30.03.2004
End Day 52: Another close call as front beam suffers partial breakage
Cheyenne - Immediate repairs avert mast disaster - again
370 miles in 24 hours (15.42 kts avg)
4 day lead over Orange 2002 position (based on latitude)
30 March 2004 - 0510 GMT - 586 miles W/SW of Praia, Cape Verde Islands: The maxi-catamaran Cheyenne and her crew under skipper Steve Fossett made a further 370 miles driving N/NW up the Atlantic at an average of 15.4s kts on Monday, leaving them some 2700 nm from the official finish line at Ouessant and 4 days ahead of the 2002 position of the current Round The World Sailing record holder.
But Monday was not all clear sailing, as a partial breakage at the front beam was discovered in the afternoon and immediate repairs were required to avert another major potential 'show stopper'. Steve Fossett describes the 'close call':
"When some crew heard a new creaking noise from the right front corner of the boat Monday morning, Nick Leggatt and I threw on our harnesses and ran up to see the cause. The carbon and steel bushing holding the front beam to the boat had broken in the middle and worked out halfway on one side. Another two hours of this upwind sailing and it would have finished coming out, the beam separated, and the mast fallen over from lack of support. That was a close call.
We slowed and the crew went to work trying to pound it back in to place. It only went part way back in. Then the drilling and bolting was started. The whole operation was completed in four hours. This temporary fix is likely to hold until the finish, but we have to take it easy on the boat. What a shame, because we have an excellent wind pattern into the finish and we would love to pour it on. Instead we are sailing slower and conservatively.
We will be relieved on Wednesday when we are done with this pounding from sailing upwind in the Tradewinds."
This morning's position at end Day 52 saw Fossett and crew at 9 20' N Latitude, 31 43' W longitude - just over 2700 miles minimum distance to the finish and some 4 days ahead of the existing RTW record holder's 2002 position based on latitude (In 2002, Orange I had reached 9 20' N, 28 48' W at the end of their Day 56).
erratum: Yesterday we made a miscalculation. Cheyenne's time for the passage from Cape Horn North to the Equator was actually 10 days 10 hours 47 minutes. We wrote that it was 4 hours faster. However the corrected time is still 3 hours faster than Club Med during The Race 2001 and represents a new segment best for an RTW attempt. Apologies for any confusion.
Today's picture shows a group on the forward trampoline discussing the problem of the front beam bearing.
Steve, Brian and Dave discuss possible solutions while Moose inspects the damage.
© Nick Leggatt 2004
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Fraser Brown - on C - Tech Sailbattens:
(From on board Cheyenne - the former Playstation - where we are currently competing for the outright round the world record, and are now on our way back up the Atlantic after rounding Cape Horn and crossing the Equator - after completing 22,000 nm of this 26,000 nm course)
"Sail battens for the mainsail on this yacht have always been a huge issue since the boat was first sailing in 1999. In the past this boat has broken a complete set of battens in one jibe. Breaking sail battens is a huge time penalty and can often be the end of a record attempt. I would estimate that a repair job for just one broken batten would be up to 2 hours, so breaking the top 5 battens in one jibe is a complete disaster for the sailing programme.
However, for this current round the world record attempt, Cheyenne is now using C-Tech Carbon Sailbattens which are manufactured in New Zealand. The C-Tech battens we have on board are in the top half of the sail (where the boat has had so many problems in the past). Through a jibe, the huge roach of the main falls to leeward before snapping to weather to complete the manoeuvre. For the first time we have found a product that has performed extremely reliably - resulting in greater confidence in being able to jibe and reef without the problems of the past. We have completed 31 jibes in a range of wind speeds from 5 to 35 knots and have reefed the main 52 times resulting in over 100 hoists and drops - mostly downwind - where we have no choice but to grind the sail up and down with it draped around the lazy jacks.
We have sailed downwind through the North and South Atlantic, the Indian, the Southern Ocean around Cape Horn and now on the wind back up the Atlantic on this 125 foot catamaran - without any problems with the C-Tech sailbattens. I am proud to be a partner with C-Tech and to be helping in our bid to be the fastest sailboat around the world.
Fraser Brown - C-Tech Sailbattens, Europe - Cheyenne - www.sailbattens.com"
Testimonials from on board Cheyenne:
Brian Thompson - ( Co Skipper-Watch Captain, Maiden II, Ecover, Playstation ) I have used C-Tech battens on Maiden II, Ecover and now on Cheyenne. I have always been impressed with their lightness, stiffness and the quality of the construction. Having broken my fair share of battens and spent countless hours pulling them in and out of enormous mainsails, its great to find a product that stands up to the 26,000 miles of abuse of a RTW voyage.
David Scully - ( Watch Captain, 2nd time around the world ) Supporting the huge roach of our mainsail has always been a challenge for us. C-tech battens have stood up to the loads, allowing us to jibe with confidence and sail more aggressively. In terms of strength and stiffness, they are the biggest step forward I have seen in four years of batten development.
Jacques Vincent - ( Watch Captain, 7th time around the world ) Battens are one of the multihull weaknesses, as they carry big roached mainsails - but so far so good on board.
Guillermo Altadill - ( 6th time around the world ) If after 22000 miles sailed around the world, after 31 jibes, over 100 reef manoeuvres your not able to break the C-tech battens... that means something... to do a manoeuvre without worrying about them is a guarantee you can push the boat harder - and that is speed... the only important thing in yacht races.
Paul van Dyke - ( Halsey Lidgard Sailmakers, 2nd time around the world ) This mainsail was a big challenge for the sailmaker. Up until now the battens have been a weak spot, with previous attempts resulting in failures. The C-Tech battens have provided a solution to this problem. The results: No batten problems in tens of thousands of miles of round the world sailing in all types of conditions.
Damian Foxall - ( 2nd time around the world ) Having previously used C-Tech on the ORMA Trimaran circuit ( Sergio Tacchini ) with good results , I am pleased to see that they have also held up well on Cheyenne, an area that has previously caused the boat persistent problems.
Mike Beasley - ( SEB, Kvaerner Innovation ) Having experienced a complete five batten breakage of the top battens before, our new C-Tech battens are proving a great success in all conditions. Being a boatbuilder myself, these battens have been very well engineered, skilfully manufactured and provide excellent sail shape.
Justin Slattery - ( News Corp, Maxi's - Zephyrus V, Nicorette, Skandia, 2nd time around the world ) Lighter, stronger, superior stiffness qualities, great shape, reliable - survived the toughest test possible, supporting the largest roached main in the world, around the world.
Records
Pilot, balloonist, yachtsman and endurance sportsman, Steve Fossett (USA - b. 1944) has made aviation records (across the broadest possible range of flying machines) and speed sailing his specialties in becoming one of the world's best known modern adventurers. read more about Steve`s records ...
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