15.03.2001
Day 74, 3.00 pm GMT
The northeast winds are still forcing Cam Lewis to sail close-hauled.
Apart from losing more and more time in The Race, Team Adventure’s
skipper must also be very careful with his boat. It is during this kind of
upwind sailing that the catamaran is most at risk of suffering structural
damage.
It might have seemed that having to stop twice in the course of this round-the-world
dash had been punishment enough for Team Adventure. The ocean’s power has
already prevented Cam Lewis from being in contention for first place, but it is not
finished with the American skipper yet. Nothing is going his way and there is no sign
of improvement.
The crew are still expecting to arrive in Marseilles on March 23rd, although they will
reindex on the lookout for any potential problems. The 25-knot northeasterly breeze
into which they are sailing is not going to leave them alone. The boat is burying the
bows more than usual and precautions have been taken inside the cockpits to make
sure no-one hurts their head when they are in their bunks.
There is little chance of improvement in these conditions for the next three or four
days. Cam Lewis’s lightning run through the doldrums has only brought him all the
more quickly to this ‘brick wall’ of strong headwinds. Team Adventure is 1,700 miles
off Gibraltar, at the same latitude as the Cape Verde Islands 400 miles away. The
third-placed catamaran is averaging 14 knots but any attempt to make better
progress by steering further west will inevitably mean straying from the direct course,
adding unwanted miles to their route.
For the time being, Team Adventure is running well and third place looks secure.
Things could be worse.
1,200 miles further back, Warta-Polpharma’s crew are still delighted with their race. In
the distance, 400 miles ahead (one good day’s sailing!), lies the equator. With the
wind blowing at only 10/15 knots east-southeast, the conditions are hardly made for
record-breaking runs, but the path to the Northern Hemisphere is clear. The Polish
crew should have no problems with high pressure systems getting in their way.
Bringing up the rear of the fleet, Tony Bullimore is not happy. Team Legato has been
blocked by a high dead ahead of her that will seriously hamper the boat’s progress.
The British skipper and his crew were still averaging 17 knots this afternoon, but their
speed will drop away during the night. Level with Buenos Aires, 2,600 miles short of
the equator and with winds predicted at 5/10 knots in the coming hours, it is looking
less and less likely that they will be able to reach Marseilles before the ‘closing-date’
of April 2nd, 30 days after the first finisher.
Translation by LMQV
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