Oceanracing 2009 - Transat Jaques Vabre 2009

Transat Jaques Vabre 2009
Le Havre - Costa Rica - www.jacques-vabre.com - Übersicht

Sturmvideo
16.11.2009
BRUISED AND BATTERED BUT STILL FIGHTING ON

Sam Davies stays on course for Costa Rica in the Transat Jacques Vabre Visit http://www.artemisoceanracing.com for more information on the team and latest news To download latest videos and photos from onboard Artemis Ocean Racing, please visit ftp://www.ocftp.com/ (Username: artemis / Password: aor100) Please register at the Media Zone for all media collateral: http://www.artemisoceanracing.com/en/mediazone/

Many of the competitors in the 2009 Transat Jacques Vabre have been struggling with gear failure, sail damage and electronics problems following days of sailing through 30-50 knot gales, with gusts up to 60 knots (70mph), and mountainous seas. By heading south, Sam Davies and Sidney Gavignet on Artemis Ocean Racing have managed to ride out the worst of the storms, and are still in the race, albeit with a slightly ‘clipped wing’.

Artemis Ocean Racing has experienced her share of damage – including mainsail problems that saw the pair racing without their largest sail for around 20 hours, and most recently an autopilot failure. Sam and Sidney have reconfigured the mainsail battens but the reality is that the mainsail, which is effectively the boat’s power, will not be at 100% of its performance. However, Artemis Ocean Racing has avoided the kind of terminal breakages that forced DCNS, BritAir and Hugo Boss to retire, and the dramatic rescue of Seb Josse and co-skipper Jeff Cuzon from BT. Having considered a pit stop to make repairs, the pair decided to stay the course and battle on.

The safety of the south came at a price as the boats that took a more northerly route and survived the storm have managed to pull out with a lead of over 500 miles over Artemis Ocean Racing, which is currently in tenth position with just over 3,000 miles to the finish in Costa Rica. After the battles of the first week, the race is about to enter a new phase, with high-speed downwind surfing conditions anticipated over the next couple of days as the fleet enter the Trade Wind zone.

Sam and Sidney are tired from a hard week’s racing and repairs, but keeping positive while Artemis Ocean Racing flies towards the Caribbean Sea at 15-20 knots boat speed. Sam updated her team this afternoon: “A very belated message for today as we had a very, very, very busy night - yet more DIY and new (worrying) things on the job list!”

“Just at the end of my watch, the pilot did a "wipe out" and then refused to work. That is always a worry (even double-handed we use the pilot a lot). So, I went straight to work to find the problem and put my electrician’s hat on. Sidney in the meantime was at the helm. Four hours work fault-finding and I managed to trace the problem to the central pilot brains themselves (after the race we've had I forgive the pilot for having a brainstorm) and replaced them. And YIPPEE!!! We have a pilot again. I will give him a name later today, he has a new brain (wish I had one too!).”

“We still have a lot on our plates! BUT the photo shows we are still SMILING and enjoying the challenge, even if the goals have changed a little bit since our start...!”

- Ends -
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