04.06.2004
A CHANGE OF TACK....
IN BRIEF:
*Nick breaks away and heads SKANDIA south overnight looking for better conditions.
*SKANDIA is now closer to the Great Circle Route - the shortest distance across the Atlantic.
*VIRBAC still leads, but Jean Pierre Dick sees his lead diminish to just six miles. ECOVER and PINDAR tussle for second, only one mile apart...
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IN DETAIL :
Nick Moloney has opted to split from his closest rivals - HELLOMOTO and VMI and is looking for a route through to the south - a tactic being employed by PRO-FORM and in the ORMA 60 multihull class by SERGIO TACCHINI.
The top eight boats in the Open 60 class are still heading North West hoping to sail over the top of a low pressure system - always a gamble with fast moving weather systems. They will also have to sail more miles, and risk stronger potentially boat breaking upwind conditions.
SKANDIA had crossed the latitude of the Great Circle route at 0900GMT today and was still investing in miles southwards in search of better conditions, less than the gale force winds and rough seas that many of the boats had reported overnight and caused them to worry about the punishing waves and 40 - 45knot winds.
Frenchman Jean Pierre Dick on VIRBAC is the most northerly of the 60s and still leads, but by a heavily reduced margin. Briton Mike Golding on ECOVER has closed the gap to just 6.4 miles. Jean Pierre may need to ease off in the strong winds as he needs to complete The Transat to ensure qualification for November's Vendée Globe race.
IMOCA POSITIONS 1100 GMT
NAME / SKIPPER / LAT / LONG / DIST
1. VIRBAC / Dick / 54 23.92'N / 29 34.40'W / 1769.0 distance to finish
2. ECOVER / Golding / 53 41.64'N / 29 05.72'W / 3.9 behind leader
3. PINDAR ALPHAGRAPHICS / Sanderson / 54 04.04'N / 29 22.68'W / 4.6 behind leader
4. TEMENOS / Wavre / 53 29.92'N / 28 33.52'W / 30.7 behind leader
5. PRB / RIOU / 53 59.92'N / 28 36.80'W / 31 behind leader
10. SKANDIA / Moloney / 50 30.08'N / 25 11.72'W / 153 behind leader
QINETIQ FACT OF THE DAY : SLEEP
Lack of sleep often leads to reduced vigilance, increased errors, impaired decision making and mood deterioration.
However, for many single-handed yachtsmen,sleep has to be snatched when conditions allow and it is not possible to obtain a single long period of sleep. In this situation, multiple napping strategies are often adopted. Some sailors have reported taking naps as short as 10 minutes while others have lasted up to several hours.
However, to optimise the effectiveness of such strategies a number of issues need to be considered. For example, at certain times during the day it is easier to fall asleep than others and immediately on waking performance and alertness can be temporarily impaired (an effect termed ‘sleep inertia’).
To read more sleep facts :
http://www.nickmoloney.com/uk/default.asp?ms=content&m=displayarticle&id=11388
Further information see http://www.qinetiq.com
PERFORMANCE PARTNER OF THE DAY : McMurdo
Official supplier of safety equipment to Nick and the Offshore Challenges Sailing Team
http://www.nickmoloney.com/mcmurdo
For more information visit http://www.nickmoloney.com or contact :
Helen King
hk@offshorechallenges.com
T : +44(0)870 063 0210
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NOTES :
* Nick Moloney is one of an impressive group of Skandia Set Sail athletes.
* Skandia Set Sail is a global sponsorship programme that aims to offer people more opportunities to participate in the sport on a broader level. The objectives of the Skandia Set Sail Campaign are to make sailing more accessible, grow the sport's reach and enrich peoples' lives through the sport. The Skandia Set Sail portfolio is divided into three groups; events, teams and athletes.
* The portfolio includes the title sponsorships of Skandia Cowes Week, the world's oldest and largest regatta on the Isle of Wight, UK (title sponsors for 10 years in 2004) and Skandia Geelong Week in Victoria, Australia - now twinned with Skandia Cowes Week; UK sailors Iain Percy and Steve Mitchell in their Athens Star campaign; Sam Davies, the up and coming single-handed yachtswoman and her Figaro campaign; Austrian 470 sailors, Sylvia Vogl and Carolina Flatscher; the Skandia Brown Cup, the Scottish Schools Sailing Championship; Skandia Cowes Youth Week, a leading international match racing championship, the Skandia Yachting Academy (in association with Kit Hobday's Bear of Britain) and the Skandia Maxi, Australia's biggest ocean racing yacht and line-honours winner of the 2003 Sydney-Hobart Race.
* Sail 4 Cancer is the official charity of the Skandia Set Sail programme.
* For further information contact http://www.skandiasetsail.com
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