Transat Jacques Vabre 2003 zur Übersicht - www.jacques-vabre.com Betreff: TJV: TEAM COWES REACHES HALFWAY STAGE OF RACE... Absender: "Team Cowes" Datum: 11. Nov 2003 16:48 DOWNWIND PORT GYBE - 17-20 KNOTS OF NE WIND - 14 KNOTS BOATSPEED - 290 MILES N CAPE VERDE ISLANDS - TEAM COWES 5TH 349 MILES BEHIND LEADER VIRBAC (1500GMT) IN BRIEF: * TEAM COWES REACH HALFWAY-STAGE IN RACE - NEXT MILESTONE THE DOLDRUMS... "Sailing past the halfway mark is just part of the race - the next real milestone for us is going through the Doldrums - its a very tricky place which potentially can really win for you or lose..." Nick Moloney and Sam Davies have raced TEAM COWES half the distance - the first 6-7 days in upwind conditions - the second half of the 4,340 mile race should be faster but no one is expecting any records to be broken... * 24/7 HELMING FOR TEAM COWES SKIPPERS, as they push for optimum speed, has its price: "My hands have swollen up and my fingers are locked into a permanent gripping position from holding the tiller...I'm taking some anti-inflammatory pills to stop the swelling". * ANGUISH OF GAINING AND LOSING MILES TAKES IT TOLL...the pace is relentless in the top half of this fleet - trying to gain miles on those ahead whilst protecting position from those behind: "It's frustrating sometimes but also motivating to just keep at it..." * FORECAST & STRATEGY...settled Trade Wind conditions of 17-20 knots from the NE gusting 22-24 knots. Some scattered clouds and rain squalls. TEAM COWES course heading south-west over next 48 hours assessing approach to the Doldrums. AUDIO CALL, TEAM COWES 1400GMT - SAM DAVIES: "Just woken up and about to go on watch - the sun's up and we are doing about 17 knots of boat speed in about 20 knots of breeze, so all okay. After last night we were a bit fed up losing the miles again on PRB but equally we are in completely different parts of the ocean with different conditions. We were lucky to catch them up and you accept you are not just going to walk over them. We got stuck in a couple of rain squalls last night - we thought they were temporary wind shifts but sailed with them for too long in the end, so a bit of an error on our part. It's frustrating sometimes but also motivating to just keep at it... I guess we are halfway in terms of distance but hope not in time! Otherwise we will run out of food, diesel and sun cream! Sailing past the halfway mark is just part of the race - the next real milestone for us is going through the Doldrums - its a very tricky place which potentially can really win for you or lose. We are still making as much west as we can as Meeno [weather router] has a pretty good idea of where he wants us to cross but keeping the option flexible as well. It's really hard knowing the right place to go into the Doldrums because they are still 2 days away and the weather charts are very changeable. We are hand-steering most of the time so the only drama we have is when we want to leave the helm and the pilot is struggling to hold the course. On the heading we are sailing on now we’re a long way off needing the big running kite, that we struggled to get down in the night, so we have some time to a) sort the sail out, check it and b) get it re-packed. Team Cowes is quite a heavy boat to steer - my hands have swollen up and my fingers are locked into a permanent gripping position from holding the tiller! My hands and shoulders really ache and I'm taking some anti-inflammatory pills to stop the swelling. But, hey, life's good just gotta pick the right CD for my watch! Bye... Audio transmissions are supported by BT YAHOO, http://www.btyahoo.com TOP 10 OPEN 60 POSITIONS AT 1500GMT 11.11.03: Pstn/Boat Name/Long/Lat/Speed/Course/DTF/DTL 1 VIRBAC / 15 20.16' N / 26 11.60' W / 16.9 / 192 / 1867.6 / 0.0 2 SILL / 18 18.64' N / 27 07.40' W / 16.0 / 173 / 2026.9 / 159.3 3 ECOVER / 18 24.72' N / 24 58.88' W / 12.8 / 205 / 2067.0 / 199.4 4 PRB / 20 33.76' N / 25 24.08' W / 13.8 / 189 / 2180.2 / 312.6 5 TEAM COWES / 21 40.64' N / 27 25.40' W / 14.0 / 205 / 2217.2 / 349.5 6 VMI / 21 31.36' N / 25 01.36' W / 16.0 / 195 / 2246.5 / 378.9 7 CARREFOUR PREVENTION / 22 17.48' N / 25 01.80' W / 14.2 / 200 / 2285.0 / 417.3 8 ARCELOR-DUNKERQUE / 23 29.32' N / 20 36.08' W / 13.3 / 200 / 2448.2 / 580.6 9 GARNIER / 26 42.88' N / 22 13.04' W / 12.6 / 196 / 2585.5 / 717.9 10 LOIRE ATLANTIQUE / 28 15.04' N / 18 59.80' W / 12.8 / 177 / 2743.4 / 875.8 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 Copyright © 1996-2016 - SEGEL.DE