailing downwind, perhaps the Farr designed Virbac-Paprec has a nominal advantage, but when the sailing angle is between 60 and 90 degrees on a reach, the two Lombard boats, Sill et Veolia and Bonduelle, may then have the upper hand. The small separation in latitude East to West between the top three is negligible on this 900m sprint to the finish as the ‘jockeys’ have already played their jokers in the Doldrums and that didn’t shake up the pack.
The only tactical option left if boat speed is relatively level is to wait for the last 250m stretch tacking along the Brazilian coastline between Recife and Bahia, which two years ago was where Sill and Ecover fought a close and passionate battle for 2nd place after 4,000 miles of racing. Whether to sail close inshore or further offshore can make a real difference as the local weather can favour either option depending on the thermal effects from the temperatures between the land and the sea.
The skippers’ reactions differed today as to whether there are any more cards to play nearer to the finish. Le Cam on Bonduelle spoke of steady breeze from here to the finish, “It’s a monotonous monohull race from here on, unless a miracle happens, we won’t see the order change, the breeze is steady, that much we do know.” Whereas Mike Golding had quite opposite views: “It could be a light airs finish, as for our chances of winning still, well with the usual suspects out here it may be a big ask, but you never know!” Leading skipper Jean-Pierre Dick on Virbac-Paprec was more open-minded: “It’s amazing the proximity of the performance of these boats, we’ve never been much more than 20 miles ahead of Sill et Veolia all this time, the boat speeds are very similar, we’re studying the weather very carefully, we’ll do everything we can to cross the line first!”
These three will also be watching their wing mirrors as in the West, Ecover, Skandia and Pro-Form are flanked under 70m behind, guaranteeing that the end of this race will be down to the wire. Brian Thompson on Skandia and Marc Thiercelin on Pro-Form were both realistic in determining that they are unlikely to get to the front of the fleet with the stabilizing winds, but as Brian puts it: “We have a great 3 way tussle for fourth place on our hands for the next 1000 miles. Ecover has a 10 mile lead and Pro-Form is supposedly 25 miles back, but the reality is that she is abeam of us by 65 miles and has a big advantage in being able to crack off on this close reach across the SE trades. I'd put her at least level with us at present.”
Behind these 6 boats, UUDS (Laurent / Massot) are maintaining their slim lead over Roxy (Liardet / Merron) as they head towards the Doldrums, giving the girls another chance to hopefully regain their lost position if they negotiate this patchy zone better. Miranda was positive about their situation: “Today has been a definite improvement on yesterday, though the cost of being becalmed is a close race between us and UUDS for now. Since early morning, we have had 17-24 knots of breeze, sailing under big gennaker, getting some good surfs down the waves. Worth enjoying while it lasts, because in a few hours we will be in the Doldrums. It looks like our classmates in front got through relatively unscathed…”
OPEN 50 CLASS 2 MONOHULL UPDATE
Gryphon Solo (Harris / Hall) is still 175.9m ahead and well in control of nearest rival Vedettes de Bréhat (De Broc / S. Escoffier) as the leading Open 50 skirts round the Cape Verde Islands to the West, but the skippers can see that it’s going to be more difficult to defend from the front with now Artforms (Stone / Owen) attacking from behind on the western side of the race course. Joe Harris explains: “One of the advantages Kip has is that he can see what’s happening to us and he can avoid some of the pitfalls. Kip has made a distinct move to the west gybing down the rhumbline and has so far successfully avoided this calm patch. For now we are working hard to plan our strategy for the doldrums where we expect to be later this week.”
Kip Stone responded today with an invitation for Joe & Josh to make their race even more nail-biting: “It’s better and better out to the West of the competition. We’ve had some big breeze which has allowed us to close the gap on Gryphon Solo. If you could tell Joe and Josh from me that if they’d like to pull into the Cape Verde’s for a night on the town, we’ll pay for it, I made the offer at the Canaries and they didn’t take up on it, so this time I’m happy to make sure there’s no expense spared, I’ll hand over my credit card number in advance!”
MULTIHULL UPDATE: ORMA 60 FLEET
On the other side of the race course, the race is more of a Steeple-chase between the top three ORMA 60ft trimarans. They still have another day of tacking into the SE Trades with a fairly choppy sea-state to contend with on their track before they are released around the Ascension Island turning point. The game is not played out on a straight line as each boat picks their own strategy for when and where to tack to the East or South. Banque Populaire has a relatively small 63m lead, and like her rivals is not yet out of the woods when it comes to the chance of structural damage or technical handicapping in these tough upwind conditions.
Bidegorry and Lemonchois in the lead have repositioned themselves now furthest in the East nearer the rhumb line ahead of their rivals, Gitana 11 and Géant, after tacking to the East to retain their controlling position in relation to the mark and the next two boats. Desjoyeaux and Destremau on Géant have responded with a counter-tack to the East to mark Gitana 11 and aim to make gains on Banque Populaire before they round Ascension Island. Le Peutrec and Guichard on Gitana 11 are following suit but prefer to stay a little more east in order to round the mark from the East on a faster sailing angle.
Mich Desjoyeaux on Géant described succinctly the situation: “I think Banque Populaire has roughly a 6 or 7 hour advantage over us right now. I can say for certain that the tension in this race has never come down since we left Le Havre, this course is particularly exacting, and apart from one nice afternoon off Portugal I don’t think in all my life I’ve spent so long at sea being so punished by the big blue ocean like this! It’s more like mountain-climbing than sailing out here...”
As soon as the first boat is round they will be throttled up to 25 knots boat speed careering downwind in the SE Trades and so this mark rounding is absolutely critical for determining the eventual order into Bahia even though with 1,450m still to run there is still plenty of sea for circumstances to change. Two years ago Alain Gautier and Ellen MacArthur on Foncia were 2 hours ahead of Groupama and 5 hours ahead of Fujifilm and yet it was Groupama and Fujifilm arriving first and second into Bahia after the final gybing battle off the Bahian coastline.
CLASS 2 OPEN 50 MULTIHULL FLEET
Open 50 Multihull Crêpes Whaou ! is on a mission to be the first boat into Bahia…in the whole fleet. Franck-Yves and son Kevin Escoffier have been by far the most positive and exuberant skippers throughout this tough Transat, truly loving the experience of racing their new Van Peteghem / Prévost 50 foot multihull. “I have so much faith in this boat, it’s uncomplicated, a real zippy machine, I wouldn’t change a thing, I love sailing 50 footers. We’ve got 22 knots of wind, one reef in the mainsail and staysail up, we’re building up to a crescendo finish for this Transat Jacques Vabre!”
WEATHER by Louis Bodin
The ORMA 60 multihulls are climbing upwind in a 15 20 knot SE Trade wind. The sea state is quite choppy, not dangerous but nonetheless tiring on the boats and the skippers. They will continue to tack towards the Ascension Island for another 24hrs, trying to make small but significant gains on the lead in relation to the wind direction which may vary slightly.
The first IMOCA Open 60 Monohulls are now into the SE Trades but the breeze is not yet fully stable and today remains variable between 5 15 knots. However, they have at least got back on to a direct heading for the finish line. The leading Open 60 Monohulls should benefit from a gradually building breeze from 15 20 knots, as they cross the Equator, and then 20 25 knots at around 5 degrees South. Their boat speeds should begin to rise as they reach the stronger breeze nearer the South American coast.
For the fleet behind, the Trades in the Northern Hemisphere are still quite irregular thanks to the disturbance from cloudy and stormy conditions off Cape Verde Islands. They must get out of the weaker winds between the Canaries and the Cape Verdes. The NE Trade winds are well established at 22 West. The shortest route is not the fastest for them and the comeback of Artforms from a more westerly route is proof of this.
Official Rankings at 14:44:00 GMT
IMOCA Open 60 Class:
Pstn / Boat / Lat / Long / Hdg / DTF / DTL
1 Virbac-Paprec 1 52.84' S 30 27.48' W 14.4 213 815.8 0.0
2 Sill et Veolia 1 44.68' S 30 28.28' W 15.6 211 836.1 20.4
3 Bonduelle 0 56.88' S 29 59.20' W 14.4 211 892.1 76.3
4 Ecover 0 00.12' N 30 38.64' W 13.6 201 923.3 107.5
5 Skandia 0 16.68' N 30 44.68' W 12.6 200 935.7 119.9
6 Pro-Form 0 11.64' N 29 34.16' W 11.6 194 963.7 147.9
NL Roxy
Open 50 Monohull Class 2:
Pstn / Boat / Lat / Long / Hdg / DTF / DTL
1 Gryphon Solo 18 03.52' N 25 49.28' W 6.0 173 2033.1 0.0
2 Vedettes de Bréhat 20 14.36' N 23 18.28' W 7.0 240 2209.0 175.9
3 Artforms 22 18.76' N 26 16.76' W 9.1 160 2271.2 238.1
4 Top 50 Guadeloupe 21 49.88' N 19 55.24' W 6.5 187 2375.5 342.4
5 Polarity Solo 25 00.80' N 26 55.92' W 9.0 194 2418.3 385.2
ORMA Open 60 Class 14:44:00 GMT:
Pstn / Boat / Lat / Long / Hdg / DTF / DTL
1 Banque Populaire 5 05.04' S 17 34.56' W 14.6 092 1725.9 0.0
2 Géant 4 16.28' S 18 16.16' W 15.4 083 1789.4 63.5
3 Gitana 11 4 01.08' S 18 02.96' W 14.4 085 1790.8 64.9
4 Gitana X 5 09.28' N 19 47.40' W 12.7 207 2317.7 591.8
Open 50 Multihull Class 2 14:44:00 GMT:
Pstn / Boat / Lat / Long / Hdg / DTF / DTL
1 Crêpes Whaou ! 1 11.08' S 28 31.60' W 18.6 212 931.4 0.0
2 Jean Stalaven 21 31.52' N 21 08.48' W 4.8 192 2328.9 1397.5
Quotes from the Boats:
Monohulls:
Jean-Pierre Dick (Virbac-Paprec): “We’re on great form, have finally got some proper rest where you don’t have to get up every 5 minutes now we’re out of the Doldrums. I’m learning so much sailing with Loick, and we’re having to study the weather carefully as Sill et Veolia are very close behind and we’re going to do everything we can to finish first! In fact our boats are very similar in boat speed, each one has its weaker points but we’ve never been more than 20 miles apart after 4,000 miles, the proximity of the performance of these boats is amazing! We can’t see anyone, though, you can’t really see anything more than 3 or 4 miles away. We had a very pleasant Equator crossing, although Loick was asleep at the time…we’ll have to wait for the finish to drink some champagne!”
Jean Le Cam (Bonduelle): “It’s more or less a motorway south, we’re just eating, sleeping and reaching on a straight line, no real tactics to play, it’s pretty much a procession now, quite monotonous really. It’s not resignation on our part, just that with only 48 hours left sailing in a very stable weather system, unless a miracle happens, the order isn’t going to change. Even if we sail 1 knot faster than Sill et Veolia we will arrive only just behind them. I reckon we’ll finish in 2 days and 14 hours time…”
Mike Golding spoke to Sir John Holmes, the British Ambassador in France, who attended the Transat Jacques Vabre satellite phone-in show in Paris this morning: “It’s all going well onboard Ecover, as of a few hours ago we got clear of the clutches of the Doldrums and are on our way into the Trades. We had a reasonable Doldrums crossing except for the fact that we were free-hoisting our sails as the furler system has broken, so it was pretty hard work. We’re happy where we are positioned, we’ll be racing for another 3 or 4 days I think. The gaps between the boats are very small, and we could slow up on the approach to the line, it could be light airs to the finish so we’re pushing on as ever, hoping that the rudder isn’t too much of a hand-brake. We’re going to do our best, as for winning, well, against all the usual suspects out here, it’s a big ask, but you never know!”
Marc Thiercelin (Pro-Form): “We’ve been crossing the Doldrums at supersonic speed! The conditions change all the time, which means we’re having to change sail combinations quite often, but the clouds continue to follow us around, and so does the wind. It’s been raining non-stop, and the humidity on board is unbearable. I don’t think we’ve seen the sun since the Canaries. It’s pretty uncomfortable, I’m now just desperate to arrive so I can dry out. We need to negotiate the wind rotation towards the West very carefully so we can head towards Salvador. We can’t compete with the new generation boats on pure boat speed, but it’s great to know that we are just in their wake, and that we should arrive just a few hours behind them. Since the start, Eric and I have gone all out, lots of manoeuvres, hand-steering…It’s been full on! We always race to win, it remains our objective, but if we’re in the top 5 without losing much in terms of distance from the leaders then we’ll have sailed a good race.”
Brian Thompson (Skandia): “We have been cutting into the leaderboard the last 2 days as we had a better Doldrums crossing. Now the leaders will extend as the wind slowly favours them by backing. Realistically, in these stable conditions, its hard to see us getting to the front, but we have a great 3 way tussle for fourth place on our hands for the next 1000 miles. Ecover has a 10 mile lead and Pro-Form is supposedly 25 miles back, but the reality is that she is abeam of us by 65 miles and has a big advantage in being able to crack off on this close reach across the SE trades. I'd put her at least level with us at present.”
Miranda Merron (Roxy): “Today has been a definite improvement on yesterday, though the cost of being becalmed is a close race between us and UUDS for now. More interesting though. Luckily it was quite a cloudy day as it is getting rather hot in this part of the world. Chocolate stays melted at night.. Since early morning, we have had 17-24 knots of breeze, sailing under big gennaker, getting some good surfs down the waves. It's now the middle of the night, full moon, and much the same. Worth enjoying while it lasts, because in a few hours we will be in the doldrums. It looks like our classmates in front got through relatively unscathed. There are loads of flying fish, though not many suitable specimens have found their way on deck. Still, there are plenty of miles left for flying fish sashimi!”
Kip Stone (Artforms): “It’s better and better out to the West of the competition. We’ve had some big breeze which has allowed us to close the gap on Gryphon Solo. If you could tell Joe and Josh from me that if they’d like to pull into the Cape Verde’s for a night on the town, we’ll pay for it, I made the offer at the Canaries and they didn’t take up on it, so this time I’m happy to make sure there’s no expense spared, I’ll hand over my credit card number in advance! Merf and I have fallen into a good sleep pattern, we sail as two solo sailors, overlapping on the gybes. This is the first day we’ve dried out the boat and seen some sunshine for a while. We’re staying focused and getting ready for the big push to Bahia..!”
Multihulls
Pascal Bidégorry (Banque Populaire): “Last night we were up on deck the whole time on manoeuvres. We hardly rested and we’re pretty knackered now…The sea is quite choppy too. I really want to just get to Ascension Island now, crack off the sheets, sail on a more comfortable angle for these boats. We should get there in about 30 hours. This morning we took our feet off the pedal in these boat-breaking conditions, it’s already been ten days we’ve been out here bashing these boats around.”
Michel Desjoyeaux (Géant): “Since the middle of last night, the wind has risen above 22 knots. We had 30 knot squalls come through, even one at 33 this morning. As we don’t have a huge amount of sail area up it’s okay, but you still have to watch out for them all the same. I think Banque Populaire has roughly a 6 or 7 hour advantage over us right now. I can say for certain that the tension in this race has never come down since we left Le Havre, this course is particularly exacting, and apart from one nice afternoon off Portugal I don’t think in all my life I’ve spent so long at sea being so punished by the big blue ocean like this! It’s more like mountain-climbing than sailing out here...”
Fred Le Peutrec (Gitana 11): “We’ve just tacked on a wind shift. Ascension Island is like the windward mark, really, and we’re just gritting our teeth a bit as the upwind conditions are not kind on the boat, and we’re starting to bounce a bit on quite a choppy sea. We’d love to play the shifts all the time but without a full crew it’s impossible to tack as often as we’d like. We have little chance of catching Banque Populaire, they must be 5 hours ahead of us, so we’re trying to arrive at the Ascension Island at the same time as, or at least as close as possible to Géant, and for the boat to be in the best state to attack the rest of the race.”
Franck-Yves Escoffier (Crepes Whaou !): “This was Kevin’s first Equator crossing and we haven’t had a moment to crack open the champagne but we will! Having 4 or 5 monohulls ahead of us is motivating, I hope you don’t mind if we try to beat them into Brazil! I have so much faith in this boat, it’s uncomplicated, a real zippy machine, I wouldn’t change a thing, I love sailing 50 footers. We’ve got 22 knots of wind, one reef in the mainsail and staysail hoisted, we’re building up to a crescendo finish for this Transat Jacques Vabre!”
It has been revealed in the last 12 hours that the damage caused to movistar (Bouwe Bekking) may in fact have been caused by a submerged object. A radio interview with Pedro Campos this morning shed some more light on the situation, the team’s contingency plans and the help they are receiving from some very influential areas.
Movistar has now been hauled out of the water in Portimao, Portugal, and the bottom few feet of the port dagger board and part of the single rudder have been sheared off. There is also damage to the keel which was at the time canted to the starboard side of the yacht leading the team to the inevitable conclusion that they may have hit a container or something else ‘pretty solid’.
The jury is still out, in the movistar camp as to whether the yacht will be shipped down to Cape Town or resume racing.
“We have received personal telephone calls from the King of Spain, from the central government, the secretary of the state, the president of Galicia, the Federation, Yacht Clubs and many companies offering us help, as well as the America’s Cup Challenge, Desafío Español 2007, who is going to be our main assistant [in repairing the boat]. The media coverage is incredible in Spain, everybody following the boat hour after hour and many people here in Portimao. So we feel very well and confident and we owe something to all these people, to try and do our best and to keep fighting because it is a long way to go to the finish and many things could happen in this long race.”
Out in the Atlantic there has been no change on the leader board for 24 hours. Brasil 1 (Torben Grael) heads up the charge south, Ericsson (Neal McDonald) is slowly reeling them in from second (currently 13 miles behind the leader) and ABN AMRO ONE and ABN AMRO TWO are fighting it out for third with the ‘old boys’ on top, for the moment.
A positive and jovial Steve Hayles, Ericsson’s navigator recounted today some of the more light hearted moments from the past few days.
“You also laugh about the scary things too; on the first night we set a spinnaker in hairy conditions and took off like a robbers dog with so much water on deck the Guillermo made one of his very dry comments in his cool Spanish style about driving a submarine. We are all tethered to the boat at this stage to keep us onboard which is great for safety but very restricting in its movement.
“I was trimming the main and sat furthest forward and could see a huge breaking wave coming side on; you shout 'wave' or something ridiculous and you hold your breath and brace for the impact which is always impressively hard. A second or two later when you can open your eyes and breathe again you check everyone out. Unfortunately Guillermo took the brunt of the 'hit' and was smashed off the wheel and was lying in a heap at the back of the boat. This in itself is obviously not funny; but watching everyone trying to dive for the wheel but not being able to move because of their harness was (after the event) hysterical.”
Elsewhere in the Atlantic Sunergy and Friends (Grant Wharington) have cleared Madeira and are also making the big push south with the help of the north easterly trade winds at 15-18 knots.
After 36 hours in port, Paul Cayard (Pirates of the Caribbean) and his team in Cascais have been pondering their options, and Paul gives us all another perspective for our daily gossip corners in an extract from his daily email to race HQ:
“These new Volvo 70's are high tech machines. They are going to break down. Breaking down is not new to round the world racing. We are all learning about what it takes to keep these things together.
“We are going to return to the race and I feel that we have a good chance to win this race.
“Option 1: Put a Band-Aid on the boat, sail for three weeks to Cape Town and collect 1.5 points, or possibly a few more points if others breakdown on this leg, arrive 1 day before the in-port race, and basically go into leg 2, one of the most difficult legs of the race, beat and not fully prepared.
“Option 2: Ship the boat to Cape Town, do the repairs properly, proactively seek out and improve the structural integrity of the boat in areas that have not yet broken, sea trial the boat offshore for 3 days before leg 2, and enter the in-port race and leg 2 properly prepared.”
And finally Chris Bedford our resident meteorological guy about town explains what he thinks may occur as the fleet near the ITCZ (The inter tropical convergence zone – known as the doldrums).
“The forecasts are smiling on the boats. The Doldrums are forecast to narrow with a nice crossing zone around 30W at about 5 deg N. The boats will need to be quick to get there as showers and thunderstorms will start to close in on this zone in about three days. Sunergy and Friends will have some time to watch how the lead boats fare through the doldrums, hoping to pick up some information on what path is most likely to provide benefit.
Over the past 24 hrs there has been a pretty big split in the fleet, The two ABN AMRO boats have basically just booted it out to the west, which has appeared as a big loss on distance to go to our first gate of the race at Fernando, but if our plan comes to fruition it will take us a few days to get those miles back with interest. The reason I know about this being Seb’s big picture plan over there on ABN AMRO TWO is because that was what we have been talking about for the last month as we have been slowly winding up for this first leg.
Then you have seen Ericsson generally pick her way down the middle and then Brazil 1 seems to be generally on the gybe that is taking her closer to the mark, but historically this tactic is leaving her a little too far east. However it is a gamble which seems to be paying off at the moment, but we won’t really know the whole picture for a few days yet as we make our way south into the warmer weather. On that note it has been amazing how much quicker it has warmed up during this Volvo race due to us of course starting further south, having faster boats and having a blisteringly fast race pace to start with. Tomorrow will be a full on shorts and T-shirt day….
Today has been a tricky day dealing with massive clouds that can have
anything from 3 to 30 knots of wind, as well as 50 degree wind shifts…. We haven’t had the best days of the race today, mentally I think that we are all a bit too tired to have done a really nice job of it, but no excuses, the boat is pretty much back in one piece, we have stuck to our plan tactically which I am happy with and now it’s just a matter of sailing the boat hard and hopefully see a little more of some “Black Betty “ speed...
Talk soon
Cheers
Mike
Although the leading four are now approaching the ITCZ (The Doldrums), which has led to an increase in temperature, it has also meant that the shifty winds found in the massive clouds typical of this area are dishing out anything from three to 30 knots of wind as well as 50 degree wind shifts.
There’s no one better than Mike Sanderson himself, skipper of ABN AMRO ONE, who is actually out on the race course, to explain the tactics:
“The two ABN AMRO boats have basically just booted it out to the west, which has appeared as a big loss on distance to go to our first gate of the race at Fernando. But if our plan comes to fruition, it will take us few days to get those miles back with interest. Then you have seen Ericsson (Neal McDonald) generally pick her way down the middle [of the course] and then Brasil 1 (Torben Grael) seems to be generally on the gybe that is taking her closer to the mark, but, historically, this tactic is leaving her a little too far to the east. It is a gamble which seems to be paying off at the moment, but we won’t really know the whole picture for a few days yet as we make our way south into the warmer weather.”
So what’s actually happening on the score board? Brasil 1 holds on to the lead, fighting of an advancing Ericsson, who has reduced the margin from 57 nm at 1600 GMT today to 35nm at 2200 GMT tonight. ABN AMRO ONE and ABN AMRO TOO (Sebastien Josse) are level pegging, breathing down the neck of Brasil 1, just 39 nm behind her and ABN AMRO TWO is averaging the highest speed of the fleet over the last six hour period. It’s all to play for in the battle for supremacy.
The Chicago Maritime Festival will take place on March 11th. It offers the most diverse maritime program in the Great Lakes. The Chicago Historical Society (our partner and host) will be under extreme makeover (renovation) during the early part of 2006 but the good folks at CHS have made accommodations for the festival at the Latin School right across the street (SE corner of North Avenue and Clark Street). The Latin School offers a fine theatre and several seminar rooms.
Featured performers include: John Townley, sailor, historian, concertina guru, and legendary shantyman David HB Drake, Milwaukee's shantyman, Tom & Chris Kastle, singers, sailors, songwriters, and storytellers and (just confirmed) the 20 man shanty choir from Holland, the Boekaneirs.
The outreach program to area schools, libraries, and senior centers will be expanded as will the seminar offerings. If you have a school or organization who would like a presentation contact the festival 773-774-7216 or visit www.chicagomaritimefestival.org.
FAMILIAR WATERS
The lastest CD from Tom and Chris Kastle is now available for purchase from the Kastles' website at: www.kastles.net.
That must be the only question these navigators have on their minds right now. The leading pack has finally found the trade winds, 15-20 knots from the north east, probably to their relief.
This breeze will then slowly veer east during the next 24 to 48 hours taking the fleet down to the ITCZ (The inter tropical convergence zone – known as the doldrums) where decisions will be even more difficult. There seems to be two trains of thought between the teams, the decision between good pressure or a more southerly course. Currently ABN AMRO ONE (Mike Sanderson) and ABN AMRO TWO (Sebastien Josse) are opting for good pressure out to the west whilst Torben Grael on Brasil 1 has chosen to bite the bullet and stick with the lighter breeze nearer the Canaries on the left hand side of the course, hopefully gaining an advantage from the better angle.
In the past 24 hours we have seen Brasil 1 keep their lead and extend it in the past six hours to 57 nautical miles ahead of second place, even though two of their crew members spent a frantic eight hours piecing their masthead spinnaker back together after trawling it yesterday morning. Adrienne Cahalan commented how they were sitting nervously in 15 knots waiting to use the fixed sail and hoping they were not losing too many miles to the others. But it looks like they were not sitting on their laurels for long.
The battle for the two other podium places is still being waged with great furor behind Brasil 1. ABN AMRO ONE, ABN AMRO TWO and Ericsson (Neal McDonald) are constantly changing positions. Ericsson moving from third at 1600 yesterday to fourth during the night and then, after a nifty gybe, are now currently in second.
Both movistar (Bouwe Bekking) and Pirates of the Carribbean (Paul Cayard) are assessing their damage in port today and weighing up whether it would be more beneficial to finish the leg from where they suspended or to ship the yachts straight to Cape Town.
But Sunergy and Friends (Grant Wharington) has pulled off a pit stop to rival a Formula One team in Porto Santo, a small white sanded island to the north east of Madeira. They suspended racing at 03.02 this morning and have just restarted at 13.19 this afternoon after a mad dash to fix their gooseneck and so it seems their head (toilet). Campbell Field, (navigator) explained how they had to perform some serious surgery and no, it wasn’t just an excuse to stop for an espresso and croissant.
“We have taken the opportunity to have a good clean up, check over all our systems, and fix the head. Never a pleasant job, to fix the head at sea, so it is a mixed blessing that we are at the dock to do this. Nearly a very embarrassing moment for yours truly, as a few test pumps (always, always, always test pump a head at sea before you use it: to check that the previous occupant hasn't 'fessed up to their blockage and leaves you, quite literally in the poo)...anyway, after a few test pumps the whole bloody handle came off in my hand. A bemused expression and a bit of head scratching later, I deduced that it was not a good idea to use the loo, and had to resort to au naturale off the stern.
“My fellow crew were not so keen on that approach so there was a bit of a queue to the head once I had tackled the task and repaired with Scotty's assistance once we hit the dock. Easy fix: pull it apart, put it back together, screw the handle back on, check there are no parts left over, feed it a few splashes of olive oil, let someone else test it, and hey presto, we were in action, that handle was flying fast.
“OK, moving on, from the second most exciting thing that happened today. Top of the list is to get the boom back on board, stronger than ever, and charge on west. Unfortunately this means that we will fall into line behind the 4 boats in front, so we will have to look for opportunities later down the track to try a little buffalo girls (buffalo girls go around the outside...etc) to rein the leaders in.”
After Mike Sanderson’s very matter of fact comment about his small fire onboard ABN AMRO ONE yesterday, Si Fi (Simon Fisher) navigator on ABN AMRO TWO reported in a radio interview, in the same style, how they had been hit by lightening amid the organised chaos of the weekend.
“We were yachting along in a particularly nasty squall with about 40 knots of wind and all of a sudden the wind gear went out and, when I attempted to fix it, we realized that the cable all the way through the boat was fried. The cups and the vain had been blown off the top wand, so we must have been hit by something.
“But it was probably a good thing because I think it was quite a bit windier than we thought it was when we were blasting, which probably attributes to our big day.”
He added that they have always known they had good potential to do well in the race and they seem to be realising that now. The crew are well rested despite blowing out two of their bunks and have been in visual contact with the “black boat” (ABN AMRO ONE) watching them gybe off and back again chasing down black clouds. So after the hectic weekend things seem to be eventually calming down for the teams out on the race track.
From Ellen this morning:
“We are both knackered; Bilou (aka Roland Jourdain) fell asleep and dropped his tea whilst we were talking this morning. We are frustrated that we've had the nasty clouds. Today must surely be our day.”
From Roland Jourdain (aka Bilou) onoboard Sill et Veolia:
“It’s better now we’re more or less out of this mess. We got pretty stuck and thankfully we’re moving again, our spirits are a bit dented, Virbac-Paprec is sailing a bit faster in lighter airs, they took out 7 – 8 miles from us in 2 hours! So it wasn’t our lucky day. And Bonduelle has had a boost over in the East. It’s tough in here, when you think everyone must be going through the same thing, but then they’re not when you see the polls. The wind is stabilizing from the East – South East, we should get into the new wind in a few hours but Virbac-Paprec will have got this before us. We’ll have to wait another 24hrs to be completely out of here. We’re both exhausted after being on deck pretty much all night, and it’s now really hot, we haven’t adapted to the heat yet. Ellen was talking to me earlier and I just fell asleep listening to her! But she really is impressive on the water, the energy she has and the way she manages things, she’s truly exceptional!”
The Open 60 frontrunners have been experiencing variable conditions overnight and today, as the Doldrums appear to be more active than the weather models previously forecasted. The wind is fluctuating both in speed (5-30 knots) and direction as the boats pass through the random squalls followed swiftly by light airs. Last night saw Sill et Veolia slow as the unstable conditions favoured rivals Virbac-Paprec to the east, allowing Dick and Peyron to build a 19.6 mile lead overnight. By this morning’s position at 0900 GMT it appeared that Jourdain and MacArthur had found the consistent breeze once more, as their boat speed rose to double figures again.
Jean Le Cam and Kito De Pavant onboard Bonduelle (Sill et Veolia’s Lombard designed sistership) are back in the hunt and posing a real threat to the leaders, after finding even more beneficial conditions further to the east overnight, to close to within 36 miles of Sill et Veolia. Whilst the fight continues for the podium, the battle for forth place is also being closely fought between Ecover who is just holding onto fourth 2.3 miles ahead of Skandia (5th).
Virbac-Paprec, Sill et Veolia and Bonduelle are approximately 4 degrees north, 240 miles from the Equator, which they are expected to cross tomorrow morning – when exactly will depend upon the Doldrums finally releasing Sill et Veolia into the South Atlantic Trade Winds.
By Wednesday afternoon, the top six boats should be sailing in the south-east Trade Winds, forecast to be blowing between 18-20 knots. All six will be looking to put their foot to the floor for the drag race to the finish line in Brazil. With 1113 miles remaining in the race, it has almost become a level playing field again.
OPEN 60 RANKINGS 1500 GMT:
1. VIRBAC-PAPREC / DISTANCE TO FINISH 1133.9 MILES
2. SILL ET VEOLIA / +19 MILES
3. BONDUELLE / +55.6 MILES
4 ECOVER / +87.3MILES
5. SKANDIA / +89.6 MILES
Good day to all of you.
We’re about to complete three days at the sea and the routine starts to become familiar. The first two days are always uncomfortable but this time it was even worse. With strong winds and high waves the boat is always wet, inside and outside. We found some leaks that only appear in this kind of conditions.
Yesterday, when everything was about to settle down, we had a little
problem with one of our sails and it took the whole day to fix it.
Right now we’re sailing in great conditions and it is getting warm. Maybe in some days we will miss the cool winds of this region. It will be quite hot when we get to the Doldrums.
Abraços,
Kiko Pellicano
Miami, Fla. (November 15, 2005) - US SAILING, national governing body for the sport, has announced that on-line registration for the 2006 US SAILING Rolex Miami OCR is now open. A mainstay on the winter circuit for Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls, the 17th Annual US SAILING Rolex Miami OCR is expected to bring together hundreds of sailors from about 30 countries to Biscayne Bay from January 22-27, 2006. Registration information and other regatta and Winter Circuit information can be located at www.ussailing.org/Olympics/RolexMiamiOCR.
The event, ranked as Grade 1 by the International Sailing Federation (ISAF), is a mandatory event for the 2006 US Sailing Teams as well as the Canadian Team; a country qualifier event for the 2007 Pan American Games; and one of the first Grade 1 events for the new Neil Pryde RS:X board. Competitors will also enjoy exciting racing, improved facilities, and new race formats with on-the-water judging in the finals.
The competition will be raced in all classes selected for the next Olympic Games: 49er, 470 (Men & Women), Finn, Laser, Laser Radial, Neil Pryde RS:X (Men & Women), Star, Tornado, and Yngling. Racing will also be held for the 2.4mR and Sonar, two of the three events selected for the 2008 Paralympic Games. ISAF recently announced that the UD-18 will be the third and new Paralympic class, but because the equipment is currently not widely available, it will not be used in the 2006 Rolex Miami OCR.
Saturday morning saw a Northerly fighting a Westerly with some NW in
there that made for some challenging race committee work.
A nice SW finally filled in mid-afternoon and a total of seven races
were sailed in each division. Triangle windward-leeward and triangle
windward courses were sailed all day. Current was a huge factor,
flooding near the bottom of the course and ebbing at the top.
Sunday a beautiful SW filled in at 10-15 knots and nine more races were sailed in each division using the same courses. There was one protest resulting in a DSQ, one breakdown and one OCS in thirty-two races.
Thanks to Judges Pat Dillon and Tim Hotchkiss.
Congratulations to Yale for winning the Women's ACC's.
A division = 16 Races
B division = 16 Races
A B TOT
1. Yale 98 54 152
2. St. Mary's 66 119 185
3. Navy 115 84 199
4. Charleston 106 109 215
5. Georgetown 135 94 229
6. South Florida 137 111 248
7. Harvard 124 136 260
8. Tufts 113 150 263
9. Brown 164 108 272
10. Dartmouth 136 136 272
11. Boston College 143 153 296
12. Hobart/WmSmith 183 170 353
13. Boston University 160 196 356
14. Connecticut College 169 190 359
15. Eckerd 193 209 402
16. Coast Guard 214 228 442
17. Fordham 247 218 465
18. Old Dominion 230 271 501
A division = 16 Races
TOT
1. St. Mary's 66 Adrienne Patterson '08/Melissa Pumphrey '07,
Keisha Pearson '09
2. Yale 98 Molly Carapiet '06/ Hannah Oakland '07
3. Charleston 106 Alana O'Reilly '06/Suzy Lintern '06
4. Tufts 113 Kaity Storck '08/ Lindsey Gibbons-Neff '08,
Katie Greenlie '08
5. Navy 115 Katie Whitman '07/Andrea White '07,Cat Long '07
6. Harvard 124 Roberta Steele '09,Sloan Devlin '06/
Christina Dahlman '07
7. Georgetown 135 Derby Anderson '06/Megan Melican '06,
Jackie Schmitz '06
8. Dartmouth 136 Emily East '06/Kate Hacker '07
9. South Florida 137 Kristen Herman '06/Jee Lee '06
10. Boston College 143 Leigh Kempton '08/Mallory Fontenot '08,
Emily Flint '08
11. Boston University 160 Chanz McManus '06/Kerry Sullivan '08
12. Brown 164 Katie Lovelace '06/Christina Starr '06
13. Connecticut College 169 Emily Whipple '06/Elizabeth Hawkins '08,
Erin Riley '06
14. Hobart/WmSmith 183 Augusta Nadler '06/ Molly Lawson '06,
Lauren Anderson '07
15. Eckerd 193 Lindsey Nahmias '06/Leo Calzadilla '06
16. Coast Guard 214 Sarah Morin '06/Emily Kehrt '09,
Alanna McGovern '08
17. Old Dominion 230 Cara DiSanti '07/Jaci Finney '09
18. Fordham 247 Anne-Marie Martin '08/Jennifer Brandes '08,
Katie Griffin '08, Katie O'Malley '07
B division = 16 Races
TOT
1. Yale 54 Emily Hill '07/Meghan Pearl '06,
Kendra Emhiser '07
2. Navy 84 Charlotte Hill '08/Maggie Reynolds '08,
Andrea White '08
3. Georgetown 94 Blaire Herron '08/Leigh Fogwell '08,
Megan Melican '06
4. Brown 108 Merabea Danforth '06/Jennifer Bauer '06
5. Charleston 109 Andrea Savage '09/Dani Neri '08
6. South Florida 111 Abby Ethington '06/Ashley Wierzbicki '06
7. St. Mary's 119 Katie Smith '06/Kate Reynolds '06,
Jen Chamberlain '09
8. Dartmouth 136 Adele Wilhelm '08/Betsy Bryant '08
9. Harvard 136 Jessica Baker '06/ Christina Cordeiro '09
10. Tufts 150 Emily Randall '09/Gretchen Curtis '07,
Meredith Ginley '08
11. Boston College 153 Martha Pitt '09/Lily Beck '09
12. Hobart/WmSmith 170 Kate Brush '07/Kate Wilson '08,
Marilyn Cassedy '08
13. Connecticut College 190 Lesley Sutherland '09, Candace Whipple '09/
L. Colburn 06,E. Lawson '09,C. Whipple,E.Hawkins
14. Boston University 196 Janel Zarkowsky '09, Kate Moon '06/
Lauren Kugel '07, Amy Cieslik '06
15. Eckerd 209 Sarah Swan '08/Allison Cribbs '06
16. Fordham 218 Megan Keating '08, Jennifer Brandes '08/
Katie Griffin '08, Jacky Monterosso '07
17. Coast Guard 228 Brittani Lashaway '07/Betsy Tufts '07
18. Old Dominion 271 Alisa Ayres '09/Elyssa Albert '09
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 TOT
1
Yale A 2 11 2 4 DSQ 5 2 10 8 8 1 2 4 7 1 12 98
B 7 4 7 3 3 5 3 1 7 1 1 6 1 1 1 3 54
9 24 33 40 62 72 77 88 103 112 114 122 127 135 137 152 152
2
St. Mary's A 7 1 4 5 1 1 1 4 4 6 5 6 6 3 6 6 66
B 1 1 9 13 1 4 7 17 5 6 12 12 9 7 14 1 119
8 10 23 41 43 48 56 77 86 98 115 133 148 158 178 185 185
3
Navy A 3 8 11 1 3 6 3 17 7 1 16 4 9 10 12 4 115
B 5 14 2 8 10 1 1 4 1 8 8 1 4 8 4 5 84
8 30 43 52 65 72 76 97 105 114 138 143 156 174 190 199 199
4
Charleston A 5 2 10 2 10 12 4 1 16 5 2 1 5 9 8 14 106
B 9 7 8 4 16 2 14 5 4 2 10 2 3 11 10 2 109
14 23 41 47 73 87 105 111 131 138 150 153 161 181 199 215 215
5
Georgetown A 16 12 6 18 12 4 17 6 3 7 4 5 7 2 14 2 135
B 3 8 1 2 2 6 5 9 2 9 9 5 14 10 2 7 94
19 39 46 66 80 90 112 127 132 148 161 171 192 204 220 229 229
6
South Florida A 18 4 5 15 9 15 6 3 5 10 14 12 2 1 9 9 137
B 6 3 5 10 6 3 10 2 6 4 16 13 2 3 9 13 111
24 31 41 66 81 99 115 120 131 145 175 200 204 208 226 248 248
7
Harvard A 15 18 17 13 2 2 9 2 1 4 7 9 3 12 5 5 124
B 8 9 10 15 8 10 8 8 8 7 4 9 10 4 8 10 136
23 50 77 105 115 127 144 154 163 174 185 203 216 232 245 260 260
8
Tufts A 8 9 12 6 5 3 8 8 15 3 3 3 11 6 10 3 113
B 13 2 6 6 9 15 4 7 10 10 14 14 8 9 17 6 150
21 32 50 62 76 94 106 121 146 159 176 193 212 227 254 263 263
9
Brown A 1 7 16 3 4 8 11 14 13 9 17 10 10 15 11 15 164
B 10 12 4 5 4 8 9 3 9 3 7 11 7 2 6 8 108
11 30 50 58 66 82 102 119 141 153 177 198 215 232 249 272 272
10
Dartmouth A 4 13 13 11 11 18 15 16 2 2 8 8 1 5 2 7 136
B 2 6 17 1 12 13 12 10 13 5 11 7 5 6 7 9 136
6 25 55 67 90 121 148 174 189 196 215 230 236 247 256 272 272
11
Boston College A 6 3 3 8 14 11 12 9 6 12 10 17 8 13 3 8 143
B 11 18 3 14 5 12 13 13 12 11 3 4 6 5 12 11 153
17 38 44 66 85 108 133 155 173 196 209 230 244 262 277 296 296
12
Hobart/WmSmith A 14 14 8 10 7 13 7 18 11 14 6 7 14 16 13 11 183
B 17 11 12 17 7 7 6 6 18 12 5 8 13 12 15 4 170
31 56 76 103 117 137 150 174 203 229 240 255 282 310 338 353 353
13
Boston University A 10 6 1 7 15 9 10 5 18 13 11 11 12 4 18 10 160
B 16 13 14 9 13 16 15 11 3 16 2 15 11 16 11 15 196
26 45 60 76 104 129 154 170 191 220 233 259 282 302 331 356 356
14
Connecticut College A 9 10 7 16 16 10 5 11 9 17 13 13 17 11 4 1 169
B 4 5 13 16 17 9 2 15 17 14 15 3 17 13 13 17 190
13 28 48 80 113 132 139 165 191 222 250 266 300 324 341 359 359
15
Eckerd A 12 16 9 12 6 7 OCS 15 10 16 9 15 16 8 7 16 193
B 14 10 18 11 11 14 18 14 15 13 6 17 16 17 3 12 209
26 52 79 102 119 140 177 206 231 260 275 307 339 364 374 402 402
16
Coast Guard A 17 5 15 9 13 16 14 13 14 11 12 14 15 18 15 BKD 214
B 12 15 15 7 18 17 11 12 11 15 17 16 15 15 16 16 228
29 49 79 95 126 159 184 209 234 260 289 319 349 382 413 442 442
17
Fordham A 11 17 14 17 17 14 13 12 12 18 18 18 18 14 17 17 247
B 15 17 11 12 14 11 17 16 14 18 18 10 12 14 5 14 218
26 60 85 114 145 170 200 228 254 290 326 354 384 412 434 465 465
18
Old Dominion A 13 15 18 14 8 17 16 7 17 15 15 16 13 17 16 13 230
B 18 16 16 18 15 18 16 18 16 17 13 18 18 18 18 18 271
31 62 96 128 151 186 218 243 276 308 336 370 401 436 470 501 501
WINNING TEAM : Yale
Molly Carapiet '06/ Hannah Oakland '07
Emily Hill '07/Meghan Pearl '06,
Kendra Emhiser '07
A third Volvo 70 is on her way to port to effect repairs after the gales of the last 24 hours. Sunergy and friends is on her way to Madeira some 400 miles to the south where the crew will repair the damage to the gooseneck, the fitting which holds the boom to the mast of the boat.
Navigator Campbell Field said earlier this evening, “We estimate that it will take us around 26 to 30 hours to get there [Madeira], and about six hours to repair the damage. We are still in a yacht race and we want to turn around our repair as soon as possible and get back out on the track.” The crew managed to make a temporary repair at first light this morning, but it failed again this afternoon and crew decided it was impossible to sail the boat to South Africa with a temporary repair. “Life on board is still OK, “ reported Field, adding, “everyone is in good spirits despite these setbacks. We are still trucking along with surfs up to 20 knotts, with just a trysail and a Number three headsail up!! Mind you it is blowing 35 knots +...”
Meanwhile, Kimo Worthing, the general Manager of the Pirates of the Caribbean team issued the following statement:
“The communication systems on board are not yet functioning, but I am in contact with Paul via satellite phone continually. At 5am this morning, there was a strong vibration on the boat that lasted approximately 15 minutes. Erle Williams went off watch to do a boat check and saw lots of water around the keel structure. Upon closer examination he saw that the lid on the fish tank was being pushed up by the water pressure causing the water to come out. At the time, the wind was at 25 to 35 knots and the boat was travelling at 30 knots. Paul came to assess the situation and made the decision to slow the boat down, which took about an hour. After the boat slowed, the leak stopped.
“The boat is now headed to shore and currently is about 106 miles from destination Cascais, Portugal. The storm jib and tri-sail are up, wind at 40 to 50 knots. Shore team is on its way to meet the boat in Cascais. All is under control. We will continue to provide updates.”
No one could have asked for a more dramatic start to the Volvo Ocean Race 2005-06. After the hectic weekend the crews are finally seeing lighter winds and more hospitable conditions to really show off what they are capable of.
It’s fast and it’s tactical with Brasil 1 (Torben Grael), ABN AMRO ONE (Mike Sanderson) and Ericsson (Neal McDonald) at the front of the fleet battling it out for the lead. At 2200 last night the young guns on ABN AMRO TWO were in the lead by eight miles showing how Sebastien Josse and Simon Fisher (navigator) are making a formidable team, as the wind has dropped, they have slipped to fourth position, 24 nautical miles behind the Brazilian team.
“The last 24 hours have been exciting at times, pretty damn scary at others,” said navigator Simon Fisher. “The atmosphere is good, albeit very wet and uncomfortable on board. Inevitably some of this water finds its way downstairs and as I type water is splashing up around my ankles.
“All in all this has been an awesome 24 hours for us, were pretty stoked to have been at the head of the fleet for this part of the race in such difficult conditions. Adrenaline is running high and the crew is happy to be on the water after such a long lead up to the race!”
But it was all change by 0400 this morning as Brasil 1 moved from third position to first, overtaking the youngsters’ yacht and ABN AMRO ONE (Mike Sanderson) to take a one nautical mile lead which they still clinging onto today at 1600. At 1000 ABN AMRO ONE had a boost and moved into second, showing the boys who are the bosses, despite having their own problems.
Skipper Mike Sanderson, reported a small fire at 1200 GMT today, explaining that a bolt had dropped into the battery box and lodged between a battery terminal and the carbon fibre structure. Carbon fibre is conductive and the resulting short circuit took out the wiring and systems in navigation, communications and the media station. Once the fire was controlled, navigator Stan Honey, managed to re-wire the damaged areas. Mike is understandably pleased to be back in contact with the world and also reported that the crew are working to repair the steering station.
Ericsson (Neal McDonald) the early leader has been in fourth for the past 24 hours but are gradually clawing their way back despite having one of their sails dragging in the water 30 hours ago and then having halyards and various sheets caught around their appendages ever since. They have finally, in the last few hours, been able to slow Ericsson down, as the conditions begin to improve, and have managed to get Jason Carrington and Richard Mason over the side of the boat to cut away the sheets and untangle themselves. In the last six hours they have moved from fourth to third position, relegating ABN AMRO TWO.
As for the three yachts bringing up the rear, all is well as can be expected. Both Pirates of the Caribbean (Paul Cayard) and movistar (Bouwe Bekking) have officially suspended racing and in the last hour, movistar docked at Portimao in Portugal. In a radio interview this morning Bekking spoke about their contingency plan.
“From (Portimao) there several options are open. Stick the boat on a truck, and drive it to the nearest big port for shipping it to Cape Town. Or do the repairs locally, which will mean flying in a big building team, and with the danger of not making it in time to Cape Town.”
He followed with the obvious disappointment that he and his crew are feeling at the moment, “Well so much for that, the boat with the most miles has gone to port. I am not the happiest person right now, scratching my head, why this could have happened after all these miles. Have we been pushing to hard? Yes of course we were pushing hard, but we have done that before. We were fully under control, sail changes in time and just sailing faster than the others, because we knew the limits of this boat and ourselves.”
Pirates of the Caribbean have also just recently reached the dock but this time in Cascais, Portugal, and are currently evaluating the situation. A statement is expected in the next few hours.
Sunergy and Friends (Grant Wharington) is 250 miles behind the leaders and will stop in Madeira to repair their gooseneck. The crew tried valiantly to repair it and avoid the pit stop but yesterday afternoon the jury gooseneck failed forcing their hand. Other than that the crew is well and in good spirits despite the setback and sea sickness!
Glenn Bourke, CEO of the Volvo Ocean Race 2005-06 commented today on the dramatic events of the past few days.
“The past few days have been very hard for some of the teams with the horrendous conditions out in the Atlantic. The points system introduced for the first time in 1997-98 went some way towards offering the opportunity of allowing a team, who has had problems, to still finish the race in a podium position.
“This time we decided to weigh the majority of the points towards the end of the race as historically the boats tend to have breakdowns during the earlier legs. That was our logic and while it’s a pity we have three breakdowns in this leg, I have no doubt these boats will still be a big factor in our race. It is probably a blessing in disguise that these problems have happened early in the race and not in the inhospitable Southern Ocean thousands of miles from land.
“I have to commend the great sportsmanship of Bouwe Bekking (movistar) who, during this period, kept all the other teams fully informed of their problems in order that they not meet the same fate.”
What’s on the cards for the next days? Chris Bedford’s forecast for the fleet looks like this: With the strong low which caused the 50 knot winds for the fleet drifting slowly to the west, the strongest winds are now north of Madeira and subsequently north of the leading pack allowing them some respite.
The breeze for them should drop significantly and then should stabilise as the north easterly trade winds become the predominant wind maker. Tactically, the leading pack will face an important decision shortly on exactly where to gybe back toward the south, as the wind has been veering right causing their courses to become increasing westerly.
This morning gave us a bit of a reprieve from the heavy weather we have had to endure over the last couple of days and a chance to have a look over the boat and its crew to check the casualties of the last few days. Luckily nothing to serious, a few broken bunks, some damaged wind gear, a hole in the generator wet box but nothing that cannot be fixed and nothing that will slow the boat down. Luckily the same can be said of the crew, which although tired and hungry are in one piece apart from a few cuts and bruises after 48 hours of being washed around the deck in 30 knots of wind.
Spirits are good on board despite having slipped a little on the rankings, some of which we can attribute to trawling a spinnaker late last night - the snuffer hoop making a very good sea anchor as the snap shackle on the mast gave way dropping the whole sail in the water. Luckily it was recovered in almost one piece after a 30 minute fight get it in.
We are also stuck a bit further north than our competitors while we are unable to use that spinnaker and the fleet has been able to dive a little deeper than us although we are hoping that as we get closer to the gybe point we can use some of our extra westing to our advantage to get across the bows of a few of our competitors.
Cheers,
Si Fi.
Simon Fisher, navigator
~ Leaders: at 14:44:00 GMT: Banque Populaire 2293m DTF (IMOCA 60), Virbac-Paprec 1403m DTF (ORMA 60), Gryphon Solo 2349m DTF (Open 50 Monohull), Crepes Whaou ! 1703m DTF (Open 50 Multihull)
~ Capsize: ORMA 60 Multihull TIM Progetto Italia capsized at approx. 0515 GMT this morning after a failure of the autopilot electronics. Read below for Soldini’s personal account of what happened. Four ORMA Multihulls are left racing to Brazil.
~ ETAs: The first previsions are for the IMOCA Monohull leaders to arrive before the Multihull fleet from Sunday 20th November in Bahia. The Media Relations team will be travelling to Brazil on Thursday 17th November and working out of the CENAB in Salvador from Friday 18th November. Telephone contact details to be confirmed.
IMOCA 60 CLASS UPDATE
The rhythm has come down a notch for the IMOCA Monohull fleet racing towards the Equator, level with Liberia and Sierra Leone, as boat speed drops below 15 knots heading more or less southwards in a dying easterly breeze. Neck and neck, barely half a degree of separation in latitude at 28 W, Virbac-Paprec (Dick / L. Peyron) responded to the charge from Sill et Veolia (Jourdain / MacArthur) and has now regained a slim 7.6m lead positioned fractionally nearer to the rhumb line. They are starting to enter the influence of the Doldrums around 8 degrees North as at the last set of positions show their instantaneous boat speed now below 10 knots, whereas the chasing pack, lead by Bonduelle (Le Cam / De Pavant) 87m behind, are still maintaining 10 15 knots. This is a good sign that the Doldrums are quite high up, and therefore signal a relatively fast transition through this unpredictable meteorological zone. Each team has their own routing for cutting through the Doldrums, Ecover (Golding / Wavre) taking the option furthest out at 29 W, Bonduelle and Pro-Form (Thiercelin / Drouglazet) pretty much taking the same route as Sill et Veolia, and Skandia (Thomspon / Oxley) heading a bit over to the west, lining up more behind Ecover.
Sailing through the Doldrums overnight, however inactive this zone may look on the charts, will be a tricky affair, and all the skippers must remain super vigilant for the squalls, which can pass over with little or no warning, and as the positions are so close, these teams will want to hang on to as much sail as possible, but risking the possibility of getting caught with too much sail up in a 40+ knot squall and taking the consequences.
What will be clear tomorrow is that whoever comes out in pole position from this duel up front between Virbac-Paprec and Sill et Veolia tomorrow morning will take the advantage for the fast reaching passage to Brazil in well established SE trade winds at around 5 N. The four boats flanked behind will also find out whether their individual routing to cross the Doldrums at certain points of latitude has paid off and who comes out best placed for the ensuing SE Trade conditions.
OPEN 50 CLASS 2 MONOHULL UPDATE
This morning the two leaders in the Open 50 Monohull class, Gryphon Solo (Harris / Hall) and Vedettes de Bréhat (De Broc / S. Escoffier) fell into their first weather trap a larger than forecast anticyclonic ‘bubble’ spread over their route which has resulted in both boats being more or less becalmed all morning. Servane Escoffier described their situation: “Oh, there’s been no more than 2 knots of wind all morning! We’re really going nowhere, and I think Gryphon Solo must be becalmed too as this bubble has spread wider than expected. We’ve also spent two days in the workshop sewing up a ripped spinnaker that tore and replacing a carbon pole, which broke in our last gybe through the Canaries, and also sorting out an oil leak on board.”
The distances between the boats may seem large, but nevertheless, as the leaders struggle to pick up more than 5 knots of boat speed for the best part of the day, 4th placed Artforms (Stone / Owen) has been reaping the rewards of their Westerly position, now only 47 miles behind 3rd placed Top 50 Guadeloupe, and is well positioned for rounding the Cape Verde Islands offshore, whereas the top three boats have all this afternoon put in a gybe to the West to get out of the calm patch and reposition to round the islands as well. Fifth placed Polarity Solo (Metcalf / Finn) is sailing deep and tracking Artforms’ route well to the West of the rhumb line in the steady NE Trades and clocked the fastest boat speed (VMG and SOG) in the Open 50 fleet at 9.2 knots.
MULTIHULL UPDATE: ORMA 60 FLEET
The three of the four remaining ORMA 60ft trimarans are closing in on each other heading just East of South towards the Ascension Island turning point level with Liberia, separated by one degree in latitude and 47 miles apart in the rankings. The Doldrums influence is still affecting these boats for the rest of the day, however, Banque Populaire (Bidegorry / Lemonchois) and Géant (Desjoyeaux / Destremau) have managed to pick up boat speed and also the top two positions once again from brief leader Gitana 11 (Le Peutrec / Guichard). The South easterly swell will be drawing them out of this meteorological phenomenon and the winds will gradually rotate and build to the SE. The tacking strategy to the Ascensions may open up more of a gap between these three, which will be played out on one or other side of the race course depending on the tendency of the S Hemisphere Trade winds either to be more southerly or easterly in direction.
CLASS 2 OPEN 50 MULTIHULL FLEET
Crepes Whaou ! (F-Y. Escoffier/ K. Escoffier) is well south of the Cape Verdes, 958m in front of Jean Stalavan (Quintin / Sohier). The latter team reported in that the retractable rudder casing has been damaged and rendered the boat difficult to steer. They have a spare fixed rudder on board but have had to slow down and lose miles in the process of replacing this. They were 700m from the Cape Verde Islands sailing in a choppy 1m sea at 7 knots boat speed when this happened. The dismasted Open 50 Multihull, Acanthe Ingenierie, reached Cadiz at 1000 GMT today. Anne Caseneuve and Christophe Houdet will undertake repairs themselves and then sail the boat back to her home port of Arradon in the Morbihan gulf.
TIM PROGETTO ITALIA CAPSIZE
Whilst navigating through the Doldrums in manageable but variable conditions, Italian team Giovanni Soldini and Vittorio Malingri capsized on the ORMA 60ft trimaran TIM Progetto Italia 400m South West of Dakar (Senegal) at approximately 0515 GMT this morning. The boat was sailing at average speeds of 13+ knots and Giovanni had switched to autopilot for the time it would take him to trim the sails.
At 1315 GMT Italian skipper Giovanni Soldini spoke to the Race HQ in Paris to recount the incident to Race Director, Jean Maurel: “We were traveling relatively quickly downwind, but the time of the capsize, there was about 30, 35 or 40 knots, I’m not too sure, we were under a storm and so I can’t really be more precise. Vittorio (Malingri) was asleep in the cabin. I had to trim the genoa sheet, so I switched to autopilot and it was at that moment that a strong gust passed over. The boat began to luff and the pilot malfunctioned. I let off all the sheets as quickly as I could and tried to grab the helm back but it was already too late and so there we go, the windward hull lifted right up and over we went…”
The skippers did end up setting off their EPIRB distress beacon but assured that they are safe and sound. The CROSS Gris Nez informed the race organizations that they are looking for a ship which could be diverted to assist the trimaran skippers, which will take some time. But the Italians are relatively relaxed for the time being: “It’s okay, no stress, we’re quite okay sitting out here…we could stay out here for another week! I am just going to have to start economising on the Iridium phone. I’ve got out the ARGOS beacon and set off the EPIRB.”
Conditions in the area are favourable, the sea is relatively flat, and the wind isn’t too strong even if quite variable. The team has a stock of food and fresh water for the time being and so will stay with the boat until the eventual towing vessel is on the scene.
WEATHER by Louis Bodin
The ORMA multihulls are battling through the Doldrums separated by just one degree in latitude from each other, but the conditions can still be very localised and variable. The SE swell is slowly drawing them southwards and the fluctuating winds are shifting gradually to the South East. They will have to work out their tacking strategy to the Ascension Islands in relation to the wind direction. If the breeze has a tendance to shift to the East then they will head eastwards first, but if it rotates more to the South, then they will head southwards first. This could open up the gaps between the top three boats after they come out of the Doldrums around 5 6 degrees North.
The leading IMOCA Monohull 60’s are experiencing lighter Easterly winds and tonight will enter the influence of the Doldrums with unpredictable winds, and this will be the one time that the chasing pack can make up some real miles on the race course. The 15 25 knot SE Trade winds waiting for them at around 4 N remain strong. Not really the same kind of options as the multihulls, just a question of exploiting the conditions to go as quickly as possible. Whoever comes out the first from the Doldrums will have the advantage, that’s certain.
For the rest of the fleet, the 20 25 knot trade winds continue to prevail.
Official Rankings at 14:44:00 GMT
IMOCA Open 60 Class:
Pstn / Boat / Lat / Long / Hdg / DTF / DTL
1 Virbac-Paprec 7 11.16' N 28 05.88' W 11.2 200 1378.9 0.0
2 Sill et Veolia 7 26.80' N 28 23.96' W 12.5 191 1386.5 7.6
3 Bonduelle 8 51.84' N 28 22.00' W 15.7 184 1466.5 87.6
4 Ecover 9 48.12' N 29 10.56' W 13.2 192 1504.2 125.3
5 Skandia 10 19.64' N 28 49.64' W 15.1 204 1540.5 161.6
6 Pro-Form 10 22.28' N 28 29.68' W 15.0 189 1549.2 170.3
NL Roxy
Open 50 Monohull Class 2:
Pstn / Boat / Lat / Long / Hdg / DTF / DTL
1 Gryphon Solo 22 16.60' N 22 15.68' W 2.0 231 2344.3 0.0
2 Vedettes de Bréhat 24 19.80' N 20 17.94' W 2.6 223 2496.6 152.3
3 Top 50 Guadeloupe 25 21.00' N 17 27.48' W 6.3 242 2625.5 281.1
4 Artforms 28 38.40' N 23 59.64' W 9.7 246 2670.4 326.1
5 Polarity Solo 30 06.72' N 23 33.24' W 8.3 199 2761.5 417.2
ORMA Open 60 Class 14:44:00 GMT:
Pstn / Boat / Lat / Long / Hdg / DTF / DTL
1 Banque Populaire 4 11.72' N 20 19.00' W 12.8 176 2277.6 0.0
2 Géant 4 23.20' N 21 17.04' W 12.6 188 2314.8 37.3
3 Gitana 11 11 5 30.36' N 19 16.96' W 12.9 173 2325.3 47.8
NL Gitana 10
Open 50 Multihull Class 2 14:44:00 GMT:
Pstn / Boat / Lat / Long / Hdg / DTF / DTL
1 Crêpes Whaou ! 11 09.92' N 25 07.72' W 18.2 192 1669.4 0.0
2 Jean Stalaven 26 47.20' N 20 15.72' W 8.9 188 2627.5 958.1
Quotes from the Boats:
Monohulls:
Jean-Pierre Dick (Virbac-Paprec): The advantage we have is minimal, but we’re happy to have the upper hand for now of course. We’re not suffering from any great technical difficulties, it’s quite normal that the boats behind should catch up a bit when we’re the first to reach the lighter winds. The Doldrums are 50 odd miles ahead and I hope we can cross through as quickly as possible, getting enough sleep by now is crucial for staying vigilant on the helm and sail changes over the next day or so. We may have a new race coming out of the Doldrums, the standard of competition this time is much higher than it was two years ago in the IMOCA fleet, it’s really passionate and stressful!”
Roland Jourdain (Sill et Veolia): We’re not yet in the real Doldrums conditions, it’s more the ‘Canada Dry’ version with the taste of it but not the reality. Saying that last night Ellen was superb on her watch when we did pass under a series of squalls which I don’t think Virbac would have seen. We’ve got 6 8 knots less wind but we’ve not really slowed up much. The Doldrums won’t be the nightmare that they normally are, and between the two boats there’s hardly a degree of separation, so we don’t have any great strategy for this part of the race, although traditionally being further in the West is best, but we’re just keeping the boat going fast so we can reach the SE Trades on the other side.”
Mike Golding (Ecover): "We are fairly happy with our position relative to the boats in front. We had to do something different rather than simply follow the others, so we will just have to see what happens. We are happy to be somewhere different. We are moving well and really just hoping it will continue. We had a big, heavy rain shower last night and one squall this morning. Getting the big spinnaker up and down has been difficult, having to take it behind the mainsail. First time it probably took us about half an hour. It's a big job and makes us a bit nervous with squalls about. Otherwise we seem to have reasonable breeze which is always a bonus here, it's not too awkward ahead but you really just never really know."
Brian Thompson (Skandia): “Yesterday at dawn we had a shock as we noticed a 3m tear just above the foot of the loose luffed Jib top sail. It was a tough place to repair properly as we should drop the sail without furling it first, to get at the tear. At the time it was blowing too strongly to do that, but by late afternoon the wind was moderating as expected. So we launched into the repair, I cut some patches, Will got the halyards etc ready and we did the best repair we could just by part furling the sail. It meant going a few feet up the forestay to do and the job took about 30 minutes, they were precious minutes to lose but we were going to need the sail later. Last night we went through some big Doldrum like clouds with lightning playing in the upper levels of the clouds. Later today we should be into the proper Doldrums area, but everything we hear is telling us they will not be too active today, and will have a fast crossing.”
Multihulls:
Pascal Bidégorry (Banque Populaire): “It’s raining and there are more squalls coming. We’re still going to be stuck in this for another 10 hours, but nothing to complain much about, the calm patches are not too light, the squalls are not so violent. It’s frustrating to see our friends level with us after the work we put in to get ahead last week, our 100 mile lead over Géant has now shrunk to less than 40, but that’s the way it is in here. If the weather charts are reliable, I’m not too worried about Gitana 11’s position over to the East.
Hugues Destremau (Géant): “Pouring rain, calm, breeze, it’s giving us plenty of work on deck, but everything’s good. The wind fluctuates between 10 30 knots, and on a multihull you really have to manoeuvre so carefully, we’re really being prudent, as we have been since the start. We decided not to play with the boat’s limitations and we haven’t pushed that in this race.”
From Ellen this morning:
“All is ok onboard ! I’ve crossed the Doldrums many times before and I’ve definitely had experiences far worse than this one, especially with the heat, there does not seem to be the same heat and humidity as I have experienced before. The boat is sailing well and we have no problems with her. The ambiance on board is very good. We’re laughing a lot and I’m really enjoying the sailing and being back out on the sea again. So for now it's not so bad and we continue south into the Doldrums. At the moment the route through looks good, but as always with the Doldrums we cannot trust what we are experiencing too much as we might still be surprised!”
The battle for pole position in the Open 60 monohull class is hotting up, as Virbac-Paprec and Sill et Veolia continue to play a game of snakes and ladders. After Sill et Veolia took the lead yesterday lunchtime, Virbac-Paprec crept back into pole position this morning, now with a marginal lead of 7.6nm (1500 GMT). Approximately 900 miles west of Freetown, Sierre Leone, the two boats are located at around 8 degrees north of the Equator, as they continue to sail close to the rhumb line in moderate 14-knot south-easterly conditions. As the leaders near the Equator their boat speed has been directly affected slowing to 8 knots, in turn allowing the chasing pack to close on them as Bonduelle (3rd), Ecover (4th) and Skandia (5th) have all made gains in the last 24 hours.
Sill et Veolia’s current position would normally place them within the unstable zone of the Doldrums that can often be located a few degrees north of the Equator, yet at present the Doldrums appear to be relatively inactive, allowing a relatively swift passage towards the South Atlantic. Whilst all weather models suggest that the Open 60 leaders may well not experience the unstable conditions, MacArthur and Jourdain must still be vigilant for any unpredictable squalls that can cause conditions to change instantly. The inactive Doldrums is unusual and may well be explained due to the established presence of the North Atlantic high pressure system known as the Azores High and the St. Helena High that sits in the South Altantic, both of which are remaining fairly stationary, in turn creating more stable and consistent conditions along the Equatorial region.
With only 1500nm remaining until the finish line in Brazil, the tactical options for Jourdain and MacArthur are limited against their rivals Jean Pierre Dick and Loik Payron on Virbac-Paprec. As the performance profiles for each boat differ in small ways [Sill et Veolia comes from the Marc Lombard design stable and Virbac-Paprec is a Farr design], it may allow one boat to out perform the other in the fluctuating south-easterly conditions, each team will need to work hard through the gains and losses, as they both fight for the edge. Currently located 440 miles north of the Equator, the frontrunners are expected to pass into the Southern Hemisphere on Wednesday afternoon/evening and both boats will need to think carefully over their gift to Neptune in order to secure the fastest passage south onto the finish!
In contrast to the monohulls, the multihull fleet are sailing further to the east, as they are forced to sail a longer course around Ascension Island in the South Atlantic. At approximately 0515GMT the 60ft multihull, Tim Progetto Italia capsized 400 miles south west of Dakar (Senegal). The autopilot failed and skippers Giovanni and Vittorio Malingri were unable to gain control. There were no injuries to the skippers and the shore team are now working to get a tow out to the boat, consequentially the ORMA multihull class now stands at only four boats.
OPEN 60 RANKINGS 1500 GMT:
1. VIRBAC-PAPREC / DISTANCE TO FINISH MILES 1378.9
2. SILL ET VEOLIA / +7.6 MILES
3. BONDUELLE / +87.6 MILES
4 ECOVER / +125.3MILES
5. SKANDIA / +161.6 MILES
ATLANTIC OCEAN-- In the 32-year history of the Whitbread / Volvo Ocean Race, no boat has ever exceeded 500 nautical miles in 24 hours whilst racing. Until yesterday that is, when a day and a half after race start, Sébastien Josse and the crew of ABN AMRO TWO put down an impressive new record of 504 miles, equating to an average speed of exactly 21 knots.
The previous record was held by last race winners, illbruck, who set a distance of 480 miles on a fast passage across the Atlantic.
ABN AMRO TWO’s 500 miles is just a touch short of the all-out sailing record of 535 miles, set by movistar earlier this year during a delivery trip, but you sense that it is only a matter of time before someone overhauls that distance.
Setting records are far down the list of priorities for navigator Simon Fisher, however. “We were pretty confident we’d done the biggest 24 hour run,” said Si Fi this morning, “but really we were just focused on keeping the boat up to speed and in one piece.
“Everyone’s in good form, and starting to dry out. It’s actually quite a pleasant temperature now, but it was colder in the windy stuff. It blew up to 45 knots, which was quite interesting, driving the boat through that. It was pretty scary driving the boat, to be quite honest. Everyone thought it was pretty fully on, hammering along at 35 knots. Good to come through it in one piece, and good to have held the lead for a while.”
Compared with the carnage elsewhere in the fleet, ABN AMRO TWO came through relatively unscathed. “We’ve had some minor damage, we’ve blown out a couple of bunks and blown out our wind instruments in a thunderstorm, but nothing too serious.”
Blown out a couple of bunks? How do you break bunks? “I don’t know,” Si Fi laughed. “Luckily it wasn’t me that went through it. It was when the boat was really jumping through the waves, and then someone got airborne and then they landed pretty hard when they came back down.” Si Fi wasn’t sure which of his team mates had suffered the rude awakening, but at least it was the carbon bunks and not the sailor that bore the brunt of the impact.
Up to now, the race has been all about pure adrenalin, a white-knuckle rollercoaster ride. But Si Fi sees the race moving into a more tactical phase. Time for him to put his thinking cap on. “We haven’t tacked or gybed for a long time, but we’ll be gybing south in the next 24 hours, towards sunnier climes.”
At the 10:00 update this morning, the crew had slipped to third place just behind Brasil 1 and ABN AMRO ONE. But really there is nothing to choose between the front three, and even Ericsson is just a matter of a few miles behind in fourth. “At the moment, sked by sked, it looks a little worse for us because we’re the most northern boat,” admitted Si Fi. “But I’m sure when we gybe we’ll start to look better again. I’m very happy with how we’re going and where we are.
“Until this point it has been a drag race, but at the gybe point it’s going to get very technical. It will be a matter of not gybing too early because you want to avoid the light airs off the Canaries. But you don’t want to carry on too far either, because of sailing extra distance needlessly.”
With Si Fi pitted against three of the best known navigators in the world – Stan Honey (ABN AMRO ONE), Adrienne Cahalan (Brasil 1) and Steve Hayles (Ericsson) – the pressure is on for Si Fi to make the right call. “We’re all waiting anxiously for someone to make the first move. I’m pretty keen to get it right, but we’re happy that we can do a good job. We’re hoping we can get down across the front of the bows of the other boats. But if not, we’ll have to pick our spot and gybe.”
At least they’re still in the race. The three other boats, movistar, Pirates of the Caribbean and Sunergy and Friends have all diverted towards ports on the Iberian coast after suffering major breakdowns. Si Fi was keeping his fingers crossed that they could avoid a similar fate. “We’re concerned for the other boats and disappointed they’re not in the race still, but we’re pleased with the reliability of our boat and we’re happy to keep pressing on. Thanks to all our boys on shore who have done such a great job with this boat.”
The hard months of preparation appear to be paying off, although Si Fi says there is nothing that can prepare you for the intensity of competition. “You do all this training but as soon as you get out racing it’s a different level. You can’t really prepare for this level of competition, but it’s nice to be out racing. We always thought that we had a good boat and that we can put in a good performance. We’re super stoked about how the boat’s going.”
Latest positions (10.00 GMT)
ABN AMRO ONE
Position: 2
Lat: 32.52.22 N
Long: 21.06.01 W
Distance to finish (DTF): 5655 nautical miles
ABN AMRO TWO
Position: 3
Lat: 33.20.19 N
Long: 22.17.44 W
DTF: 5664 nautical miles
Yesterday at 14:00 hours, Spanish Round the World boat, movistar reached port in Portimao, in the Algarve, Portugal, with only the damage caused by colliding sideways into a wave.
There was a touch of happiness to the arrival, caused by the satisfaction of having saved the boat without any harm coming to any of the crew, but there was also disappointment from the fact that the misfortune of a wave forced them to head for port, after experiencing all kinds of wind and sea conditions since last March breaking the speed record on the 6th of April between New Zealand and Cape Horn “ in the 22,000 miles of training and testing that the team had put in before setting off from Vigo on Saturday 12th of November.
Immediately after reaching land, the maintenance team, who had travelled through the night from their base in Sanxenxo to the south of Portugal, took the reins of the Volvo Open 70 “movistar†to take it out of the water and start analysing the damage before the team bosses, under the leadership of Pedro Campos, draw up a team strategy for reaching Cape Town (South Africa) with a 100% chance of fighting for victory in the next off-shore stages and inshore regattas.
When he appeared before the media this afternoon, Pedro Campos, the team's general manager, explained that “We are much happier now. Obviously we have been sending out messages of calm in this time. But when you have got a boat in the middle of a storm with structural damage that you do not know the full extent of, there is always a factor of risk and the first concern is for the ten members of the crew aboard. The boat had made it in one piece, without suffering any more damage. All the equipment is working
fine. I'm talking about the electronics, the sails; there hasn’t been any other damage.
We will take a decision tomorrow Tuesday at mid-day, depending on the report we get from the technical people on the scope of the damage and its possible repair. For now, we are keeping all our options open from the most favourablee, which would be to get straight back to the regatta, - to the most complicated one; i.e. send the boat to South Africa. But all based on a single clear objective: to continue in the competition.
Concerning the fate of the rest of the fleet, Campos explains “From what we have seen so far, the regatta is going to a long one and a tough one. Given the speed of the boats, and although we wouldn't wish it on anyone, there will probably be more incidents.
Finally, the general manager of the team wanted to take the opportunity. To express our gratitude for the countless calls from all kinds of people and companies offering their help. I would especially like to mention the first of all these calls, from His Majesty the King and the entire Royal Family who called as soon as they heard. I would also like to thank the President of the Galicia Regional Government, the Secretary of State for Sport, the Mayors of Vigo and Sanxenxo and everybody else who is supporting us. I spoke to the team on shore right after the boat's arrival. They are far
more optimistic now. Dying to get back to the competition, because they know that the boat has the potential to win, and they know that if this can be sorted out, all the rest is working fine and we could still move back up the field in the next stages.
The feelings of the team in the last few hours have varied widely, from the initial surprise and disgust, to the firm conviction that we are still in the competition.
In this sense, movistar trimmer Xabi Fernandez remarks “Our feelings were very good. Before the crash, we were going better than the rest, I do not know if this was because our boat is faster, or simply because they do have the confidence to maintain a high speed for very long periods of time. As soon as we left the Vigo Estuary, we overtook the Ericsson, and from there, we started pulling away from the rest of the fleet, except for the ABN AMRO 1 that sailed alongside us for several hours. We passed them at night, a
mere 100 metres away, close enough to see that they were sailing with a small jib, while we were flying an asymmetric spyâ€.
We were coming over a wave when we heard an enormous crack and, right away we realised that we had broken something. It was a real hammer blow because we had been sailing fine until them, fast and comfortable, with speeds of over 30 knots. We have seen that the boat is really competitive.
For the team bowman, Pepe Ribes, The feelings you get in the boat are amazing. What has happened was just bad luck. As soon as we saw that we had structural damage, we realised that we would have to return to shore. It never occurred to us to carry on. From that moment on, the thing was to survive. With regard to the start, from the boat, it was spectacular. I was in the last race in Southampton and I can assure you that there were more people in Vigo, much more atmosphere. It was just amazing.
Skipper Bouwe Bekking declares "Despite what has happened to us, the balance so far could not be more positive, the boat proved to be highly competitive in light winds, as we showed from the moment we left the Vigo Estuary, and when the wind rose in strength, we were better. Concerning the problem that we have had, the only thing I can say is that we had sailed in these conditions, and even worse, before, and everything was fine. We were sailing hard, at competition speed, but not enough to suffer a break like this. At the moment, I cannot explain the reasons that caused it.
Right from the first moment, we decided that the best thing was to head for port because we had winds of up to 40 knots and the forecast was that it would get worse, and with structural damage, it did not make any sense to run any risks, especially as the competition has only just started and there are many months, thousands of miles and points at stake ahead of us."
Yesterday, of course, everything looked pretty bleak after the initial shock, but as we approached port, we started to calm down and we have arrived with a very different view now continues Beekking-. Of course it is better that it happens on the first day and so close to home, that way, it has been easier from the logistical point of view.
We decided to come here for several reasons: first of all, because we save 150 miles, and secondly, because the ABN AMRO had been here, so we knew the capacity of the port and the willingness of the people that work here. I would like to congratulate the whole team, not just the crew, but the whole shore team and our families, because their reaction has been exemplary. They are making everything so much easier for us. We are all keeping our heads held high.
Well, not quite the story I'd like to write. We are tied up to the dock in Porto Santo, out of necessity. The boom, as discussed earlier (and you may have seen evidence in the way of photos sent off the boat just to prove that we were not making it up and wanted to stop for an Espresso and a croissant)...needs some serous surgery. At 03:02:45 we suspended racing about 2 miles on the south side of the island, close to the entrance of the harbour. Under the rules we are allowed to do this, but must return to the exact same spot to resume racing, but while we are tied up our competitors are sailing away from us at a great rate of knots.
Our only consolation is that we will be ship shape once repair is
complete, so that will ease our minds a bit and we will not feel like we have to nurse the boat for the next 6000 miles, and also that due to the misfortune of the Pirates and Movistar our 5th place is not directly under threat. Not a very nice way to think but it is a reality.
We have taken the opportunity to have a good clean up, check over all our systems, and fix the head. Never a pleasant job to fix the head at sea... so a mixed blessing that we are at the dock to do this. Nearly a very embarrassing moment for yours truly, as a few test pumps (always, always always test pump a head at sea before you use it: to check that the previous occupant hasn't 'fessed up to their blockage and leaves you , quite literally in the poo, and being blamed for and having to rectify the previous occupants misuse of the device)...anyway, after a few test pumps the whole bloody handle came off in my hand.
A bemused expression and a bit of head scratching later, I deduced that it was not a good idea to use the loo, and had to resort to au naturale off the stern. My fellow crew were not so keen on that approach so there was a bit of a queue to the head once I had tackled the task and repaired with Scotty's (AKA George Clooney) assistance once we hit the dock. Easy fix: pull it apart, put it back together, screw the handle back on, check there are no parts left over, feed it a few splashes of olive oil (works wonders for a sticky handle that when pulled too hard tends to come off in your hand - I find cold pressed virgin olive oil works the best - another top tip on using a marine head), let someone else test it, and hey presto, we were in action, that handle was flying fast.
Now, the last person to use it (we suspect the youngest man on this race is the guilt party as he has not been seen for a few hours - not
mentioning any names) made the fatal flaw of feeding a bit of TP into it (top tip #3: never, ever put anything that you have not previously
eaten/digested into a marine toilet), and they are having to start all over again, but, with a bit more of a problem on their hands. I'll leave the rest to your vivid imagination.
OK, moving on, that is the second most exciting thing that is going to happen today. Top of the list is to get the boom back on board, stronger than ever, and charge on west. Our weather information combined with our routing software is telling us to head west as quickly as possible before turning left towards Fernando Island. Unfortunately this means that we will fall into line behind the four boats in front, so we will have to look for opportunities later down the track to try a little buffalo girls (buffalo girls go around the outside...etc) to rein the leaders in.
Signing off for the day, hoping that we are under way very soon. Rest
assured that the team on Sunergy and Friends will work extremely hard to get back in the game.
11 November 2005 - Excitement is building in Galicia, Spain, as the Ericsson Racing Team and the seven-strong Volvo Ocean Race fleet prepares to set sail for Cape Town. The first offshore leg of the Volvo Ocean Race will commence on Saturday 12 November, from Vigo, Spain - a 6,400 nautical mile adventure across the Atlantic Ocean.
Leg One will begin from a start line just off the sea wall in Vigo. From there the fleet will sail north-east up to a turning mark, before heading back through the starting gate. As the teams head out to sea, via three further gates, they will be keen to reach Ilha de Fernando de Noronha as quickly as possible, where they can pick up points from this first scoring gate.
Ericsson Racing Team navigator, Steve Hayles (GBR), has been hard at work analyzing the weather patterns for the coming week. "The breeze may be a little on the light side for the start but it will quickly pick up over the first 24 hours. We are expecting building northerly winds which could make for some very fast downwind sailing over the first couple of days."
Despite feeling a boost of confidence after his team's victory in the in-port race, skipper Neal McDonald (GBR) is keeping an eye on the big picture: "Our crew has kept the win in perspective. Of course doing well in the first leg is important but what we learn on this leg and how we use that knowledge to improve, is the most important part of all. The team that learns the most on the first three legs will be the team that does well in this race."
Ericsson crewmember Magnus Woxén (SWE) is looking forward to getting started, "we've all been working incredibly hard getting the boat ready, both for the in-port race and the offshore leg. I think we are all feeling fairly prepared now and looking forward to seeing how these boats perform in the open ocean!"
The Volvo Ocean Race fleet is expected to arrive into Cape Town around 3 December 2005, after approximately 21 days at sea, although the impressive performance of these new boats could shave days off that time - it's anyone's guess really!
The fifth night of the two-handed Transat Jacques Vabre race saw more breeze than expected as Roland Jourdain and Ellen MacArthur sailed through varying north-easterly winds of 17-35 knots. At approximately 1100GMT today, Sill et Veolia passed the island of Madeira 50 miles to the west on starboard gybe, as they chased hard on the heels on Open 60 leaders Jean Pierre Dick and Loik Peyron on Virbac-Paprec. “Virbac are a little slower than us at the moment, and we are sailing the boat as hard as we can in the conditions that we have in order to make up some miles,” said Roland Jourdain today during the radio vacation.
The two leading Open 60s held onto the breeze for longer yesterday allowing them to gybe which today has allowed them to keep well to the west of Madeira. Chasing the leaders, Jean Le Cam took Bonduelle east of the islands and has managed to sneak ahead of Mike Golding’s Ecover (4th). Golding,who elected to sail between the islands trailing Le Cam by 6 miles at 1700 GMT. Pro-Form (5th) and Skandia (6th) also cleared the islands to the east, with Marc Thiercelin and Eric Drouglazet gaining an upper hand over Skandia skippers Brian Thompson and Will Oxley.
Now firmly in the North-Easterly Trade Winds, Jourdain and MacArthur are taking advantage of the strong 25-30 knot as they sail south, clocking up average speeds of over 18 knots and a 24-hour run of 381nm. Ahead lie the Canary Islands some 168 miles ahead. The current routing shows they are expected to pass the Canary Islands well to the west in the early hours of tomorrow morning, avoiding the wind shadow of the giant peak that dominates La Palma rising 2400m above sea level. What happens to the chasing pack remains to be seen – will they manage to sail low enough to avoid the islands or risk getting caught in the ‘Canaries trap’.
French Sill et Veolia Skipper Roland Jourdain speaking onboard today:
“It’s very fast sailing. We were a little concerned about sailing west of Madeira, but by this morning everything was good. The sky has opened and the sun has come out. It is a little hot, but the skies are blue and generally the weather is good. Last night, we saw variable winds of 17-35 knots, which have now stabilised to 25-30 knots. Today Ellen and I took our wet weather kit off for the first time, and of course two hours later we were hit in the head by what felt like fifteen buckets of water! It was one of those things, but luckily we saw the funny side and although very tired, we are in good spirits onboard. Although I think I have been hallucinating, as last night I was helming onboard and I had the feeling I was sailing a Figaro!”
OPEN 60 RANKINGS 1700 GMT:
1. VIRBAC-PAPREC / DISTANCE TO FINISH 2888.7 MILES
2. SILL ET VEOLIA / +26.7 MILES
3. BONDUELLE / +36.6 MILES
4. ECOVER / +42.9 MILES
5. PRO FORM / +99.2 MILES
6. SKANDIA / +101.4 MILES
Volvo Ocean Race leg one crew list Vigo to Cape Town
ABN AMRO ONE
Brad Jackson (NZ)
David Endean (NZ)
Jan Dekker (RSA)
Justin Slattery (IRL)
Mark Christensen (NZ)
Mike Sanderson (NZ)
Robert Greenhalgh (GBR)
Sidney Gavignet (FRA)
Stan Honey (USA)
Tony Mutter (NZ)
ABN AMRO TWO
Andrew Lewis (USA)
George Peet (USA)
Gerd van Poortman (NED)
Hans Horrevoets (NED)
Luke Molloy (AUS)
Nick Bice (AUS)
Scott Beavis (NZ)
Sebastien Josse (FRA)
Simeon Tienpont (NED)
Simon Fisher (GBR)
Brasil 1
Adrienne Cahalan (AUS)
André Fonseca (BRA)
Andrew Meiklejohn (NZ)
Henrique Pellicano (BRA)
Horacio Carabelli (BRA)
João Signorini (BRA)
Marcelo Ferreira (BRA)
Roberto Bermudez (ESP)
Stuart Wilson (NZ)
Torben Grael (BRA)
Ericsson Racing Team
Anton Kolb (GER)
David Rolfe (NZ)
Guillermo Altadill (ESP)
Jason Carrington (GBR)
Magnus Woxen (SWE)
Neal McDonald (GBR)
Richard Mason (NZ)
Steven Hayles (GBR)
Thomas Braidwood (AUS)
Timothy Powell (GBR)
movistar
Andrew Cape (AUS)
Bouwe Bekking (NED)
Chris Nicholson (AUS)
Jonathan Swain (USA)
Mike Joubert (RSA)
Noel Drennan (IRL)
Pepe Ribes (ESP)
Peter Doriean (AUS)
Stu Bannatyne (NZ)
Xabier Fernandez (ESP)
Pirates of the Caribbean
Craig Satterthwaite (NZ)
Curtis Blewett (CAN)
Dirk de Ridder (NED)
Erle Williams (NZ)
Fredrik Loof (SWE)
Jules Salter (GBR)
Justin Clougher (AUS)
Justin Ferris (NZ)
Paul Cayard (USA)
Rodney Ardern (NZ)
Sunergy and Friends
Adam Hawkins (AUS)
Campbell Field (NZ)
Fraser Brown (NZ)
Graeme Taylor (AUS)
Grant Wharington (AUS)
Guy Salter (GBR)
Ian Walker (AUS)
Jeff Scott (NZ)
Mark Bartlett (GBR)
Mark Thomas (AUS)
It was an exhausting night on board Sill et Veolia as Jourdain and MacArthur were caught in a 38 knot (44mph) squall west of the Canary Islands. Whilst pushing the boat hard in gale force winds, Jourdain and MacArthur were nervous of the conditions, taking the decision to change from the spinnaker to the gennaker. Moments later Sill et Veolia suddenly crash gybed out of control. MacArthur who was sleeping at the time, was woken abruptly as she was thrown across the cabin. After twenty minutes hard work, Jourdain and MacArthur managed to get Sill et Veolia upright and under control. The boat has been checked over and they believe that they have had a lucky escape, with no damage reported onboard. Spirits between the French and UK pairing remain high, even in the most dangerous situations, as Ellen reports a good sense of humour onboard.
In fact though we're pretty knackered and always pushing we still manage a giggle, normally about something fairly un-important, or something funny that one or the other of us does. I'm really happy to be out here with Bilou (aka Roland Jourdain), it's great." Commented Ellen this morning.
Jean Pierre Dick & Loik Peyron’s Virbac-Paprec and 2nd place Sill et Veolia passed safely to the west of the Canary Islands (by 200nm) at approximately 0445GMT this morning. They escaped the wind shadow cast by the Islands, which allowed them to keep their excellent position to the west of the fleet. Bonduelle (3rd) and Ecover (4th) passed within 60nm of the Islands, feeling the effects - with both Ecover and Bonduelle having to gybe west. The last twenty-four hours has seen the leading four boats all sail in excess of 400nm, averaging over 18knots for the 24hr period. After losing mileage due to the squall last night, Sill et Veolia is now back on track, sailing south at speed averaging 18knots downwind as they stay west of the following pack heading towards the next landmark of the Cape Verde Islands currently 560 miles to the south. Conditions are forecast to remain fairly constant over the next 24hours with north-easterly trade winds averaging between 20-25knots.
The Trade Winds, commonly known for their more stable downwind conditions, can still throw a few surprises. Unforecasted squalls, such as the one that caused Ellen and Bilou’s wipeout also caught out 2nd placed ORMA 60 Trimaran Groupama2 skippers Franck Proffit and Franck Cammas . They suffered during a 40knot (46mph) squall north-west of the Canary Island of Santa Cruz de la Palma last night. It resulted in the capsizing of Groupama2 and injury to Franck Profit who was airlifted to safety, and remains in hospital this morning suffering from water in his lungs. He is expected to make a full recovery.
Email from Ellen on board Sill et Veolia:
News of the night is that we were pushing pretty hard, though last night things were getting a bit dodgy with the spinnaker so we changed to the gennaker to be a bit safer; though we didn't expect what was to happen next. We crash gybed under pilot in a 38 knot squall. Poor Sill and V was completely on her side, the cabin seemed much wider as I climbed vertically up the floor to get out. We spent 20 mins trying to get her sorted and we did. And although we were both a bit full of adrenalin, miraculously we didn’t break anything. I was a asleep when it happened so it was a bit of a rude awakening. But, we always manage to see the funny side of all this stuff which is great. In fact though we're pretty knackered and always pushing we still manage a giggle, normally about something fairly un-important, or something funny that one or the other of us does. Really happy to be out here with Bilou, it's great. We've been stuck to the helm for a couple of days now, and the helming is touch going, especially in the big waves, when we had the kite and gusts up to 38 knots. It’s physically hard work, but the speed is good. It's great surfing, but very stressful and getting the kites down has been pretty sportif!
E & B
Jargon Buster: Squall
Sudden violent winds; often accompanied by precipitation. The air moving (sometimes with considerable force) from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure.
OPEN 60 RANKINGS 1300 GMT:
1. VIRBAC-PAPREC / DISTANCE TO FINISH 2526.2MILES
2. SILL ET VEOLIA / +32.4 MILES
3. BONDUELLE / +107.7 MILES
4 ECOVER / +116.3 MILES
5. SKANDIA / +148.7 MILES
Alinghi crew members Rodney Ardern (NZ) and Curtis Blewett (CAN) will set off on the Volvo Ocean Race on Saturday 12 November at 14:00 on board the Pirates of the Caribbean, one of seven VOR70s to cross the start line in Vigo, Spain.
Rodney, runner/pit with the 32nd America’s Cup Defender, Alinghi, will race four legs of the most extreme round-the-world yacht races in the racing calendar as watch captain and Curtis, midbowman with Alinghi, will race as bowman. Both have significant round-the-world experience, interspersed with America’s Cups. Rodney has three Whitbreads/Volvo’s behind him and five America’s Cups and Curtis raced onboard EF Language with Skipper Paul Cayard in 1997-98 and he is on his third AC campaign.
Alinghi runner/pitman, Rodney Ardern comments on the differences of racing offshore and the match racing with Alinghi: “This race will give us a variety of sailing conditions and we get to sail in different boats. Obviously we enjoy both types of racing, offshore and match racing. These boats are quite different and it is nice to have a change from the day to day match racing technique. Hopefully by learning about these boats with their different sails, different masts and other things, we can try to bring some of the technology and the techniques back to Alinghi.”
Alinghi midbowman, Curtis Blewett is keen to get on the start line: “I’m pretty happy to get started on Saturday. The boat is definitely ready to race. We’ve got the trip down to Vigo, which will give us some mileage to test the structure and to make sure that we have everything we need to be able to race hard. But we are ready.” We asked him how the Pirates compare to Alinghi: “The feeling on board is similar and that is one of the only similarities. It is a strong team right of the bat, there are really great guys on board and everyone is pretty excited about it all. We don’t have any trouble focusing and the guys want to go and push hard. In this respect, there isn’t much of a change from Alinghi to this boat.”
EMAIL LOG FROM SKANDIA (0928GMT 10/11/05)
[unedited]
What a night.hand steering under big kite in 30 knots of wind out of control time for a change..chute down and change to a fractional smaller kite ..up goes the kite and off we go again roaring into the pitch black. To say it was an effort is a BIT of an understatement..both exhausted we could manage an hour each at the helm before we would have to change over. I found myself closing my eyes and nodding off while steering at 23 knots jerking awake each time to wrench the helm in the appropriate direction. I found more and more I was relying on my sense of balance rather than sight to drive the boat through the waves. Then finally it would be too much and I would yell for brian and then a few minutes later again, not too loud in case he was just getting up. Nothing then a bang on the deck and another yell.. a minute later nothing! Now the breeze is up to 28 knots and I am just in control thinking with rye (sp)humour, I'll be really annoyed now if I crash when Brian might have taken over and it would have been his fault instead . Then finally ...rapping on the deck and a LOUD yell stirs him after his extensive 50 min nap! We do nead to be less well mannered around here to get each other up.
This morning it became clear we could not make it to windward of Madeira without dropping the chute so we are now blast reaching under solent and one reef but we can at least use the pilot and so I have dashed below to pen this and grap a cup of coffee. Meanwhile the pilot is driving hard at 18-22 knots. 2 hours till we clear madeira and then off we go again with the chute.
No rest for the wicked (or us).
Cheers,
Will
IN DETAIL:
In their fifth night at sea, as the Open 60 fleet continued south heading towards the islands of Madeira, SKANDIA sailed through some unforecasted variable winds from 17 knots up to 30 knots (35mph). SKANDIA skippers, Brian Thompson and Will Oxley, were left exhausted as a result of endless hand-steering and sail changes. By the morning the winds had dropped to a more consistent 25 knots north-easterly Trade Wind as the fleet navigated their path around the islands.
At around 1300GMT SKANDIA passed to the east of the Madeira Archipelago, within 7 miles abeam to the northern island Porto Santo. SKANDIA chose to steer clear of the islands, taking a slightly longer route round but eliminating the risk of being caught in the wind shadow in the lee of the islands that can reach as far as 30 miles offshore.
Leaders VIRBAC-PAPREC and SILL ET VEOLIA sailed to the west, while ECOVER took a chance and navigated a shorter course through the islands (possibly due to running out of options as they neared the islands). BONDUELLE and PRO-FORM sailed east on a similar course to SKANDIA, and along with ECOVER will now need to work hard to get some westing to clear the next obstacle ahead, the Canary Islands.
At 1500GMT PRO-FORM had overtaken SKANDIA whilst averaging 15 knots, five knots faster than SKANDIA. Just two miles now separate the two older generation boats, as a ‘battle royale’ begins for fifth place.
The latest positions at 1700GMT show VIRBAC-PAPREC has stretched her lead over SILL ET VEOLIA to 26.7 miles, with BONDUELLE 3rd (+36.6nm) overtaking ECOVER now in 4th (42.9nm). Although the leading four have pulled away from PRO-FORM (+99.2nm) and SKANDIA (+101.4nm), there is now a 160 mile gap between SKANDIA and the rest of the fleet.
The Open 60 skippers will now be thinking ahead to their passage around the Canary Islands, which they are expected to reach early tomorrow morning at around 0400GMT. From there, the final landmark before reaching the finish in Brazil is the Cape Verdes Islands 800 miles south of the Canaries.
OPEN 60 MONOHULL POSITIONS 1700GMT 10/11/05:
1. VIRBAC-PAPREC 2888.7 miles to finish
2. SILL ET VEOLIA +26.7 miles to leader
3. BONDUELLE +36.6 miles to leader
4. ECOVER +42.9 miles to leader
5. PRO-FORM +99.2 miles to leader
6. SKANDIA +101.4 miles to leader
The fifth night of the two-handed Transat Jacques Vabre race saw more breeze than expected as Roland Jourdain and Ellen MacArthur sailed through varying north-easterly winds of 17-35 knots. At approximately 1100GMT today, Sill et Veolia passed the island of Madeira 50 miles to the west on starboard gybe, as they chased hard on the heels on Open 60 leaders Jean Pierre Dick and Loik Peyron on Virbac-Paprec. “Virbac are a little slower than us at the moment, and we are sailing the boat as hard as we can in the conditions that we have in order to make up some miles,” said Roland Jourdain today during the radio vacation.
The two leading Open 60s held onto the breeze for longer yesterday allowing them to gybe which today has allowed them to keep well to the west of Madeira. Chasing the leaders, Jean Le Cam took Bonduelle east of the islands and has managed to sneak ahead of Mike Golding’s Ecover (4th). Golding,who elected to sail between the islands trailing Le Cam by 6 miles at 1700 GMT. Pro-Form (5th) and Skandia (6th) also cleared the islands to the east, with Marc Thiercelin and Eric Drouglazet gaining an upper hand over Skandia skippers Brian Thompson and Will Oxley.
Now firmly in the North-Easterly Trade Winds, Jourdain and MacArthur are taking advantage of the strong 25-30 knot as they sail south, clocking up average speeds of over 18 knots and a 24-hour run of 381nm. Ahead lie the Canary Islands some 168 miles ahead. The current routing shows they are expected to pass the Canary Islands well to the west in the early hours of tomorrow morning, avoiding the wind shadow of the giant peak that dominates La Palma rising 2400m above sea level. What happens to the chasing pack remains to be seen – will they manage to sail low enough to avoid the islands or risk getting caught in the ‘Canaries trap’.
French Sill et Veolia Skipper Roland Jourdain speaking onboard today:
“It’s very fast sailing. We were a little concerned about sailing west of Madeira, but by this morning everything was good. The sky has opened and the sun has come out. It is a little hot, but the skies are blue and generally the weather is good. Last night, we saw variable winds of 17-35 knots, which have now stabilised to 25-30 knots. Today Ellen and I took our wet weather kit off for the first time, and of course two hours later we were hit in the head by what felt like fifteen buckets of water! It was one of those things, but luckily we saw the funny side and although very tired, we are in good spirits onboard. Although I think I have been hallucinating, as last night I was helming onboard and I had the feeling I was sailing a Figaro!”
OPEN 60 RANKINGS 1700 GMT:
1. VIRBAC-PAPREC / DISTANCE TO FINISH 2888.7 MILES
2. SILL ET VEOLIA / +26.7 MILES
3. BONDUELLE / +36.6 MILES
4. ECOVER / +42.9 MILES
5. PRO FORM / +99.2 MILES
6. SKANDIA / +101.4 MILES
Sanxenxo, 9 nov. 2005 - After the see breeze kicked in today the racing in the Volvo Extreme 40’s got underway. The race committee decided on a triangle course today. Consequently the five super cats started the race with a beat first going around the cans counter clockwise (starboard rounding).
Later the race committee had to change the course and the teams sailed clockwise around the course. Six races were sailed in tricky conditions with the wind constantly moving to the right. The course was always close to the shore and in sight of the spectators and round the world sailors in and around the Real Club Nautico de Sanxenxo.
Calculating with the provisional results Team Volvo Ocean Race is still in the lead with a margin of four points over Holmatro, skippers by Mitch Booth. In third place is Hilfiger only one point behind Booth.
Sebastiaan Godefroid (crew Volvo Ocean Race) “It was really very difficult today. With lots of position changes, all the time. Only on the finish line we were certain of our position. For example Mitch Booth went from fifth to second in just ten seconds before the finish. Very close racing. Just imagine we have sailed eleven races and the we are all only ten points apart. Anything can happen tomorrow.”
Hugh Styles (skipper Basilica): “From hero to zero, that was our story for today. With the Basilica we ended first, second, fourth, fourth and fifth. The wind changed a lot. In the first race we started as last, but ended as first. And the number five won the opening race. That was the story. It was awesome to see everybody ending so close to each other. Hopefully the spectators loved it too.”
Carolijn Brouwer (skipper Volvo Ocean): “ We sailed today like a jojo around the course. We were very sharp on the tactics, but the weather and wind were very difficult. We got it right a couple of times, we got it wrong a couple of times. You have got to anticipate the breeze very well and that was the hardest part of the day. All together we like to have a little bit more pressure, like in the race we won.”
Leigh McMillan (helmsman Motorola-CHR) was not very happy on the water, especially at the final of the fourth race, where skipper Randy Smyth and his Tommy Hilfiger-crew almost hit Motorola-CHR: “Eh… Yes…. We had some discussions today. Like in that fourth race where they did not give us enough space to round the leeward mark. But we will not take it any further, just that people watch out for these kinds of incidents. We stay sporty.”
November 9, 2005, Sanxenxo, Galicia – With just three days to go to the start of the first offshore Leg of the Volvo Ocean Race 2005-06, thoughts are now towards the first Leg and the weather conditions for the start.
The team’s navigators can be seen walking around clutching charts, with their minds set on the first 6,400 nautical miles of the Volvo Ocean Race. There is no time to warm up, no short leg to iron out the kinks and settle into the rhythm of the race; instead the first ocean leg is the second longest leg of the race.
Leg one will start from a line just off the sea wall in Vigo. From there the teams will do a short leg in the Ria de Vigo up to a set mark and then head back through the starting gate. From there they head down the coast and out to sea, via three further gates, and towards the first scoring gate at Ilha de Fernando de Noronha where the teams can pick up half the Leg points.
The time round the teams will be entering the trade winds within a few days of the start line, because the race begins further south on the Atlantic coast of Spain. Crossing the trades in these fast boats will take as little as three days, and then one of the first big decisions comes; where to cross the Doldrums? This is the latest time in the year in the history of the race that the teams will be approaching the Doldrums and it is quite a good time of the year for the crossing, as the band of extremely light winds is general starting to narrow. The navigators will be trying to cross in the narrowest area, and in the days before they will be studying the wind patterns to ensure they spend the least amount of time in the light winds.
Once they make it into the southern latitudes it really becomes a race to dig south. The shortest distance route has a big obstacle, the south Atlantic high pressure zone, an area of light wind and headwinds. Unless this weather system is pushed really far north, the teams are likely to head far south, where they will race to pick up the strong westerlies that make up the Roaring Forties. The final approach to Cape Town can be tricky due to Table Mountain, especially in a south-easterly. If there is close racing near the finish, the teams will need to stay out of the shadow of Table Mountain. The final 150 miles or so can be really rough sailing with wind against current and terrible sea conditions.
If the in-port racing is anything to go by, the boats could be in a tight bunch as they come into Cape Town, which will make for some great sailing and exciting racing for the spectators.
The weather forecast looks like it will add to the excitement at the start as Race Meteorologist Chris Bedford explains, “The weather is looking good for the start. Although it may be a little on the light side in Vigo harbour and for the around the buoys portion of the start, a building northerly along the coast just offshore will make for very quick downwind sailing once the boats are out of Vigo.”
He continued, “The northerly winds build steadily overnight Saturday and into Sunday, so the first 24 hours could be very fast! Probably asking too much for a 24 hour record in the first 24 hours, but there could easily be some boats reporting 500 miles first day or so.”
Portsmouth, R.I. (November 9, 2005) - Anticipation builds as skippers Sally Barkow (Nashotah, Wis.) and Betsy Alison (Newport, R.I.), and six other teams, prepare to battle it out on J/22s next week (November 16-19) at US SAILING's U.S. Women's Match Racing Championship held at Fort Worth Boat Club (Fort Worth, TX). The National Championship could turn out to be a re-match of the recent Match Racing World Championship where Barkow and Alison met in the finals (Barkow took home the World Championship title). Looking at the complete list of competitors, winning this regatta will be no easy feat for any team, as the list includes Olympian Pease Glaser (Long Beach, Calif.), 2002 Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year Liz Baylis (San Rafael, Calif.), as well as several World Champions, and US Sailing Team-members.
The stakes for the Championship are high: the winning team will receive US SAILING's Allegra Knapp Mertz Trophy and will qualify for a position at the Regional Finals for the International Sailing Federation's (ISAF) Nations Cup.
To view the complete list of competitors and for more history on the event, please visit www.ussailing.org/championships/adult/women/uswmrc. The U.S. Women's Match Racing Championship is sponsored by Rolex Watch U.S.A. and Dry Creek Vineyard.
As the Open 60 fleet raced down the Portuguese coast during the night, conditions eased with winds lightening off from 20 knots to 14 knots. At 1500GMT SKANDIA is holding on to the leading pack in 5th place, 54.5 miles behind leader VIRBAC-PAPREC. SILL ET VEOLIA remains in 2nd (+12.1nm) closely followed by ECOVER 3rd (+16.9nm) and BONDUELLE 4th (+25.8nm).
Although SKANDIA lost some miles overnight having chosen to take a more westerly route with lighter winds, she is still keeping up well with the leading pack, extending away from the rest of the fleet behind, with an 80 mile gap opening up between 6th place PRO-FORM and 7th place ROXY.
At around 0830GMT this morning, SKANDIA and ECOVER were the first Open 60’s to gybe on to port as the wind rotated round to the north-east. By 1300GMT all boats had gybed except BONDUELLE, who had eventually gybed south by the 1500GMT position report.
The fleet are currently about 300 miles due west off Cape St. Vincent, and spinnaker sailing in around 14 knots of wind from the north-east, with SKANDIA averaging 12 knots of boat speed. Today, as they leave the Azores high pressure behind them, they are starting to enter the Trade Winds with winds building to 20-25 knots. These warmer, more comfortable conditions are allowing Thompson and Oxley to dry out, work on a few small repairs and maintenance jobs, and to catch up on some sleep.
“It’s great sailing in the north-east trades, close to Africa the air is still very dry so not many squalls, just fast, consistent sailing with the spinnaker. You are locked into a long port gybe for 1500 miles so its a drag race south with boat speed being king. Tactically the big issues are the islands of Madeira, the Canaries and the Cape Verdes, their windshadows extend a long way and keeping out of those calm zones is vital.” Brian Thompson, skipper SKANDIA.
The fleet are currently on a heading south towards the islands of Madeira, situated around 350 miles off the Moroccan coast, around 300nm from the leaders. It is expected that they will sail to windward, passing to the east of the islands at around 1600GMT tomorrow afternoon. Until then, their aim is to put up as much sail area as possible with maximum boatspeed. After Madeira, the next tactical decision will be navigating their way around the Canary Islands, which they are predicted to pass early Friday morning.
OPEN 60 MONOHULL POSITIONS 1500GMT 9/11/05:
1. VIRBAC-PAPREC 3321.3 miles to finish
2. SILL ET VEOLIA +12.1 miles to leader
3. ECOVER +16.9 miles to leader
4. BONDUELLE +25.8 miles to leader
5. SKANDIA +54.5 miles to leader
Dame Ellen MACARTHUR of Great Britain and Tornado World Champions Fernando ECHAVARRI ERASUN and Antón PAZ BLANCO of Spain have paid tribute to the international sailing community after being named as winners of the ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Awards 2005.
At the Awards Ceremony in Singapore, the three sailors were honoured for their outstanding sailing achievements during the twelve months to 31 August 2005, when MacArthur completed her record-breaking solo sprint around the world in her maxi-trimaran B&Q and Echavarri and Paz were crowned Tornado World and European Champions after a string of strong performances.
"I would like to say thank you to ISAF, its sponsor and its members for this Award," said MacArthur, who is currently racing in the 2005 Transat Jacques Vabres with her friend Roland 'Bilou' JOURDAIN on the Open 60 Sill et Veolia.
"I was fortunate enough to have received this Award in 2001 and it is as much of a surprise and honour to me now as it was back then. The International Sailing Federation provides a great service to the world of sailing, by utilising the 117 member nations it continues to promote sailing by raising its profile and encouraging as many people as possible to become involved in this sport. I would also like to congratulate the other sailors who have been nominated for the Female Award. They are at the forefront of their own sailing discipline and I feel privileged to be nominated along side them."
In 2001, MacArthur dominated women's sailing after taking the runners-up trophy in the 2000 Vendée Globe and becoming the fastest female and youngest sailor ever to race around the world solo, non-stop. The year previously, she also earned a nomination for the Award by winning Class 1 of the Europe 1 New Man STAR (Single Handed Trans-Atlantic Race Plymouth to Newport).
On 7 February this year, MacArthur carved a unique place in history by crossing the finishing line off the coast of Brittany to set a new single-handed round the world non-stop record. She sliced more than a day off Francis Joyon's time set in 2004, to finish in 71 days, 14 hours, 18 minutes and 33 seconds, achieving an average speed of 12.66 knots over the 27,354 nautical mile course.
Reports of her roller-coaster ride through the world's oceans proved compelling for a captivated global audience, as Ellen recounted the pressures of pushing her boat at full throttle while battling against extreme fatigue, equipment failure, violent storms, injury and isolation. When she arrived back in the UK, she was greeted by thousands of supporters and was promptly made a Dame by HM Queen Elizabeth II.
A few weeks later, she also set a new SNSM (St Nazaire to St Malo) crewed maxi record on board B&Q, although an attempt on the Transatlantic record from New York to Lizard, UK last month had to be abandoned due to unsuitable weather conditions.
Tornado sailors Fernando Echavarri Erasun and Antón Paz Blanco continued in 2005 where they left off the previous year and have enjoyed an extraordinary 12 months, starting with victory at the ISAF Grade 2 Barcelona Olympic Sailing Week in March where they won five of the nine races. In May, they took the gold medal at the ISAF Grade 1 Holland Regatta then followed it up the following month by winning the ISAF Grade W Tornado World Championship.
In August, they reinforced their credentials as the most exciting talent on the Tornado circuit by adding the European Championship title to their portfolio and as a result accumulated more points to boost their ISAF World Ranking position. Through the nomination period they climbed steadily to the top spot, making it theirs on 29 June.
Since then, skipper Echavarri has indicated where his future might ultimately lie after his Olympic ambitions have been fulfilled. He has spent the past few weeks with the crew of the Spanish yacht Movistar, one of the favourites for the Volvo Ocean Race title, and has been put on standby by skipper Bouwe Bekking to compete in a leg or inshore regatta depending on his availability.
Echavarri, 33, and Paz, 29, started racing Tornadoes together in 1997 after starting their careers in Lasers and Europes respectively. By the Olympic Games in 2004, they had worked their way into the world's top ten though a disappointing performance in Athens, where they finished in eighth place, proved a turning point in their fortunes.
"We made many mistakes at the Olympics but learned so much about ourselves," said Echavarri.
"It made us realise that we had to take things step-by-step so we have worked hard on our concentration in pressure situations and as a result have made fewer mistakes and have become more confident about our possibilities. This is what has made the difference this year."
"We also work well as a team," he added.
"On the water my strengths lie in making the boat go faster while Anton is athletic and particularly good in strong winds. Off the water, I deal with the sponsors and do a lot of the logistics but Anton does all the day-to-day hard work to keep the boat well prepared.
"We are also good friends - you have to be to deal with the pressures and stress of top level competition. We know each other well and understand the importance of talking things through, whether they are good things or bad."
Their sponsors may have opened up new big boat opportunities for both Echavarri and Paz but in the short term, their focus lies in maintaining their number one world ranking in the Tornado class and winning a gold medal at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.
"We are trying not to think too much about the Olympics. They are three years away. We know there is a lot of work to do so are still taking things step by step."
Winning the ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Award came a complete surprise to the pair but they say, it is the best thing that has ever happened to them.
"All the people that were nominated for this award are incredible sailors. We have grown up in awe at some of the names on this list so to win makes us feel very lucky and very proud. It is a great honour. Now, it'll be very cool to read our names in the list. The achievements of our 2005 season will not be forgotten.
"We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks and appreciation to the ISAF and Rolex. I would also like to express my gratitude to the Royal Spanish Sailing Federation, Galician Sailing Federation, Athlete Help Program and our main sponsor Movistar.
"Right now, Spain is on top of sailing thanks to events such as the Volvo Ocean Race and the America's Cup. The fact that a Spanish Olympic crew has now won the ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Award will certainly help to further promote the sport.
According to ISAF President Goran Petersson, the Federation and Rolex took pride in recognising and honouring great sailing endeavours with the World Sailor of the Year prize.
"This has been another outstanding year for the sport of sailing where our winners have set new benchmark levels in performance and endurance. Ellen MacArthur continues to astound the world with her remarkable achievements in single-handed racing and we are delighted to recognise her exploits once again with the female ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Award.
"These awards were designed to mark true excellence in world sailing and it is a sign of the high regard and respect they command, that the list of nominees for 2005 reads like a Sailor's hall of fame. The achievements of Fernando Echavarri and Anton Paz, the first Spaniards to win the male awards, demonstrate an unwavering commitment to success by both the Spanish sailing authorities and the sailors themselves. Their inspirational rise to the top this year is a testament not only to their talent but also to their focus, hard work and commitment. It is a success that is richly deserved."
Sofia Bekatorou, 470 gold medallist at the Athens Olympics who shared the female ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Awards in 2004 with her crew Emilia Tsoulfa, said winning the award had proved one of the most important moments in her career.
"Each year the award becomes more prestigious so it is becoming more of a dream for sailors to win it," she commented.
"Being the ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year means you are at the very top of your game. It means that people believe in you and like you and for any sailor competing at any level, that gives a lot of confidence.
"For me, winning the award meant I had moved to another level, almost into an elite group. It gave me the confidence to try more and realise that although you can achieve certain goals, there is always one step further you can go.
The Awards Presentation at the Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel in Singapore was hosted by distinguished triple Olympic medallist and multiple World Champion Alessandra SENSINI of Italy and attended by more than 500 guests from 50 nations, including international sailors and prominent personalities from the sailing world, such as World Sailor nominees Peter GILMOUR (AUS), Finian MAYNARD (BVI), Blanca MANCHON (ESP), Claire LEROY (FRA), Bruno PEYRON (FRA) and Rohan VEAL (AUS). Presenting the Awards were ISAF President of Honour HM King Constantine and Claudio Mariani of Rolex Singapore.
The winners were each presented with a Rolex timepiece and the marble and silver World Sailor Trophy - a solid marble sphere depicting the world and crowned by five silver spinnakers representing the continents.
The other nominees for the ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Awards 2005 were:
Female:
Claire LEROY (FRA)
Blanca MANCHÓN (ESP)
Paige RAILEY (USA)
Male:
Peter GILMOUR (AUS)
Finian MAYNARD (IVB)
Bruno PEYRON (FRA)
Vincent RIOU (FRA)
Rohan VEAL (AUS)
The 18 Footers racing out of the Sydney Flying Squadron were taught a simple lesson in application of the sport’s laws last weekend when the competitors sailing were divided on interpretation of the starter’s signals and the course. There was much discontent but no protests.
Initially 18 foot skiff stalwarts like Michael Carter (Synergy) and Michael Boyd (Sydney Star Accommodation) were caught out starting almost a minute late due to their misunderstanding of the starter’s signals. Other SFS sailors took advantage though, with Adrian Dunphy (Ella Bache) getting an almost perfect start right on the gun.
Even though Ella Bache took an immediate lead, the confusion demonstrated by the fleet made it difficult for the spectators on the club’s ferry to see if Dunphy could keep his lead. The fleet split across Sydney Harbour, with different skiffs thinking a different course was order of the day.
CST Composites, sailed by Chris Dixon sailed what they believed to be the correct course, and showed terrific speed in the conditions. In an almost error free display of skiff handling CST Composites quickly sped away, with those others on the same course quickly shown by the superior skiff how fast and smooth these boats can be sailed.
Whilst half of the fleet were receiving the lesson in boat speed from CST Composites, the other half were sailing a different course. Intercall (Lea Sitja) and Austar (Chris Kameen) were struggling to maintain a lead on Sydney Star Accommodation and Synergy was hunting them all down.
The race quickly degenerated into a confusing crisscross pattern of skiffs sailing around Sydney Harbour, each wondering why the other was over there. In retrospect based on here say after the event, any of the competitors would have been within their rights to protest the committee and seek either redress or have the race abandoned.
It is a quirk of sailing that it is one of the few sports left where the competitor can complain about the officials and results without being penalized by the sport’s administering body, In fact, it is encouraged.
However not one competitor protested, and in light of the absence of formal complaint the results stand as accepted. Learning this after the event, Ella Bache’s skipper Adrian Dunphy was furious with the posted results and may still lodge an appeal with the sport’s administrators.
This coming weekend sees the start of the handicap races, where the slower performers are given a time correction based on past results. Typically this is managed by giving the slower boats a head start and working through the fleet until the fasts boats start last.
It can make for some exciting finishes if the handicap officials have done their sums correctly, with the fleet of 18 foot skiffs converging on the finish line all at the same time.
Sydney Flying Squadron 18 Foot Skiffs
Spring Series Heat 7 - Mark Foy Trophies
1. Dinghy Solutions (R Scarr)
2. CST Composites (C Dixon)
3. Ella Bache (A Dunphy)
4. Frame Group (C Doran)
5. Wentworth Courier Sydney Weekly (I Pretty)
6. Intercall (L Sitja)
7. Avaya (M Rynan)
8. Austar (C Kameen)
9. Synergy (M Carter)
10. Sydney Star Accommodation (M Boyd)
11. Sign-a-Rama (S Merrington)
12. Macquarie (M McKensey, DNS)
Luckily the guys were not hurt but were certainly scared. After the capsize of the FONCIA trimaran in the Transat Jacques Vabre, at 7 o’clock on Tuesday 8th November in the Bay of Biscay, Armel Le Cléac’h and Damian Foxall were rescued, airlifted off the boat by the French navy on Tuesday afternoon. They arrived in Brest yesterday afternoon around 5 pm. Damian Foxall has severe bruising to his shoulder and thorax, and was hospitalised overnight. Armel le Cléac’h, still very shocked by the incident, describes what was a rotten day.
Armel describe what happened ?
Armel Le Cléac’h :« We knew that this second night was going to be tough, with rough seas and wind in view of the passage of what was a highly active front. We had prepared to face up to it, and had not planned to be offensive with a small amount on canvas up. Throughout the night, we had three reefs in the main and ORC (small jib). Then when heavy winds kicked in, 4-5 hours before capsizing, we rolled in the ORC. We had just the reefed main up. In a steady 45 knots blow, FONCIA’s speed was between 10-12 knots. A situation which was perfectly straightforward to handle. Everything was fine, although it was a bit damp. Shortly before five in the morning, I saw Orange Project’s mayday message on the standard C, asking for assistance following capsize. I called Alain Gautier (our project manager) asking him if we should change course. Alain reported that the rescue operations were already underway. So we continued as planned. The wind began to ddecrease. We had 20-25 knots in very chaotic seas. We were undercanvassed and were having a tough time making headway but we knew it would not be long before we changed tack. When we prepared to change tack, I took the helm and Damian went down below. Just at that moment there was a strong gust, just after a spot of rain. And then in the twinkling of an eye, the wind increased sharply to 42 knots. FONCIA bore away and I wasn’t able to luff, and we didn’t have the time to grab the sheets. Everything happened really quickly at the wrong time.
What happened after the capsize ?
A.L.C. : « I was thrown sky high and fell into the mainsail. I was in the water for a couple of seconds and by the time I managed to get my head above water, I called Damian who did not answer. But then I saw him and realised that he was hurt. I brought him into the central hull. I made him comfortable aft, set off the distress beacon and called Alain. Then I called Jean-Yves Chauve pour to see what I should do for Damian. Then I remained in contact with the shore crew. I called them every hour to keep them up to date with how things were going. An airforce flew over to position the boat, and around 2 pm, we were lifted off by helicopter. Rescue operations happened very quickly. A diver came down to explain everything to us, and Damian was put into a cage in a horizontal position and lifted to safety. I went up in the second trip. In the meantime, I tidied the boat up a little. Then we went to the zone where Orange Project had capsized. We ended up on board a navy Super Frelon with the Ravussin brothers, the helicopter fully equipped for medical rescue operations. Once ashore in Brest, Damian was taken to hospital. I’m just about to go off and see how he’s doing.
How do you feel after such an eventful day, with a capsize ?
A.L.C. : « I’m really shaken. I was really scared during the actual capsize. The couple of seconds I spent in the water seemed eternal. I couldn’t see Damian – that was really tough. But now I know he’s in capable hands.
And Foncia ?
A.L.C. : On Wednesday the shore crew will be heading out on a fishing vessel to the zone where the incident occurred. The Sarsat beacon is still transmitting. It can transmit for up to three days. The mast is broken of course, but when I left the boat, the faring, crossbeams, central hull and floats were still intact.
Recovering the trimaran FONCIA :
On Wednesday morning, Foncia’s technical shore crew comprising Thierry Briend, David Boileau, Philippe Echassoux and a professional diver will be setting out from Loctudy on a 70 ft long trawler “Damoclès" with a view to recovering the trimaran. Alain Gautier is coordinating recovery operations from Lorient : " It’ll take them about 36 hours to make it to the incident zone. The distress beacon is still emitting will enable them to pinpoint the boat’s position. They will try and right her in situ by filling a float with water and pulling hard on the other side. That should mean that the boat will suffer less when she is under tow. They should be returning to Lorient, at the end of next week".
Sanxenxo, 8 November 2005 - Racing in the Volvo Extreme 40 was cancelled today. Sanxenxo was hit by a fierce front with winds gusting up to 35 knots followed by long windless periods with the wind shifting constantly. At one moment a squall hit the marina and everybody had to run for cover. People were struggling with branded umbrellas walking on the pier. The rain made it impossible to see further than a few metres.
All the Volvo Extreme 40’s were on the water in the afternoon for several hours but the race committee did not find the right conditions to start in between the squalls and the calms.
English Tornado specialist Hugh Styles, skipper onboard team Basilica, experienced highlight of the day.
“We were on the edge of a squall and we decided to give the boat the full ride. And we did, we were showing all our flags. With the spinnaker up we were flying. We are used to some high speeds on the Tornado but we had big grins on all the faces onboard. We must have been doing over 20 knots and going down waves accelerating even more. A full roller coaster ride.”
Styles is also the Team GBR Tornado specialist preparing for the 2008 Olympics. He is thinks the teams need more time to learn to sail the boat to its full potential. “This boat is bigger and heavier than a Tornado. This boat goes faster but also needs more attention to keep up to speed. With this size you can get caught in between the waves for example. With the Tornado we push it harder and we sail more extreme, more on the edge. We will need to learn to sail like that with these boats as well, but we need time and hours in the boat.”
Preview
Tomorrow the racing is scheduled to start again at 14.30 hours. The forecast is for winds between 10-15 knots and sunny conditions. Carolijn Brouwer leads the point’s table with her team, with Mitch Booth in second place on Holmatro. Holmatro crew Mark van Gelderen was challenging Brouwer, “Tomorrow we will come back ashore as the leaders. Watch us,” he said convinced.
Brouwer reacted calm and said, “We still have two days to sail and we might even sail more than three races tomorrow. We still need to sail a lot of races, nothing has been decided yet we need to keep sailing well and we will.”
November 8, 2005, Sanxenxo, Galicia – Preparations are continuing apace for the start of Leg One of the Volvo Ocean Race from Vigo to Cape Town on November 12.
The transition from Sanxenxo, the scene of Saturday’s in-port race, to the ocean leg start port of Vigo is under way. The job will be completed with a parade of sail by the Volvo Open 70 fleet to Vigo on Friday afternoon.
In the interim period, most of the crews assembled in Sanxenxo continue their tuning programmes with Ericsson and Brasil 1, first and second respectively in the in-port race, prominent among those out on the water in the past few days.
In fact Brasil 1 has had little time to celebrate their surprise result on Saturday. Skipper Torben Grael, never one to rest on his laurels, has been ramping up the workload for his crew.
Squalls and heavy showers curtailed movistar’s early morning efforts today and caused a delay to the third round of the Volvo Extreme 40 series. Conditions are likely to be more favourable for the rest of the week.
Premier Challenge continues its race against time to meet the measurement criteria to be on the start line. Grant Wharington’s shore crew has been burning the midnight oil in an effort to get the Aussie entry race ready.
‘We’re up against it but we’re pushing like mad,’ Wharington said. Pirates are also out near the dry dock area undergoing rig work.
In Vigo, the finishing touches are being applied to the port facilities. The Race Village is taking shape, the Media Centre is being readied for an influx of international media expected to be approaching 500. Spanish TV will broadcast the start live and a number of national radio stations have also scheduled coverage of the drama as it unfolds.
The Swedish Ship Götheborg, which will be used as the official start boat, arrived yesterday to Vigo and a surprise guest has been lined up to fire the starting cannon.
For Saturday’s start, early indications suggest that the crowd in Vigo will comfortably eclipse the 30,000 who witnessed the in-port race in Sanxenxo.
Other race news:
Britain’s Dame Ellen MacArthur and Tornado world champions Fernando
Echavarri Erasun and Antón Paz Blanco of Spain have been voted as winners of the ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Awards 2005.
Echavarri has spent the past few weeks with the crew of the Spanish yacht movistar and has been put on standby by skipper Bouwe Bekking to compete in a leg or inshore regatta depending on his availability.
The latest rankings at 1700GMT show SKANDIA in 4th place, 29.9 miles behind new race leader VIRBAC-PAPREC after overtaking Jean Le Cam’s newer-generation BONDUELLE at lunchtime today. At around 0400GMT this morning, SKANDIA was one of the first Open 60’s to tack onto starboard as the front came through, along with 6th place Pro-Form, and 7th place Cheminées Poujoulat. All the Open 60’s have now tacked and are broad reaching, heading south towards the Portuguese coast. SKANDIA and race leader VIRBAC-PAPREC are currently holding the most westerly position amongst the Open 60 fleet, in a north-westerly breeze of around 25 knots. The Open 60 fleet are clocking some impressive speeds with SKANDIA averaging 20 knots earlier today. The wind will veer round to the north by the end of the day due to the high pressure situated to the west of the fleet, commonly known as ‘the Azores High’ bringing faster downwind conditions that will see the daily mileage counter accelerate. “After the trials of the first few days we are now blasting towards Brazil...bring it on!”
It was an extreme night for the Transat Jacques Vabre fleet battling with the second aggressive front of this race which passed through with winds reaching 45kts from the south-west and rough seas, as co-skipper Will Oxley explains: "Ocean racing can be HARD CORE very hard core. I was reminded of that last night in a big way…the Bay of Biscay last night turned it on for us...pitch black driving, spray and occasional rain, 6m waves and SKANDIA constantly dropping off waves. We drive with a crash helmet and spray visor, it is the only way we can see anything…” (Read more from Will below...)
The multihulls were worst hit mainly due to the extreme sea state, accentuated by the dramatic change in depth from the Continental Shelf west off Ushant. In the 60ft multihull fleet, Sodebo lost their port hull resulting in their dismasting, 150 miles west of Brest. Orange Project capsized after serious damage to one of the beams between the hulls and Foncia also capsized injuring co-skipper Damian Foxall who is reported to have broken his collarbone. All crew are reported safe after the organisation and rescue services launched a full-scale rescue operation.
Two 50ft multihull’s also suffered damaged in the violent conditions - VICTORINOX broke their bowsprit and BRANEC's port float suffered damage - both are now heading towards the coast. The only Open 60 to suffer damage was GALILEO who have reported a broken boom.
The Open 60 fleet are expected to gybe some time tomorrow as they sail in to the well-established 20-25 knot north-east Trade Winds. The timing of the gybe is crucial for the next major hurdle on the race course, as Christan Dumard, SKANDIA’s weather router explains: “The next question is when to gybe tomorrow. The gybe is important regarding the choice of sailing windward or leeward of the different groups of islands [Canaries].” An early gybe will take a more easterly route, and a late gybe will mean a route more to the west of this islands, approximately 750 miles down the track.
EMAIL LOG FROM SKANDIA (1234GMT 8/11/05)
[Log left unedited to demonstrate how difficult it is even to type an email on a boat that is being physically thrown around by the sea!]
Ocean racing can be HARD CORE very hard core. I wqas rewminded of that last night in a big way. The bay of biscay last night turnrd it on for us...pitch black driving spray and occassional rain..6m waves and Skandia constantly dropping off waves. We drive with a crash helmet and spray visor. it is the only way we can seee anything. Working on the bow changing sails is like being in the dumper zone of the surf as you get rolled around whilst wrestling a sail to the deck. Hand signals with the deck light on are theonly way to communicate with Brian. I got soakked up to the waist as a huge wave surged up my legs. We had the timing of the front sorted with the wx models and our router and were both up and ready as we saw the front approach on the radar. At that stage we had 3 reefs in the main and a staysails so were able to do a quick tack after restacKING THE BOAT.
Why is my writing so b ad? becuase we are launchingoff enormous waves this timedownwin d! I have just come of watch from steeri ng post front and we have averaged about 20 knots!! Fantastic on tyh4e edge saiuling as we blast downwind!! One huge wave rushed downht e deck as ~I buryed the bow and absoluted wacked me. MY automatic life jacket exploded in my face and there was a moment of panic as I thought the rig was coming down. They really make a banG.
So affter the trials of the first few days we are now blasting towards brazil..... bring it on. We were fastest boat in the fllet last sked. Cool!! Sleep for both of us has been brief snatches in our gear but now I am about to get into the bunk an d tryn and dry out.
Cheers,
Will.
Terrible news about the multis. Our hearts go out to them and hope that everone gets out oif it ok.Brian and I raced around the world this year with Damian, thomas and Jaques and it has been a shock to both of us.
OPEN 60 MONOHULL POSITIONS 1700GMT 8/11/05:
1. VIRBAC-PAPREC 3635.7 miles to finish
2. SILL ET VEOLIA +2.5 miles to leader
3. ECOVER +13.3 miles to leader
4. SKANDIA +29.9 miles to leader
5. BONDUELLE + 34.2 miles to leader
Ellen MacArthur and Sill et Veolia skipper, Roland Jourdain, slipped into second place in the Open 60 monohull class at the 1100 GMT position reports losing the lead to French skippers Jean-Pierre Dick and racing legend Loik Peyron on board Virbac-Paprec. Losing the lead was only a minor implication to the storms that have lashed the 34-boat Transat Jacques Vabre fleet with devastating effect especially in the ORMA 60 multihull class. MacArthur described the ‘sea state as horrible’ with squalls of up to 44 knots. In conditions like these, it is a matter of survival and even the most simple of tasks can become a mammoth feat. Living inside a washing machine would be an apt description compounded with howling winds that makes communication between the sailors almost impossible. But spirits onboard Sill et Veolia remain upbeat as the Open 60 front-runners with only a few miles of separation, charge south at speeds of 16 knots – surfing at 25 - battling to regain the lead as the hard upwind slog changes to fast-paced broad reaching. At 1500 GMT this afternoon Sill et Veolia is nearly level with Vigo, approximately 100 miles off the Spanish coast. The 20-25 knots of north-westerly breeze will continue rotating into the north as the day goes on due to the Azores high located in the west, and by tomorrow MacArthur and Jourdain will be experiencing the more comfortable and fast conditions of the north-easterly Trade Winds off the Portuguese coast - it is now a case of holding their nerve in the fast downwind conditions to see who can gain the edge. And with only 14 miles separting Mike Golding’s Ecover in third, Sill et Veolia 4.5 miles behind Virbac-Paprec no one is going to give an inch.
Four ORMA 60 multihulls (Sodebo, Foncia and Orange Project and Brossard) have officially retired from the 2005 Transat Jacques Vabre race after suffering serious damage. An extremely rough and short sea state caused by the high winds combined with the sudden depth change of the Continental Shelf west of Ushant produced up to 7-metre waves that saw Sodebo lose her port hull and dismast and both Foncia and Orange Project capsize. All crew are now safe on board rescue ships. Other damage reported included 50ft multihulls Victronix and Branec, and the Open 60 Galileo with a broken boom.
For latest information, please go to http://www.jacques-vabre.com
Coming in the opposite direction to the Transat Jacques Vabre fleet, the 75ft trimaran <
Latest news on http://www.teamellen.com
EMAIL FROM ELLEN (1200 GMT, 08.11.05)
Well, Bilou (aka Roland Jourdain) and I are pretty tired and wet, after a night with winds to 50 knots. We were quite shocked to hear of the multihulls this morning and I hope that everyone is safe and gets in ok. The front was very aggressive and difficult to predict last night. This morning when we thought we were through the worst of it, we had a squall of over 44 knots, our boat speed was fairly high at that stage and the sea state was horrible. Once again, we have slept on the floor and now the NW wind is in the air is much colder. We can't have had more than a couple of hours of sleep between us last night, but the ambience on board is great which is massively uplifting! Both this morning and last night we had very funny moments. Last night, during our tack in 35 knots of wind, we were up in the forward sail locker which is like a big cavern with sails up to two or three times my size! The seas were big and confused, and there was a moment when Bilou flew from one side of the locker to the other then back again - I swear he had no control over his movements! I had just woken from a doze, and it was so comical I thought I should have been hallucinating!
Also, this morning when we were surfing in a squall, I'd just managed to make us a cup of tea and a honey crepe each (which was quite a challenge as I had to hold the kettle on the cooker!). There were several moments with so much spray that Bilou had to hide his crepe under the cuddy - Bilou then said that we were surfing at about 25.5 knots, he then calmly added that we must have some current under us! I laughed so much at his unexpected comment that I spat out my tea everywhere! Luckily, in a cockpit with waves flooding over it every few minutes it didn't need much clearing up! There are many black based high cumulous clouds around, and we are still experiencing winds over 35 knots. It's pretty full on sailing.
Signing off from E and B.
OPEN 60 RANKINGS 1500 GMT:
1. VIRBAC-PAPREC / DISTANCE TO FINISH MILES 3699.6
2. SILL ET VEOLIA / + 6.2 MILES
3. ECOVER / + 15 MILES
4 SKANDIA / + 32.6 MILES
5. BONDUELLE / + 38.4 MILES
Highlighting the Caribbean racing calendar with its unique blend of island-style hospitality, competition and camaraderie, the St. Thomas Yacht Club's International Rolex Regatta will celebrate its 33rd edition on Friday, March 24, through Sunday, March 26, 2006. The event features handicap and one-design racing in a beautiful setting, professional race management, and dependable Caribbean tradewinds. On the social agenda are festive shoreside events and the Rolex Prize Giving partnered with a not-to-be-forgotten beach party at the Yacht Club. With over three decades of history, the tradition of a Rolex watch awarded to every class winner still stands.
"Last year we really raised the bar, by adding some intriguing new twists on the water and back onshore," said Tracy Roberts, who co-directs the regatta with fellow St. Thomas Yacht Club member Colin Probyn. "There was near-perfect harmony between exciting competition and extreme fun." Roberts explained that on one of the competition days, short-course buoy racing was traded in for a coastal romp that took the fleet from Cowpet Bay, where the St. Thomas Yacht Club is located, to a finish line just inside the harbor of Charlotte Amalie, formerly plied by privateers and now the island's cruise ship port. The fleet then reversed course to beat back home, where reggae, rum and barbecue awaited the tired but happy competitors. Added Probyn: "This year the race will be repeated but augmented by some IC-24 windward-leeward racing in the harbor. This will show the racers St. Thomas's beautiful capital and afford the islanders and visitors alike a flavor of competitive sailing."
The IC-24s are indigenous to the area having been developed from J/24s by a group of St. Thomas sailors and attracting the very best in inter-island talent. In size (24 feet) they are the same as J/24s, which had their own class last year and a strong Puerto Rican contingent including six-time watch winner Fraito Lugo. A little smaller but a lot faster are the Beach Cats, which always arrive in full force with plenty of Hobie and Nacra class stars competing, including Puerto Rico's multiple world champion and Olympian Enrique Figueroa. At the other end of the scale is the 2005 winner Titan XII, an awe-inspiring 75-footer with Puerto Rico's Tom Hill at the helm and America's Cup veteran Peter Isler (San Diego, Calif.) serving as tactician, a fine example of the top-notch competition that is always on hand. Titan will compete in the Over-50 Foot Class for the biggest boats; there are other classes for boats ranging from 30 to 50 feet that also include the hottest Caribbean sailors as well as visiting professional and semi-pro racers.
"There are additional classes where mere mortals have a chance, too," says longtime competitor Wally Bostwick about the event's more laid-back Racer/Cruiser and Non-Spinnaker Racing classes, "but it's always for bragging rights, and you'd better bring your best game and a dash of luck. Each of the Northern Caribbean regattas has its special flavor and strong point, but only at the International Rolex Regatta can you win 'The Watch.' Just a little something around the wrist to point out that you happen to be one of the best sailors in the Caribbean."
According to Roberts, "If you enjoy sailing and good times, you enter the International Rolex Regatta and give it your best shot. It's our job to make it so you keep coming back for the fun, winner or not." It was announced earlier this year that Rolex also will be the title sponsor for the Rolex Antigua Sailing Week, due for its 39th running from Sunday, April 30, through Saturday, May 6, 2006.
Local Muscle Behind the Organization
Denis Comment, a long-time supporter of the International Rolex Regatta and Director for Rolex Caribbean and Central America, is the event's Honorary Chairman. Returning as co-chairs of the International Jury are local Ruth Miller and international judge Arthur "Tuna" Wullschleger (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.), who has served as Chief Judge at the regatta for 23 years. Principal Race Officer David Brennan (Miami, Fla.) will manage the on-water competition.
Other regatta committee members are Frannie Newbold (Committee Desk); Christine Thompson (Sailing Liaison Officer); Barbara Birt (Merchandise); Shanda Chiumento (T-Shirt Designer); Terry Hudson (Dock Master); Colin Probyn (Events Coordinator); Comestibles Corp (Food and Beverages); Herbert Seiler (Boats); Rob Carlin (Parking); Walter Bostwick (Public Relations); Bill Canfield (Race Committee/Trophies and Awards); John Sweeney (Race Equipment); Lyn Reid (Registration); Jackson Roberts (Scoring/Chief Grip); Jennifer Firestone (Accommodations); Kelly O'Brien (Accommodations); Dr. Jeff Chase (EMS); Tara Ashmore (Treasurer); Ansen Sigler (Web Master).
The International Sailing Federation and Rolex have announced Dame Ellen MACARTHUR of Great Britain and Tornado World Champions Fernando ECHAVARRI ERASUN and Antón PAZ BLANCO of Spain as winners of the ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Awards 2005.
At an Awards Ceremony tonight in Singapore, the three sailors were honoured for their outstanding sailing achievements between 1 September 2004 and 31 August 2005, when MacArthur completed her record-breaking solo sprint around the world in her maxi-trimaran B&Q and Echavarri and Paz were crowned Tornado World and European Champions after a string of outstanding results.
This is the second time that Ellen MacArthur, 29, has won the coveted female ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Award. In 2001, she dominated women's sailing after taking the runners-up trophy in the 2000 Vendée Globe and becoming the fastest female and youngest sailor ever to race around the world solo, non-stop. The year previously, she also earned a nomination for the Award by winning Class 1 of the Europe 1 New Man STAR (Single Handed Trans-Atlantic Race Plymouth to Newport).
On 7 February this year, MacArthur carved a unique place in history by crossing the finishing line off the coast of Brittany to set a new single-handed round the world non-stop record. She sliced more than a day off Francis Joyon's time set in 2004, to finish in 71 days, 14 hours, 18 minutes and 33 seconds, achieving an average speed of 12.66 knots over the 27,354 nautical mile course.
Reports of her roller-coaster ride through the world's oceans proved compelling for a captivated global audience, as Ellen recounted the pressures of pushing her boat at full throttle while battling against extreme fatigue, equipment failure, violent storms, injury and isolation. When she arrived back in the UK, she was greeted by thousands of supporters and was promptly made a Dame by HM Queen Elizabeth II.
A few weeks later, she also set a new SNSM (St Nazaire to St Malo) crewed maxi record on board B&Q, although an attempt on the Transatlantic record from New York to Lizard, UK last month had to be abandoned due to unsuitable weather conditions.
Ellen is currently racing in the 2005 Transat Jacques Vabres with her friend Roland 'Bilou' JOURDAIN on the Open 60 Sill et Veolia but found time to express her surprise and delight at scooping the Award for the second time.
I would like to say thank you to ISAF, its sponsor and its members for this Award. I was fortunate enough to have received this Award in 2001 and it is as much of a surprise and honour to me now as it was back then. The International Sailing Federation provides a great service to the world of sailing, by utilising the 117 member nations it continues to promote sailing by raising its profile and encouraging as many people as possible to become involved in this sport. I would also like to congratulate the other sailors who have been nominated for the Female Award. They are at the forefront of their own sailing discipline and I feel privileged to be nominated along side them."
Tornado sailors Fernando Echavarri Erasun and Antón Paz Blanco continued in 2005 where they left off the previous year and have enjoyed an extraordinary 12 months, starting with victory at the ISAF Grade 2 Barcelona Olympic Sailing Week in March where they won five of the nine races. In May, they took the gold medal at the ISAF Grade 1 Holland Regatta then followed it up the following month by winning the ISAF Grade W Tornado World Championship.
In August, they reinforced their credentials as the most exciting talent on the Tornado circuit by adding the European Championship title to their portfolio and as a result accumulated more points to boost their ISAF World Ranking position. Through the nomination period they climbed steadily to the top spot, making it theirs on 29 June.
Since then, Echavarri has indicated where his future might ultimately lie after his Olympic ambitions have been fulfilled. He has spent the past few weeks with the crew of the Spanish yacht Movistar, one of the favourites for the Volvo Ocean Race title, and has been put on standby by skipper Bouwe Bekking to compete in a leg or inshore regatta depending on his availability.
Speaking on their Award victory, Echavarri commented, "First and foremost, we would like to extend our heartfelt thanks and appreciation to the ISAF and Rolex. I would also like to express my gratitude to the Royal Spanish Sailing Federation, Galician Sailing Federation, Athlete Help Program and our main sponsor Movistar.
This is a very special day for us. We feel proud to be included among the great figures of world sailing and to be awarded as the best in 2005. It is going to be hard to keep up this pace.
Right now, Spain is on top of sailing thanks to events such as the Volvo Ocean Race and the America's Cup. The fact that a Spanish Olympic crew has now won the ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Award will certainly help to further promote the sport.
We grew up reading and admiring about the achievements of the winners of the ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Awards. Now, it'll be very cool to read our names in the list. The achievements of our 2005 season will not be forgotten."
The Awards Presentation was hosted by distinguished triple Olympic medallist and multiple World Champion Alessandra SENSINI of Italy and attended by more than 500 hundred guests from 50 nations, including international sailors and prominent personalities from the sailing world. Presenting the Awards were ISAF President of Honour HM King Constantine and Claudio Mariani of Rolex Singapore.
The winners were each presented with a Rolex timepiece and the marble and silver World Sailor Trophy - a solid marble sphere depicting the world and crowned by five silver spinnakers representing the continents.
The other nominees for the ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Awards 2005 were:
Female
Claire LEROY (FRA)
Blanca MANCHÓN (ESP)
Paige RAILEY (USA)
Male
Peter GILMOUR (AUS)
Finian MAYNARD (IVB)
Bruno PEYRON (FRA)
Vincent RIOU (FRA)
Rohan VEAL (AUS)
Around 7 o’clock French time this Tuesday morning, the trimaran FONCIA capsized in the Transat Jacques Vabre. Damian Foxall, co-skipper alongside Armel Le Cléac'h was injured in the incident. It is liekly that he has a broken collarbone and damaged ribs. The Cross Etel* Search and Rescue Centre is coordinating rescue operations.
It was general knowledge that last night the fleet was going to be in for its roughest ride since the start. Wind speeds increased to more than 50 knots and the seas were extremely rough. Armel Le Cléac'h called Alain Gautier around 5 o’clock this morning with a mayday call from on board Orange Project. Eveyrthing had been fine on board. Te wind had dropped to around 20-25 knots and the change of tack at the tail of the front was not far off. Taking things carefully, the crew still had three reefs in the main and the ORC up, the shortest amount of canvas, as the sea was still rough. Armel was at the helm and Damian was preparing the manœuvre to change tack. A strong gust of wind of 45 knots capsized the boat laterally. Armel immediately got in contact with Alain Gautier who in turn advised Jean Maurel, race manager. The boat was 250 miles SW of the coast of Brittany (position : 46 58 N / 10 15 W).
The Cross Etel* SAR centre began to coordinate rescue operations. A Super Frelon helicopter took off from Brest and will be refuelling on the helicopter-carrier Jeanne d’Arc before reaching the zone where the capiszed trimaran is currently lying.
Jacky Lorenzetti, Chairman of the trimaran’s sponsor FONCIA, made the following statement from Paris Race HQ : « our first priority is to rescue Damian and get him out of danger. The current situation must be tough for him as the sea state is not that comfortable. Our heart goes out to skipper Armel Le Cléac'h, who has given his very best since the start of the race. We have great admiration for these yachtsmen who are able to set out and withstand such conditions for racing. They are super-human, heros. Of course we are disappointed, but there are other races to be won. It’s part of the risk involved. We have every confidence in them.
FONCIA’s Project Manager Alain Gautier : « It’s disappointing of course. But this is not the first time this has happened. We’ll sort things out for Damian first of all. That’s the most important thing. We know what these guys are like. They’re tough nuts. But it is not much fun waiting upside down. Even less so when you’re injured. Once that’s ben sorted out we’ll do what we can to save the boat.
In the past two weeks, two people have died on the Great Lakes. A Canadian fisherman died on the St. Mary’s River in late October. A Wisconsin man disappeared Saturday while sailing with his family on his sailboat’s maiden voyage. Neither victim was wearing a lifejacket or exposure suit. The Coast Guard highly encourages all boaters to wear anti-exposure garments along with their lifejackets during the cold boating season.
Water temperatures in Lake Michigan are currently in the mid-50’s, allowing a maximum survival time of about 4 hours. Cold water robs the body of heat 25 times faster than air, dramatically reducing one’s ability to survive. The body’s core temperature can begin to drop within minutes. Estimated survival time will significantly decrease as the water temperatures get colder. As winter approaches, water temperatures will drop below forty degrees (F), with a survival time of less than one hour. Statistics show 86 percent of all drowning victims were not wearing lifejackets.
Sanxenxo (Spain), 11 Nov. 2005 - ´Tommy Hilfiger´ won both races today at the second day of the Volvo Extreme 40 Grand Prix series in Sanxenxo. Skipper Randy Smyth and his crew were in great form in the light airs and were the boat to beat today.
A light breeze, calm waters and a cloudy sky was the setting for the second day of this special event, that is part of the Volvo Ocean Race 2005-2006. At the start of the first race today everyone, except the ´Holmatro´ skippered by Mitch Booth, chose to sail away on portside.
The crew of Volvo Ocean´s Race team ´Pirates of the Caribbean´ looking as spectators Tommy Hilfiger had better boat speed and sailed away from the fleet. The team of Carolijn Brouwer , who won all three races yesterday finished second. At the finish it was hard to see who ended third or fourth, ´Holmatro´ or Conrad Humphrey´s ´Motorola´. Eventually the jury decided that ´Holmatro´, was third with only one second to spare. ´Basilica´, which did not race yesterday because of an collision at the first start, could not do better than finish fifth.
The first lap second race of today could have been written by Alfred Hitchcock himself. Tension from the first till last moment with extremely close racing. At the first buoy, when all five 40-footers were tacking right after each other, ´Basilica´, from skipper James Grant, was the only boat which jibed and choose portside of the race course. The rest continued on starboard. ´Basilica´ and Tommy Hilfiger were neck on neck at the second buoy, ´Basilica´ hit the buoy and ´Hilfiger´ took it´s chance to escape. Nobody could overtake ´Hilfiger´ anymore. At the finish Randy Smyth and his crew extended their lead from the rest of the fleet.
´Holmatro´, with skipper Mitch Booth, finished second. The last three catamarans did not finish because they could not complete the race within the time limit.
There are three more race-days to go in the beautiful bay of Sanxenxo. Tune in again tomorrow and follow the racing live on the internet (www.volvoextreme40.com). Racing starts at 14.30 hours.
• Orange Project, Sill et Veolia, Crepes Whaou! and Artforms leading each class
• Multi Open 60 Brossard abandons the race with alarming 3cm wide crack along central hull from the mast foot
• Sodebo, Gitana 11 in the multihull fleet, and Artforms and Défi Vendéen in the Open 50 monohull class all making pitstops to repair damages
• Boats start to position themselves further offshore to face second cold front barring their route south, skippers resting in calmer weather today to prepare for more violent weather conditions overnight.
IMOCA 60 CLASS UPDATE
Although there have not been any significant reports of damage over the first 48 hours of the race, this in itself is a mark of how reliable the Open 60 IMOCA fleet has become when put to the test sailing upwind in typical Autumn gales. Winds last night rose to around 40 knots on the nose, and heavy seas with big waves of up to 4 metres high. Reports coming in all spoke of a hard night with barely any sleep, but man and material were well preserved.
The heavy breeze abated this morning to give the teams a respite of sorts, although the skippers on the satellite phone today reported in that they have spent all morning tacking incessantly on the wind rotations. Early this morning the fleet was more or less aligned on starboard tack heading directly South in a procession entering the Bay of Biscay. However, the approach of a second, worse cold front has lead to each boat picking their moment to make their tack onto port to get some westing into their route and be as far offshore from the Spanish headland when the front hits them. Skandia and Pro-Form were the first to go West, the front-runners remained on their southerly heading until this afternoon.
At the latest position report, all 12 Open 60’s had made their final tack onto port. No change in the rankings throughout the day, however, with Jourdain and MacArthur holding their slim 5 mile lead over Golding and Wavre on Ecover, followed by Dick and Peyron on Virbac-Paprec the same distance behind again. Bonduelle makes up the pack of new generation boats in 4th. Thompson and Oxley on Skandia currently lead the next group of 2nd generation boats, with Pro-Form, Cheminées and Roxy hard on their heels within an 8 mile radius.
OPEN 50 CLASS 2 UPDATE
The Open 50 monohull class has had varying experiences today following closely behind their bigger counterparts in the IMOCA fleet entering the Bay of Biscay. Défi Vendeen last night had to divert to Brest to repair their torn Solent headsail and has as yet to set off again. This morning the lead boat was still Artforms, with a clear 15 mile lead over close rivals Harris and Hall on Gryphon Solo. Skipper Merf Owen was even somewhat surprised at their position, given that their strategy for the start was “to take it easy in the strong winds” as it was more important for them to get through the heavy weather rather than be in the lead now. However, we have just received a quick email from Kip Stone informing the race organisation they are diverting to Lorient to repair their mainsail but all is okay on board. More details on this situation online shortly as it develops.
MULTIHULL UPDATE: ORMA 60 & CLASS 2
As the sun rose over Brittany today, the first ORMA 60 trimarans were nearing Ushant with the tide going out, and the leading trimarans, Orange Project, Groupama-2, Foncia and Géant passed between the island and the mainland of Brittany. Banque Populaire on the other hand, opted to stay offshore and pass Ushant to the West. Both strategies seem to be looking good as now the leading boats have each made their tack out to the west, Orange Project still leads from Géant and Groupama-2 to the east of the direct route, but Banque Populaire is already positioned well in the west only 28 miles behind the leader, and could profit from this position in the hours to come.
The trimaran Brossard, skippered by Yvan Bourgnon and Charles Caudrelier, has had to abandon their race as the central hull has suffered a large crack level with the mast foot along half the structure. The two French skippers have reduced sail and are making slow progress at 5 knots boat speed back towards land, as Yvan Bourgnon reports: “The crack happened at around 3am this morning: the wind and sea were pretty calm and we had just taken out the first reef and tacked to head towards the Brittany coastline. All of a sudden, I heard a massive cracking sound and saw the hull opening over my head on the deck. The crack has extended along half the main hull now… And is 3 centimetres wide! We’re okay, we’re going to try to reach Cherbourg or somewhere nearer if we have to stop before then.”
Coville and Vincent on Sodebo had to divert to Cherbourg, arriving at 2300 hrs local time last night, after their main halyard fell down, when the 2nd reefing line ‘hook’ broke, which is a titanium hook holding the sail at the end of the boom. It was when the second reef was being taken out that this piece failed, leading to the main halyard also breaking.
Sodebo set off again at 0230 local time Monday morning after the shore team had replaced the main halyard and titanium fitting.
In the 50 foot multihull class, the gaps are already significant since the leader, Crêpes Whaou ! is a good 30 miles ahead of Acanthe Ingénierie, in turn 34 miles ahead of third placed Gifi.
Weather Forecast by Louis Bodin
Monday daytime
For the monohulls then multihulls the wind will establish itself from the SSW (around 200). It will build first for the monohulls to between 25 30 knots then 35 45 knots at the end of the day. The seas will become big, running a SW swell, with waves of 6 8 metres. For the multihulls the breeze will begin with between 15 25 knots then 25 35 knots this afternoon, and 35 45 knots overnight.
Tuesday
The monohulls should cross the cold front during the day based on current boat speeds. Before this moment the SSW will remain between 35 45 knots. The strongest gusts will come then, reaching up to 50 knots. When the front passes, the SW swell and sea running from the North West will generate big seas. Then a 30 - 40 knot North West breeze will prevail, dropping to 25 35 knots later. The multihulls won’t be far behind in the same conditions. They should also cross the front during the day.
Wednesday
The North Westerly 20 30 knot wind will establish itself over the whole fleet. Both mono and multihulls will be able to sail on the direct route at high speed. For the multihulls, by now ahead of the monohulls, the wind will turn gradually to the North along the Portuguese coast. The Azores High will remain in its place, thankfully, over the Azores. This will generate following winds from the North, then North East south of Portugal. These trade winds will be well established between 20 25 knots until at least Friday.
Official Rankings at 14:52:00 GMT
IMOCA Open 60 Class:
Pstn / Boat / Lat / Long / Hdg / DTF / DTL
1 Sill et Veolia 45 03.32' N 7 14.72' W 10.3 258 3897.5 0.0
2 Ecover 45 10.88' N 7 16.96' W 9.8 260 3902.7 5.2
3 Virbac-Paprec 45 21.96' N 7 30.36' W 12.0 270 3906.9 9.4
4 Bonduelle 45 10.88' N 6 45.80' W 10.1 260 3916.3 18.8
5 Skandia 45 55.00' N 7 33.12' W 10.0 261 3933.9 36.4
Open 50 Monohull Class 2 14:44:00 GMT:
Pstn / Boat / Lat / Long / Hdg / DTF / DTL
1 Artforms 46 14.44' N 6 37.52' W 8.2 248 3970.9 0.0
2 Gryphon Solo 46 41.44' N 6 56.76' W 9.2 260 3986.6 15.7
3 Vedettes de Bréhat 46 35.84' N 5 24.04' W 8.6 273 4017.9 47.0
ORMA Open 60 Class 14:44:00 GMT:
Pstn / Boat / Lat / Long / Hdg / DTF / DTL
1 Orange Project 47 37.48' N 6 20.00' W 14.3 247 4881.8 0.0
2 Géant 47 20.64' N 6 08.56' W 15.2 257 4886.5 4.8
3 Groupama 2 47 29.60' N 6 32.44' W 13.6 256 4887.3 5.5
Open 50 Multihull Class 2 14:44:00 GMT:
Pstn / Boat / Lat / Long / Hdg / DTF / DTL
1 Crêpes Whaou ! 48 41.16' N 5 53.68' W 14.4 258 4110.5 0.0
2 Acanthe Ingénierie 48 54.64' N 5 06.68' W 10.4 270 4140.5 30.0
3 Gifi 49 14.88' N 4 15.44' W 9.2 257 07/11/05 14:44:00 4174.7 64.2
Quotes from the Boats:
Monohulls:
Ellen MacArthur (Sill & Veolia): “We’re on our third sail change of the day, both of us are pretty tired and haven’t had much sleep but that’s normal. It feels like I’ve been sailing with Bilou for ages, we’re getting on together really well, it’s no more or less tiring than being on a multihull.”
Mike Golding (Ecover): “It’s been a bouncy first 24hrs but we’re settling into the rhythm. Dominique is steering through some difficult waves, but we’re working hard and doing well. In fact I got a bit dehydrated as it’s been hard work and I wasn’t drinking enough. We’ll have a busy night ahead with fairly strong winds, we’re heading West into the front that’s coming in. I hope by tomorrow this time we’ll be on our way South. The Trade winds are strong so when the breeze turns to the right after the front we’ll get Ecover’s big sails out and go fast.”
Jean-Pierre Dick (Virbac-Paprec): “We had a lot of wind last night, 40 knots or so, we had to be very careful, it was really hard work and Loick and I have hardly slept. We’re on our 4th tack this morning..”
Miranda Merron (Roxy): “The first night was exactly what one doesn't want for a race start, the wind steadily rising to 42 knots, the boat slamming hard. Nothing like settling gently into a transatlantic race! The past 24 hours have been better, a very starry night, 15 knots (much more civilized than the 40 knots we had before), a more comfortable sea state, even if it is a bit bouncy. Much easier to drink my tea. There is another low approaching, and we are in for a wet and wild night of upwind slamming.”
Merfyn Owen (Artforms): “Our start strategy was to take it easy in the strong winds, we’ve been very cautious with the sails, although we’re both working hard, it’s been steady going. To be in the lead is great, it wasn’t important for us to be ahead now, it’s more important to get across this front with no breakages.”
Multihulls
Franck Cammas (Groupama): “It’s a little uncomfortable, there’s quite a sea running. Last night we were all tacking furiously on the wind shifts in the same patch of water. This morning, we crossed behind Steve (Ravussin Orange Project). Right now we’ve got 1 reef in the main, 18 20 knots steady breeze and it’s fairly rough out here.”
Steve Ravussin (Orange): “We’ve done so many manoeuvres, it was some night! Today, we’re resting as much as we can, eating well too, so we can be on the attack tonight. We’re very happy with our progress last night. Yvan did a good job on the helm. After a pretty arduous start because we weren’t carrying the right sail combination, we got going and came back to lead the fleet level with Casquets. The staysail, it’s a bit much! We unfurled it before Cherbourg and we were going really well afterwards. We’re not relying much on the autopilots when the sea is this big. You need to be at the helm constantly, especially at night, to keep the boat speed up in these conditions.”
Hugues Destremau (Géant): “We’re heading into the next low pressure system which should give us plenty to do. On board a multi in these conditions, it’s pretty horrible, you are on the receiving end of every wave and the spray is quite violent when it hits you on deck. Whoever’s helming does what he can to soften the blows on the boat, but it’s not fun!”
Going into the third day of the double-handed Transat Jacques Vabre Roland Jourdain and Ellen MacArthur are pushing the Open 60 Sill et Veolia south towards Cape Finisterre at an average speed of 10 knots. So far the newer generation of Open 60s and class favourites, Sill et Veolia, Ecover, Virbac and Bonduelle have all managed to live up to expectations taking the top four slots on the leaderboard. Skandia (formerly MacArthur’s Open 60 Kingfisher) is heading up the ‘2000’ generation, holding fifth place ahead of Thiercelin’s Pro Form. After covering just over 400 miles in tough upwind conditions over the last 48 hours, the 12 Open 60 monohulls are now spread over a 100 miles, although less than 10 miles separates the top three boats. Sill et Veolia hold a slim lead of 5.2 miles over Mike Golding’s Ecover and 9.4 miles over Jean-Pierre Dick’s Virbac in third.
Sill et Veolia is currently sailing in more moderate 10-15 knot winds today giving MacArthur and Jordain the opportunity to gain some much needed sleep as well as having the first proper meal of the race. At around 1230 GMT today, Sill et Veolia tacked back onto port tack in order to gain some westing to clear Cape Finisterre 120 miles away and to push through the next cold front expected during the early hours of Tuesday morning. This will mean another long night sailing upwind in heavy airs, changing sails to reduce sail area as winds increase to 30-35 knots again. However, through the front the wind will change to the north-west and reduce to around 20 knots allowing the sailors to ease the sheets and enjoy the downwind conditions and a rapid passage south past Portugal and into the trade winds.
Email from Ellen onboard:
All pretty changeable out here, we had a tough race start and the wind has been everything from 5 to 55knots. We have not spent much time in the bunks, mainly sleeping in waterproofs on the floor. The first front was pretty full on and the maximum wind strength we saw was 55 knots, but the boat is ok and it is nice to finally see the sun. For a while last night we had some company, as we passed the traffic separation scheme at Ushant, a fishing boat came to see us and waved, after which several dolphins came to follow the boat as we heeled along. Its been a case of lots of sail changes and tacks this morning as we have been trying to get ourselves into the new wind. We thought things would be quieter last night and we'd have time to rest a little, but we were no so lucky, as everytime either one of us slept, it seemed that we were woken by the other far too quickly! We have both just had a some soup, which is the second hot meal since we've left and I've just sent Bilou to bed for an hour. The wind hasn't reached over 20knots yets, although within 12 hours we'll should have about 45. The boat is fine, as are we (if not a little knackered!). But there is no rest for the wicked tonight either, as we enter the next front and have the frontrunners chasing at our heels...
Thanks!
E and B
OPEN 60 RANKINGS 1500 GMT:
1. SILL ET VEOLIA / DISTANCE TO FINISH MILES 3897.5
2. ECOVER / + 5.2 MILES
3. VIRBAC-PAPREC / + 9.4 MILES
4. BONDUELLE / + 18.8 MILES
5. SKANDIA / + 36.4 MILES
SKANDIA made good progress overnight moving up to 5th, overtaking Pro-Form. This morning, Thompson and Oxley have increased their lead over Pro-Form skippers Marc Thiercelin and Eric Drouglazet to 6 miles, and are now sailing in 18 knots of wind under solent and full mainsail.
At the head of the fleet, the top three Open 60’s are now within 7 miles as ECOVER (+4.3 miles) AND VIRBAC-PAPREC (+7.3 miles) close the gap to race leader SILL ET VEOLIA. These three Open 60's, along with Bonduelle (4th) and Galileo (10th) are the newest boats in the fleet, built in the last two years, whereas SKANDIA, CHEMINEES POUJOULAT (7th) and ROXY (8th) were all launched in 2000. Christian Dumard, weather router for SKANDIA in this race, emailed SKANDIA earlier today mentioning, "It was a good thing Poujoulat tacked behind you. You control the '2000' fleet..." Christian Dumard is also a weather advisor to Thomas Coville's SODEBO campaign for this race and his record attempts, and is supported by Vendée Globe weather expert Richard Silvani from Meteo France.
In the last 24 hours the fleet have been sailing in moderate winds and comfortable conditions but this is set to change, as a second cold front moves across the race course bringing with it a return to the strong south-westerly winds similar to those experienced on the first night of the race. At 1030GMT this morning SKANDIA tacked back to the west as the wind shifted round to the south-west, and will aiming to be one of the first boats through the front (at around 0300GMT tomorrow) and into the strong downwind conditions that typify the next section of this race course, as skipper Brian Thompson explains: "After the passage through the cold front we will be tacking south and easing sheets, conditions then getting better all the time…"
EMAIL LOG FROM SKANDIA (0909GMT 7/11/05)
Yesterday started with our encounter with the infamous 100ft manila sea snake. Will wrestled it to the deck to clear our keel. Today we had a more welcome visit from 2 dolphins jumping alongside.
After losing about 15 miles the first night we had a good second day and night to pass some of the boats and right now we are vying for the lead of the 'vintage 60' class with ProForm. The 4 new boats are just ahead and the best can do is to try to hang on to them, and get into the tradewinds close enouugh to be in the hunt in the long downwind section.There is a long way still to go!
Today we are looking at our second and last depression that is going to be approaching from the West. All day the wind is going to be steadily building into the mid 30s. By 3am the cold front should arrive with 40 knot gusts and after it's passage we will be tacking south and easing sheets, conditions then getting better all the time...
We used the stove for the first time so far this morning, when Will boiled water for some freezedried porridge, excellent...
Bye for now
brian and will
OPEN 60 MONOHULL POSITIONS 1300GMT 7/11/05:
1. SILL ET VEOLIA 3913.4 miles to finish
2. ECOVER +4.3 miles to leader
3. VIRBAC-PAPREC +7.3 miles to leader
4. BONDUELLE + 18.4 miles to leader
5. SKANDIA +34.0 miles to leader
November 5, 2005, Sanxenxo, Galicia – It’s a win for British skipper Neal McDonald and his crew onboard the Swedish entry Ericsson Racing Team in the inaugural In-Port race held in Sanxenxo, Galicia, Spain, today.
Ericsson Racing Team will now start leg one, the first of the offshore legs, 6,400 nautical miles to Cape Town, South Africa, next Saturday with 3.5 points already on the table.
Leading the fleet up the first leg of the 14.4 nautical mile course and extending it throughout the race to win by just over two minutes, McDonald and his team of experts never looked threatened. Tim Powell (UK) at the helm and the crew handling the boat and its huge sails in a skilled way that one would expect from this talented team. Swedish supporter, Race Patron H.R.H Prince Carl Philip, was onboard for the victory.
“I feel very relieved,” said McDonald after stepping ashore. “It is nice to know that we have got good boat speed and are clearly one of the fastest boats in those conditions. It is a really nice start to win the race and certainly a great way to start the regatta. John (Kostecki - tactician) really put us in the right place and that made all the difference to the race.”
The battle for second and third place was closely fought throughout the two-hour race. His Majesty King Juan Carlos I, the King of Spain, enjoyed some tight manoeuvres onboard local boat, movistar, but the Brasil 1 team, with its crew of Olympic medalists, was able to hold onto to their narrow lead, to finish in second place.
Skipper, Torben Grael said, “We are very happy with the boat and it is a great boost for our campaign. We didn’t get a great start, but we felt very good with our speed and this is how we made up the ground we lost at the start. I am really pleased that we have a very motivated team and we had some very good racing, it really was a great way to start the race.”
The pirates onboard The Black Pearl, were joined today by the Infanta Doña Cristina of Spain. The team put up a good fight all the way round the track and finally rolled past movistar on the last leg with some superior boat handling. As the last team to launch their boat, the ‘pirates’ have accepted that they will have some catching up to do in the first few legs of the event.
Perhaps the surprise of the day was Team ABN AMRO whose team of hotshots onboard ABN AMRO ONE must now be bitterly disappointed by not only finishing in sixth position, but crossing the line behind their team mates, the inexperienced young crew led by Frenchman Sebastien Josse. No doubt both skippers will be hoping never to meet these sorts of light air conditions again in the next nine months.
The day dawned bright and fair for the first time in weeks in the seaside resort of Sanxenxo today, leaving the sea glassy but the sky blue. The Volvo Open 70s racing together for the first time as a fleet were left milling around as the race committee postponed the race as they waited for more wind to fill in.
The racing finally got underway at just after 1500 local time.
Spectators, afloat in anything they could find, invaded the race track giving marshals a headache as they attempted to clear the course ready for racing. Starting the inshore race in light south westerly breeze, the race committee made the decision to shorten course in a dying breeze after two hours of racing.
Scoreboard after In-Port Race Sanxenxo
1. Ericsson Racing Team elapsed time 01:51:29 (3.5 points)
2. Brasil 1 01:54:55 (3 points)
3. Pirates of the Caribbean 01:56:30 (2.5 points)
4. movistar 01:57:13(2 points)
5. ABN AMRO TWO 02:00:07 (1.5 points)
6. ABN AMRO ONE 02:04:11 (1 points)
7. Premier Challenge DNC (0 points)
Sanxenxo, Spain, 5 November - The Ericsson Racing Team dominated the water today with a victory in the first in-port race of the Volvo Ocean Race 2005-06. Joined by HRH Prince Carl Philip of Sweden as onboard guest, Ericsson led the fleet the entire way round the course.
Racing was postponed due to light air and finally got underway at 15.10 local time. The teams headed out in 5 knots of westerly breeze and sailed a triangular course followed by a windward-leeward leg.
The six-strong fleet (to be joined by the Australian team on Leg One) jostled for position on the start line but it was Ericsson that got the best start, taking advantage of the clear wind at the pin end.
"We were a bit late to the start line," commented helmsman Tim Powell (GBR), "but we were better than all the other teams. We knew the start was an important part of the race. John [Kostecki] did a great job calling tactics and advised us to position ourselves at the pin end. We always favoured the left side of the course, so we stuck to our plan and it paid off. It's great to finally race against the other boats and to have a win this early on sets us up nicely for the first leg."
The fleet sprinted upwind to the first turning mark and Ericsson rounded four minutes ahead of second placed Brazil. The team, led by British skipper Neal McDonald, comfortably extended its lead throughout the race. They crossed the finish line 2 minutes 40 seconds ahead of second placed Brazil and over four minutes ahead of Pirates of the Caribbean (USA) in third.
Skipper Neal McDonald commented: "Tim [Powell] did a great job to win the start and in reality we never had another boat within five lengths of us. The boat felt really good, we were comfortable with our manoeuvres and we had a great race. Obviously it's a bonus to get off to a good start but we can't read too much into it - we have a long way to go from here."
HRH Prince Carl Philip of Sweden was an honorary guest onboard Ericsson for today's race, as was Miguel Rosado, a consultant for Ericsson, who won the opportunity to race with the team, as part of a company initiative.
Next week the Ericsson Racing Team will make final preparations for the marathon first leg to Cape Town, South Africa. This begins on 12 November from the neighbouring port of Vigo and takes the fleet on a 6000 nautical mile trek across the Atlantic, calling on an entirely different skill set to today's in-port race.
TRANSAT JACQUES VABRE MULTIHULL START
The ORMA 60 and Class 2 50 ft multihull fleets took a direct start off the line in the Transat Jacques Vabre today in 26 knots of breeze from the South South West. Reaching at speeds of over 30 knots under grey skies, first to cross the line were Brossard (Bourgnon/Caudrelier), Groupama 2 (Cammas/Proffit) and Foncia (Le Cleac’h/Foxall). Just 7 minutes and 8 seconds later, it was the French-Irish duo on Foncia who rounded the Metzinger marker buoy first, followed by Groupama 2 and Orange (S. Ravussin/Y. Ravussin). Gifi was the first Open 50 across the line, but at the top buoy Crepes Whaou! rounded first. The Open 60 class have 5,190 miles to swallow up, as they must round the Ascension Islands to starboard before they arrive in Brazil.
IMOCA 60 CLASS UPDATE
Leading the IMOCA 60 fleet by a small 5 mile margin at the 12:14:00GMT position report, Sill et Veolia has been sticking to the direct route through the English channel, followed closely in her wake by Ecover in 2nd, with Roxy and Galileo picking up their trail only ten miles behind. Third to 5th placed Virbac-Paprec, Bonduelle, Pro-Form, along with 7th placed Cheminées Poujoulat have opted to stay more in the middle of the English Channel, but will converge on Sill’s track about 50 miles north of Ushant. UUDS is sticking closest to the Brittany coastline inshore and has picked back up to 6th in the rankings. Skandia and Mare Verticale on the other hand, in 8th and 12th respectively, are the most Northerly boats. These latter two, along with Roxy, were the last to tack off to starboard. With only 20 miles separating the top ten, the gaps are still negligible in the fleet, and the average boat speed has risen back up to 12 knots as they dive South in the Westerly wind shift.
The fleet reported a particularly rough night and “winds of up to 41 knots” as clocked by Kito de Pavant on Bonduelle. The yellow boat suffered broken mainsail battens and took a hit in the rankings as they battled in the difficult seas to replace them. Similarly, Brazilian skipper, Walter Antunes, sent a message in overnight saying that the main halyard had already broken, as well as the battens. “We have replaced all of them, but one of our daggerboards is stuck. No risk, just hard to be competitive with both daggerboards down.” Australian Will Oxley on Skandia was able to make light of a rather bizarre floating obstruction which slowed them this morning. “Found 20m of 150mm diameter rope wrapped around keel twice!! Backed down and eventually got hold of an end and unwrapped it. Now we are back up to speed but with some work to do!” No one else had time to communicate with the race office, too busy managing the demands of the conditions on deck.
After the passage of the front on the approach to Ushant this morning, the South Westerly blow has dropped from 45 knots to 20 knots and rotated to the West. Opportunity knocks in this transition and the monohulls are one by one able to make their first tack of the race onto starboard to get as much southing into their route as they can entering the Bay of Biscay before they encounter a deeper low pressure system tomorrow afternoon. This is the calm before the next storm…
OPEN 50 CLASS 2 UPDATE
Amongst the 7 boats in the Open 50 fleet, the two Anglo-American teams in first and second, Artforms and Gryphon Solo, are the furthest apart they have ever been since the start which is only half a dozen miles! They are, however, separated by 8 degrees of latitude as Harris and Hall on Gryphon Solo had not yet tacked off onto starboard at the position report but Stone and Owen on Artforms are the most inshore boat of the whole monohull fleet. These two have broken away from the rest of class 2, now 20 miles ahead of third placed Vedettes de Bréhat. Top 50, Adecco and Polarity Solo are making slower progress in the adverse weather but are all still very much in the race.
Weather Forecast by Louis Bodin:
The weather forecast for today is clearer: it is a transition day as the wind drops to 25 knots and swings round to the West. The monohull fleet will benefit from the Westerly wind shift. They have got far enough off the tip of Brittany to get onto starboard tack and head more south. The sea will remain rough. The wind will return from the South West force 6 to 8 overnight with the arrival of 2 cold fronts which will fuse as they pass over the tip of Brittany.
For the multihulls setting off today at 1500 hrs local time, the arrival of the front will be signalled by a rising breeze, as this morning off Le Havre the wind was still quite moderate at 15 knots, and the sea state still very manageable. The S-SW flux should build to 25 knots at the start with a choppy sea surface but it will be when they leaders pass the headland at Contentin that they will encounter the cold front generating 40 knot gusts. There will follow a wind shift to the West, which will obligate the trimarans to tack down the English Channel. Expected to be off Ushant at sunrise tomorrow, the Open 60 multihulls should benefit from this calmer Westerly breeze to gain ground to the South inside the Bay of Biscay, before the arrival of an active and fast-moving system which will see the wind swing back to the SW and build to 30 knots on Monday night.
Official Rankings at 12:14:00 GMT
Open 60 class:
Pstn / Boat / Lat / Long / Hdg / DTF / DTL
1 Sill et Veolia 48 55.44' N 5 40.52' W 11.5 202 4125.3 0.0
2 Ecover 48 51.72' N 5 31.56' W 12.0 198 4130.1 4.9
3 Virbac-Paprec 48 55.80' N 5 35.44' W 11.4 176 4132.8 7.5
4 Bonduelle 49 05.76' N 5 28.52' W 11.3 189 4138.3 13.0
5 Pro-Form 49 02.92' N 5 26.08' W 12.0 174 4141.8 16.6
6 UUDS 48 51.88' N 4 30.64' W 10.3 186 4149.9 24.6
7 Chem Poujoulat 49 15.44' N 5 19.00' W 10.4 199 4150.0 24.7
8 Skandia 49 13.68' N 5 31.68' W 11.5 176 4150.0 24.8
9 Roxy 49 13.88' N 5 09.08' W 8.0 219 4152.7 27.5
10 Galileo 49 14.52' N 4 47.92' W 10.1 216 4158.5 33.2
Open 50 class 12:14:00 GMT:
Pstn / Boat / Lat / Long / Hdg / DTF / DTL
1 Artforms 49 07.72' N 4 40.84' W 8.1 267 4157.7 0.0
2 Gryphon Solo 49 17.94' N 4 47.58' W 6.1 231 4162.9 5.2
3 Vedettes de Bréhat 49 23.24' N 4 38.68' W 8.7 213 4170.0 12.3
Quotes from the Boats:
Multihulls
Yvan Bourgnon (Brossard): “I’m not complaining, these are tough conditions but ideal considering that we’ll certainly have wind all the way to the Canaries. If there’s anything I can’t stand more it’s not having any wind at all.”
Fred Le Peutrec (Gitana XI): “The forecast is strong but clear and as we’d expect in November. The first 48 hours will be tough, more from the sea state, but our boats are proven and we’re ready. Of course these boats are highly technical and things might break…so it’s down to us to manage the set up and to do as much as possible in the hope that this will bring us victory in Bahia!”
Thomas Coville (Sodebo): “A good sailor never wishes to sail in bad weather, but we’ll really be able to see what our boat can do compared to the others in these tough conditions. (Ed: Sodebo is the biggest in the fleet and the best performing in heavy weather) We’ll need to be careful though…saying that these are the kind of conditions I love, we’ll see whether they will turn out to be a good or bad omen for us.”
Monohulls:
Kito de Pavant (Bonduelle): “We saw up to 41 knots last night between 3 and 7am. We had quite a few problems with setting the ORC and broken mainsail battens. So we’ve taken an initial hit in the rankings because we battled twice for half an hour to repair this in very difficult conditions. This will be a transition day because the front may be more violent than the one we experienced last night.”
Walter Antunes (Galileo): “We had quite an eventiful night. Broken batten, broken main halyard. We have replaced all of them, but one of our daggerboards is stuck. No risk, just hard to be competitive with both daggerboards down. We hope to solve this problem and other small ones to proceed to Brazil.”
Will Oxley (Skandia): “Last night Skandia felt like a bashful girl at the beach not knowing how far to disrobe! She started with one reef and solent then two reefs then reefed solent, then staysail then 3rd reef in the main. By the end we were touching 40 knots with driving spray. Modesty has now reasserted herself and we are back to a proper dressed lady with full main and solent. And so we await the next front for the disrobing to begin again.”
SANXENXO, SPAIN-- TEAM ABN AMRO were in an upbeat mood today as they reflected on what turned out to be a disappointing start in the Volvo Ocean Race. ABN AMRO TWO finished in 5th place and ABN AMRO ONE finished in 6th place as they raced in light and fluky conditions off the coast of Sanxenxo. Despite yesterday’s result, both skippers were confident that they would prove what their teams are capable of after the first ocean leg which starts on Saturday, November 12.
“We always knew that a 6-knot in-port race where I got the start wrong was going to be our worst nightmare," said Mike Sanderson, skipper of ABN AMRO ONE following the first in-port race. "Obviously the crew are disappointed but we all realise that while we may have lost a battle, we’ve certainly not lost the war ? this is a long race and we have a loot more miles to sail. We are still adamant that we have the right boat for this race. When we get our bow down in some more wind I think we will then show what ABN AMRO ONE really can do. Bring on the first leg.”
Seb Josse, Skipper of ABN AMRO TWO which finished fifth said, “Before this in-port race, we knew this boat is not designed for light air. The Volvo Ocean Race is not sailed in 5 knots of wind ? it is 225 knots of wind and this boat is designed for that. Yesterday’s race is in less than 6 knots and the result is something we pretty much knew before we started. However we also showed some good team work even when the conditions didn’t favour us. We are now looking forward to going offshore and the start next weekend.”
Also on board ABN AMRO ONE was celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay who has joined TEAM ABN AMRO as the team chef. After the race, Gordon said, “The guys were fantastic. Despite the set back they all remained focused and worked hard together to make up ground on the others. I know they’ll all be disappointed but they’re a strong and experienced team and I’m sure this will make them even more determined.”
The team will remain in Sanxenxo until November 11th when they sail to Vigo for the start of the first leg on Saturday November 12.
After their first 24 hours at sea in a strong south-southwesterly wind, at times in excess of 40 knots and rough conditions, SKANDIA and the other 11 boats in the Open 60 fleet exited the English Channel, passing Ushant this afternoon. At around midday today, SKANDIA tacked south on to starboard after the cold front passed through, rotating the wind direction to the west and decreasing in strength to 15-20 knots. These conditions should stay with fleet for the next 24 hours, before a new cold front arrives bringing with it strong southwesterly winds and another tack onto port, gaining some westing in order to clear Cape Finisterre.
After crossing the start line in 7th position, SKANDIA was among the six leading boats until early this morning when Brian and Will discovered they had a large rope, 20 metres long and 150mm in diameter, wrapped twice around their keel and daggerboard: “we backed down and eventually got hold of an end and unwrapped it. Phew! Now we are back up to speed but with some work to do!” (Full report from SKANDIA co-skipper, Will Oxley below)
Download image of Brian on deck with the rope at: http://www.ocftp2.com/skandiatjv/images/9330low_oc.jpg
Although Brian and Will lost miles while trying to untangle the rope from SKANDIA, it didn't have too much of dramatic effect on the rankings. At the 1500GMT position report, SKANDIA was lying in 6th position, 27.7nm behind race leader SILL ET VEOLIA, who has held the lead since the start yesterday afternoon. Ecover is currently lying in 2nd (+4.3 miles) with Virbac-Paprec 3rd (+7.3 miles).
SKANDIA has not been the only boat experiencing problems in the first 24 hours - last night saw some boat damaging sailing conditions with Bonduelle losing miles, breaking battens in her mainsail and Galileo breaking their main halyard. Both boats have made repairs and are back on track.
EMAIL LOG FROM SKANDIA (1124GMT 6/11/05)
Hi,
mixedf bag first 24 hours: good start and good speed through the night.
Bit slow this morning! found 20m of 150mm dia rope. wrapped around keel twice!! backed down and eventually got hold of an end and unwrapped it. Phew.Now we are back up to speed but with some work to do! Annas brownies going down a treat for energy!!
Last night Skandia felt like a bashful girl at the beach not knowing how far to disrobe! She started with one reef and solent then two reefs then reefed solent, then staysail then 3rd reef in the main. By the end we were touching 40 knots with driving sprqay. Modesty has now reasserted herself and we are back to a proper dressed lady with full main and solent. All those weeks in the gym are paying off!
We are now making good speed towards Finisterre just clearing Ushant. And so we await the next front for the disrobing to begin again.
All the best
Will and Brian
OPEN 60 MONOHULL POSITIONS 1500GMT 6/11/05:
1. SILL ET VEOLIA 4106.1 miles to finish
2. ECOVER +4.3 miles to leader
3. VIRBAC-PAPREC +7.3 miles to leader
4. BONDUELLE + 13.3 miles to leader
5. PRO FORM / + 16.9 miles to leader
6. SKANDIA +27.7 miles to leader
As the end of the first full day of racing approaches Ellen and Bilou are holding pole position, closely chased by the leading pack. At 1300GMT Sill et Veolia was making steady progress on a SSW heading at around 11 knots. Just over 16 miles separates the top five boats as the fleet head past Ushant across Biscay, and on to Cape Finisterre. The latest position reports show that Ecover, Virbac and Bonduelle are all close on Sill et Veolia’s heals having all made gains in the last two hours. It has been a tough night onboard Sill et Veolia, as Ellen and Bilou were thrown around in the rough upwind conditions experiencing around 30 knots of wind. But, they are remaining in good spirits as they focus on the next section of the race.
Bonduelle was the first boat to pass through the cold front early this morning and tacked south. Approaching the front, conditions become increasingly rough with winds in excess of 40 knots, however once though, winds are more westerly, and lighter at around 20kts. By 1300hrs all the boats had tacked and were making the difficult choice of how fast to sail in the Bay of Biscay – by sailing higher but more slowly the boats can place themselves closer to the next cold front (expected tomorrow) but this loses them miles on the rankings. If they can sail lower and faster, they will make a more southerly progress, giving them more miles to make to the west to clear Cape Finisterre.
The next cold front is set to approach from the west tomorrow, meaning a tack back to the west and into stronger conditions once more, however once past the landmark of Finisterre, the fleet should enjoy some heavy air downwind sailing - a respite from going upwind in 40kts!
From Ellen onboard:
“It has been a tough first night, but we made it through without any breakages and all is well onboard. The conditions have been extreme and although it has been full on, the boat is sailing well and we are happy if not a little tired and wet! Our progress has been good so far, but we can’t afford to relax, as the top five boats are still close together. It is early days and this is still anyone’s race at the moment, our tactical choices over the next 24hrs will be crucial to maintaining our position within the fleet.”
OPEN 60 RANKINGS 1300 GMT:
1. SILL ET VEOLIA / DISTANCE TO FINISH 4147.3 MILES
2. ECOVER / + 4.9 MILES
3. VIRBAC-PAPREC / + 7.5 MILES
4. BONDUELLE / + 13 MILES
5. PRO FORM / + 16.6 MILES
Sanxenxo, 6 November 2005 - The first three races in the brand new Volvo Extreme 40 class were dominated by Dutch sailor Carolijn Brouwer on Sunday. With three wins in a row she and her crew beat respected world-class sailors like Olympic Tornado class medallists Randy Smyth and Mitch Booth.
Five strict one-design catamarans lined up for the start of this first Grand Prix Race, part of a series to be sailed during the Volvo Ocean Race stopovers. The wind was building to 12 knots, at times increasing to 15 knots in the beautiful bay of Sanxenxo.
At 14.30 hours the start gun sounded and immediately four of the boats were into some serious fender bending. The spectacular 40 foot multihulls squeezed together and exchanged some paint. It was obvious that these sailors were pushing it hard. As a result of this collision, Basilica, skippered by Hugh Styles, had to pull out of the race with a hole in the hull.
Brouwer recently switched from sailing a Europe dinghy to the Olympic Tornado with her Belgian boy friend Sebastian Godefroid. The duo form the core of the team of four sailing the VOX 40’s. She was delighted about the wins today.
“We sailed well today” she said at the dock after the racing. “I have a great team behind me. We won all the races on good positioning and near perfect boathandling.”
Creator of the boat and the initiator of the event Mitch Booth had mixed feelings about this debut day for the class. “It is great to see these boats out racing. With 12 to 15 knots of wind and this chop these boats gave us a great ride. They are like wild bronco’s, hitting 15 knots upwind and well over 20 knots on the reaches. I must compliment Carolijn and her team. We sail short race courses, so boathandling is very important and they did a fabulous job.”
But Booth was not so happy with all the damage. “Maybe we are pushing it too hard. I am not sure what happened to Basilica. I hope they can race tomorrow.”
The Volvo Extreme 40 will race 3 heats daily at 14.30 hours in Sanxenxo until Thursday, the last day of racing.
Under a sunny sky in moderate to freshening conditions, the first race of the VX40 Grand Prix Series got underway at 14.40 hrs local time. A triangular course had been set just off the bay of Sanxenxo providing spectacular vantage points for the crowds, with a reaching start to the first mark, an upwind second leg, and a downwind third leg.
An exhilarating start, marked the start of the VX40 series with competition reaching fever pitch as the teams jostled for position on the start line. An aggressive start resulted in an incident immediately following the starting gun, with boats getting too close for comfort and little or no space to manoeuvre. The result was a collision involving four out of the five VX40 boats in the fleet with Basilica coming off the worst. They were forced to retire after sustaining serious damage to her hull and spinnaker pole - all her team was able to do was to watch in despair as the rest of the fleet continued with the race. Volvo Ocean Race was th