Pressemitteilung der illbruck Challenge vom 5. Tag der 7. Etappe des Volvo
Ocean Race
2. Mai 2002
„illbruck“ führt weiter / Mastbruch der Frauen
Vorsprung auf elf Seemeilen geschrumpft / „Amer Sports Too“ unter Notrigg
nach Halifax
Das Volvo Ocean Race Round the World 2001-2002 steht für die reine
Frauenmannschaft der „Amer Sports Too“ (Finnland/Italien) unter keinem
guten Stern. Nachdem das Team von Skipperin Lisa McDonald seit der ersten
Etappe mit der roten Laterne segelt, musste sie am Donnerstag die laufende
siebte Etappe von Annapolis/USA nach La Rochelle/Frankreich wegen
Mastbruchs aufgeben. Das Unglück ereignete sich bereits am Mittwoch Abend
bei vergleichsweise wenig Wind. Unterdessen verteidigte die Leverkusener
Hochseeyacht „illbruck“, die am Dienstag mit 484 Seemeilen einen neuen 24
Stunden-Weltrekord aufgestellt hatte, ihre Führung. Allerdings war der
Vorsprung am Mittwoch Mittag wegen schwächerer Winde an der Spitze des
Felds auf elf Seemeilen vor der „Assa Abloy“ (Schweden) geschrumpft.
Am fünften Tag nach dem Start an der Ostküste der USA wurden die
Bedingungen an Bord der Rennyachten allmählich ungemütlicher. Die
Wassertemperatur ist trotz des Golfstrom auf 16 Grad gesunken und die
frischen westlichen Winde um Stärke fünf sollten zum Wochenende hin wieder
zunehmen. Die „illbruck“ befand sich am Mittag noch 2.145 Seemeilen vor
dem Ziel direkt an der Sperrzone am 40. Grad nördlicher Breite die von der
Regattaleitung wegen der Eisgrenze ausgesprochen worden war. Wegen der
vorne schwächeren Winde hatten alle Konkurrenten Boden gut gemacht. Auf
Rang drei folgte die „Tyco“ (Bermudas), 16 Seemeilen zurück, vor „SEB“
(Schweden/23), „News Corp“ (Australien/28), „Amer Sports One“ (38) und
„djuice“ (Norwegen/52)
Es wehte kaum vier Windstärken aus Südwest, als der 26 Meter hohe
Kohlefasermast auf der „Amer Sports Too“ über der zweiten Saling in etwa
zehn Meter Höhe unvermittelt abbrach. „Wir haben noch keine Erklärung für
die Ursache“, so die Skipperin, die sich schweren Herzens zur Aufgabe der
Etappe entschloss. Das Boot segelt nun unter Notrigg ins knapp 200
Seemeilen entfernte Halifax auf der kanadischen Halbinsel Neuschottland
und soll mit einem Frachter nach La Rochelle gebracht werden, wo am 25.
Mai die vorletzte Etappe nach Göteborg beginnt.
Nachfolgend noch eine Email von Bord von Skipper John Kostecki zum
Weltrekord:
Wie fühlt es sich denn an, den Speedweltrekord zu brechen?
Von Skipper John Kostecki
Es fühlt sich großartig an! Das Team ist hochmotiviert und stolz auf diese
Leistung. Bis zum letzten Sechs-Stunden-Report haben wir nicht wirklich
über den Rekord nachgedacht. Erst als wir sahen, dass wir in den
abgelaufenen sechs Stunden 127 Seemeilen geschafft hatten, haben wir uns
nochmals richtig ins Zeug gelegt, weil wir dann realisierten, dass es eine
gute Chance gab, den Rekord zu brechen. Wir haben aber nicht bewusst
versucht, den Rekord zu brechen. Es ist einfach passiert. Unser Ziel
lautet, die siebte Etappe auf dem Podium zu beenden. Deshalb konzentrieren
wir uns allein darauf, und nicht auf Rekorde. Wir haben den Rekord
gebrochen, indem wir das Boot in günstigen Bedingungen hart gepuscht
haben. Wir hatten während der 24 Stunden drei verschiedene Spinnaker oben.
Unsere Crew hat großartige Arbeit geleistet, weil sie das Boot schnell
gesegelt hat, ohne Fehler zu machen. Wir haben den Golfstrom gut
ausgenutzt – etwas besser als unsere Konkurrenten. Das hat uns noch einen
Extraschub nach vorne gegeben. Der Golfstromschub war zeitweise bis zu
drei Knoten stark. Grundsätzlich hatten wir viel Glück, zum richtigen
Zeitpunkt am richtigen Ort gewesen zu sein. Das schnelle Segeln in
günstigen Bedingungen und der Extraschub durch den Golfstrom haben den
Weltrekord erst möglich gemacht. Ein besonderer Dank gilt unser Shore Crew
und den Helfern für all die harte Arbeit, die sie in das Boot und das
Programm gesteckt haben. Und danke an unseren Sponsor illbruck für die
anhaltende Unterstützung durch das gesamte Volvo Ocean Race hindurch.
John Kostecki
illbruck Challenge
Southampton, England, May 2, 2002 Day 5
Amer Sports Too Breaks Mast
Disaster struck Lisa McDonald’s Amer Sports Too when they were dismasted
at 1645 GMT yesterday afternoon - all crew are safe and no one was
injured. At the time Amer Sport Too was lying at 39 14.92N, 058 21.5W,
roughly 400 miles south east of Halifax, Nova Scotia. After considering
all available options after the dismasting, skipper Lisa McDonald decided
to turn towards Halifax / Nova Scotia and retire from this leg.
The mast broke at the second set of spreaders while they were sailing in
around 14 knots of wind from the southwest. “There was a loud bang and the
mast came down,” commented McDonald in an email from the stricken boat.
“We don't know why it broke. Once we have sorted ourselves out and got
underway again we will take a very close look.” She said they were not
going through any sort of manoeuvre at the time, so it seems fair to guess
that it was indeed a problem with the hardware rather than the crew work.
“I can’t really say at this stage. Until we can get it down would be
unfair to say, but I believe to be a technical failure,” Lisa continued.
"We have been talking to the shore crew and syndicate management to see
what's feasible," commented McDonald. "They're working through the
possibilities now. One option is to turn around and head for Canada and
ship the yacht to France where the spare rig can be stepped. The other
option is to continue to La Rochelle and hope that we make it in time for
the restart on May 25."
On board Amer Sports Too the crew have cut away the broken topmast and
rather than throw it overboard have managed to lash it securely to the
deck. They have set about stabilising the reindexing 10 metres of their
26-metre mast and will have to re-cut some of their existing sails to fit
the new reduced sail plan. “There's enough mast left to set up a
reasonably effective jury rig," wrote McDonald.
McDonald, Bridget Suckling, Keryn Henderson, Anna Drougge and Katie
Pettibone all sailed on EF Education in the Whitbread Round the World Race
four years ago and have already had experience of setting up such a jury
rig. During that race their boat was dismasted in the Southern Ocean and
they were forced to limp into southern Chile.
Lisa McDonald spoke to the Volvo Oean Race HQ via radio link-up: “We’re
all gutted, everyone wants to do well, and we had high expectations for
this leg.” Prior experience doesn’t make these situations any easier to
cope with emotionally, but at least the team was able to set to and deal
with the carnage quickly and effectively.
McDonald ran through the build-up to the disaster. “It was quite a nice
day out, 10 to 15 knots of breeze, sailing along at normal angles, when we
heard quite a loud bang.” The origin of the bang wasn’t immediately
obvious, and McDonald looked back to check some of the rigging like the
running backstays.
Then they looked up as the mast came tumbling down, 10 metres above the
deck. “The tip was in the water, and it was all hands on deck to get the
index back on board. The wind increased which made it a little more
difficult, trying to salvage all the bits and pieces. I was just pleased
to get everything back on board and that no on was hurt.”
After securing the rig and getting Amer Sports Too somewhere close back to
being ship shape, next question was where to go next. “Did we carry on for
another 2,500 miles across the Atlantic or make for the nearest port, in
our case, Halifax about 400 miles away?” she explained.
With a spare rig in England, it shouldn’t be too difficult to get the
girls up and running in time for the restart from La Rochelle on 25 May,
certainly not compared with the epic trip that SEB’s spare rig had to
endure down to Rio de Janeiro. But it was not yet clear to McDonald as to
whether it would be feasible quite yet. “We’re all quite happy we’re not a
thousand miles away from the nearest land [as could have been the case in
the Southern Ocean], and it would be nice to think we can get over there
[to La Rochelle] in time for the next leg.” But they have yet to locate a
suitable cargo ship that happens to be heading in the right direction. “I
don’t know about that, that’s not my department.”
djuice’s Anthony ‘Nocka’ Nossiter managed to pick out a silver lining from
the dark cloud hanging over Amer Sports Too right now. “We just heard the
girls dropped their rig! Lucky they are a tuff bunch of sorts. They'll
handle it well and with a great story for their children one day. Imagine
being able to tell your kids of some of the tales mommy took on in her
youth, before she settled down. I wouldn't believe my mom if she told me
of such tales, and I think the 'chicks' are going to have trouble making
their kids believe one day.”
News Corp has had their own déjà vu as they hit a submerged object again.
“The last four hours have been among our most eventful, doing up to 25
knots of boat speed in 28 knots of breeze, boat completely underwater at
times. Then, in the last hour, the breeze started to die. Next thing, we
hit something, a soft hit rather than hard hit - would have been a fish –
can’t think what else it would be out here. We slowed down a bit, so we
had to back the boat down, and get rid of whatever it was we were
trawling. It’s been a very eventful part of our lives,” Jez Fanstone
reported.
After the slower sailing yesterday, the speeds are up again for the Volvo
Ocean Race fleet and they are on course for a fast crossing. Illbruck is
still leading on a middle course with ASSA ABLOY and Tyco positioned on a
slightly more northerly lane while SEB, News Corp, Amer Sports One and
djuice have chosen to stay to the south. Over the last hours all boats
were able to close in on the race leader. The wind is in the lower
twenties and the water temperature has dropped to 16 degree Celsius.
Southampton, England, May 2nd, 2002 2200 GMT
There But for the Grace of God………
The crews of the reindexing 7 boats in this leg of the Volvo Ocean Race
have expressed sadness at hearing of the demise of the girls’ mast on
board Amer Sports Too, and messages of moral support have been arriving at
RHQ. They are only too well aware of the risks they are taking by pushing
the boats so hard, and Knut Frostad, skipper of Djuice, sums up the
situation succinctly when he says:
“All in all it’s a reminder for all of us that we are pushing these boats
to the extreme limits; a tiny piece failing, or some seconds with less
than 100% concentration behind the wheel, and you can lose a sail, or in
the worst case, your rig”
Volvo Ocean Race Position Report, Day 5, 2204 GMT
PS Yacht Latitude Longitude DTF CMG SMG TFHR DTL DTL-C ETA PO
1 ILBK 39 51.80N 046 07.08W 1980 92 13.6 388 0 0 09/05/02 18:51 49
2 AART 39 49.96N 046 29.52W 1997 93 14.1 384 17 -3 09/05/02 20:18 41
3 TYCO 39 44.96N 046 30.64W 1999 94 13.7 389 19 0 09/05/02 20:26 33
4 TSEB 39 39.88N 046 53.76W 2015 89 13 374 35 +1 09/05/02 21:46 26
5 NEWS 39 48.12N 046 57.20W 2019 87 13.4 375 39 +1 09/05/02 22:04 35
6 AONE 39 45.84N 047 05.28W 2025 92 13.9 380 45 -2 09/05/02 22:34 35
7 DJCE 39 38.32N 047 17.76W 2036 97 14.5 391 56 -4 09/05/02 23:31 23
8 ATOO 41 46.40N 059 44.72W Retired - - - - - - -
Southampton, England, May 2, 2002 1600 GMT
Skirting The Edge
The light wind that was forecast did not materialise and the yachts are
once again flying at breathtaking speed towards the east, skirting the
edge of the so-called ‘ice box’ exclusion zone. Djuice was the fastest
yacht over the last 24-hour period, covering more than 400 miles. The wind
is at a constant 25 knots from the southwest and the influence of the Gulf
Stream is constantly getting less. The yachts closest to the exclusion
zone are ASSA ABLOY, illbruck and Tyco, at a point just 2.5 miles away.
Amer Sports One, djuice, News Corp and SEB have chosen to be further away
to the south, giving them more tactical options until they reach the
eastern corner, 130 miles away.
Amer Sports Too is about 250 miles from Halifax. But because of the head
wind and the seaway, Amer Sports Too is sailing at about 30 deg off a
direct course and Lisa McDonald estimates they will arrive at Halifax in
48 hours.
Volvo Ocean Race Position Report, Day 5, 1554 GMT
PS Yacht Latitude Longitude DTF CMG SMG TFHR DTL DTL-C ETA PO
1 ILBK 39 54.72N 047 52.80W 2060 88 18.2 384 0 0 10/05/02 03:03 49
2 TYCO 39 51.24N 048 16.56W 2079 90 18.3 388 19 +3 10/05/02 04:39 34
3 AART 39 54.60N 048 18.96W 2080 91 17.4 382 20 +9 10/05/02 04:48 40
4 TSEB 39 38.52N 048 34.56W 2094 95 16.9 374 34 +11 10/05/02 05:59 26
5 NEWS 39 44.32N 048 41.44W 2098 92 16.9 372 38 +10 10/05/02 06:22 35
6 AONE 39 48.64N 048 52.84W 2107 88 17.1 379 47 +9 10/05/02 07:05 35
7 DJCE 39 48.16N 049 09.52W 2120 84 17.1 401 60 +8 10/05/02 08:12 23
8 ATOO 41 35.48N 058 58.56W 2578 335 4.7 143 518 +205 13/05/02 13:45 10
Southampton, England, May 2, 2002 1000 GMT
Amer Sports Too Retires From Leg Seven
After considering all available options after the dismasting yesterday,
skipper Lisa McDonald decided to turn towards Halifax / Nova Scotia and
retire from this leg. One of the options is to find a cargo ship that can
take the yacht to La Rochelle to be ready for the next leg, starting on 25
May.
After the slower sailing yesterday, the speeds are up again for the Volvo
Ocean Race fleet and they are on course for a fast crossing. Illbruck is
still leading on a middle course with ASSA ABLOY and Tyco positioned on a
slightly more northerly lane while SEB, News Corp, Amer Sports One and
djuice have chosen to stay to the south. Over the last skeds all boats
were able to close in on the race leader. The wind is in the lower
twenties and the water temperature has dropped to 16 degree Celsius.
Volvo Ocean Race Position Report, Day 5, 1000 GMT
PS Yacht Latitude Longitude DTF CMG SMG TFHR DTL DTL-C ETA PO
1 ILBK 39 51.56N 050 10.40W 2145 89 15.4 338 0 0 10/05/02 04:37 49
2 AART 39 57.00N 050 30.48W 2156 83 15.2 338 11 -3 10/05/02 05:36 41
3 TYCO 39 51.88N 050 33.84W 2161 89 15.9 337 16 -3 10/05/02 06:02 33
4 TSEB 39 47.48N 050 41.08W 2168 81 15 335 23 -2 10/05/02 06:36 26
5 NEWS 39 47.00N 050 48.68W 2173 85 15.5 334 28 -3 10/05/02 07:04 35
6 AONE 39 44.76N 051 02.04W 2183 84 16.2 332 38 -8 10/05/02 07:58 35
7 DJCE 39 38.44N 051 18.16W 2197 91 16.8 351 52 -6 10/05/02 09:10 23
8 ATOO 41 10.60N 058 43.24W 2458 344 6.8 135 313 xxxx xxxxxx 10
Last bit of the Gulf Stream.
As the index fleet of the Volvo Ocean Race blast reach across the Atlantic
they are still in the reindexs of the Gulf Stream and as reported from the
boats, quite warm sailing so far. But that is all set to change shortly as
a large low is expected to come through and compress against the Azores
high, lots of wind and a very fast ride.
This power reaching along with a fractional chute up is reported by SEB to
be ‘fast and fun’.
All yachts except Djuice Dragons lost out marginally to the leaders
Illbruck. Currently second and third placed ASSA ABLOY and Tyco only by
one mile each, but SEB lost three and News Corp five. Amer Sports One
lost nine miles in the last six hours.
Volvo Ocean Race Position Report, Day 5, 0457 GMT
PS Yacht Latitude Longitude DTF CMG SMG TFHR DTL DTL-C ETA PO
1 ILBK 39 49.88N 051 56.44W 2218 92 17.9 328 0 0 10/05/02 05:42 49
2 AART 39 46.80N 052 14.52W 2232 87 17 334 14 +1 10/05/02 06:54 41
3 TYCO 39 51.00N 052 24.44W 2237 86 19.2 323 19 +1 10/05/02 07:19 33
4 TSEB 39 35.12N 052 22.84W 2243 94 16 338 25 +9 10/05/02 07:51 26
5 NEWS 39 39.72N 052 34.84W 2249 78 17.8 333 31 +5 10/05/02 08:23 35
6 AONE 39 36.00N 052 53.12W 2264 83 18.2 319 46 -9 10/05/02 09:38 35
7 DJCE 39 40.36N 053 13.52W 2276 91 19.4 336 58 0 10/05/02 10:40 23
8 ATOO 40 35.68N 058 30.36W 2549 343 9.1 178 331 +169 11/05/02 10:25 10
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