SEGEL.DE > Oceanyachting Syndikat Kingfisher - Ellen Mac Arthur www.kingfisherchallenges.com zurück zur Übersicht 09.11.2002 RHUM: KINGFISHER AND SILL LEAD OPEN 60 FLEET OFF START LINE..., Absender: Team Kingfisher Datum: 09. Nov 2002 19:37 News update from TEAM KINGFISHER to Dr Krumnacker Segel.de IN BRIEF: * KINGFISHER and Ellen MacArthur led the fleet off the start line of the Route du Rhum, dueling from the start with Roland Jourdain's SILL. * KINGFISHER RETAKES 2nd position by overtaking Golding after round Cap Frehel buoy (18 miles after start, and the final mark of the course before Guadaloupe, 3520 miles away) 4 minutes behind Mike Golding, and 15 behind SILL. * Moderate to strong breeze - boat (and back) breaking seas take first casualty - VMI (Seb Josse), at the time in 5th place, was dismasted not far from the Cap Fréhel rounding * In 50 foot class, Nick Moloney (Ashfield Healthcare) led the fleet across the line. IN FULL: THE BATTLE COMMENCES - KINGFISHER and SILL led the Open 60 monohull fleet across the Route du Rhum start line - side by side and neck and neck. The story between 'friends and rivals' Ellen MacArthur and Roland Jourdain looks set to continue in the seventh edition of the 3540 mile solo trans-Atlantic race. The strong winds that whipped through the rigging as the boats left the dockside early this morning had moderated a little to between 20 and 25 knots as the 41-boat fleet (the multis start tomorrow) entered the starting zone off Pointe de Grouin east of St Malo. Ellen nach glanzvollem Start auf Platz 3 zurück Photos: Jacques Vapillon The support crew were allowed on board until 4 minutes before the start before the skippers took control of their boats for the start - pictured leaping off just seconds before on many of the boats! MacArthur timed her run to the start line to perfection and crossed the start half a boat length up on SILL, dueling like it was an America's Cup race - both with three reefs in the indexsail. SILL, carrying a larger headsail, tacked away first and began to pull away from KINGFISHER [the wind speed dictated that Ellen carried a smaller headsail, because her next step up, being 20% bigger in area than SILL's, would be too much - these sail overlaps are a critical part of the design process]. WEATHER STRATEGY : "The strategy is to get west as much as you can," said MacArthur before the start. "But, whatever, its going to be a tough first 48 hours - rough seas and strong winds in the Channel combined with the heavy shipping makes it all much harder." The fleet had a tough upwind 10-mile leg to the first buoy off Cap Fréhel. Kingfisher rounded in 3rd place - 15 minutes behind the leader Roland Jourdain and Mike Golding on ECOVER but managed to overtake Golding. "Only 4 minutes separated me from Mike as we went round Cap Fréhel," said MacArthur in a call back to base a few moments ago. "But I have managed to get past him and am pushing to keep in touch with Bilou - I can at least see him again now. The wind is a little lighter and I've shifted gears up on the headsail size accordingly - and we are going great. Its awesome to be back out here and getting on with this" Kingfisher will now be pushing to exit the Channel as fast as possible over the next 48 hours before making the crucial tactical decision to push north or to head south. Current thinking on KINGFISHER is that the high pressure around the Azores is not settled enough to risk a southerly option. Thousands of spectators lined the coast line to watch the start of this legendary race and they will return tomorrow to see the multihull class start. POSITIONS OF IMOCA OPEN 60 FLEET AT CAP FREHEL MARK 1. Jourdain (SILL) 2. Golding (ECOVER) + 11minutes 3. MacArthur (KINGFISHER) + 15minutes WEATHER FORECAST: North-west force 3-4 occasionally 5-6 gusting 30/35 knots veering south-west this evening and further west force 5-6 during the night gusting 35/40 knots. Sea rough, some rain. RHUM RACE FACTS: Start: Saturday, 9 November from St Malo, France to Pointe a Pitre, Guadeloupe Duration: Approx 15-18 days for Open 60 monohulls and 10-12 days for mulithulls Distance: 3540 miles Number of entries (multihulls and monohulls): 59 including 18 Open 60s (Kingfisher) Race started: 1978 run every 4 years Race record: Monohull 1994 Yves Parlier on Cacolac d'Aquitaine 15d 19hr 23mins 35 secs Corporate information http://www.kingfisher.com http://www.comet.co.uk http://www.diy.co.uk Copyright © 1996-2016 - SEGEL.DE