Betreff: EMMA ARRIVES IN SALVADOR
Absender: "Aroundalone"
Empfänger: redaktion@segel.de
Datum: 15. Mar 2003 02:40
EMMA ARRIVES IN SALVADOR
Against the background of terracotta colored buildings, the bright turquoise hull of Pindar looked magnificent as Emma Richards blasted across the finish line to take fourth place in Class 1 of the Around Alone. Heat shimmered off the rooftops and a haze hung heavy in the air, but it seemed instantly cooler to see EmmaÂ’s bright smile as she waved at the spectator boats and guided her incredible machine into the dock in Salvador. Despite coming fourth, it has been a magnificent leg for Emma who completed her second rounding of Cape Horn within the past year. This was her first time solo and the pride was evident as Richards accepted a cold caipirinha from a waiting tray of fresh fruit.
"It feels great to be here," she said.
EmmaÂ’s strategy from the start of Leg 4 was similar to the other skippers. She planned to sail a conservative leg to Cape Horn and then push hard from there to the finish. Across the Southern Ocean she kept pace with the fleet not losing touch with the front runners, but at the same time not placing herself or her boat in any danger by keeping north out of the ice area. Just prior to Cape Horn she set a new Pindar speed record for the trip by surfing down the front of a particularly large Southern Ocean roller at 32 knots. "That was quite amazing," she said in her typical understated way. Once around the Cape she did indeed open up the gas and pushed to within 5 miles of Simone Bianchetti on Tiscali, but a small windless zone stood between her and the Italian boat and Bianchetti took off again. In the end he proved too hard to catch and Emma tapped back to save herself the effort and more importantly, to save the boat from any damage. "Points wise it does not matt er when I finish if I come in after Simone, so I am going to sail hard and just get there when I get there," she said.
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Emma versprüht Mumm-Vater schaut zu
Emma Richards sichtlich zufrieden mit ihrer Leistung
Pindar als Vierte in Salvador
Photo: Mark Pepper Marinepics
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