Pressemitteilung der illbruck Challenge vom 3. Tag der 6. Etappe des Volvo
Ocean Race
16. April 2002
Dreikampf Bug an Bug mit „illbruck“
„News Corp“ führt hauchdünn / „Assa Abloy“ zurückgefallen / Ankunft wohl
morgen Nacht
Baltimore – Nach idealen Segelbedingungen zum Auftakt in Miami/USA kämpfen
die Teilnehmer des Volvo Ocean Race auf dem letzten Teilstück der
sechsten, kurzen Etappe über 875 Seemeilen mit widrigen Windbedingungen.
In der Nacht zu Dienstag meldeten alle acht Boote eine schwache Brise aus
unterschiedlichen Richtungen, am Morgen hatte er dann wieder aufgefrischt.
Die Führung hatte die australische „News Corp“ knapp eine Seemeilen vor
der Leverkusener „illbruck“ und der „Amer Sports One“ (Finnland/Italien)
übernommen, die gleichauf lagen. Die schwedische „Assa Abloy“, härtester
Verfolger des deutschen Boots in der Gesamtwertung, war zunächst durch
technische Probleme, als Wasser durch einen geplatzen
Ballastpumpenschlauch eindrang, leicht zurückgefallen und wagte dann auf
dem vierten Platz einen Kurswechsel Richtung Nordosten, der sie 22
Seemeilen zurückwarf. Noch hatten die Boote an der Spitze mehr als 200
Seemeilen bis zum Ziel in Baltimore zurückzulegen. Mit der Ankunft wird
erst in der Nacht zu Donnerstag gerechnet.
Die Außenplätze der Cafés und Restaurants am Inner Harbour der maritimen
Metropole im US-Bundesstaat Maryland nahe Washington sind voll besetzt. Im
Race Village, der eigenen Siedlung der Weltumsegler, schieben Gabelstapler
noch die letzten Luftfrachtcontainer aus Miami in die Präsentationszelte
der Syndikate. Es ist bald gerichtet – Baltimore hat sich für die
Hochseesegler herausgeputzt und erlebt passend dazu ein
Jahrhundertfrühling mit Temperaturen von über 30 Grad. Nur die
Hauptdarsteller lassen einmal mehr auf sich warten. Aus der geplanten
Zielankunft am Mittwoch tagsüber wird wohl nicht. Rasmus, der den Wind zu
(maß)regeln pflegt, hat ihn abgedreht.
„Unter einer Wolkenkante am Rande des Golfstroms drehte der Wind plötzlich
um 180 Grad auf Nord“, berichtete die Crew der „illbruck“, „anstatt weiter
unter Spinnaker zu segeln, mussten wir plötzlich vier Stunden kreuzen.
Zwischendurch hatten sie dann nur ganze 3 Knoten Wind, kaum genug zum
Vorwärtskommen, wenn die Tidenströmung in der Chesapeake Bay gegen an
läuft, die am Dienstag über Tag erreicht wurde. „Und die Bucht ist für
ihre trickreichen Bedingungen hinreichend bekannt“, erinnerte Skipper John
Kostecki unter anderem an den furiosen Etappensieg der „Brunel Synergy“
vor vier Jahren, die von ganz hinten ganz nach vorne gefahren war.
Auch bei diesem Rennen sollte niemand die hinteren Yachten vorzeitig
abschreiben, obwohl allein die „SEB“ (Schweden), die sich auf dem fünften
Rang von ihren direkten Gegnern abgesetzt hat, schon 46 Seemeilen
Rückstand aufwies. Die „Tyco“ (Bermudas) hat 65 Seemeilen aufzuholen, und
die „djuice“ (Norwegen) gar schon 83. Am meisten ärgern sich aber sicher
die Frauen der „Amer Sports Too“, die ihre überraschende Führung nach dem
Start durch eine riskante Taktik schnell wieder in den bisher gewohnten
letzten Platz umgewandelt haben. Ihr Rückstand auf den Spitzenreiter
betrug am Dienstag Morgen 87 Seemeilen.
Southampton, England, April 16, 2002 Day 3
CHESS - The Next Move
Yacht racing has often been likened to a three-dimensional game of chess
and for the navigators and tacticians on their way to Baltimore, juggling
the different moves and anticipating the final stages of this short leg,
will prove just as taxing. Mark Rudiger from ASSA ABLOY wrote on his way
into Auckland that he would be giving up gambling, it now appears that he
has swapped this for the ultimate in terms of a sequence of chess moves.V
As the boats have spent most of this leg so far on a reach, this has meant
that with different sail inventories, they have each had to position
themselves in the most advantageous sector of the race track for their
optimum point of fast sailing for their individual sail designs. In
addition, they must take into consideration the rest of the fleet, the
current (Gulf Stream) and importantly the final moves in the closing
stages for the last 120 nautical miles in Chesapeake Bay towards the
finish in Baltimore.
The Gulf Stream, which is sometimes referred to as the North Equatorial
Current, starts in the Caribbean, where the water, expanded by heat,
pushes into the Gulf of Mexico. There it heats up further and expands,
escaping through the Florida Straits and on to the east of the Grand Banks
of Newfoundland, continuing on across the North Atlantic to northern
Europe. Its velocity can be calculated at around an astonishing 80 miles
per day and for this reason it is an extremely important factor in the
navigators’ calculations.
Roger Nilson, on Amer Sports One, was concerned that for no apparent
reason, they had fallen out of the maximum effect of the Gulf Stream, “We
are four boats very close together, within two nautical miles. News Corp
just behind [us] and illbruck and ASSA ABLOY close in front. This
leading group lost the free ride of the Gulf Stream late last night, but
half an hour ago we found the southern edge of the Stream again, getting
1.5 knots setting north northeast. This temporary loss of the stream was
not really predicted and caught us by surprise. Yesterday we enjoyed 4
knots of hot Stream pushing us north, but as the breeze lifted on
starboard gybe we slowly sailed out of it.”
It is a game of balance with the wind, however, and he continued, “SEB,
Tyco and djuice stayed further west, most likely in a better stream, but
lost a lot during the last three hours. They got stuck with less wind,
underneath some big clouds that often form over the hot Stream. Amer
Sports Too has chosen a radical easterly route, outside the Gulf Stream,
but could come out of it well, if the wind goes into the south west or
west south west as predicted.”
In the last race Brunel Synergy sailed outside the Gulf Stream and
favoured by the wind, pulled some 100 nautical miles distance on the rest
of the fleet, before Chesapeake. The navigator from Brunel Synergy, Stuart
Quarrie, emphasised, “The Gulf Stream gives a speed boost of around four
knots to boats that follow its path, so one has to be pretty sure of
oneself not to take advantage of its power.”
Over the last 24 hours, once again the fleet has split into two groups
plus the single yacht Amer Sports Too. The first four yachts, illbruck,
ASSA ABLOY, Amer Sports One and News Corp managed to get away from the
trailing trio SEB, Tyco and djuice, which were once again trapped by a
black rain cloud. Meanwhile the gamble taken onboard Amer Sports Too was
not going to pay off after all.
News Corp has moved back into first, a position they haven’t seen for some
time. They managed to sail a deeper course and were pushed by the Gulf
Stream this bit further north. As a gybe to the north has to follow soon,
the two-mile gap they have opened up will give little comfort. ASSA ABLOY,
an early leader of this leg has moved into fourth on the right lane they
have chosen. They have already gybed to the north as the wind has gone all
the way to the southwest.
SEB with double gold medal winner Mark Reynolds on board has taken control
of the close opposition Tyco and djuice. Tyco in sixth at the last report
has a lot of pressure to get a top result and not fall behind the group of
yachts that are fighting for the top overall places.
Amer Sports Too was the first yacht to gybe onto port tack and is biting
the bullet to sail into the back of the whole fleet.
The final stretch in Chesapeake Bay towards the finish in Baltimore could
prove extremely tricky with fickle winds and complicated currents and
eddies and the challenge for the fleet is who will finally achieve
‘checkmate’ at the finish line!
Southampton, England, April 16th, 2002 2200 GMT
Tricky Sailing in the Gulf Stream
The leading boats in the Volvo Ocean Race are, currently, 25 miles south
of Cape Hatteras, as they head towards Baltimore on Day 3 of this 6th leg
of the race. The general comment from the boats is that, although the
sailing is not physically taxing, the Gulf Stream can generate very fickle
and difficult conditions. The Stream is nice and warm and can give a 2-3
knot boost, but the variable cloud pattern can play havoc with the wind.
Illbruck reports that, earlier today, there was a moderate line of cloud
along the edge of the Stream, which shifted the wind into the north for 4
hours, so the boats ended up beating when they expected to be running!
Volvo Ocean Race Position Report, Day 3, 2204 GMT
PS Yacht Latitude Longitude DTF CMG SMG TFHR DTL DTL-C ETA PO
1 NEWS 34 46.44N 075 28.84W 289 13 13.2 251 0 0 18/04/02 02:45 31
2 ILBK 34 41.56N 075 27.40W 293 17 13.2 245 4 0 18/04/02 03:11 43
3 AONE 34 40.40N 075 27.72W 294 18 13 246 5 0 18/04/02 03:20 31
4 AART 34 28.20N 075 37.76W 309 13 12.9 231 20 +1 18/04/02 04:45 33
5 TSEB 34 01.32N 075 44.80W 336 16 10.2 232 47 +9 18/04/02 07:27 21
6 TYCO 33 52.52N 076 00.60W 349 12 7 215 60 +19 18/04/02 08:44 27
7 DJCE 33 45.48N 076 07.84W 358 22 6.1 206 69 +21 18/04/02 09:37 21
8 ATOO 33 29.72N 075 53.24W 368 46 8.4 199 79 +17 18/04/02 10:40 9
Southampton, England, April 16, 2002 1600 GMT
Tension At Cape Fear
As the yachts are approaching Cape Fear, now 70 miles to the northwest,
the conditions went extremely light and flukey. For News Corp the wind has
dropped to less than five knots, nevertheless the yacht is travelling with
the aid of the Golf Stream with seven knots into the right direction.
News Corp managed to hold the narrow lead over illbruck, Amer Sports One
and ASSA ABLOY. In the second group Tyco has managed to overtake SEB,
while djuice gained two miles on the green Swedish yacht as well. At the
time of the report, Amer Sports Too was the fastest yacht as they were
still sailing in a better westerly breeze.
The weather files predict that the southwesterly breeze will set in again
over the next hours. The first yachts are expected to arrive in Baltimore
in the early hours of Thursday.
Volvo Ocean Race Position Report, Day 3, 1600 GMT
PS Yacht Latitude Longitude DTF CMG SMG TFHR DTL DTL-C ETA PO
1 NEWS 33 35.40N 075 47.88W 362 53 9.5 244 0 0 18/04/02 04:05 31
2 ILBK 33 33.76N 075 51.88W 364 48 8.4 238 2 +1 18/04/02 04:19 43
3 AONE 33 33.16N 075 53.84W 365 47 8 238 3 +2 18/04/02 04:25 31
4 AART 33 28.76N 075 54.72W 369 52 7.9 233 7 +2 18/04/02 04:52 33
5 TYCO 33 17.68N 076 15.20W 386 35 9.3 225 24 -4 18/04/02 06:29 28
6 TSEB 33 16.40N 076 11.84W 386 42 8.9 226 24 -2 18/04/02 06:30 20
7 DJCE 33 14.72N 076 23.16W 391 28 9.2 220 29 -4 18/04/02 07:01 21
8 ATOO 32 55.68N 076 27.16W 410 18 8.9 197 48 -3 18/04/02 08:54 9
Southampton, England, April 15, 2002 1000 GMT
Good News
News Corp has moved back into first, a position they haven’t been seen for
some time. They managed to sail a deeper course and are being pushed by
the Gulf Stream this bit further north. As a gybe to the north has to
follow soon, the two-mile gap they have opened up will give little
comfort. Overall leader illbruck and Amer Sports One are just waiting to
snatch the lead from News Corp. ASSA ABLOY, an early leader of this leg
has moved into fourth on the right lane they have chosen. They have
already gybed to the north as the wind has gone all the way to the
southwest.
Tyco, SEB and djuice are the three yachts that make up the second group.
SEB with double gold medal winner Mark Reynolds on board is in control of
the opposition at the moment. Tyco currently in sixth has a lot of
pressure to get a top result and not fall behind the group of yachts that
are fighting for the top overall places.
Amer Sports Too was the first yacht to gybe onto port tack and is biting
the bullet to sail into the back of the whole fleet.
Volvo Ocean Race Position Report, Day 3, 1000 GMT
PS Yacht Latitude Longitude DTF CMG SMG TFHR DTL DTL-C ETA PO
1 NEWS 32 51.04N 076 25.52W 413 54 10.9 256 0 0 18/04/02 03:18 31
2 ILBK 32 49.56N 076 24.92W 415 56 10.7 253 2 +2 18/04/02 03:26 43
3 AONE 32 49.64N 076 27.00W 415 55 10.6 254 2 +1 18/04/02 03:29 31
4 AART 32 47.72N 076 27.68W 417 51 10.4 249 4 +1 18/04/02 03:41 33
5 TSEB 32 40.48N 076 56.00W 434 54 11.3 233 21 -2 18/04/02 05:20 21
6 TYCO 32 37.52N 076 54.12W 436 52 11.3 232 23 -2 18/04/02 05:32 27
7 DJCE 32 35.72N 077 00.96W 440 48 11.4 231 27 -3 18/04/02 05:57 21
8 ATOO 32 10.60N 076 39.92W 456 16 7.4 214 43 +7 18/04/02 07:31 9
Southampton, England, April 16, 2002 0400 GMT
Gamble doesn’t pay off…. - so far!
It is starting to look like the gamble taken onboard Amer Sports Too is
not going to pay off after all. Having taken a gamble and been the most
easterly yacht for the leg so far, the girls have slowly started to drop
further behind the leaders, especially now that the fleet are generally
taking a more easterly route as they follow the coast up towards
Baltimore. The east – west split, which at one point stood at nearly 90
miles has now closed to a 50 nautical mile gap whilst onboard Amer Sports
Too the distance to the leading yacht illbruck has increased to 33
nautical miles.
Elsewhere in the fleet News Corp has managed to creep into second place,
slightly ahead of ASSA ABLOY and Amer Sports One, whilst illbruck is
holding onto a narrow lead of only one nautical mile. Further back SEB
has managed to edge narrowly ahead of Tyco over the last few hours too, as
well as starting to close the gap to leaders and djuice is still holding
onto seventh position, but is just one mile ahead of Amer Sports Too. It
is looking to be a close a race as ever as the fleet enjoys some great
reaching and running conditions before they tackle the fickle winds of
Chesapeake Bay.
Volvo Ocean Race Position Report, Day 3, 0412 GMT
PS Yacht Latitude Longitude DTF CMG SMG TFHR DTL DTL-C ETA PO
1 ILBK 32 04.72N 077 25.84W 477 43 11.3 258 0 0 17/04/02 21:50 44
2 NEWS 32 04.68N 077 27.60W 478 41 11.5 258 1 -1 17/04/02 22:00 30
3 AART 32 02.40N 077 25.88W 479 43 11.4 255 2 0 17/04/02 22:13 34
4 AONE 32 03.60N 077 28.44W 479 41 11.5 257 2 -1 17/04/02 22:13 30
5 TSEB 32 01.12N 078 10.80W 501 54 12.9 241 24 -4 18/04/02 02:43 21
6 TYCO 31 54.44N 078 02.04W 502 56 12 238 25 -1 18/04/02 02:57 27
7 DJCE 31 47.08N 078 03.24W 509 45 10.8 233 32 +2 18/04/02 04:29 21
8 ATOO 31 22.28N 077 08.84W 510 30 10.8 231 33 +2 18/04/02 04:41 9
|
