Pressemitteilung der illbruck Challenge vom 2. Tag der 6. Etappe des Volvo
Ocean Race
15. April 2002
„illbruck“ übernimmt hauchdünne Führung
„News Corp“ Zweiter vor „Assa Abloy“ und „Amer Sports One“ / Rest des
Felds weit zurück
Baltimore – Mit konzentriertem Boots- und Segeltrimm hat sich die Crew der
Leverkusener Hochseeyacht „illbruck“ am zweiten Tag der sechsten Etappe
des Volvo Ocean Race an die Spitze des Felds gesetzt. Am Dienstag Morgen
führte das deutsche Boot knapp vor dem neuen Zweiten, „News Corp“
(Australien), der die „Assa Abloy“ (Schweden) und die „Amer Sports One“
(Finnland/Italien) überholt hatte. Diese vier lagen jedoch nach knapp der
Hälfte der Strecke von Miami nach Baltimore in den USA innerhalb von zwei
Seemeilen zusammen, während die zweite Hälfte der Teilnehmer schon mehr
als 28 Seemeilen zurückgefallen war. Mit dem Zieleinlauf wird am Mittwoch
(17. April) gerechnet.
Die Spitzengruppe befand sich seit dem kuriosen Auftakt am Sonntag, als
sechs der acht Boote einen Frühstart fabrizierten, stets in Sichtweite und
lieferte sich spannende Positionskämpfe. Der Wind forderte durch ständige
Stärken- und Richtungsänderungen zwischenzeitig häufige Segelwechsel.
Offenbar hatte die auch in der Gesamtwertung der Regatta klar führende
„illbruck“ einmal mehr die beste „Garderobe “ unter den insgesamt 17
erlaubten Segeln an Bord. Hinzu kamen ein konsequentes Ausnutzen der
Böenstriche, die Skipper John Kostecki und seiner Mannschaft bereits am
Montag Vormittag die hart erkämpfte Führung bescherte.
Unterdessen scheinen die Frauen der „Amer Sports Too“ ihre anfangs
hervorragenden Chancen eingebüßt zu haben. Nachdem sie das Achter-Feld aus
Miami heraus die erste Stunde sensationell angeführt hatten, wagten sie
einen strategischen Kurs nach Nordosten Richtung Golfstrom, was bislang
voll nach hinten losging. Inzwischen halten sie 33 Seemeilen hinter der
„illbruck“ die rote Laterne knapp hinter der „djuice“ (Norwegen). Vier
Seemeilen davor kämpfen „SEB“ (Schweden) und „Tyco“ (Bermudas) Bug an Bug
um Platz fünf.
Southampton, England, April 15, 2002 Day 2
IF ONLY...
“If only”, a saying which is widely used in the modern world. ‘If only I
had got out of bed earlier this morning’ can cover a plethora of disasters
throughout the rest of the day, which could be traced back to that extra
ten minutes under the duvet!
For six of the teams on the Volvo Ocean Race the “if only” will refer to
their feelings after Amer Sports One, djuice, illbruck, News Corp, SEB and
Tyco were called OCS (over the line at the start) as they reflect on the
advantages they may have lost by having to return to the pre-start side of
the line after the gun, to start again correctly. This gave away vital
distance to two boats ASSA ABLOY and Amer Sports Too, who started
correctly. As a direct result of an OCS call, a boat can be affected
quite dramatically, particularly if sailing towards building winds further
up the racecourse.
Bad memories do not go away for racing sailors, as many competitive
yachtsmen around the world will testify, having lost championships and
titles through the dreaded OCS in a regatta or championship series. The
points awarded for this short leg are the same as the longer ones, so for
the teams any short lapses in concentration or effort could prove
disastrous.
For now, the skippers and crews will have to get on with the job in hand,
to race efficiently on this leg six from Miami to Baltimore which is in
total 875 nautical miles. As the leg is relatively short, the “if only”
factor may yet haunt them again, if as is quite likely, the boats finish
in a heap at the end of this part of the Volvo Ocean Race.
Nick White from News Corp reflected on the situation, “Most of us had a
shocker of a start - over at the gun. We had such good pace after the
start that we were the last to get back to restart.” On a more positive
note however, the crew had fought back hard and he wrote, “We are,
however, slowly picking the boats in front off one by one and are less
than two miles from the lead... back on deck to look useful.”
For Gunnar Krantz on SEB, the supporters were elated and quickly
disappointed as she was one of the early boats to cross the starting line,
only to be recalled with the rest to start correctly. “At this short leg
the tactics will be very important. There will not be much room for
mistakes and the boats that will get far behind will have problems to
catch up”, Krantz said at the dock just before leaving. For Mark
Reynolds, a double Olympic gold medallist, who has recently joined SEB,
this setback will be disappointing as he has an important role in the
afterguard to strengthen the tactical calls.
Following a start that saw six boats recalled, the race office has been
informed of the following intentions to protest:
Amer Sports One protesting djuice for a start line incident. djuice was
seen to complete a 720-degree penalty turn. ASSA ABLOY has filed an
intention to protest illbruck, for a pre-start incident. Tyco are seeking
redress from the Race Committee regarding the restart.
Amer Sports Too has been the winner of these early hours of leg six. While
other yachts went back behind the starting line to start correctly, the
all female crew enjoyed an early lead that was soon challenged by ASSA
ABLOY. Amer Sports Too was fighting with illbruck for second. The second
group of yachts were hard on the heels of illbruck and Amer Sports Too:
Amer Sports One, SEB, Tyco and News Corp were just one mile behind with
courses slightly diverging.
The general consensus is that the Gulf Stream Drift will be a significant
factor in the first 200 miles of this leg to Baltimore. The trick will be
to find this current and endeavour to ride it for as long as it reindexs
favourable to the course.
ASSA ABLOY continued with her strong performance, leading illbruck by a
mile at the latest position report. The next four yachts, Amer Sports One,
News Corp, SEB and Tyco are following the leaders but spread over 10 miles
across the direct course.
The only yacht trying a different approach is Lisa McDonald’s Amer Sports
Too. The girls decided to take a more northeasterly course, while
everybody else is heading almost due north. Are the girls looking for a
stronger current? Are they already planning for a faster lane in the
lighter stuff ahead? With nothing to lose they are certainly in a position
to try more radical approaches in the legs to come.
Light downwind sailing doesn’t seem to have become djuice’s strongest
point of sail. They have lost some miles, lacking almost a knot of boat
speed to the leader ASSA ABLOY.
Southampton, England, April 15, 2002 2200 GMT
Back in the lead!
illbruck is once again leading the fleet of the Volvo Ocean Race, this
time up the American coast from Miami towards Baltimore, ASSA ABLOY, News
Corp and Amer Sports One are fighting for second place, and although
tightly packed together, this group of yachts have fallen to three miles
behind illbruck.
The first 24 hours appear to have consisted of sail change after sail
change, Roger Nilson onboard Amer Sports One commented earlier how most of
the fleet appear to have used every spinnaker onboard, making for a hectic
first day back at sea. The whole fleet has been enjoying some good speeds
in reaching conditions during this period; although the wind has started
to lighten over the past couple of hours and the boat speeds are all
starting to reduce.
The second half of the fleet, though falling further behind the leaders
are just as close together as the leading group, Tyco and SEB have fallen
to 24 miles behind and leaders with djuice in seventh position just one
mile further behind. Back in eighth place the girls on Amer Sports Too
have fallen to 29 miles behind the leaders, but they are still the most
westerly yacht, and we will just have to wait and see if their gamble
starts to pay off in the ever changing wind conditions out there.
Volvo Ocean Race Position Report, Day 2, 2203 GMT
PS Yacht Latitude Longitude DTF CMG SMG TFHR DTL DTL-C ETA PO
1 ILBK 31 19.88N 078 13.44W 536 49 9.3 276 0 0 17/04/02 23:34 44
2 AART 31 18.16N 078 14.92W 539 48 8.8 274 3 +2 17/04/02 23:44 35
3 NEWS 31 17.96N 078 14.64W 539 49 9.1 275 3 +1 17/04/02 23:44 29
4 AONE 31 17.88N 078 14.80W 539 49 9 275 3 +2 17/04/02 23:45 30
5 TYCO 31 19.44N 079 00.44W 560 15 7 268 24 +8 18/04/02 01:41 28
6 TSEB 31 20.92N 079 02.76W 560 7 7.3 267 24 +8 18/04/02 01:43 20
7 DJCE 31 06.60N 078 42.60W 561 53 7.2 260 25 +7 18/04/02 01:49 21
8 ATOO 30 34.44N 077 43.64W 565 33 5.4 243 29 +10 18/04/02 02:39 9
Southampton, England, April 15, 2002 1600 GMT
illbruck clips ASSA ABLOY’s wings
Having reported from on board ASSA ABLOY, Mark Rudiger planned to keep a
cover on illbruck. Something hasn’t worked as planned; illbruck has
overtaken ASSA ABLOY and is now one mile ahead. The leading yachts are
sailing in almost 20 knots of wind, while the back markers have to do with
at least five knots less. Getting the early break in this leg could be one
of the decisive factors. Amer Sports One and News Corp are the two yachts
that have managed to stay with the front-runners, leaving a nine-mile gap
to the next yacht, SEB who is neck and neck with Tyco.
Amer Sports Too sticks to the easterly route and has built a 50-mile
separation to the index fleet. Tyco, Amer Sports Too, SEB and djuice are
within two miles of each other, all in danger of taking over the wooden
spoon.
The high-pressure system that creates the southerly winds the fleet is
currently sailing in is centred to the east of the fleet. As the fleet is
moving north, the wind will veer to the west.
Volvo Ocean Race Position Report, Day 2, 1610 GMT
PS Yacht Latitude Longitude DTF CMG SMG DTL DTL-C ETA PO
1 ILBK 30 40.24N 079 04.32W 593 26 11.9 0 0 17/04/02 15:58 44
2 AART 30 40.08N 079 05.16W 594 28 11.5 1 +1 17/04/02 16:11 35
3 AONE 30 38.76N 079 05.40W 595 25 11.8 2 0 17/04/02 16:27 31
4 NEWS 30 37.92N 079 05.24W 596 24 11.6 3 +1 17/04/02 16:41 28
5 TSEB 30 34.32N 079 17.44W 605 26 9.1 12 +8 17/04/02 19:03 21
6 TYCO 30 34.36N 079 17.88W 605 31 8.9 12 +8 17/04/02 19:04 27
7 ATOO 30 01.40N 078 15.00W 606 34 9.7 13 +6 17/04/02 19:23 10
8 DJCE 30 30.52N 079 14.88W 607 26 11.2 14 +2 17/04/02 19:35 20
Southampton, England, April 15th, 2002 0400 GMT
Get the Drift?
The Volvo fleet is still tightly packed after the first 10 hours of racing
in this 6th leg of the race. ASSA ABLOY is just in the lead, one mile
ahead of Illbruck, with Amer Sports One a further mile astern in 3rd
place. The next 3 boats, News Corp, SEB and Amer Sports Too, all share 4th
place, 3 miles behind the leader. Tyco and Djuice are in 7th and 8th
positions, just 4 and 6 miles respectively off the lead.
The general consensus is that the Gulf Stream Drift will be a significant
factor in the first 200 miles of this leg to Baltimore. The trick will be
to find this current and endeavour to ride it for as long as it reindexs
favourable to the course.
Volvo Ocean Race Position Report, Day 2, 0403 GMT
PS Yacht Latitude Longitude DTF CMG SMG TFHR DTL DTL-C ETA PO
1 AART 28 14.88N 079 43.80W 736 3 13 999999 0 0 17/04/02 12:41 36
2 ILBK 28 15.20N 079 46.08W 737 1 12.8 999999 1 +1 17/04/02 13:21 43
3 AONE 28 13.16N 079 44.16W 738 4 13.1 999999 2 -1 17/04/02 13:38 31
4 NEWS 28 12.40N 079 44.24W 739 4 12.9 999999 3 0 17/04/02 14:07 28
5 ATOO 28 10.28N 079 40.28W 739 9 12.3 999999 3 0 17/04/02 14:09 12
6 TSEB 28 12.96N 079 46.60W 739 3 12.8 999999 3 0 17/04/02 14:09 20
7 TYCO 28 13.20N 079 49.52W 740 359 13.5 999999 4 0 17/04/02 14:40 26
8 DJCE 28 07.76N 079 42.20W 742 4 12.7 999999 6 0 17/04/02 15:41 20
|
