ATTACHED is a sample of the 3D position graphic from 0700 today showing the global view of the positions (also available ‘ocean’ view and ‘close-up’ view) - these graphics are available for media to use free of charge. Download from http://ocftp.com/posnimage or view at http://www.teamkingfisher.com click on position console.
THE BREEZE IS BACK AND THE SPEED IS ON...
KINGFISHER2 has sailed approximately 180 miles since the 0700 GMT poll this morning - the prospect of 500+ mile 24 hour runs are back on the agenda. Averaging over 20+ knots since this morning - top speed in the last hour 28.7 knots - the crew are racing the giant catamaran south but gaining east all the time. "It's just great to feel KINGFISHER2 moving again - it has re-energised both the boat and us - the guys are on fire!"
Weather router, Meeno Schrader: "Tonight the breeze will stay pretty strong 25+ knots and there is more wind tomorrow between 37-40 knots gusting 46 knots in the middle of the day. KINGFISHER2 will keep going south where they may hook up with the first low. The small but intense low is moving fast plus they have the benefit of not having to go too far south to find it. Ahead KINGFISHER2 will have the option to gybe further south or to stay at a latitude of 36-35S - perhaps, gybing may be the better option but we are going to continue to monitor these options until tomorrow."
EXCERPTS FROM LATEST CREW EMAILS (see http://www.teamkingfisher.com for full crew emails)
KEVIN MCMEEL: "We are hoping to hook into a depression that is forming off the coast of Argentina in the next 36 hours. That is the first in a series of "trains" that is leaving the station. The idea is to spend the next 30 days surfing in front of these systems as a surfer would down the face of a good wave. The longer one can ride the wave the faster we get around the planet..."
13.02.2003
Listen to the latest audio from ELLEN, DAMIAN AND KEVIN ONBOARD KINGFISHER2
This can be downloaded from :
Ellen - http://www.ocftp.com/audio/em130203a_uk.mp3
Damian - http://www.ocftp.com/audio/df120203a_uk.mp3
Kevin- http://www.ocftp.com/audio/kmm120203a_uk.mp3
Audio files can be downloaded daily from http://www.ocftp.com/audio
The latest audio is determine by date and time
The crew member talking can be determine by the preceding initials ie ; em for Ellen MacArthur. ap for Andrew Preece and so on for each crew member.
JV DAY 15: KINGFISHER2 RACING TOWARDS HEAVEN... OR HELL...
Absender: "Team Kingfisher"
Datum: 13. Feb 2003 09:28
SUMMARY: 0700 GMT 13.2.03
Position: 30 59' S 33 46' W (approx 870 east of Brazilian coastline)
Ahead/Behind the record: 31 hours 26 minutes behind Orange (using WP5)
Ahead/Behind Geronimo: 77 hours 34 minutes behind Geronimo (using WP5)
DAY 14 24 hour run (point to point) : Kingfisher2 295 nm, Orange 378 nm, Geronimo 404 nm
End DAY 14 distance to go (on theoretical course) : KF2 20096 nm, Orange 19593 nm, 18855 Geronimo nm
Click on POSITIONS link at http://www.teamkingfisher.com to see graphic images comparing the tracks of these 3 challengers at 4 hourly intervals.
Av/Max boat speed in last hour: 16.28 / 20.7 knots heading: 191
Av/Max wind speed in last hour: 15.26 / 22.8 knots Wind direction: 85
Distance to WP4 35 00'S / 24 00'W approach to Southern Ocean : 547 nm
Distance to WP5 42 00'S / 18 28'W 490nm south Cape Town: 2564
(theorectical shortest distance)
IN BRIEF:
* HEAVEN OR HELL, IT'S HARD TO TELL: The contrast couldn't be greater, one minute shorts and t-shirts, sunshine and gentle but frustrating progress - the next, water hosing across the deck, violent motion in to an opposing sea, oilskins on, storm clouds and a sense of foreboding as the Southern Ocean approaches - but at least a boatspeed in double figures...
* KINGFISHER2 IS NOW IN THE 30s of southerly latitude, and seems to have finally touched some new breeze that will propel them in to the Southern Ocean. A sense of relief onboard, but also a sense of nervousness as life onboard changes dramatically in the space of just a few hours.
* TACTICALLY THE NEXT CHALLENGE is to hook into one of the depressions that circle the bottom of the globe (see JARGON BUSTER below on how the weather can do this), and hopefully begin the Southern Ocean sleigh ride.
* GERONIMO HAS PASSED THE 180 DEGREE MERIDIAN - now sailing east of the dateline Geronimo is starting to count down the degrees of longitude on her way to Cape Horn. Her lead over Peyron's record has reduced dramatically to just over 2 days, after having to make her way south again. The new record time to the 180 degree meridian of 32 days, 3 hours, 13 minutes and 47 seconds puts them 2 days, 6 hours and 7 minutes ahead of the time Bruno Peyron.
* CREW MEMBER FOCUS: Andrew Preece, runs a specialist sailing TV production company and writes regular racing features, he is on board KINGFISHER2 in charge of media and communications - the right person for the job...
Listen to Ellen's latest audio this morning... Visit http://www.teamkingfisher.com and click on the 'Audio' icon on the menu bar or download from http://www.ocftp.com/audio/em130203a_uk.mp3
Kingfisher operating company of the day DATART: Datart is an electrical retailer based in the Czech and Slovak Republics.
http://www.datart.cz
ELLEN LATEST LOG: (communications by BT [broadband users check out video and other high speed content at http://kingfisher.sportal.com]
What a stark contrast from just hours ago... It's now a black night - we are crashing through the waves making typing virtually impossible. It was Neal's watch just before sunset - there was little wind, less than 15 knots - and the sea was as flat and quiet as it had ever been. It was approaching 2100 hours - and the sun was begining to set. There was a line of cloud in the distance which seemed to close on us very quickly... I called Meeno for our evening weather update - and incredibly within that one phone call where I was descrbing the new clouds - we were sailing in 25 knots of wind with a really lively sea... Incredible how things can change like that. As Guillermo left his watch to hand over to Neal he looked into the distance seeing the clouds approcah. "Welcome to the gates of hell," he proclaimed and retired below to his bunk....
ex
JARGON BUSTER: Weather in the Southern Ocean
Without any land masses to hinder them, the weather of the South is driven by a series of low pressure systems that circle the bottom of the globe around Antartica. The winds and wave heights can build to severe storms, and are particularly unstable. The wind in the southern hemisphere rotates clockwise around the systems (the inverse of the northern hemisphere), so being on the northern side of them gives favourable downwind conditions as they travel east. However, the further south you go the shorter the distance you sail. Finding the compromise is the key decision to make...as well as trying to stay with the same system for as long as possible - as you fall of the back of a depression, there can be period of light winds while you wait for the next to catch you up.
CREW MEMBER FOCUS: Andrew Preece (UK) - Media & Comms
Before Andrew got behind a camera, he had studied naval design and been racing at top level events for a number of years - crewing British Admiral's Cup campaigns or doing tactics for Lawrie Smith on his Ultra 30. He had already established himself as a racing journalist before a job as a consultant to a sailing TV production took him off in a new direction. By 1997/98 he was Director of programming for the Whitbread Round the World Race, in 2001 Director of Programming for The Race and BBC Producer for the Louis Vuitton America's Cup TV coverage last year. Record attempts are not a new thing for Andrew, he has already been on board Steve Fossett's Playstation in a trans-Atlantic record bid and with Orange on their Round Britain & Ireland record attempt but the non-stop circumnavigation was another ball game: "As a sailor, racing non-stop round the world is the biggest thing you can do in the sport... I always knew if someone asked me to sail round the world I would say yes - I've dreamed of doing it but never thought I would. I hope to capture all the images I have heard about for so long." Email Andrew direct on board KINGFISHER2 at andrewrace@kingfisherchallenges.com
PERFORMANCE PARTNER OF THE DAY - TBS: TBS are the official shoe supplier to Team Kingfisher.
http://www.teamkingfisher.com/tbs
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