The latest daily news from Ellen to Dr Krumnacker Segel.de
* PRB extends lead yet further to 169 miles over SILL as KINGFISHER holds her position slightly to north of Bilou and 5 degrees of longitude to the west. Difficult weather decisions with small new depressions forming - positioning with respect to these is what counts.
* Ellen is now sailing in to the immense ocean of the Pacific - albeit the Southern Ocean part. For the next two weeks or so the Vendee fleet will cross one of the most isolated parts of the world. Unlike the Indian Ocean with its occasional islands, the next land that the skippers will hope to see will be the famous Cape Horn at the southernmost tip of South America.
* Thomas Coville (Sodebo) is ready to 'attack' once more after 4 difficult days of autopilot gyro compass problems which forced him to keep his speed down..."each repair I completed, I felt better - now I am in great form and ready to attack!"
* Yesterday Team Group 4 was caught up in 58 knot winds from the south west and big cross waves. As he was lowering the indexsail one of the battens at the top of the sail dropped out, but the weather was too bad for Golding to fix it at the time. Sailing under just a storm jib, Team Group 4 was still surfing at more than 20 knots. At one point three huge waves knocked the boat flat over, but Golding put the autopilot on and went to bed. [Source Team Group 4]
ELLEN DIRECT BY EMAIL THIS MORNING 0430 GMT
STATUS REPORT
Position 53° 36.9S 167° 48.5E
heading/speed 66 15.52
Wind from 290 at 25.6 knots
Pressure of 976
Air temperature 7.0
Sea temperature 7.3
Sail configuration is 1st reef Gennaker
Percentage performance 93.3
Again I sit..
The wind has dropped after a large cloud. already I have taken the reef in
and out of the indexsail 6 times. It's frustrating, as after 20 minutes had
passed the wind always seems to pick up..though you never know.
The sun shines between the squalls around us , and the seabirds play, swoop
and swim as we chundle past.. It's been a good morning for progress - though
frustrating as always with the squalls. I've never seen squalls quite so
violent as here.. Going from 15-30 knots in one hit.. I' afraid for the
gennaker, as it's our last! Though there is no option but to fly it if we
are to make progress...
It's great to be a little ahead right now, and I feel more than before now I
am away from the others that I am sailing my own race. No longer in quite
the same weather as those ahead - or behind, I feel - for the want of a
better phrase - a little freer!
We are just sailing under the most western part of New Zealand as I type, and
in just over 24 hours time we shall be on the same longitude as Auckland..
I think Kingfisher is feeling she's close to home right now, though we've had
a talk, and I've told her that we might stop off the next time round..
The wind continues to die...just 14 knots now. Can it be that the wind will
stay so light, maybe I'll wait another 10 minutes.. yes 10 minutes. Then
shake out the reef. It's a hard one to keep putting the first reef in and out,
as I have to re-hoist a lot of sail, its very hard work.
Frustrating, long - but rewarding as we speed off afterwards
There we go... 24knots of wind. I knew it was worth waiting!
Today I have checked for oil in the generator - pumped out water that was
kicking around in the forepeak. Changed the rubbish bag (always a great
one!) and generally checked around down below..Oh yes - I've wired the Sat C
into the 24V transformer to see if I can kick it into life...so far - it
seems to be working better anyway.
I'm a bit worried about a depression which is due to form ahead of us. I
don't feel like getting trapped beneath it as it streaks to the SE - but
it looks like it'll be hard to stay to it's north. It seems to be
developing earlier than we think which is good news though - so maybe it'll
drop south ahead of us.
Better pop up and ease out the sails a little..
ellen
Listen to Ellen's call in this morning
On Realplayer http://64.23.31.209/clients/kf/latesta_uk.ram
Or download the whole file in MP3 http://64.23.31.215/cgi-bin/ftp/1/2812a_uk.mp3
AS 'KINGFISHER' passes to the south of New Zealand, effectively already completing one circumnavigation of the globe (plus two Transatlantic crossings), it is perhaps a good moment to thank again all the people that worked so hard to get her this far. Whatever happens in this race now, that work has already borne fruit. In particular to the builder Marten Yachts in Auckland (geographically topical!) and to the SHORE TEAM AND OFFICE which has included over the project time Merf, Martin & Amanda, Mikey & Tanya, Pipo & Marie, Tanguy, Ian, Dana and Helen. Thanks!
GLOSSARY FOR NON-SAILORS : Waypoints : in the original Vendee Globe race there were no 'waypoints' - positions that the sailors must pass in this case to the north of. In each race new waypoints further north have been added to increase safety, restricting skippers descending too far south in to the ice-strewn waters of Antartica. The quickest route would be to sail over Antartica if you could....so the further south they can get, the shorter the route. The next waypoint that the skippers must pass to the north of a line at 57 Degrees South, between 150East and 140East - ie the other side of the International Dateline (180 degrees of longitude) which the leaders should cross tomorrow.
CASTO KID OF THE DAY : A DONF to Jacqueline at Hospital Saint Antoine, Lille
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