Betreff: HOT AND SLOW GOING Absender: "Aroundalone" Empfänger: redaktion@segel.de Datum: 13. Mar 2003 20:09 HOT AND SLOW GOING Latest update: 15:43:13 local time (18:43:13 GMT). Simone Bianchetti on Tiscali has just crossed the finish line to take third place in Class 1 on Leg 4. Original story: While we wait for the arrival of Simone Bianchetti on Tiscali, the rest of the fleet is still battling hot, humid conditions and fickle winds. Tim Kent on Everest Horizontal was finally able to ease sheets for a little while and recorded a 200 mile day, a paltry distance for one of these boats but a decent run considering the speeds made over the past few days. "Finally, a 200 mile day," he wrote. "They were tough miles; yesterday morning's reaching weather turned quickly back to a close reach, then a beat in order to stay on the same course. The rhythmic syncopation of the boat falling hard off of waves with a BANG, shuddering everything in the boat, went on all day, all night, and continues now. But the end result was a lot of miles flowing under the keel, which is the only result I am after." Further to the north Emma Richards on Pindar is counting down the miles to the finish and thinking longingly about fresh fruit and iced drinks. Her pre-dawn log was optimistic about the final push to the finish. "ItÂ’s great to get some good miles in overnight," she wrote. The breeze really picked up, but now as I am nearing dawn, the wind has dropped right down again and backed. I expect another repeat of the last 24 hours - a slow day ahead followed by a good evening breeze." The nights seem to be the only time these skippers get some respite for the pounding heat. Simone Bianchetti macht vor Freude Handstand Simone Bianchetti visiert die Ziellinie an Simone Bianchetti kurz vor dem Ziel Brad van Liew sailing Tommy Hilfiger Freedom America way out front in Class 2 described life on board. "It is damn hot onboard this boat," he wrote. "115 degrees to be exact. Down below in the living module it feels like a brutal steam room gone mad. On deck it is so wet that I canÂ’t stay up there for long in the upwind conditions I have. So I sweat it out, literally. IÂ’m drinking at least 2 liters of water per day and I still feel dehydrated. IÂ’ve never felt anything like it. This is brutal! I am so close to the finish, yet the wind is coming right at me. I continue to tack back and forth inching my way to Brazil. I want air conditioning! I want a salad! I want anything cool, crisp and refreshing! Did I mention it was hot out here? Ha!" he signed his log, "Soaked, salty, and sweaty." The dark blue decks on the boat absorb the heat making the living conditions on Tomy Hilfiger freedom America even worse than on the other boats. Kojiro Shiraishi has finally stopped giving Tim Kent a headache by slowly grinding down the larger Open 50. The pounding headwinds are making life on board difficult. "The forecast is for the winds to soon change to the south," he wrote. "Thank God. I could not stand another day of 30 knots on the nose. I have just now been able to change course to north, so at least we feel we are sailing towards Salvador and in the right direction." Koji was also grateful to his boat for taking the pounding without complaining. "Yukoh has now sailed one and a half times around the world now and I should really be showing my gratitude to her. Sailing hard, but not going to do any undue damage to our fine boat." Meanwhile Bruce Schwab on Ocean Planet was being treated to a spectacular mid-ocean sight. "I was flabbergasted to see the most stunning full double rainbow I have ever seen," he wrote. "Two complete colorful hoops, with the index center one filled with a mysterious light glow. It was huge! So big in fact that the legs of the bows were actually behind some low clouds on the horizon. Grabbing the camera for a few shots, I was then transfixed for several minutes." At the back of the fleet Alan Paris continues his steady slog north. A scare with the radar coming loose from the mast a couple of days ago reminded Alan that he has been at sea for a month and sailed BTC Velocity through some of the toughest conditions on the planet. "I guess its not surprising that some things are beginning to wear and break," he wrote. "I have been at sea for 30 days this leg and had some pretty horrendous weather in the past seven days. I am and should be glad that the radar mount did not break during the night when it was a full gale." Truer words have never been spoken. Derek Hatfield and Graham Dalton are still in port working on their boats and considering their options for continuing the race. --- Brian Hancock great.circle@verizon.net Copyright © 1996-2016 - SEGEL.DE