TJV: 'ELECTRIC NIGHT' FOR TEAM COWES MAKING BIG GAINS IN FLEET...
Absender: "Team Cowes"
Datum: 14. Nov 2003 11:22
TJV: 'ELECTRIC NIGHT' FOR TEAM COWES MAKING BIG GAINS IN FLEET...
TEAM COWES Transat Jacques Vabre campaign is supported by Skandia and Cowes Waterfront
REACHING PORT GYBE - 16 KNOTS OF WIND ENE - 11.7 KNOTS BOAT SPEED - 460 MILES N EQUATOR - TEAM COWES 5TH 162 MILES BEHIND LEADER VIRBAC (0900GMT)
IN BRIEF:
* HUGE GAINS OVERNIGHT FOR TEAM COWES MOVING INTO 5TH PLACE ONLY 0.2 MILES behind PRB and taking 120 miles from the leader Virbac... "It is an electric atmosphere out here tonight - literally...." reported Sam "an adrenaline-fuelled roller-coaster ride on the edge..."
* TEAM COWES AVERAGING MORE CONSISTENT BOAT SPEED through the night compared to the leaders to the east of them. Virbac skippers reported a tortuous and sleepless night in big squalls forcing them to work the sail inventory, reefs in, reefs out... Skippers Roland Jourdain and Alex Thomson slip into the 'slow lane' and lose second place to Mike Golding and Brian Thompson on Ecover...
* TEAM COWES MORE WESTERLY POSITION SEEMS TO BE PAYING dividends compared to the leading boats in the east but the vagaries of the Doldrums makes the next 24 hours a nerve-wracking time...as skippers wait nervoursly for next positions update.
* FORECAST....wind expected to stay in the ENE quadrant today from 070-090 TWD [true wind direction] averaging around 12-14 knots although forecasts light and more variable wind tomorrow. Weather router, Meeno Schrader, tells TEAM COWES "to go fast and go direct" on a heading to the finish port of Salvador de Bahia on the Brazilian coast still 1,366 miles to go...
* GOOD 24 HOUR RUN FOR MACARTHUR & GAUTIER reeling in 403 miles in the last 24 hours compared to 286 of current leader Groupama making a gain of 113 miles. Like Team Cowes, Foncia is also being routed by Meeno Schrader and is the most westerly boat of the chasing pack - hoping this will bring favoured conditions as the front runners slow...although Groupama looks to be through the Doldrums and in the south-east trades already. http://www.teamellen.com
EMAIL LOG FROM TEAM COWES 0400GMT 14.11.03 - SAM DAVIES:
no 5am report yet but we're pretty happy with our gains so far tonight. lets keep our fingers crossed for a swift doldrums transition... Looks like we are about to get nailed by a big thunderstorm, so am sleeping in full kit on chart table seat - just in case. don't want to leave nick on his own out there. it has been an electric atmosphere out here tonight - literally.
i have just come off the helm, where it is pitch black outside, we are right on the edge with the big spinnaker up, pushing it as high and fast as we dare. it is really difficult to steer, with so little visibility - you are using the instruments and the feel of the wind on your face to steer the boat as there is not even a horizon to see. there are some nice waves and you can eaasily get 20 knots on a surf, but you must be careful not to get stuck too high on the wave (risk of wipeout / spinnaker collapse, damage to boat) or too low at the end of the wave (dog slow.)
so, it is full-on concentration - 100%. the sky is electric too - lit up by continuous flashes of electrical activity ( i guess due to the heat and moisture content up there.)
we are nervous that there may be some squalls around, but we can't see enough to make out any cloud formation, so it is aa little like sailing blind. we mustn't get cought out in a squall with all this sail up, so we must be aware and on our toes. the kite is ready to drop (the takedown line already loaded on the winch) but we can't drop it unless we really have to because we must keep going as fast as we can to get past the boats to the east of us. we need to get ahead as much as possible because once we are out of the doldrums there will be little opportunity to pass, and we know that we are not quite as fast as them in a straight line.
so, that is us for the night - an adrenaline-fuelled roller-coaster ride on the edge - what fun. i'm off to get some rest before it's my turn to drive again.
sam x
TOP 10 OPEN 60 POSITIONS AT 0900GMT 14.11.03:
Pstn/Boat Name/Long/Lat/Speed/Course/DTF/DTL
1 VIRBAC / 3 26.24' N / 27 10.72' W / 11.7 / 184 / 1204.1 / 0.0
2 ECOVER / 5 29.28' N / 27 34.96' W / 10.9 / 207 / 1299.3 / 95.2
3 SILL / 5 18.68' N / 26 51.72' W / 10.3 / 186 / 1310.7 / 106.6
4 PRB / 6 32.04' N / 27 11.72' W / 11.8 / 193 / 1366.1 / 162.0
5 TEAM COWES / 7 25.92' N / 29 18.48' W / 11.7 / 190 / 1366.3 / 162.2
6 VMI / 6 46.64' N / 26 40.32' W / 12.4 / 195 / 1393.3 / 189.2
7 CARREFOUR PREVENTION / 8 44.88' N / 26 24.72' W / 12.3 / 187 / 1505.4 / 301.3
8 ARCELOR-DUNKERQUE / 10 14.88' N / 22 31.08' W / 9.6 / 208 / 1698.2 / 494.1
9 GARNIER / 14 03.84' N / 26 35.40' W / 13.8 / 189 / 1794.9 / 590.8
10 LOIRE ATLANTIQUE / 14 36.32' N / 22 12.32' W / 12.9 / 174 / 1927.4 / 723.3
PERFORMANCE PARTNER OF THE DAY: NAUTIX
Official supplier of underwater finishings to the Offshore Challenges Sailing Team
http://www.offshorechallenges.com/nautix
For TJV Race Information go to www.jacques-vabre.com
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