Volvo Ocean Race 2001/2002 www.VolvoOceanRace.org zurück zur Übersicht Southampton, England, November 28th, 2001 Day 18 Protests and Departures While racing in the Great Australian Bight between the Volvo Ocean Race crews is as tense as ever, new developments over the last 24 hours centre on actions taken earlier in the leg that have now come to light. Amer Sport Too and djuice have been notified by the Race Committee that it intends to protest them for contravening the International Regulations For Preventing Collisions At Sea during the first hours of leg two. It is alleged that both Amer Sports Too and djuice sailed into the traffic separation zones off Cape Town, in contravention of the Collision Regulations. Following receipt of the Notification of Protest, djuice skipper Knut Frostad issued the following statement from onboard. "According to the charts with the plots for djuice's course from the start, it shows that after the gate exit, djuice crossed the traffic lane together with every boat in the fleet. However, djuice tacked in the Traffic Separation Scheme before exiting the area in question.” Frostad goes on to say, "We have never had any intention of breaking the rules. I was not aware we had crossed illegally until we received this notice, and immediately acknowledged the race committee’s stand and performed a 720-degree penalty turn, in accordance with Standard Sailing Instructions (SSI) 1.6.1 (c)." Standard Sailing Instructions (SSI) 1.6.1 (c). states that, "A boat that may have broken a rule of Part 2 or when appropriate the steering and sailing rules of the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea while racing may take a penalty at the time of the incident... Her penalty shall be a 720 degree turn penalty." It will be up to the jury to decide if djuice's 720 degree turn at this point in the leg satisfies the rules. Frostad continues, "We were never close to any vessel or near a collision which in essence is why the Collision Regulations exist. We did not interfere with any other competitor and we cannot see we gained an advantage by doing this." The race committee do not officially have to lodge protests of this type until 24 hours after the last boat finishes, but it is felt that by alerting djuice and Amer Sports Too to the situation now, the protest may be convened shortly after the boats arrive in Sydney. Exact details of the protests have not been made available at this time but its is clear that the race committee are taking the matter extremely seriously. Commenting on the delay in lodging the protests, Race Committee Chairman, Ian Bailey-Wilmott said, "For reasons that will become clear when the protests are heard we wished to consider the matter very carefully." Director of Race Operations, Michael Woods, pointed out that the Volvo Ocean Race takes its responsibilities with respect to the wider maritime community very seriously. To this effect, the relationship between the Racing Rules of Sailing and the Collision Regulations were clarified by Notice to Competitors No.6 issued before the start of leg two on 1st November. Although the interpretation made by the international Jury was mostly concerned with the application of right of way rules, it closed with an unambiguous statement: "In accordance with Notice of Race 1.7.1(c) and Sailing Instruction 1.1(d), the other parts of the Collision Regulations apply to Volvo boats at all times." Traffic separation zones are established by international convention in areas of high traffic density. They are clearly marked on the charts and serve to keep vessels travelling in opposite directions apart. Their observance is a legal responsibility of all vessels. The observance of traffic separation schemes is an integral part of the Collision regulations. With the later stages of the race taking place in the congested waters of the English Channel, North Sea and the Baltic, where there are a proliferation of Separation Schemes, the Race Committee are clearly anxious to make the observance of the Collision Regulations a top priority. "Where we can, we have tried to put marks of the course in a position that make it disadvantageous to sail through Separation Schemes, but unfortunately that is not always possible," says Bailey-Wilmott. For the technically minded, the relevant sections of the International Rules for the Preventing Collisions at Sea are: Rule 10 (b) A vessel using a Traffic Separation Scheme shall: (i) proceed in the appropriate traffic lane in the general direction of traffic flow for that lane; (ii) so far as practicable keep clear of a traffic separation line or separation zone; (iii) normally join or leave a traffic lane at the termination of the lane, but when joining or leaving from either side shall do so at as small an angle to the general direction of traffic flow as practicable. Rule 10 (e) A vessel other than a crossing vessel or a vessel joining or leaving a lane shall not normally enter a separation zone or cross a separation line except: (i) in cases of emergency to avoid immediate danger. (ii) to engage in fishing within the separation zone. On a sad note, Marcel van Triest, navigator onboard the Swedish Volvo Ocean Race yacht SEB, currently in the lead in the leg, left the boat approximately 10 miles before Eclipse Island to return home due to the loss of a close family member. He is expected to return for the third leg of the race due to start on 26 December. The race rules allow for a crewmember to leave the boat in such circumstances. "We have altered the watch systems onboard to accommodate for these unexpected changes, to a set-up which has been previously planned in case of illness or injuries onboard," commented SEB skipper Gunnar Krantz. He continued: "It is of course a sensitive and unwanted situation, but in these circumstances Marcel's situation and human values are the deciding factors. Thanks to our preparations we believe we can still keep our competitiveness in the fleet.” We have respected the wishes of the syndicate to allow Marcel the privacy to leave for home before announcing details of this tragic event. This personal matter is being dealt with by the Team SEB syndicate and for further enquiries please contact Pelle Norberg on +46 708 12 95 56. November 28th, 2001 2100hrs GMT It’s A Beautiful Day. It all started with a kiss. No, that was my dream. It really started with a fantastic sunrise, breakfast on the stack of sails we have on deck and Aussie rock [Eclipse Island] in our sights. The first sighting of something solid other than icebergs for 18 days. We were singing: “aweare on the wind againa”. Half an hour later we confirmed that we were going to be stopping at Eclipse Island to pick up replacement parts. The clouds came in and our song changed to “awe'll be tacking around the island when she comes, we'll be tacking around the island when she comes, yeehar...a” The sun came back out when we saw the smiles on the faces of our fantastic shore team, Nicky Binstead and Nick Bice. They had, in 24 hours, managed to get us a new jockey pole that was yesterday a pile of metal, a computer part that sends and receives all our information on the boat and a new cooker that makes freeze dried food look like food again and is cooked in 45 minutes instead of 3 hours, so our full time cook has better things to do now. Every racing team is only as good a their shore team and with the Nautor Challenge Team we are very lucky to have one of the best teams there can be. Thank you all so much. The other sunshine was in Emma’s face when her boyfriend surprised her by being at our pick up point. That is going to last her at least a week. Everyone else’s smiles came when lunch was served. The pasta was finally pasta again and not flour and water paste. As the sun went down tonight and eight coffees later, as we have 18 days of hot drinks and gas to use, Aussie rock disappeared out of sight. We are Amer Sports Too, 13 girls on a mission to gain back some miles and smiles. Sharon Ferris Southampton, England, November 28th, 2001 2200hrs GMT Still Anybody’s Game Jumping from one extreme to another, Team SEB has gone from being the most northern yacht over the first half of leg two of the Volvo Ocean Race to now being the most southerly team in the fleet. Gunnar Krantz’s green hulled Volvo Ocean 60 is still in the lead, making 13 knots eastwards in the new 18-20 knot southerly breeze, yet John Kostecki’s speeding illbruck Challenge is only one mile behind with nearly one extra knot of boat speed to their advantage. But as the yachts in the north, ASSA ABLOY and News Corp, are making good progress towards Bass Strait, it is still not clear whether the north inshore or southerly offshore option is going to pay at this stage. Southampton, England, November 28th, 2001 1600hrs GMT North, South or Middle? Split into three distinct lanes, all racing eastwards, the leading yachts in the Volvo Ocean Race are divided in their opinion of what latitude will pay approaching Bass Strait. Team SEB and illbruck at 38 degrees south are setting the pace, with ASSA ABLOY and News Corp, 60 miles to the north, battling for third and fourth position at present. Djuice, in fifth, is taking the middle road option at present, perhaps just waiting to see which side pays before committing themselves. “It has tactically been a nerve wrecking 24-hours, as the fleet has spread out on a north-south line in an attempt to get into the new breeze. The next few hours will let us know who was right or wrong on how far south to go. Let’s hope that we have got it right,” wrote ASSA ABLOY’s Richard Mason earlier today. Leader SEB have one thousand miles to sail to the notorious Bass Strait and are making a steady 10 knots in the 13-14 knot south-southwest breeze. Copyright © 1996-2016 - SEGEL.DE