Betreff: Alex Thomson Racing in The Défi Atlantique: AT Racing halves distance to leader after rollercoaster night mid-Atlantic
Absender: "Mary Ambler"
Datum: 10. Dec 2003 15:38
ALEX THOMSON RACING
AT RACING HALVES DISTANCE TO LEADER AFTER ROLLERCOASTER NIGHT MID-ATLANTIC
Défi Atlantique: DAY 10
Leader: PRB (Riou FRA)
11:00 GMT Position of AT Racing: 26 00.7 N, 33 45.7 W
Wind & Speed: 26 - 30 knots from SSE, boat speed 14-19 knots
Location: Mid-North Atlantic level with Western Sahara.
* NEWS FLASH: Virbac dismasted at 0200hrs GMT today off the Cape Verde Islands. Jean-Pierre Dick was in 4th position and heading NE trying to get back up to the leaders PRB (Riou), Ecover (Golding) and VMI (Josse). No further news about the conditions or events are known, but the official website will be updated in English. Alex’s reaction on hearing the news: “I’m just very sorry for Jean-Pierre. He has one of the best projects and was sailing a great race too. It does send a shiver down your spine, as it could happen to any of us…it’s a reminder for us all to get the boat to the finish in 1 piece.”
* It was a dramatic night also for Alex Thomson, as AT Racing covered 225m in 12 hours from 1700 – 0500 GMT this morning, at an average boat speed of 18.75 knots in 30 plus knots of consistent breeze, thanks to his ballsy move yesterday. “My top speed was 27 knots, which is equivalent to about 30 mph. I even did 22 miles in 1 hour. It’s insane though, when the boat’s reaching, she’s either completely submerged or totally airborne! I was pretty scared, and just held onto the chart table down below thinking “what’s going to happen next?!” “
* Golding reported that this morning Ecover hit a UFO (Unidentified Floating Object), which could have been a whale, and this has caused superficial damage to the bow. Ecover has since lost his lead to PRB (Riou) in this ever-changing race, and now AT Racing has halved the deficit to 138m to the leader… “Yesterday I was over 220 miles behind Mike, and now the guys in the East have slowed right down, in the last sched I’ve gone from 64 miles to 20 miles behind Team Cowes! I’m chuffed to bits that I played the system the way I did and have kept the boat on the pace, what a move!”
We’ll take you straight into Alex’s story of the last 24hrs: “Tuesday night, I had full index, the staysail and Code 5 up. The breeze came up and I put one reef in. Then it came round to the ESE so I rolled the Code 5 away and got the Solent out. Then the breeze reached 35 knots and AT Racing was averaging 20 knots! It started gusting 40 knots, so I changed from Solent to staysail, although I should have changed earlier. At this point the cockpit is level with the water, and I’m up to my knees in it. All the ropes were streaming out of their bags, the port side ones were trailing out the back of the boat, and I couldn’t do anything about it! I did try to retrieve one of the gennaker sheets, which had got sucked into the cockpit drain hole, and the drain nearly had my hand too! There was an incredible vacuum, and when its blowing 30 knots and you have 60ft of rope down the drain hole it’s impossible to pull it out. I now have all the headsail sheets feeding into the cabin. I did go outside twice during the night, and actually felt more in control standing in the cockpit. When I stayed inside, I really did feel scared, it sounds a lot worse when you’re in the cabin. I just held on to the chart table watching the instruments thinking ‘what’s going to happen next…what’s going to break…what will I do if something breaks…?’ There was a big electrical storm with lots of lightning to my WSW and the fact that it was pitch black through all of this just adds to the ‘Oh My God!’ factor…”
“I had to go up on the foredeck at one point as the Solent wouldn’t roll away properly. I had my lifeline on, and as the boat was reaching through big waves, and the bow was either completely submerged or totally airborne – it was INSANE! My top speed was 27 knots, which is equivalent to about 30 mph – Linford Christie could run as fast as that I think. I even did 22 miles in 1 hour and averaged 18.75 knots in 12 hours – the 24hr solo record is held by this boat, which is 18.1 knots, but the wind has eased now so I won’t get it. The most wind I saw was 45 knots I think. I really didn’t know if the sails would handle it more than anything else. Yesterday I was over 220 miles behind Mike, and now the guys in the East have slowed right down, in the last position report I’ve gone from 64 miles to 20 miles behind Team Cowes! I should stay in more pressure for the next 2 days and now I am putting a bit of Easting in my route – watch those rankings!”
“I’m not pushing like a demon, though, and I’ve had my share of mishaps. I’m very sorry for what’s happened to Jean-Pierre Dick as well. He has one of the best projects and was sailing a great race too. It does send a shiver down your spine, as it could happen to any of us… I do need to get AT Racing to the finish in 1 piece, but to be honest I’m chuffed to bits that I’ve kept this boat on the pace and played the system the way I did – it was a ballsy move. I’ve never experienced anything like this on any boat, let alone on my own on a proven race boat – it was fantastic! But I believe if you don’t do these things you’ll never feel comfortable and then you won’t feel comfortable going out the next time. Now I know how to react in these conditions it is the best training I could ever have. My adrenalin has kept me going through all of this, although my exhaustion did get the better of me and I did sleep for 3 hours over last night too. D’you know, I really think I’ve been putting on a bit more muscle, and I don’t have chubby cheeks anymore, this is one 3 week work out! What, am I only half way…?”
FOLLOW ALEX THOMSON ON THE ALEXTHOMSONRACING.COM WEBSITE
You can follow Alex Thomson’s racing programme on a new-look format of the current campaign website at www.alexthomsonracing.com, where Alex’s personal updates & images taken on board, plus the latest race information and boat positions will be posted daily online. If you wish to make enquiries, sign up to receive updates or send Alex a message of support at any time please register your email through the Quick Enquiries section online or at info@at-racing.com.
The Défi Atlantique official race web site is at www.defi-atlantique.org
High resolution images of Alex Thomson / ‘AT Racing’ (on board & aerial) are available on request and copyright free.
For all photography, interviews and information, please contact Mary Ambler.
ENDS
AT Racing Ltd
Address: Unit 11, Haslar Marina, Haslar Road, Gosport PO12 1NU
Tel: +44 (0)23 9252 4343 - Fax: +44 (0)23 9252 4646
Website: www.alexthomsonracing.com
Sponsorship enquiries: sponsorship@at-racing.com
General enquiries: info@at-racing.com
Media enquiries: Mary Ambler - Email: mary@alexthomsonracing.com - Mobile: +44 (0) 7887 643 583
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