Betreff: STAMM headS FOR FALKLANDS PIT-STOP Absender: "Aroundalone" Empfänger: redaktion@segel.de Datum: 24. Feb 2003 21:52 STAMM headS FOR FALKLANDS PIT-STOP STAMM'S BID FOR OVERALL VICTORY IS UNDER THREAT After much reflection and consultation upon all the options for repair open to him, Bernard Stamm is now heading for the Falkland Islands. He was less than 200 miles from Port Stanley this afternoon, which is in the South East of the index island. "With the means I have on board, I have made a repair that will hold for about 400 miles: at the Falklands, everything is there for me to make this repair last until Bahia." Pierre Rolland and Denis Glehen are working on the job list for Stamm, as Catherine Rouge, Bernard's partner, and shore team Benoît Lequin and JC Caso get the operation into action so that Bernard will arrive in port with a team ready to get to work on the boat. Philippe Poupon, a skipper who knows the resources of this region well, is on side to help find an effective team. The clock is ticking - this must be the shortest possible pit-stop in the knowledge that the skipper and boat will be penalised 48 hours for receiving outside assistance. Currently on 30 points after three consecutive victories, Bernard Stamm cannot afford to lose such an advantage, which he has fought so hard to gain. Thierry Dubois, his direct rival, is only 3 points behind him. So a fourth placing in this leg will in effect put Bernard on equal points with the skipper of Solidaires. It is in light airs that Bobst Group/Armor Lux moves along at 6 knots boatspeed, the skipper estimating his arrival at Port Stanley on Wednesday morning at the latest. "I need to keep on manoeuvring the boat all the time but with some caution. I can't push her as I'd like, as the keel is the counterweight to all the pressure taken by the rig, and it is in no state to support such big loads. At least the moderate conditions are not threatening the safety of the boat, but the race against time has begun. At 14:00GMT, Bobst Group/Armor Lux was 64 miles ahead of Solidaires, 563m ahead of Hexagon - who is stopping as well to fix the broken boom - and 565m ahead of Tiscali. Beschädigter Kiel von Bobst Armor Gr. Cape Horn - die schlimmste Landmarke der Erde photo - Brian Hancock Bernard Stamm hat als Erster am Kap gut Lachen Bernard Stamm photo POSITIONS AT 1400GMT 24th FEBRUARY 2003 You can track the race boats using RayTech 4.1 navigational software by going to the Positions page online and clicking on the link to the Raymarine website at the top of the index chart. Free copies of the RayTech 4.1 software are available on CD - please contact Sabina Mollart-Rogerson on email: sabina@adpr.co.uk Class 1 Boat Lat Lon AvgBsp Avgheading DTF 1 Bobst Group-Armor Lux 53 56.240 S 61 48.020 W 4.29 kt 56 °T 2718.30 nm 2 Solidaires 54 09.410 S 64 14.360 W 10.33 kt 34 °T 2782.71 nm 3 Hexagon 55 59.710 S 77 14.700 W 12.42 kt 97 °T 3281.21 nm 4 Tiscali 56 36.050 S 77 21.410 W 11.36 kt 98 °T 3283.71 nm 5 Ocean Planet 55 24.000 S 81 53.430 W 10.30 kt 110 °T 3441.60 nm 6 Pindar 54 53.500 S 84 04.000 W 11.13 kt 108 °T 3520.93 nm Class 2 Boat Lat Lon AvgBsp Avgheading DTF 1 Tommy Hilfiger Freedom America 54 02.480 S 88 31.530 W 11.23 kt 73 °T 3684.39 nm 2 Everest Horizontal 52 49.890 S 103 10.040 W 11.70 kt 94 °T 4199.67 nm 3 Spirit of yukoh 50 57.340 S 110 34.250 W 8.70 kt 90 °T 4495.26 nm 4 BTC Velocity 52 18.120 S 122 20.000 W 9.32 kt 71 °T 4840.74 nm 5 Spirit of Canada 50 44.220 S 128 25.140 W 8.77 kt 98 °T 5083.61 nm Absender: "Aroundalone" Empfänger: redaktion@segel.de Datum: 24. Feb 2003 21:48 SURVIVING THE SAVAGE SEAS Brad Van Liew deals with the cold on board Tommy Hilfiger Freedom America - Brad Van Liew photo Thierry Dubois works Solidaires in the Southern Ocean - Thierry Dubois photo Bruce Schwab and Ocean Planet rig after the boom broke in the Southern Ocean - photo Schwab It's a hard push for the Around Alone yachts as they get pounded by atrocious conditions deep in the Southern Ocean. What may have started as a relatively easy leg has turned into living hell for most of the skippers. Simone Bianchetti on Tiscali has moved into third place ahead of Graham Dalton on Hexagon who suffered a broken boom a few days ago, but despite his good showing life on board in anything but fun. "I have right now 50 knots blowing from the northeast," he wrote. "It's on the nose and I have just my storm jib up, but the boat is still going at 11-12 knots. The waves are very strong and short so I am taking care of the boat to get round Cape Horn safely and with no damage. I cannot sleep in this kind of weather and there is worse to come in 24 hours when I will be rounding Cape Horn. There is nothing I can do on deck so I stay in the cabin keeping watch and eating lots of pasta for energy to keep me going." Further back in the fleet Brad Van Liew on Tommy Hilfiger Freedom America was also getting pounded. During the satellite call the sound of waves constantly breaking over the boat could be heard in the background. "It's gusting 63 knots out here," Brad said, yelling above the noise on board. "It's another full-on Southern Ocean gale and it's not pleasant." The wind was blowing from the southwest and the seas were better than those being experienced by Tiscali, but the conditions were no less harsh. "I have just spoken with Emma (Richards) and she has the same wind. Her barometer is down around 962 (millibars). This is just like a tropical storm, but this is definitely not the tropics. It's freezing! The wind is blowing right off the Antarctic ice cap." While Bianchetti and Van Liew and the rest of the yachts still in the Southern Ocean deal with the strong winds, things have improved markedly for the two boats already around Cape Horn. Most of all for Thierry Dubois who celebrates his 36th birthday today. Less than a day after rounding the famous landmark Dubois reports, that "the weather is calm, the sun is out and it's a beautiful day!" By rounding the Horn Thierry has accomplished something that has eluded him on two previous attempts. He is intact (his first attempt resulted in a capsize and subsequent rescue) and he is still in the race (his second attempt, during the Vendee Globe, was successful, but he had already been disqualified for stopping). This time he is not only in good shape, but with Class 1 leader Bernard Stamm dealing with keel damage Thierry is confident that he can reel in the Swiss sailor and take line honors for the leg. At last poll Dubois had narrowed the gap between the two boats to just 64 miles, down from almost 200 miles two days ago. In an satellite call Thierry described his rounding. "Passing the Horn was amazing - it was right there in front of me! It was fairly stormy conditions, but the light was spectacular. I drank a little bit of champagne and found a special CD with silly songs and messages from my family and friends which has kept me laughing all day." Dubois is the most experienced of all the skippers in this race and knows as well as anyone that winning a leg can be the difference between holding your boat together, or having it come apart. He was philosophical about the problems faced his arch rival Bernard Stamm. "I was sorry to hear about the problems with Bernard and the others," he said. "I guess my only reaction is that it's really swings and roundabouts in this race. The last leg I had major sail damage and was compromised in performance for half of the leg. This time Bernard has a problem with his keel. I have no damage to my boat at all, so may be it's my turn." Both the leaders have under 3,000 miles to sail to Salvador. A long, hard passage still lies ahead of them and Bernard Stamm is not yet conceding a leg win to Thierry Dubois. He reports that he has stabilized his keel and has not yet reached a decision about stopping. "The repair on the keel board above the axis inside the boat is holding well," he reported, "Bobst Group Armor lux is progressing well at 8 knots with the wind on the beam. I have two reefs in the indexsail and the Solent set, and a much calmer sea. The boat has covered 234 miles in the last day, which is not bad for a boat running at 20% of her potential." The next boat to round Cape Horn will likely be Tiscali followed by Hexagon, Ocean Planet and Pindar. Brad Van Liew on Tommy Hilfiger Freedom America still has a huge lead over his Class 2 rivals and expects to round the horn late Wednesday or Thursday morning. At 1200 GMT today he was 660 miles from the Cape. Once again Happy Birthday Thierry - hope you have a great day. --- Brian Hancock great.circle@verizon.net Absender: "Aroundalone" Datum: 24. Feb 2003 18:27 SOUTH ATLANTIC TAKE OVER BID DUBOIS AND BIANCHETTI POISED TO MOVE UP THE LEADERBOARD STAMM'S KEEL HOLDS BUT LEAD HALVED EYE OF THE STORM OVER PINDAR AND TOMMY HILFIGER Southampton, England - 24th February 03. French skipper Thierry Dubois on Solidaires, who has had more than his fair share of misfortune playing second fiddle to Bernard Stamm in every leg so far of Around Alone 2002-03, turned 36 years old as he passed Cape Horn and left the Southern Ocean unscathed over last night. "At the third attempt I have succeeded in rounding Cape Horn single-handed, still in the race and still intact! Just one thing was missing from this passage - to be in the leadÂ… I have not totally given up on this, another day, another race, as part of a crew perhapsÂ…?" The competition for the coveted points is going to get fierce up the Atlantic with the recent shake-up experienced by half of Class 1. Solidaires is just 64 miles behind and going twice the speed of the wounded Bobst Group - Armor Lux. The repair that skipper Bernard Stamm has effected on the damaged keel board above the axis inside the boat is holding well, but the boat is "at 20% of her potential," according to Stamm, with 2 reefs and Solent set. Raymarine weather files show that for these two the winds have abated to 10 knots on their beam as they head towards the Falkland Islands some 200 miles away. No decision has been taken as yet for the Swiss leader to stop at these islands, despite being the natural option. Italian skipper Simone Bianchetti on Tiscali is now neck and neck with Kiwi Graham Dalton on Hexagon as the latter heads towards the Chilean coastline still at a fair rate of knots despite the broken boom. Bianchetti is unable to take stock of his imminent move up to 3rd place as he explained in a satellite phone call today: "I have right now 50 knots from the North East, it's on the nose, and I have just my storm jib up, but the boat is still going at 11-12 knots. The waves are very strong and short so I am taking care of the boat to get round Cape Horn safely and with no damage. There is worse to come in 24hrs when I will be rounding Cape Horn." In fact the latest weather file from Raymarine (www.raymarine.com) shows the low pressure to be sweeping Eastwards and descending South below the fleet, generating North westerly winds in excess of 40 knots for the batch of boats in Class 1 rounding Cape Horn over the next two days. This includes the injured Open 60 Ocean Planet, and American skipper Bruce Schwab, who is two days from the Horn. He has made a temporary repair from plywood and epoxy to fill the hole on deck, but there is a long crack all the way to the runner winch too. "I'm still debating whether to stop in Ushuaia or the Falklands. Graham's team will be taking a boat from Ushuaia to meet him and Hexagon's repairs can apparently be done at anchor. I need to get the boom inside somewhere with the necessary equipment and heat. We are just too far south and it is too cold to try an onboard "Yves Parlier" style fix, but Graham's guys are bringing some extra carbon cloth that I'll need to fix the boom that may be hard to come by in the Falklands." With just over 500m to go until the exit sign, British skipper Emma Richards on Pindar and American skipper leading Class 2, Brad Van Liew on Tommy Hilfiger Freedom America, are both trapped in the eye of the low pressure system before it moves to the South and below the fleet ahead. The winds eerily die from 40 to 15 knots and the barometer plunges to around 960 in a matter of hours, but it is merely the calm before the storm: "I am under no disillusions of what is about to happen out here," reports Emma. "My storm jib is staying put although I am bobbing around like a cork at the moment in this awful swell. I am prepared as I can be, and must still just try to get to the Horn as safely as possible! The other side of this storm can't be far away although the sun is shining and it looks beautiful. Holding onto my hat!" POSITIONS AT 1400GMT 24th FEBRUARY 2003 You can track the race boats using RayTech 4.1 navigational software by going to the Positions page online and clicking on the link to the Raymarine website at the top of the index chart. Free copies of the RayTech 4.1 software are available on CD - please contact Sabina Mollart-Rogerson on email: sabina@adpr.co.uk Class 1 Boat Lat Lon AvgBsp Avgheading DTF 1 Bobst Group-Armor Lux 53 56.240 S 61 48.020 W 4.29 kt 56 °T 2718.30 nm 2 Solidaires 54 09.410 S 64 14.360 W 10.33 kt 34 °T 2782.71 nm 3 Hexagon 55 59.710 S 77 14.700 W 12.42 kt 97 °T 3281.21 nm 4 Tiscali 56 36.050 S 77 21.410 W 11.36 kt 98 °T 3283.71 nm 5 Ocean Planet 55 24.000 S 81 53.430 W 10.30 kt 110 °T 3441.60 nm 6 Pindar 54 53.500 S 84 04.000 W 11.13 kt 108 °T 3520.93 nm Class 2 Boat Lat Lon AvgBsp Avgheading DTF 1 Tommy Hilfiger Freedom America 54 02.480 S 88 31.530 W 11.23 kt 73 °T 3684.39 nm 2 Everest Horizontal 52 49.890 S 103 10.040 W 11.70 kt 94 °T 4199.67 nm 3 Spirit of yukoh 50 57.340 S 110 34.250 W 8.70 kt 90 °T 4495.26 nm 4 BTC Velocity 52 18.120 S 122 20.000 W 9.32 kt 71 °T 4840.74 nm 5 Spirit of Canada 50 44.220 S 128 25.140 W 8. 77 kt 98 °T 5083.61 nm International Media Relations: Mary Ambler - Email: mambler@clipper-ventures.com - Mobile: +44 (0) 7887 643 583 Around Alone TV - APP Broadcast Andrew Hawthorn - Email: ahawthorn@appbroadcast.com - Mobile NZ: +64 (0) 21 352 169 APP Broadcast London Office - Tel: +44 (0)208 964 4992 Official Photography - Marinepics International distribution: Ali McKichan - Email: info@marinepics.com - Tel: +44 (0) 1489 573753 Official Schools' Programme: HSBC Glocal Education Challenge - www.education.hsbc.com Betreff: STAMM FIRST TO THE HORN Absender: "Aroundalone" Empfänger: Datum: 24. Feb 2003 00:11 STAMM FIRST TO THE HORN 23rd February 2003 Bernard Stamm has rounded Cape Horn, the infamous landmark at the southern tip of South America. At 0600 GMT Sunday he was 40 miles from the corner sailing at 12 knots. While Bernard has not yet emailed to confirm that he is around, we can assume that with the cracking pace he has been setting that he is safely past the lighthouse that marks the gateway between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. It will be a momentous occasion for the Swiss sailor who, despite his long sailing resume, has not notched up a Cape Horn rounding. Until now. StammÂ’s pace from New Zealand has again been nothing short of remarkable. Until we get his official time for rounding, we cannot calculate his time from Tauranga, but itÂ’s roughly 14 and a half days. When you compare this against the Volvo Ocean race leaders who rounded in just over 14 days, you get a sense of what an extraordinary sailor this man is. Since leaving New Zealand Bernard has had his foot firmly on the pedal and has not let up the pace for even a second. The cracking pace of Bobst Group Armor lux led fellow Class 1 skipper Emma Richards, no stranger to Cape Horn herself, to write, "I continue to watch in amazement, no fascination, as Bernard keeps clocking massive average speeds. He will exit the Southern Ocean in the next few hours and I still have 900miles to go!" Indeed Stamm has blown the doors off everybody and looks set to tackle the second stage of Leg 4 with the same intensity. Only a major breakdown can stop him now. --- Brian Hancock great.circle@verizon.net TROUBLE FOR BERNARD STAMM 23rd February 2003 Latest news: At 2200 GMT Thierry Dubois on Solidaires was abeam of Cape Horn. The wind was blowing from the northwest at 25 knots. Thierry said to his shore team that he was very moved by the occasion, as he celebrates his 36th birthday on the 24th February - twice the excuse to open the champagne bottle he has aboard! Dubois has narrowed the gap betweeen himself and Stamm to 105 miles. Bobst Group Armor lux was in the Straits of LeMaire after sailing from Cape Horn in more moderate conditions. Original story: Bernard Stamm is safely around Cape Horn and heading for the Straits of Le Maire, a narrow strip of water that separates Staten Island from the indexland of Argentina. It's a body of water where tidal rips can cause a skipper headaches, but they are not the only problem that will be giving Stamm a headache over the next few days. In an earlier report I said the only thing that can foil Bernard's fourth straight victory is a major breakdown, and it appears that the tenacious Swiss skipper is facing just that kind of a problem. In an email to Race Operations earlier today Bernard revealed that he has serious problems with his keel. His email message was short and to the point. "I've got a big problem with my keel," he wrote. "The upper part that I use to maneuver the keel has broken. I can hold the keel with ropes in the middle, but now I have to think about the best thing to do." Bobst Group Armor lux has a very modern keel that has been refined and simplified by Bernard and the boats designer Pierre Roland. The keel is able to cant from side to side, and this canting mechanism is what gives the boat its massive stability when sailing with the wind forward of the beam. Cant the keel to windward, and the three-and-a-half ton bulb on the bottom of a four-and-a-half meter long blade pushes down keeping the boat upright instead of it heeling over. The keel passes through the hull, pivoting where it enters the interior of the boat. The top of the keel is a further meter and a half above this pivot point and a series of blocks and tackle are used to move this lever arm to cant the keel from side to side. It's not 100% clear what has happened on Bobst Group Armor lux, but from subsequent reports from the boat is appears as if the lever arm has snapped off. If this is the case then Stamm is in real trouble. He may be able to stabilize the keel on centerline, which is what he appears to have done, but how long it will reindex there is a question without an answer. In any event he will not be able to cant the keel to windward, and with the prospect of a 3,000 mile beat to Salvador, this is not good news. The other part of Stamm's problem is sailing 150 miles astern; namely Thierry Dubois on Solidaires. Thierry has made it clear that his strategy has always been to push just hard enough to stay in touch with Stamm until the Horn, and then open up the throttles and push hard to the finish. With Bobst Group Armor lux's performance compromised, the door is wide open for Dubois to charge into the lead. Bernard's options are limited. He can carry on the way he has been and hope, first of all, that the jury rig holds, and secondly that the wind does not blow too hard on the leg to Salvador, or he can stop and fix the boat. It appears to be too much of a repair to carry out on board. Stopping is the least attractive option because of the 48-hour penalty he will have to endure if he accepts outside assistance. Both Dubois, and Simone Bianchetti on Tiscali, are within 48 hours of Stamm and would likely finish ahead of him on elapsed time. To add to the pressure Bernard needs to make a decision soon. He is still close to land (Argentina) and could easily stop without wasting too much time, or he could sail on to the Falkland Islands and fix the keel there. Neither option is great, but carrying on the way things are might just be taking too much of a risk. A year ago an Open 50 had to be abandoned in the North Atlantic after the same problem occurred. The skippers was unable to secure the top of the keel leaving it to flail around wildly without any control, and finally the yacht was abandoned. You can be sure that incident is uppermost in Bernard Stamm's mind as he contemplates his options. This latest development is especially unfortunate after an amazing passage from Tauranga to Cape Horn. The rounding earlier today was a first for Stamm and he was treated to typical Cape Horn conditions. The wind was gusting 60 knots as Bobst Group Armor lux sailed towards the Cape under heavily reduce sail. Bernard report that the seas were "monstrous." With the boat surfing at 21 knots Stamm finally put the legendary Cape behind him and in doing so earned the right to wear an earring in his left ear (as if anyone feels they have to earn the right these days). We want to congratulate Bernard on his amazing passage across the Southern Ocean and wish him well with the problems he faces. We will keep you posted on the latest developments as they happen. --- Brian Hancock great.circle@verizon.net Copyright © 1996-2016 - SEGEL.DE