22.05.2002
* TISCALI, KINGFISHER AND SILL sailing within 3 miles of each other
after nearly 24 hours of beating in to difficult seas and moderate breeze...Open class boat have different designs, configurations of mast and sails, yet the top boats are now so well matched in these conditions, the difference is now just down to the very minute adjustments to trim and helming skill.
* MOLONEY, co-skipper of KINGFISHER, gets used to his job of navigator...."I am not enjoying having my head in computers whilst the boat is moving so violently! Its been a tough night, KINGFISHER has been leaping over one wave and plunging through the next, decks awash with water. Very violent, pretty sure no-one has slept much"
* WIND STARTING TO DECREASE as the teams wait for the wind to shift to the west, to save the boats and crew from the crashing and pounding suffered so far. Less than 400 miles to the Straits of Gibralter...the first landmark of this leg to Italy. As we spoke to the boat this morning the wind transition had begun with KINGFISHER closing in on TISCALI as the leading boats compressed.
BRIEF EMAIL FROM NICK THIS MORNING
Crashing away upwind...on rhum line..need to get slightly higher than rhum for new breeze. We can see Tiscali just ahead, she is getting away very slightly which is worrying. SILL astern at dusk but now cannot see nav lights, we are trying to watch the competition very closely, the boats are so well matched now.
I am not enjoying having my head in computers whilst the boat is moving so violently.
Waiting for wind to lighten in the next 6 hours. waves big and confused. boat feels great though.
Its been a good start. After sailing the big catamaran around the world, KINGFISHER certainly feels quite small, but she feels good after the modifications. We may have lost a few assets but gained some new ones. We still have a lot to learn about how to sail her to her maximum potential.
We're on Solent and 2 reefs - nearly time to go 1 reef.
alls well
kf team
POSITIONS
Positions at 0900 GMT 22/05/2002
Regatta Rubicon map page : http://193.104.87.4/default_mono60.htm
1. TISCALI GLOBAL CHALLENGE : Simone BIANCHETTI, 1231.0 miles to finish
2. KINGFISHER : MacArthur/Moloney, 2.9 miles behind leader
3. Sill Plein Fruit : Jourdain, 3.5 miles behind leader
4. BOBST GROUP-ARMOR LUX : Bernard STAMM, 8.4 miles behind leader
5. VIRBAC : Jean Pierre DICK, 10.4 miles behind leader
6. TEMENOS : Dominique WAVRE, 21.2 miles behind leader
7. L'Heautontimoroumenos : Antoine KOCH, Retired
8. Adecco : Escoffier, Retired
LEARNING CORNER
The OPEN 60 rule, governed by the IMOCA class is what is called an 'Open' rule because it places very few restrictions on the yacht designer - a length, maximum depth of keel and stability measurements which effectively limit the mast height and sail power. SILL and TISCALI are designed by Marc Lombard and whilst they have the same hull and keel configuration, they have very different rigs. SILL has a wingmast and deck spreaders, but TISCALI (formerly WHIRLPOOL in the Vendee Globe with Catherine Chabaud) has a slightly more conventional carbon fibre mast with classic 'spreaders' and PBO fibre rigging. KINGFISHER, designed by Rob Humphreys/Merf Owen also has this mast/rigging configuration, but a different hull form and has less sail power, yet is not slower as a result. There are thousands of variables, and outright speed is not necessarily what matters - how close you can keep the boat to 100% of its potential matters a great deal as well. Playing with all these variables is what these Formula 1 style teams must do, continually going up the learning curve, forever searching for the extra hundreth of knot of speed.
Read all the news about Ellen & Team Kingfisher at http://www.teamkingfisher.com
Official site of the race http://www.regataderubicon.com
|
