Betreff: TJV: TEAM COWES HAVE GOOD START BUT TOUGH CONDITIONS Ahead...
Absender: "Team Cowes"
Datum: 01. Nov 2003 16:54
TEAM COWES Transat Jacques Vabre campaign is supported by Skandia and Cowes
Waterfront
Skandia is a leading international long term savings company
http://www.skandia.com
Cowes Waterfront is a major regeneration initiative on the Isle of Wight that
will create jobs, attract investment and bring new facilities to the
communities of Cowes, East Cowes and Newport Harbour along the Medina Valley
http://www.coweswaterfront.co.uk
IN BRIEF:
* TEAM COWES CROSSED THE START LINE OF 4,340 MILE TRANS-ATLANTIC RACE at 1400GMT this afternoon... The 17 boats in the Open 60 monohull fleet were closely packed together approaching the start line with Emma Richards' Pindar crossing first followed by Virbac and PRB only 2 boats were recalled for being over the line - 60eme Sud and Loire Atlantique.
* TEAM COWES AND PINDAR TACK AWAY FROM REST OF FLEET to the right-hand side of the race track... Fifty minutes into the race TEAM COWES were in fourth position with only a couple of hundred meters separating Ecover, PRB, Sill and TEAM COWES. The fleet were not required to round any inshore marks [as is often the case] before heading on a direct course to Salvador de Bahia, Brazil 4,340 miles down the track.
* GOOD CONDITIONS FOR START BUT STRONG WINDS EXPECTED IN NEXT 24 HOURS... Twenty knots of wind from the north-west combined with a short steep sea state generated by the wind and the vast spectator fleet surrounding the start area. The majority of the fleet started with a staysail and one reef in the index. The depression west of Ireland is expected to bring 35+ knots of wind tomorrow with gusts of up to 60 knots and 10 metre seas... Moloney: "Our focus at the moment is preservation and to try and stay in the race but be in a position to actually race the boat when we come out the other side of this depression..."
* NICK MOLONEY & SAM DAVIES FOCUS ON PODIUM FINISH amongst a highly competitive fleet... Davies: "Any of 10 boats could end up on the podium - half the fleet are non-French which is record for this type of race and fleet. In the last edition of this race Sill won but there were two British boats on the podium Mike Golding in second and Nick, who raced with Mark Turner, in third. We really want to get another podium finish for Team Cowes this time round..."
* 60-FOOT MULTIHULL START DELAYED...Ellen MacArthur and Frenchman Alain Gautier racing on board one of the extreme ORMA 60-foot multihulls will not be starting the race tomorrow as planned. Due to the adverse weather forecast, the skippers of the 60-foot multihull fleet have been informed by the race organisers that the start will be delayed until Tuesday night or Wednesday morning next week. The smaller 50-foot multihulls were started today with the monohull fleet.
http://www.teamellen.com
FROM NICK PRE-START:
"The weather conditions forecast for the start of this race are pretty similar to the start of the Route du Rhum. There is a small window of opportunity for us to leave now but then there is a really, really aggressive period of strong upwind conditions and a 10 metre sea state has been estimated with gusts in excess of 60 knots so it's going to be a pretty full on period throughout Sunday and into Monday. Our focus at the moment is preservation and to try and stay in the race but be in a position to actually race the boat when we come out the other side of this depression. We all know these boats and how we can sustain quite easily sustain huge amounts of damage in those type of conditions.
"We have had a really good two and a half years at Offshore Challenges and this particular boat has not been off the podium. For me, last year was great to do the Jules Verne and then win Class 2 in the Route du Rhum, so you just want to keep that continuity going. Getting on to the podium is our primary objective for this race and obviously we want to win. It's really important for me in the midst of my 2004 Vendée Globe campaign and Sam for her Figaro season next year, as well as Offshore Challenges that has expanded rapidly in recent months, to go out there and come back with the goods."
FROM SAM PRE-START:
"I am little bit nervous because I actually don't know what I am letting myself in for because I have not raced properly in these types of boats before! So I am excited and looking forward to a really, really good race.
"In the last few weeks Ellen has been on the end of the phone or email to answer any questions I have so she's been really great in helping us and sharing her knowledge of this boat that she has raced so much.
"We're looking at going into an okay start...it is nice day with about 20 knots but then quite quickly we have this front approaching which is quite an aggressive cold front. We are going to get an average wind speed of maybe 35 knots gusting up to 60 knots and some quite big waves and that's pretty dangerous for even these boats. We want to keep everything in one piece and it's quite easy to break something in these conditions; so we are going to take care, try to race hard but also remember that this race is nearly 4,500 miles and this is only the first day. We want to keep it together, get to Brazil and get that podium finish."
FROM ELLEN PRE-START:
"I am really pleased to see her (Team Cowes) go with Nick and Sam who know her inside out. I raced this boat as Kingfisher thousands of miles and we still have a very strong bond. I know they will look after her and that's what counts."
For latest information visit http://www.teamcowes.com
For TJV race information go to http://www.jacques-vabre.com
NOTES:
Skandia Set Sail: making sailing more accessible; growing the sport's reach; enriching people's lives.
Skandia is the title sponsor to Sam Davies' 2003 Figaro Campaign
Skandia Cowes Week is the oldest and largest sailing regatta in the world with up to 1000 boats racing in the Solent. Skandia Cowes Week 2004 takes place between 7th to 14th August.
Skandia is a leading international long term savings company.
http://www.skandia.com
Cowes Waterfront is a major regeneration initiative for the Medina Valley, encompassing the towns of Cowes, East Cowes and Newport Harbour on the Isle of Wight. It aims to strengthen the Island's position as a centre of excellence for the composites and specialist marine sectors by providing the resources and infrastructure that businesses need. It will bring new life and new visitors to town centres by attracting modern leisure and recreational facilities, including hotels, restaurants and cafes and promote the area as 'the home of world yachting'.
http://www.coweswaterfront.co.uk
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