Pressemitteilung der illbruck Challenge am 10. Tag der 4. Etappe des Volvo
Ocean Race
5. Februar 2002
„illbruck“ weiter vor „Amer Sports One“
Vorsprung 49 Seemeilen / „News Corp“ nach Eiskollision zurückgefallen
Die Gefahr schien zunächst gebannt, doch am Dienstag passierte es doch:
Die australische Hochseeyacht „News Corp“ kollidierte auf der vierten
Etappe des Volvo Ocean Race bei hoher Geschwindigkeit mit einem kleinen
Eisberg und erlitt einige Schäden am Rigg und an den Segeln. Sie fiel
danach mehr als 100 Seemeilen auf den sechsten Platz zurück. Unterdessen
verteidigte die Leverkusener „illbruck“ die Führung vor der „Amer Sports
One“ (Finnland/Italien). Der Vorsprung, der bis auf 21 Seemeilen
geschrumpft war, betrug am Abend wieder 49 Seemeilen. Dritter ist die
„Tyco“ (Bermuda) 56 Seemeilen hinter dem deutschen Boot.
„Ein von hinten aufkommendes Tiefdruckgebiet mit einer Kaltfront hatte die
nachfolgenden Boote zunächst begünstigt“, erklärte illbruck
Challenge-Meteorologe Chris Bedford, „dadurch hatten sie zwischenseitig
alle aufgeholt.“ Tagsüber erreichte die frische Brise dann auch die
„illbruck“ die die alten Abstände wiederherstellte. Bis Donnerstag werden
die stürmischen Winde anhalten, wobei einige Richtungswechsel die
Distanzen zwischen Booten nochmals erheblich verändern können.
Die Schreckensmeldung kam in den frühen Stunden von der „News Corp“. Das
Boot unter Skipper Jez Fanstone hatte nachts bei gut 21 Knoten (fast 40
km/h) eine dicke Eisscholle getroffen. Die schlimmsten Befürchtungen, es
könnte einen Schaden am Rumpf gegeben haben, bewahrheitete sich nicht.
Allerdings war die Schäden am Mast und an den Segeln doch so gravierend,
dass es einige Stunden dauerte, bis die Crew das Boot wieder voll segeln
konnte. „News Corp“ ist hinter „Amer Sports One“ Dritter der Gesamtwertung
und von daher einer der härtesten Konkurrenten der führenden „illbruck“.
Weitere Informationen:
Andreas Kling
Tel: 0172/2578817
akling@illbruck-Challenge.com
http://media.illbruck-Challenge.de
http://www.illbruck.com
Southampton, England, February 5, 2002 2200 GMT
V.O.60s battle on through ice
illbruck, current race leader in the Volvo Ocean Race, is now just over
1500 nautical miles from Cape Horn and has continued to gain more distance
on the fleet. The boats have continued to battle on through large
icebergs and growlers, with many reports of sightings still being received
at Volvo Race Headquarters.
News Corp appears to have completed repairs to her damaged rig from her
position reports, following a collision with an iceberg earlier today, but
this has left her over 100 nautical miles to the north of the rest of the
fleet. Amer Sports Too has been making good ground in the last six
hours, achieving speeds of up to 25 knots. Lisa McDonald was pleased
with the boat’s performance earlier and compared her day to that of Sir
Ernest Shackleton’s, “I wouldn't trade this for anything else in the
world. This is our expedition through the ice, only at 20-25kts, not
5-10kts!”
Volvo Ocean Race Position Report, Day 10, 2159 GMT
PS Yacht Latitude Longitude DTF CMG SMG TFHR DTL DTL-C ETA PO
1 ILBK 59 40.12S 115 41.36W 03780 105 15.9 419 0 0 18 FEB 02 29
2 AONE 59 53.28S 117 58.20W 03844 088 14.1 406 64 15 18 FEB 02 25
3 TYCO 59 35.36S 117 56.20W 03848 094 14.4 422 68 12 18 FEB 02 18
4 AART 60 12.68S 119 59.40W 03898 068 15.2 424 118 24 19 FEB 02 20
5 DJCE 59 40.24S 120 36.68W 03925 067 16.6 413 145 20 19 FEB 02 14
6 NEWS 57 29.32S 121 10.48W 03982 069 16.4 369 202 23 19 FEB 02 19
7 TSEB 60 40.44S 123 16.32W 03984 076 14.8 385 204 20 19 FEB 02 13
8 ATOO 58 25.32S 128 35.44W 04182 082 16.8 369 402 11 19 FEB 02 6
Southampton, England, February 5, 2002 1600 GMT
News Corp damages rig
Following her collision with an iceberg at around 0630 GMT today, News
Corp discovered that although the hull appeared to be sound, she had
unfortunately caused damage to her rig and sails. Ross Field reported
the damage and wrote that they hoped to be racing at full strength in the
next few hours. Unfortunately they had to wait for daylight to finish
the repairs and, “stop the rot”. This will be a tremendous blow to Field
and the crew after their 5th place in leg 3, but he confirmed that they
were doing all they could to stay in touch in the race, “We are definitely
still pushing as hard as we can to make up for lost miles.”
Meanwhile, three V.O.60s are protecting the south, with ASSA ABLOY, SEB
and djuice all below 60 degrees south. illbruck, still pulling distance
on the fleet, Tyco and Amer Sports One have all made a small move from
their original route and are heading in a more southerly direction.
Volvo Ocean Race Position Report, Day 10, 1555 GMT
PS Yacht Latitude Longitude DTF CMG SMG TFHR DTL DTL-C ETA PO
1 ILBK 59 14.12S 118 46.88W 03878 103 19.3 418 0 0 18 FEB 02 29
2 AONE 59 55.96S 120 50.08W 03927 097 14.9 424 49 +28 18 FEB 02 25
3 TYCO 59 28.52S 120 48.60W 03934 101 18.3 439 56 +7 18 FEB 02 18
4 AART 60 47.00S 122 54.80W 03972 104 18.5 444 94 +4 19 FEB 02 20
5 DJCE 60 20.08S 123 43.56W 04003 083 16.7 421 125 +25 19 FEB 02 14
6 NEWS 58 04.40S 124 05.20W 04057 045 15.5 369 179 +78 19 FEB 02 19
7 TSEB 61 01.60S 126 16.44W 04062 116 16.0 380 184 +21 19 FEB 02 13
8 ATOO 58 39.84S 131 50.16W 04269 080 15.0 366 391 +42 20 FEB 02 6
Southampton, England, February 5, 2002 Day 10
News Corp hits iceberg and sustains rig damage
At around 0630 GMT this morning, News Corp hit a growler, while sailing at
21 knots of boat speed. Immediately the crew dived below decks to make
sure that the yacht was safe and that they were not taking on any water.
Fortunately, the boat appeared to be sound and the crew were all safe and
well. Since that time, however, the boat has had to make a course away
from the favoured route in the south, to sail downwind in order to effect
immediate repairs to their rig which was damaged at the time of the
collision, along with some sails. Ross Field reported later that they
hoped to be racing again at full strength over the next few hours.
This will come has a tremendous blow to the crew of News Corp, who were
anxious to make up for their fifth place on the last leg, which put them
from second overall to third overall on cumulative points in the Volvo
Ocean Race.
Ross Field reported just after the accident, “I am bloody worried. This is
dangerous... there are icebergs everywhere. There are growlers floating
nowhere near the bergs. We hit a small berg whilst doing 21 knots. I was
steering and all I felt was a loud crash on the hull and then the rudder.
The guys below then rushed into the bow and checked the interior but we
appeared to be ok.” At that stage they did not know the extent of the
damage and unfortunately they have been struggling to make good the damage
in the hours of darkness, which inevitably will take longer.
Along with the rest of the fleet, they had been passing through ice for
the last 48 hours, and concerns had been rising with each ice sighting
that was made and plotted by each of the navigators. Field continued,
“At one stage, thank God during daylight, we were charging through hunks
of ice. I had a man on look out and directing me through the ice - we
brushed when we passed some small bits. Its night time… We have had a
shocking day, broken sails, battens, halyards. The boat’s a shambles,
sails everywhere downstairs and the guys are sleeping in their survival
suits. We are sleeping with our feet forward - if we hit something you
don't damage yourself too much.”
He then summed up, “A normal life looks very attractive at the moment.
There will be amazing stories when we all get into to Rio. This is sport
in the extreme.”
Kevin Shoebridge reported crew injuries on Tyco, when the boat took off
down a wave, “While hoisting the jib the boat took off down a wave at 25
knots. A solid wall of water washed over the deck as the bow dug in. The
jib and three of the crew ended back beyond the shrouds tangled with each
other and the lifelines. Nipper [Guy Salter] took a knock to the head and
has received stitches above the eye, nice fix up job by Jan [Dekker]. Brad
Jackson has a badly bruised nose, hopefully not broken.” Large wind
squalls and ice were his major concerns, “I now sit in the nav station
looking for ice ahead and black squalls behind. We are constantly hitting
speeds of over 27 knots and it feels like we are on a runaway train.”
djuice were praying for an ice-free night, “I am not looking forward to
the night - I know it won't be much sleep at all for anyone onboard. If it
gets any worse than now (right now we have 44 knots of breeze) with even
more ice, we will slow down a touch. We need to be able to make quick
turns in case something appears in front of us,” wrote Knut Frostad.
The last few hours has been well summarised from Amer Sports One. Paul
Cayard wrote of the excitement, the exhilaration of surfing downwind at
high speeds, and the slightly surreal reality below decks, “As we surf
down the waves we plough into the one in front and two feet of water comes
down the deck at 25 knots. Everything is tethered forward so it can't be
swept into the [steering] wheels and break them. Inside it feels like we
are hitting something constantly but it is just the bow hitting water at
high speed.”
He continued writing about the ice, “Bergers for breakfast, bergers for
lunch, bergers for dinner, bergers for midnight snack. This race would be
a great advertisement for McDonald’s. I have never seen so many iceberg
sightings reported in 30 hours of this race. I don't have the official
tally (the race office does for sure) but it seems like 100 would be a
lowball number. I am on radar duty right now because Roger is cooking
dinner and I have just seen four [icebergs] on our radar since I restarted
writing this report. The radar screen is right over my shoulder so I take
a look and then keep writing. When I see one I get the range and bearing
and yell at the guys on deck.”
“Roger is sitting next to me, writing a report to the race office to
advise the other competitors. He’s laughing at me writing this to you
saying I am like Hemmingway who wrote while he was at war with bullets
flying around his head. He says Hemmingway had a cigar and whiskey. I am
a bit short on that stuff right now but I will make up for that when I get
home.”
“Well, I better go and stay focused on the radar. Roger is saying to me,
that it would not be good to run into and iceberg while writing about
them. Getting a bit rough outside. 40 knots of wind,” finished Cayard.
As far as the reported iceberg sightings from HQ are concerned, there have
been numerous sightings from all the yachts over the last few days.
Every sighting, once reported and recorded is then immediately sent out
from the Volvo Race Headquarters to the entire fleet. This amount of ice
has never been seen before on a round the world race and this pattern is
extremely unusual.
Ross Field wrote from News Corp on February 2, “Never seen so many
icebergs and growlers in all my sailing in the Southern Ocean. Spotted our
first one and then all of a sudden sighted many others with growlers
everywhere. We were sailing through, surfing at 23 knots, small bits of
ice and at one stage we passed within 20 feet of growler. Global
warming???? I say yes, there is ice breaking off the ice cap all the
time. I have never seen ice on this leg of the race before.”
News Corp
February 5, 2002 0831 GMT
Hit Iceberg With 21 Knots
I am bloody worried. This is dangerous... there are icebergs everywhere.
There are growlers floating nowhere near the bergs. We hit a small berg
whilst doing 21 knots. I was steering and all I felt was a loud crash on
the hull and then the rudder. The guys below then rushed into the bow and
checked the interior but we appeared to be ok.
At one stage, thank god during daylight, we were charging thru hunks of
ice. I had a man on look out and directing me thru the ice - we brushed
when we passed some small bits.
Its nighttime and the off watch are huddle in the nav station looking at
the radar.
We have had a shocking day, broken sails, battens, halyards. The boat’s a
shambles, sails everywhere downstairs and the guys are sleeping in their
survival suits. We are sleeping with our feet forward - if we hit
something you don't damage yourself too much.
A normal life looks very attractive at the moment. There will be amazing
stories when we all get into to Rio.
This is sport in the extreme.
I give a racing update later, but we are definitely still pushing as hard
as we can to make up for lost miles.
Ross Field
Southampton, England, February 5, 2002 1000 GMT
Collision With Iceberg
This morning Ross Field, co-skipper of News Corp reported: “We are seeing
ice all the time now and have hit a growler very hard. We hope we haven't
sustained too much damage - we aren't leaking at the present time. This
amount of ice is a real concern...”
Shortly later he continued: “There are more icebergs in this location than
empty beer glasses at the pub on a Friday night… I am bloody worried. This
is dangerous... there are icebergs everywhere. “
As the yacht is not damaged Ross confirmed, “We are definitely still
pushing as hard as we can to make up for lost miles.”
News Corp is currently sailing a northeasterly course to get into safer
waters.
Three yachts are still pushing south: ASSA ABLOY, SEB and djuice.
The crew on djuice uses night vision goggles to spot icebergs in the
darkness as they show a steady glow, while white crests of waves are
disappearing.
Amer Sports One averaged 20 knots which is above the average speed they
need for a new 24 hour record run. Tyco and ASSA ABLOY are on a similar
pace.
Volvo Ocean Race Position Report, Day 10, 0946 GMT
PS Yacht Latitude Longitude DTF CMG SMG TFHR DTL DTL-C ETA PO
1 ILBK 58 48.28S 122 31.12W 03996 103 17.7 402 0 +0 18 FEB 02 29
2 AONE 59 44.64S 123 51.32W 04017 101 20.0 416 21 -14 18 FEB 02 25
3 TYCO 59 07.72S 124 24.08W 04045 102 19.9 409 49 -12 18 FEB 02 18
4 AART 60 18.92S 126 38.84W 04086 106 19.6 414 90 -12 19 FEB 02 20
5 DJCE 60 31.88S 127 09.20W 04096 106 18.8 409 100 -6 19 FEB 02 14
6 NEWS 59 11.60S 126 14.08W 04097 071 15.1 367 101 +34 19 FEB 02 19
7 TSEB 60 18.48S 129 16.00W 04159 110 17.8 383 163 -2 19 FEB 02 13
8 ATOO 58 55.56S 134 44.56W 04345 076 14.7 365 349 +34 20 FEB 02 6
Southampton, England, February 5, 2002 0400 GMT
Last Chance For Record
During the last night, the Volvo Ocean Race fleet got into the winds of
the massive low-pressure system that is recorded with 948hPa, low by any
means. It will generate the strong winds that the yachts need to generate
record-breaking speeds. ASSA ABLOY and djuice are already on the pace for
the last six hours with Amer Sports One just slightly under. The benchmark
was set by SEB on leg 2 with 460 miles. With just 1800 miles left to Cape
Horn this will be the last low they can ride.
Paul Cayard reported after, what he claims to be the best two hours of
helming he did for a long time: “We have averaged 21.5 knots for the last
four hours. Not sure we sustained that pace for four hours last time.
The keel makes a loud whistle at 25 knots of boat speed. Two reefs and
storm kite is the menu right now.”
Volvo Ocean Race Position Report, Day 10, 0358 GMT
PS Yacht Latitude Longitude DTF CMG SMG TFHR DTL DTL-C ETA PO
1 ILBK 58 24.80S 125 41.36W 04097 088 17.9 389 0 +0 18 FEB 02 29
2 AONE 59 22.84S 127 36.44W 04132 096 19.1 381 35 -11 19 FEB 02 25
3 TYCO 58 44.52S 128 02.16W 04158 090 18.3 375 61 -5 19 FEB 02 18
4 NEWS 59 40.08S 128 57.48W 04164 102 17.9 363 67 -9 19 FEB 02 21
5 AART 59 46.80S 130 17.60W 04199 110 19.3 372 102 -20 19 FEB 02 19
6 DJCE 60 01.76S 130 37.52W 04203 112 19.3 367 106 -21 19 FEB 02 13
7 TSEB 59 43.36S 132 29.96W 04262 109 17.5 347 165 -8 19 FEB 02 13
8 ATOO 59 16.88S 137 30.40W 04412 117 17.1 373 315 -3 19 FEB 02 6
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