19 May 2008
Day 9: Lining up for the ice gate
- Soldini goes where the wind takes him
- The fleet regroup for the ice gate
- A grim discovery for Simon Clarke
- The race leader explains his winning form
- Video from The Artemis Transat Fleet can now be viewed on Youtube at: http://youtube.com/TheArtemisTransat
- Check out the latest video explaining the dangers of icebergs as the fleet approach the Newfoundland ice gate on the homepage at www.theartemistransat.com http://www.theartemistransat.com
In detail
"I'm just doing what the wind wants me to do," said race leader, Giovanni Soldini this morning. "The sea is OK and it's raining as there's a front here and although it's not active, it's not blue sky," he continued, describing the view from Telecom Italia, leading the fleet by a 59 mile margin ahead of Appart' City - a 10 mile gain since dawn this morning. Soldini is confident that his northerly position within the fleet is a good move with his next target sitting 480 miles to the south-west: "I think I'll arrive at the ice gate with no problems," he confirmed. Telecom Italia has three French yachts for company at the northern end of the fleet's 142 mile north-south spread; Mistal Loisirs - Pole Sante ELIOR (3rd place), Appart' City (2nd place) and Groupe Partouche (10th place).
The Italian skipper has had a few small "stupid problems" on board including replacing the mainsail's headboard car lashing and repairs to the mainsheet system, but Telecom Italia and the Class40 fleet in general have survived the first nine days of the race in good shape. "We haven't had any strong winds first of all," said Soldini, "and the 40s are very reasonable boats, there's no need to do anything strange, or take the boat to the limit. There is no real need to take big risks." With two IMOCA Open 60s retiring from the race due to damage, Soldini explains the key to this Class40 durability: "The mast and all the gear is all standard. This makes it cheaper and normally, this makes it stronger."
The northern group in the fleet is currently in north-westerly headwinds of around 15 knots with the more southerly group experiencing similar strength winds but slightly more westerly to south-westerly. However, the entire fleet are watching an area of light winds blocking their path to the south-west: a feature that has meant a number of options throughout the fleet. Overnight, Halvard Mabire on Custo Pol took a dive south: "We're beating with 15 knots right on the nose," he reported this morning. "I wanted to get south without losing to much ground to those staying in the northern group," explained Mabire, who is currently in 5th place having started his trip south in 4th. Custo Pol now trails Boris Herrmann and Beluga Racer in 5th by just 4 miles and holds the most southerly position in the fleet. "I'm trying to make a good route towards the ice gate, but it's far from easy."
Formerly part of the southern group, Benoit Parnaudeau is in 8th on Prevoir Vie after a climb north overnight: "I'm returning north because it's the winning tack right now, I think, and I'm going to get back in with the main part of the fleet." Parnaudeau sounded extremely fresh this morning and the reason soon became clear: "Everything is really good. I slept all night and occasionally checked the boat speed and heading before climbing back into my bunk." Simon Clarke in 11th place on Clarke Offshore Racing followed Prevoir Vie some of the way north and while Parnaudeau greeted dawn refreshed, Clarke had not fared so well: "Slamming upwind it's hard to find anywhere to sleep," he told the race office this morning. "The floor appears to be pretty good, wedged against the nav station is the best place to sleep currently." The wide Class40 hull is susceptible to a very heavy landing when the boat launches off a wave: "We did some massive slamming yesterday and thankfully the repairs we did to the top of the keel are holding alright. I need to book into a dentist, though, to get all my fillings replaced!"
Although Clarke sounded upbeat, a recent discovery has caused frustration: "I've been doing quite a lot of driving, trying to get the boat through the waves and it's pretty tiring," he admitted and this fatigue had a knock-on effect: "One of the whole upsets at the moment is that my wind instruments aren't particularly well calibrated. So the wind hasn't been where I thought it was. When you're tired, you don't seem to spot these things very easily, which is a bit average." Hypnotised by the green glow of the cockpit readouts while on the helm, Clarke now regrets his enforced reliance on technology: "I've sailed twice as many miles as everyone else..I've been zig-zagging all over the place. Tacking on non-existent shifts, not tacking when I should have done. Unbelievable!" Despite his frustration and disappointment, the British solo sailor has hung onto his sense of humour: "I'm going to get my 'Ladybird Book of Sailing' out later and have a really good read," he commented, referring to the sailing handbook for children aged 6-9 years-old.
The race leader's tips
Having lead the fleet since passing Lizard Point on the first night of racing, Giovanni Soldini, skipper of Telecom Italia, shared his secrets this morning: "To be the first, you need to make less errors. You also need good tactics and good preparation and - of course - you have to make the boat go fast. It's everything together. You will never get everything perfect, but if you get most things better than the others..then you're in front. My boat is very fast, but it's not a big difference and it depends on the conditions. In some conditions we are better, but you need everything together. A quick boat is not enough."
Class40 ranking and Distance to leader figures at 1400GMT on Monday 19th May
1 Telecom Italia 0
2 Appart City 59.3
3 Mistral Loisirs - Pole Santé ELIOR 59.7
4 Beluga Racer 62.7
5 Custo Pol 66.2
6 40 Degrees 78.1
7 Fujifilm 79.3
8 Prévoir Vie 85.5
9 Groupe Royer 97.5
10 Groupe Partouche 98.5
11 Clarke Offshore Racing 111.8
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