Southampton, England, April 18, 2002 1905 GMT
Tyco nips djuice with Amer Sports Too close behind
The Volvo Ocean Race fleet is safely tucked away in Baltimore’s Inner
Harbour, with the final three boats finishing under the shadow of a giant
thunderhead, the weather signalling the first break in the record-setting
high temperatures on the American East Coast this week.
The final three boats in the fleet sailed their own private race over the
last 36-hours, at times separated by just minutes on the position reports.
But Kevin Shoebridge’s Team Tyco outduelled the others to claim sixth
place on the leg-standings.
Amer Sports Too, led by Lisa McDonald, at times looked as though they
might earn their first finish with at least one boat behind them on the
water, but in the end, Knut Frostad and his djuice Dragons proved too
quick in the light shifty conditions that dominated the final 24-hours of
racing.
As djuice replaced Tyco on the arrival pontoon, and Amer Sports Too
crossed the finishing line, the heavens opened and a flood of rain ushered
McDonald’ s crew into the inner harbour.
Subject to possible protests, the final points table below leg six shows
Assa Abloy chipping away one point at illbruck’s still formidable
seven-point lead. Amer Sports One and Team News Corp. are holding close to
Assa.
Overall position after six legs pending protests
PS Yacht Leg 3 points Arrival Time Elapsed Time Combined Time PO Overall
Pos.
1 NEWS 8 18 APR 02 06:12:32 003d 13h 12m 32s 110d 03h 43m 50s 31 4
2 AONE 7 18 APR 02 06:38:48 003d 13h 38m 48s 107d 19h 07m 37s 32 3
3 AART 6 18 APR 02 06:58:44 003d 13h 58m 44s 110d 22h 14m 48s 34 2
4 ILBK 5 18 APR 02 07:01:44 003d 14h 01m 44s 106d 20h 57m 14s 41 1
5 TSEB 4 18 APR 02 14:42.23 003d 21h 42m 23s - 21 6
6 Tyco 3 18 APR 02 18:00:18 004d 01h 00m 18s - 27 5
7 djuice 2 18 APR 02 18:10:58 004d 01h 10m 58s 115d 08h 12m 47s 21 6
8 ATOO
1 18 APR 02 18:50:24 004d 01h 50m 24s 122d 13h 48m 07s 9 9
Southampton, England, April 18, 2002 1505 GMT
Team SEB drifts across the line in fifth place
After a frustrating final night at sea, Team SEB drifted across the
finishing line at 14.42.23GMT to claim fifth place in the Volvo Ocean
Race, leg six, from Miami to Baltimore.
Baking under bright morning sunshine and record-breaking spring
temperatures, skipper Gunnar Krantz and his crew will have mixed feelings
about this leg. It marks the first time since the end of the second leg
that the Green Machine has struck together two consecutive finishes, but
Krantz and his crew surely had higher hopes for this sprint up the coast.
In the
last Whitbread Round the World Race, Krantz, on Swedish Match, gambled on
an easterly route off the coast and screamed into Baltimore’s Inner Basin
in first place.
Some 19-miles further back, the troika of Team Tyco, the djuice Dragons
and Amer Sports Too are still engaged in a fierce battle, also fighting
the light fickle winds that mark the entrance to Baltimore Harbour. Team
Tyco and djuice have edged slightly ahead of the women on Amer Sports Too.
The girls however still have time to make up some ground and earn their
first trip across the finishing line with an opponent still racing on the
waters astern. Stay tuned.
Volvo Ocean Race Position Report, Day 5, 0710 GMT
PS Yacht Latitude Longitude DTF CMG SMG TFHR DTL DTL-C ETA PO
6 TYCO 39 04.32N 076 23.20W 00015 355 03.9 137 00000 -00015 18/04/02 22:30 27
7 DJCE 39 02.80N 076 23.00W 00016 357 03.8 150 00001 -00014 18/04/02 22:41 21
8 ATOO 39 03.96N 076 23.16W 00017 359 03.2 147 00002 -00014 18/04/02 23:16 19
Overall position after five legs pending protests
PS Yacht Leg 3 points Arrival Time Elapsed Time Combined Time PO Overall
Pos.
1 NEWS 8 18 APR 02 06:12:32 003d 13h 12m 32s 110d 03h 43m 50s 31 4
2 AONE 7 18 APR 02 06:38:48 003d 13h 38m 48s 107d 19h 07m 37s 32 3
3 AART 6 18 APR 02 06:58:44 003d 13h 58m 44s 110d 22h 14m 48s 34 2
4 ILBK 5 18 APR 02 07:01:44 003d 14h 01m 44s 106d 20h 57m 14s 41 1
5 TSEB 4 18 APR 02 14:42.23 003d 21h 42m 23s - 21 6
Leaderboard
PS Yacht Points
1 illbruck 41
2 ASSA ABLOY 34
3 Amer Sports One 32
4 News Corp 31
5 Tyco 27
6 SEB 21
7 DJCE 20
8 Amer Sports Too 10
Baltimore, USA, April 18, 2002
JEZ FANSTONE/SKIPPER NEWS CORP/ON THE DOCKSIDE IN BALTIMORE AFTER WINNING
LEG SIX OF THE VOLVO OCEAN RACE
Q: Jez, this is your first victory, how does it feel?
A: It feels all right! Fantastic! Three years work for me and months and
years for all the crew. A huge team effort, shore crew. Fantastic.
Q: You’ve had a couple of tough legs, how does it feel winning this one?
A: We didn’t know we’d won it until we crossed the line. Literally, half
a mile from the line we had stopped with no wind and it certainly not over
until the fat lady sings in this sport so I think the relief is only just
setting in and I think the elation will follow.
Q: How tough was the leg?
A: Physically, the actual conditions were very easy sailing. Very, very
close racing. The first half was relatively easy because there was wind
and we had speed and we picked some good shifts and some good sides and
had a few breaks, but the last 36 hours were hell. We came into the Bay
last night with a four-mile lead, and this morning the whole fleet
compressed, Amer Sports One over took us and everyone was flapping. We
went off and left them alone, got a bit of a lead and managed to hold it
on, but it was a pretty stressful time.
Q: What won this leg for you?
A: It is a combination of good boat, good sails, great crew, good planning
for the leg, good preparation, and great sponsor and just putting all the
ingredients together. We had good speed out there which let us position
ourselves and we picked some good shifts and some good sides and we did
have lady luck on our side occasionally. That is what yacht racing is all
about, getting all those millions of things together.
Q: How frustrating was it for you after getting such a great start and
then realising you had to go back?
A: It was obviously too good a start.
Q: You started this leg with a somewhat new crew?
A: I have sailed against Stuart (Childerley) in Finns and with him in
Solings and keelboats and he is a fantastic sailor and he just slotted
straight into it. It was never a problem.
Q: It was the first leg without Ross, how was that?
A: Ross couldn’t do the leg, so we had to do what we could, so we juggled
things around and we had a big talk when we got to Miami, when we realised
he couldn’t do it, and came up with this solution and it’s worked.
Q: How did it feel being the sole skipper?
A: Quite stressful! It is a huge responsibility, but it’s a challenge and
when you have a crew as good as this, as willing and able, it’s easy.
Q: How frustrating was it to ‘park up’?
A: Considering we weren’t supposed to be interfering with any traffic when
we came up here and we encountered three barges and went between two ships
about 10 boat lengths between each ship – quite stressful.
Q: You’ve led on every leg but one at some stage in this race, how does it
feel to finally get to where you wanted to be a lot earlier in the event?
A: It’s great that we have done it because we always said we could and we
have.
Q: With three legs remaining, and illbruck standing where she is now, do
you think she can be beaten? Do you think that this boat win the race?
A: Absolutely. We’ve always thought that from the start. As is proving
out there right now, anything can happen and we could have ended up fourth
or fifth in this leg from where we were and boats that were fourth or
fifth could have ended up where we were. There are three legs, anything
can happen.
Q: How was Bart (Simpson)?
A: Very quiet. I don’t think he has recovered from his southern ocean
experience.
Baltimore, USA, April 18, 2002
GRANT DALTON/SKIPPER AMER SPORTS ONE/ON THE DOCKSIDE IN BALTIMORE AFTER
FINISHING SECOND IN LEG SIX OF THE VOLVO OCEAN RACE
Q: After a few disappointing legs, how does it feel to come back into the
competition?
A: Well, we’re just relieved, or I am, certainly, to get back in there.
Coming in to Rio we were second and lost it right at the end, and then
into Miami we just didn’t do very well. So to get back and get competing
I think is very important. Congratulations to News Corp and Jez, they
sailed a very good leg and we were ahead of them twice today, and they
basically took us out. We were busy watching Assa Abloy and Illbruck too
carefully! It’s getting pretty busy at the top now, but it is certainly
competitive, and we are just pleased to be here and have a good lead, as
we sailed really well.
Q: What are your feelings about the boat now?
A: Well I think Mani (Frers) might have mixed up his drawings with this
boat and given us a Lake Garda boat because it goes really fast in smooth
water. In fact we were bullet fast last night and sailed straight over
the top of illbruck and had the wind not died out and got flukey, we would
have got over the top of News Corp. He has given us a smooth water boat
for an ocean race. We were going all right. We took quite a lot of
chances with this leg; we took no sails – the boat likes being on a diet!
Q: You took lots of chances to keep the weight down?
A: We had a really good forecast – Clouds (Roger Badham) did a really good
job with this leg and I think you will find that the top four boats in
here basically went the same way and it was a call based on not just the
Gulf Stream but also the thunderstorms. We had to stay on the eastern
side of the thunderstorms because they were bad, even though there was
more current inside; we were monitoring them more than anything. That was
a perfect call.
Q: What was it like, getting ahead and falling behind?
A: In the end it was just impossible to predict because at one stage,
illbruck was ahead and we were fourth, and at one stage we went from about
first fourth in an hour and Assa Abloy was all over us and it all started
up again and News Corp broke left and I always felt this boat would
perform well in the tight stuff because of our afterguard. Dee, Roger,
Bouwe and Chris Nicholson and those guys did a really good job and we just
stayed really cool. In past campaigns that I’ve had, when it gets tight
like that, we just fall to pieces because we haven’t had the strength in
the afterguard and I think, as we did in the Sydney Hobart, we’ve
performed well.
Q: There are three legs to go. Can you win this race overall?
A: No. Since really since Miami no one has been able to win this other
than illbruck, probably even as far back as Rio, and I think most of the
boats have said that or accepted that already. This is a race for
second, third and fourth, fifth is a bit further back, with Tyco having an
unfortunate bad leg for them, but this is a race for second, third and
fourth.
Q: What’s it like racing for second place, when you like to win?
A: Well, you don’t think like that when you’re racing, because you race
every leg as a race and beating Assa Abloy and illbruck in this was really
important to us. Of course, we would really like to have taken News Corp
out, but we are still ahead of News Corp and we have pushed Tyco back and
at least we have a breather on them now and we have closed back on Assa
Abloy. That still feels pretty good to us. We’ve had three seconds in
six legs; that still feels pretty good.
Q: A bit of a boost then for the crew?
A: Absolutely. The funny thing is, that we have just come in second and
we are competing for first, the feeling onboard was a lot better than
finishing sixth into Miami, but it’s still not the real deal, there’s not
a celebration, because we like to win.
Q: Any unfinished business from the start?
A: We certainly don’t believe we were over because we were obscured. I
could quite easily sight the line from where I was on the boat, but we
discussed on the motor in whether we would go for redress because we think
that we can prove, from witnesses, that we were not over the line, but we
don’t believer we would gain enough time to take out News Corp, so we
won’t pursue it. We could prove the point, but I’ve been there and played
that game before, but I don’t think we were over, in fact I have no doubt
that we weren’t over.
Southampton, England, April 18, 2002 1000 GMT
Tyco Feeling Punished
The fight for the last four places in this leg is as tight and exciting as
for the first four. While SEB still holds a comfortable lead of over 20
miles with 21 to go, she has to get going soon as Tyco is coming down on
her with a six-knot higher speed. Still, fifth place seems to be quite
safe for SEB in the narrow channels of the Chesapeake Bay.
The finish order for the remaining boats is completely unpredictable.
Tyco, djuice and Amer Sports Too are constantly swapping positions as they
sail up the Chesapeake Bay. When defending a position against one of the
attacking yachts, the other one is let off the leash, can break free and
attempt to overtake the other two. Steve Hayles, navigator on Tyco wrote
earlier today: ”I am beginning to wonder who it is on this boat that
carried out the terrible deed in Miami that we are being punished for
right now. It must have been something bad as the punishment has been
fairly harsh.”
Volvo Ocean Race Position Report, Day 5, 1000 GMT
PS Yacht Latitude Longitude DTF CMG SMG TFHR DTL DTL-C ETA PO
5 TSEB 38 58.88N 076 23.24W 21 16 1.6 157 21 0 18/04/02 14:05 21
6 TYCO 38 35.04N 076 23.60W 44 352 7.7 156 44 -6 18/04/02 18:51 27
7 DJCE 38 34.32N 076 23.68W 45 350 7.6 176 45 -6 18/04/02 19:00 21
8 ATOO 38 34.28N 076 24.32W 45 349 8.1 174 45 -6 18/04/02 19:00 9
Overall position after five legs pending protests
PS Yacht Leg 3 points Arrival Time Elapsed Time Combined Time PO Overall
Pos.
1 NEWS 8 18 APR 02 06:12:32 003d 13h 12m 32s 110d 03h 43m 50s 31 4
2 AONE 7 18 APR 02 06:38:48 003d 13h 38m 48s 107d 19h 07m 37s 32 3
3 AART 6 18 APR 02 06:58:44 003d 13h 58m 44s 110d 22h 14m 48s 34 2
4 ILBK 5 18 APR 02 07:01:44 003d 14h 01m 44s 106d 20h 57m 14s 41 1
Leaderboard
PS Yacht Points
1 illbruck 41
2 ASSA ABLOY 34
3 Amer Sports One 32
4 News Corp 31
5 Tyco 27
6 SEB 21
7 DJCE 20
8 Amer Sports Too 10
Southampton, England, April 18, 2002 0730 GMT
Victory As Birthday Present
The sweetest imaginable birthday present was handed this morning to News
Corp’s campaign director and former co-skipper Ross Field: Victory in leg
six of the Volvo Ocean Race from Miami to Baltimore. After managing the
early split from the second group, News Corp together with Amer Sports
One, ASSA ABLOY and illbruck took over the lead from illbruck two days ago
and stayed on top until the finish. In the Chesapeake Bay they had to
defend themselves from several attacks, mainly from Amer Sports One who,
after the disappointing results on the last two legs were keen to add
victory to their second places from the earlier legs. Another second place
on this leg will please skipper Grant Dalton.
Illbruck has to accept fourth place for the second time after leg three
into Auckland. Still their performance is formidable with
One-One-Four-One-Two-Four the benchmark for all the other boats. ASSA
ABLOY has shown consistency over the last legs and has kept their overall
second position in the fleet with the third place in this leg. The fight
for overall second and third will intensify as three yachts are separated
by just three points.
Volvo Ocean Race Position Report, Day 5, 0710 GMT
PS Yacht Latitude Longitude DTF CMG SMG TFHR DTL DTL-C ETA PO
5 TSEB 38 51.44N 076 24.24W 28 3 6.9 184 28 -34 18/04/02 10:58 21
6 TYCO 38 19.32N 076 18.16W 61 339 6 174 61 -33 18/04/02 15:42 27
7 ATOO 38 18.36N 076 18.20W 62 337 5.4 189 62 -32 18/04/02 15:49 10
8 DJCE 38 18.12N 076 17.68W 62 338 6.2 191 62 -33 18/04/02 15:52 20
Overall position after five legs pending protests
PS Yacht Leg 3 points Arrival Time Elapsed Time Combined Time PO Overall
Pos.
1 NEWS 8 18 APR 02 06:12:32 003d 13h 12m 32s 110d 03h 43m 50s 31 4
2 AONE 7 18 APR 02 06:38:48 003d 13h 38m 48s 107d 19h 07m 37s 32 3
3 AART 6 18 APR 02 06:58:44 003d 13h 58m 44s 110d 22h 14m 48s 34 2
4 ILBK 5 18 APR 02 07:01:44 003d 14h 01m 44s 106d 20h 57m 14s 41 1
Southampton, England, April 18, 2002 0400 GMT
Competition Still Fierce
With just 20 miles left to go for the leaders on leg 6 of the Volvo Ocean
Race the competition is still hotting up, News Corp is managing to hold
onto her lead of four miles ahead of second placed Amer Sports One,
although only one mile is separating ASSA ABLOY and illbruck in third and
fourth place respectively and six and seven miles behind the leading News
Corp.
The boat speeds of these front runners have been varying considerably over
the last few hours, frustrating times with anything from 1.2 knots to 10.5
knots, with the wind speeds being just as flukey and the direction forever
changing. SEB has suffered the most losses over this last period dropping
back to 25 miles behind the leaders, and, although Tyco, Amer Sports Too
and djucie have all lost more miles to the front pack they are all still
within just one nautical mile of each other with the girls onboard Amer
Sports Too just starting to edge slightly ahead of djuice once again, and
into seventh position. With the conditions such as they are - light and
variable, anything could happen in the miles left to run before the yachts
finally cross the finish line. If the current conditions remain, News
Corp is expected to cross the line in under three hours.
Volvo Ocean Race Position Report, Day 5, 0401 GMT
PS Yacht Latitude Longitude DTF CMG SMG TFHR DTL DTL-C ETA PO
1 NEWS 39 01.16N 076 22.68W 18 9 7.4 188 0 0 18/04/02 06:39 31
2 AONE 38 57.64N 076 23.80W 22 14 6.9 187 4 +1 18/04/02 07:12 32
3 AART 38 55.20N 076 23.68W 24 9 8.6 204 6 -2 18/04/02 07:34 34
4 ILBK 38 54.64N 076 23.92W 25 8 8.5 184 7 -1 18/04/02 07:39 41
5 TSEB 38 36.16N 076 25.52W 43 322 2.3 206 25 +4 18/04/02 10:30 21
6 TYCO 38 01.76N 076 12.12W 79 339 7.6 186 61 -1 18/04/02 16:01 27
7 ATOO 38 00.68N 076 13.60W 80 330 8.4 206 62 -1 18/04/02 16:07 10
8 DJCE 38 01.00N 076 12.00W 80 338 7 200 62 0 18/04/02 16:08 20
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