[January 03, 2001 - 10:16:05 AM]
Ellen MacArthur (Kingfisher): "Never in my life before have I
experienced such beauty and fear at the same time. 10
icebergs so far today..."
"They have ranged from 200 foot in length, to a bout half a
mile. The first was not a surprise, the second neither really -
but when the third, fourth, fifth and 6th all appeared in a line
with just a mile between them I begun to be surprised, in fact
bewildered at their frequency. I wanted to gybe North, but
ended up hand steering to pass 3 of the bergs to windward. I
gybed between the 5th and 6th only to see the 7th and 8th -
the 7th being the most enormous of all...
"It’s never just as simple as seeing ice bergs.. the anxiety
that goes with it is overwhelming. Knowing they are indexly
radar invisible objects - much harder than Kingfisher - floating
about is a worrying thing.
"After the gybe I was forced to hand steer to pass the 7th. It
was enormous, and for a while I didn’t think we’d make it to
windward as the wind rose to 30 knots. We made it and I was
then faced with the most beautiful ice berg I could imagine.
Wide blue high arched caves, and a height which must have
been similar to the white cliffs of Dover. So quiet, apart form
the waves breaking about it’s base. High faces of pure white
harshly disfigured by deep blue cracks roughly cut from above.
"Every 10 minutes I stick my head out and look. Every time I
dodge the flying freezing spray - squinting at the horizon till
my eyes sting with the cold. Several times we have been
approaching a berg - the last just 20 minutes ago was the
10th I’d just made a cup of tea to try to thaw out when I
thought I ’d have a last check.
Of course there was a berg - I stayed up there for half an
hour...freezing cold - but eyes glued to the water for growlers
(small pieces of ice which break off the index berg). After
sailing around the growlers of the 7th berg I see each
breaking foaming wave crest as the waves bounce off the big
berg).
"Kingfisher pounds through the waves, torrents of water
pouring over her decks. Several times despite trying to duck,
the visor of my MUSTO jacket is pounded by the waves..
Frozen eyelids again..
"Once I am sure it’s clear, I dive below for my cup of tea..
once again there’s a tea bag floating in a puddle on the step
as it’s been hurled over on a surf - oh well, nothing new there.
The good news is there is a crack in the cloud, and the
visibility is improving. If I can hang on to my chart seat - I
might get a chance for a 10 minute nap...without the worry of
another monster looming out of the windy drizzle...
"What a day, and I have a horrible feeling it will be ’what a
night’ too! Sometimes it’s just better to grit your teeth and get
on with it...
ellen x"
Source: Kingfisher Challenges
[January 02, 2001 - 3:19:21 PM]
PRB suffers electrical problems; Kingfisher & Sill plunge back
into the Big Freeze - Analysis by Philippe Jeantot.
The Vendée Globe Race HQ learned from a fax sent by race
leader Michel Desjoyeaux (PRB), that the electrical engine for
the starter of his Yanmar 37 hp engine had burned out and
was out of order. This is the engine which produces his
electricity and without a starter it is very hard to start up the
engine. A blow for Desjoyeaux then, who had started his New
Year comfortably ahead in the race, and leaving his index rival
Roland Jourdain (Sill Matines La Potagere) 180 miles behind.
If he doesn’t manage to find a solution to start up his engine,
electrical problems will soon arise, the kind which will limit the
skipper to basic means of navigating and communicating from
his high-tech Open 60. These draconian measures of
economy will mean no more music, DVD, satellite
communication by Standard B or M, no more satellite images
or Internet connection to look at weather sites and forecasts,
no more images from the boat as well. The few amps
available will be exclusively reserved for the autopilot and
navigation instruments, and even the latter will be stripped to
its minimal functions.
Michel Desjoyeaux has 4 batteries of 135 amps, a comfortable
reserve. To recharge them he has the use of 15 solar panels,
each one 50 Watts, which in theory can produce 60 amps/hr.
But fixed on the deck where the conditions are not optimal,
they produce in reality about 20 amps/hr. This is estimated in
ideal sunny conditions. Where Michel is, he cannot hope for
more than 5 – 10 amps/hr during daylight hours. His wind
generator, which can work 24 hours a day, unlike the solar
panels, can churn out between 15 – 20 amps/hr with 20/25
knots of apparent wind. However, sailing downwind, where the
apparent wind is much less than the real wind, is thus not the
best sailing angle. In the real conditions, PRB should get 10
amps/hr and 3 or 4 at night.
In terms of consumption, his basic needs will be somewhere
around 8 amps/hr (pilot + minimum electronics + Standard
C). Perhaps then it will only be at night where he’ll have to
helm manually to relieve power from going to the autopilot,
but during the day he should have this level covered. Michel
will have a more uncomfortable time navigating his optimum
route, especially deprived of certain weather information, which
no doubt will signal a turning point in the Vendée Globe.
For the rest of the skippers, their first day of the New Year
turned out better. The only thing that each skipper remarked
was missing was the characteristic Westerly swell of the
Southern Ocean with a strong 50 knot blow. Instead the sea is
more like the Atlantic. Each has come in search of
adrenaline-pumping life-on-the-edge experiences, as Roland
Jourdain summed up: "I’m yearning for some top surfing
conditions for "Sill Matines La Potagere" before Cape Horn –
the South isn’t the South anymore!"
However, the battle for second place between Jourdain and
Ellen MacArthur (Kingfisher), as they both plunge to 56 and 57
degrees South, has brought back freezing water temperatures
of 2 degrees and even 0.8 degrees Celsius, and thus the real
possibility of another iceberg encounter. "I’ve got the radar
on" Jourdain added.
Catherine Chabaud (Whirlpool), disturbed by abnormal noises
coming from her rudder yesterday, has finally been reassured
by her shore team on the problem. "Apparently it’s a bearing
problem so not such a big deal. I hit something along the
African coast, I think it might be the cause of the problem."
She had to stop the boat and make two gybes to check it out
thoroughly, but is now back on route. Josh Hall
(EBP-Gartmore) has finally crossed the International Date
Line, halved his distance behind Whirlpool, and is in a good
wind flow in the North. "If we can hang on to this weather
system for another week, the next one could see us there
which will limit our exposure to a bad storm down here."
Thomas Coville (Sodebo) has had his morale truly stamped
upon by his litany of problems (whale, autopilot,
gyrocompass, wind hole) and is looking for a way to
re-motivate himself. "800 miles behind the leaders, now the
only way to come back is if they have big technical problems
ahead of me. I’m still in such a rage, but I can’t give up." On
the other hand Javier Sanso (Old Spice) is now back on form
after hearing that Dubois, along with Dinelli & Parlier, are
carrying on their circumnavigations. He is hoping now to stop
in Perth, Australia, very quickly and continue on round.
The Westerly flux is allowing the fleet to progress en route to
Cape Horn easily and at good speeds.
January 02, 2001 - 2:18:30 PM]
Javier Sanso (Old Spice) is happier in his unhappiness, and on
his way to Perth for a quick stop over.
In a fax to the Race HQ in Paris, Javier Sanso reported on his
conditions:
"Well, I am 1384 miles from Perth and wanting to arrive soon,
so that I will be able to leave right away. I have noticed that in
this edition of the Vendée Globe, a lot of boats are going to
finish, well I mean that the Southern Ocean has either been
more benevolent than usual or that the new rules regarding
stability and security have worked in favour of the sponsors,
boats and skippers.
"There are still lots of miles before the finish and in this
edition maybe the critical zone will be from The Horn to Les
Sables because of wear on materials. When I lost the rudder
my thoughts were to get to the nearest port and not going
round the world.
"Now I am happy to have decided to continue to Perth even
though it was double the distance from South Africa. At least I
will try and go round the world alone with one stop, which is
not that bad for my circumstances, so I have to be happy in
my unhappiness.
"Take care, Javier"
[January 02, 2001 - 1:52:23 PM]
Just before midnight UT last night EBP/Gartmore sailed across
the dateline and into longitude west.
"Its great to see that on the GPS" said skipper Hall "we are
definitely on our way home now!!"
Hall has managed to keep EBP/GARTMORE in a good wind flow
by being north and has stretched out a gap of nearly 1000
miles on Voila, at the same time catching a lot of miles on
Whirlpool which is now just 200 miles ahead.
"Its been a great week for us..we have halved the gap on
Whirlpool and quadrupled the gap on Voila, winning boat of
the last Vendee" commented Hall.
Hall’s sights are now firmly set on Cape Horn, some 4000
miles ahead. It will be Hall’s second rounding of the famous
cape and he is getting excited already.
"Its 4000 miles to The Horn still but I hope to be there in
about 2 weeks....its the next big milestone in the race and the
biggest of them all. I hope I pass in daylight and close
enough to see it again, it will be magical - especially after
being at sea for so long!
"If we can hang on to this weather system for another week,
the next one could see us there which will limit our exposure
to a bad storm down here. I am pleased to have a fast
enough boat to manoeuvre for the weather - the boats at the
back have a much harder time as they will be down here for
much longer and are not fast enough to give themselves
many options"
EBP/Gartmore reindexs in great shape with no major onboard
damage or problems , a factor which Hall still believes will pay
rewards back in Atlantic waters.
Source: Fred Lemonnier
January 02, 2001 - 12:52:49 PM]
Energy problem on board PRB
Yesterday morning, Monday 1st January, at around 10 o’clock,
Michel Desjoyeaux told his shore team in a brief call that
engine starter had broken down. One hour later, in which he
had dismantled the defective part, he called again: "The
electrical engine for the starter has burned out. The New Year
has started badly."
Now deprived of his index energy source, the engine’s
alternator, with 2700 miles to go until Cape Horn, Michel now
has to contest a different kind of race. "It was already tough,
really tough, and now it’s just beginning again! Give me an 8
day Figaro race anyday!" he exclaimed this morning in a
telex.
Yesterday Michel spent the day searching for a means of
starting his Yanmar 37 hp engine without a starter. It doesn’t
seem possible for him to use a manual crank. Renowned for
his ingeniosity, Mich Desj has tried, by winding the end round
an exterior winch to multiply the force, to start his engine in a
similar way to an outboard motor. When night came, in a fax,
he explained that he had given up on this method.
Technicians from Fenwick, in collaboration with Vincent Riou,
one of PRB’s boat preparers, are trying to resolve the
problem. In an attempt to analyse the reasons for a totally
new piece of equipment could have broken down: "It’s
extroardinary, but it seems that what has happened is that
the starter’s relay has failed at the moment of starting up.
The starter supports normally 300 turns per minute but it’s
driving at 1200 turns and its engine burns out."
As he waits for a hypethetical means to launch his engine,
Michel must now use his wind generator and solar panels. In a
region where the sun doesn’t often shine, this means will not
be wholly sufficient to meet all the energy requirements on
board a new generation Open 60 with all the satellite
communication systems (Standard B & M, receiving satellite
images, weather faxes). Michel must of course give priority to
his autopilots, as it is simply out of the question for the
skipper to helm all the time when sailing single-handed,
especially in the bitter Southern Pacific temperatures. He is
obliged to have his Standard C open for several hours every
day, the system for receiving by satellite the weather files.
At 0630hrs (French Time) the skipper of PRB warned the Race
HQ of these problems. He ended his fax by saying : "I am
continuing towards Cape Horn and do not demand
assistance." Until he reaches Cape Horn, Michel has some
time to think about possible solutions to imagine and test
out, depending on the boat’s condition and his ability, as well
as the consequences. Despite these worries, the leader still
holds a 154 mile lead over Roland Jourdain and 175 miles
over Ellen MacArthur.
Point on the energy resources by Vincent Riou: "PRB is
equipped with 15 solar panels which in theory can produce 60
amps/hr. But fixed on the deck where the conditions are not
optimum, they produce in reality about 20 amps/hr. This is
estimated in ideal sunny conditions. Where Michel is, he
cannot hope for more than 5 – 10 amps/hr during daylight
hours. His wind generator can churn out between 15 – 20
amps/hr with 20/25 knots of apparent wind. But downwind,
where the apparent wind is pretty much less than the real
wind, he’d need more than that. The problem with this is when
he bears off he is danger of damaging the wind generator. In
the real conditions, PRB should get 10 amps/hr and 3/4 at
night.
"In terms of consumption, the pilot uses 5 – 10 amps/hr
depending on the force of the wind. The Standard C needs 0.4
amps/hr to receive and 7 amps to send out messages. He
has to turn this on for several hours per day to receive the
rankings and weather files. The NKE navigation centre can
work without using every 15 of its functions. On the other hand
one can forget entirely the Standard B, M weather fax line and
satellite image receiver. Michel will find himself back in his old
‘Figaro’ mode then."
Source: Eric Coquerel
[January 02, 2001 - 12:07:31 PM]
Joé Seeten: " I wish for us all a good weather forecast for the
new Millenium!"
"I’ve got 15-18 knots, coming across the boat from behind,
which is great. It’s very humid still, I can’t see an awful lot, so
I just get back inside after a manoeuvre. I’m living my first
experience in the Southern Ocean sitting on the edge of my
seat the whole time, never quite know what to expect with the
weather. My primary job, before I left port, was to make sure I
didn’t get bored with myself. So for the moment I’m doing well
on that front, keeping busy but more intellectually than
physically. Once a manoeuvre is over I get inside and do stuff
for when I return, read books or sleep. I have to say that I
can’t match myself to the new generation boats with this boat,
so I’m not in their game. But I look at VDH’s (VDH: Jean-Luc
Van Den Heede who did the VG with the same boat) old maps
from 8 years ago, and I’m going more quickly with the same
boat. One reason for this is definitely the sails. With all the
new technical improvements, in 4 years this race will be
finished in 85 days!"
[January 02, 2001 - 11:36:56 AM]
False alert onboard Whirlpool
Catherine Chabaud has had 24 stressful hours:
"It’s better than yesterday! I’ve had some problems with one
of my rudders and I thought the race was over for me…
My starboard rudder was very noisy so I went to check what
was happening but I couldn’t see anything, then the noise
calmed down for a while but came back worse later, so I tried
to investigate further.
I stopped the boat, but still I couldn’t see where the problem
was. At some point with the help of a mirror I kind of saw that
it was moving longitudinally, just as if it was cracked, so I
thought it would break. I gybed on port side, heading to the
North West towards New Zealand, and put more sails up to see
what was happening, but nothing did happenened so I gybed
again to the East thinking it probably came from somewhere
else. I spent a fair amount of time trying to find out where the
problem was, but apparently it’s a bearing problem so not
such a big deal. Rudders are a key point on these boats, and
since the problems I had in the English Transat, I have
installed an emergency system, but it would only help me to
reach a port if I needed.
I hit something along the African coast, I think it might be the
cause of the problem.
I am following a low pressure which is just ahead of me. The
water temperature is 11 degrees, and it’s warmer inside the
boat. I slept a lot after that as I was exhausted after all the
manœuvres I had to do.
It’s night time now. It’s really strange to be behind your time.
Today was sunny, the sea is like in the Atlantic ocean, we
don’t have any westerly swell. There are lots of birds around
me, the wind comes from the South South West, between 15
and 25 knots. All fine now!"
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