10.06.2004
THE TRANSAT: STAMM TO MOUNT SALVAGE OPERATION AS OPEN 60S CLOSE ON BOSTON...
'One man, one boat, the sea...The Transat established in 1960 as the OSTAR'
IN BRIEF:
* GIOVANNI SOLDINI UNDER 40 MILES TO GO TO FINISH...ARRIVAL IMMINENT TO CLINCH 7TH PLACE Ahead OF PHILIPPE MONNET ON SOPRA
* THE BATTLE IS NOT OVER YET FOR PINDAR ALPHAGRAPHICS AS SANDERSON indexTAINS HIS SECOND POSITION IN THE OPEN 60 CLASS 34 MILES BEHIND MIKE GOLDING
* SKANDIA CONTINUES TO PULL AWAY FROM HELLOMOTO BUT BOTH NICK MOLONEY AND CONRAD HUMPHREYS ARE AT CRITICAL EXHAUSTION STAGE...
* BERNARD STAMM MOUNTS SALVAGE OPERATION TO SAVE CHEMINEES POUJOULAT-ARMOR LUX...
LATEST IMAGES of the arrivals in Boston - the images tell their own story. Go to http://www.thetransat.com and click on the 'Gallery' icon and select finish images.
See the official Omega clock showing race time http://www.thetransat.com
IN DETAIL:
Italian skipper, Giovanni Soldini, on TIM-Progetto Italia is imminently expected to cross the line off Boston sailing an average speed of 20 knots in the last four hours and just 38 miles to the finish line to take 7th place in the 11-boat ORMA class. Soldini had a strong start to the 2800 mile race sticking with the front runners for the first 48 hours but then fell away to trade places in 5th, 6th and, ultimately, 7th. Soldini is a veteran of this race having set a Class 2 monohull record in the 1996 edition of 15 days, 18 hours, 29 minutes that still stands; he is also competed in the 1992 (2nd Class 2 monohull) and 2000 (5th Class 1 monohull). A further 31 miles behind Soldini at the 1500 GMT positions is Philippe Monnet on Sopra Group.
Kiwi skipper Mike Sanderson this morning admitted to a broken daggerboard that has been impeded his progress for two days. However, Sanderson is holding his position in second place in the Open 60 class keeping ahead of Swiss skipper Dominique Wavre on Temenos by approximately 10 miles.
Leader Mike Golding has 490 miles to go to the finish and his current ETA is for Sunday evening (13.6.04). The front runners expect an upwind slog until the vagaries of Boston coastal wind conditions start to effect the final few miles. If Golding finishes on Sunday - he himself admits that "everyone is a threat, until I am tied up to the dock in Boston" - he will take a massive chunk out of the 60ft monohull record set by Yves Parlier (Cacolac D'Aquitaine) in 1992 of 14 days, 16 hours, 1 minute. To beat this time, the 2004 Open 60 winner has to arrive by 0501 GMT on 15.6.04 which, right now, seems like a pretty safe bet.
Australian skipper Nick Moloney on Skandia has been gradually pulling away from Britain's Conrad Humphreys and now holds a margin of 30 miles at the 1500 GMT positions to hold onto 4th place. In the last 24 hours both skippers have reported extreme fatigue resulting in Humphreys going into sleep-walking mode and Moloney hallucinating that Humphreys had crew on board!
Despite all the stories coming back from the skippers as they push themselves to the limit, was is most surprising is the lack of a French skipper in the top 5 in the IMOCA class that has traditionally been dominated by the French. It is a reflection of the international growth of this class going forward to the Vendée Globe, that the top 5 spots are occupied by skippers from the UK, New Zealand, Switzerland and Australia.
After a dramatic rescue of Bernard Stamm from the up-turned hull of his boat (Cheminees Poujoulat-Armor Lux), Stamm's team have lost no time organising a salvage operation. Last night the Swiss skipper arrived at the port of St. Johns on Newfoundland's southern extremity, The Avalon Peninsular. He has now boarded the offshore tug, Alex Gordon, and is planning to set out and locate Cheminees Poujoulat-Armor Lux. Finding the 60ft monohull will demand extremes of skill and judgement as the yacht's distress beacon has ceased transmitting a satellite fix - a knowledge of drift patterns and an accurate assessment of wave and wind conditions will now become crucial. Should the Alex Gordon discover Stamm's yacht, it is likely that a diver will be sent to cut away the mast, sails and rigging. The task facing the salvage team is truly daunting.
French PRB skipper, Vincent Riou, has erected a jury rig using his retracted daggerboard as a 1.5 metre mast and is making 4 knots in the direction of Europe. Riou hopes to rendezvous with the motorised trimaran, Ocean Alchimiste, late tomorrow and will spend an estimated six days under tow on the return trip to Brittany where a spare mast is awaiting PRB. Meanwhile, Jean Pierre Dick's only option (after Virbac dismasting and the entire rig was lost) is to continue his drift eastwards and wait for his shore crew to arrive on the converted fishing vessel, Hatherleigh.
POSITIONS:
For latest positions go to http://www.thetransat.com and click on the 'Latest Race Data/Latest Positions' on the orange bar and then click on leaderboard. Positions are available daily every 2 hours from 0600BST-1800BST.
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