14.06.200
THE TRANSAT 2004 : SKANDIA FINISHES IN 4TH
IN BRIEF:
* Nick Moloney and SKANDIA complete the Transat race in fourth place at 2213 GMT today (13th June); 13 days, nine hours, 13 minutes and 9 seconds after crossing the Plymouth startline. SKANDIA'S average speed over the 2,800-mile course was 8.72 knots.
* Fourth place was inside Nick's pre-start hopes (of a top-five place) but stands out as the most remarkable of comebacks in the entire race.
* "We're really delighted that Nick has completed this immense race safely and in such a good position," said André Oszmann, Skandia's Group Marketing Director..
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IN DETAIL :
Nick Moloney guided his Open 60 yacht SKANDIA into Boston today to finish fourth in class in the Transat race.
His solo voyage across the Atlantic from Plymouth, England, ended at 2213 GMT today (Sunday, 13 June); 13 days, 9 hours, 13 minutes and 9 seconds after crossing the Plymouth startline on May 31. SKANDIA'S average speed over the 2,800-mile course was 8.72 knots.
"It's tough race and a long way. Most of it felt uphill but right now, looking back, there aren't many moments I didn't enjoy. I've had some pretty amazing experiences out there," said Nick. "I came to terms with the fact that at the beginning that I wasn't as quick as the front-runners so I said to myself 'I have to get smart and sail better than everyone else'."
By not juggling too much information and focusing on a few "valuable and crucial sources", Nick was able to make some astute tactical decisions that pulled him back into contention from tenth place in the first week. "I've beaten a lot of other boats that are perhaps a lot quicker than me. I feel pretty happy with that," he said.
Any issues with boat speed at the beginning took a turn for the better on June 6. "One night I was doing 12 knots reaching in 18 knots of breeze. I was racking my brain, saying, 'what's going on?' possibly something was stuck on the
rudder. Suddenly it let go and I started doing 18 knots. "I did feel the race started again from there," he continued "I started to reel boats in."
The low-point of the race was the severe cold of the second depression (low pressure system). "Sailing downwind was dodgy as we had just entered the Labrador Current and the water temperature dropped; the water was freezing cold and the ambient air temperature was bitterly cold. Luckily it didn't last long!"
Waking up from a nap and finding several tons of cold seawater sloshing around in the stern of SKANDIA was perhaps the most nerve racking moment. "The aft hatch had washed open, whilst I was below in the Nav seat resting with my ear plugs in. I couldn't belive what I was seeing, and worried that one of the cockpit drains had burst - but opening the aft emergency escape hatch vented much of the water, and after 1 1/2 hours of hand pumping all compartments were dry, I was very lucky not to loose my Fleet 77 high speed satellite telephone, and more importantly my autopilot system - the index control boxes for these are mounted in that compartment - it could have been race over."
The Transat also acted as part of Nick's learning process on fatigue and sleep deprivation. The 13 days of racing across the Atlantic is only one-seventh of the time he will spend alone in this November's Vendée Globe. "I maybe went further [into a state of fatigue and exhaustion] than I wanted to in this race and had a few stupid thoughts [one was that another solo sailor actually had a full crew with him] but I know my limits and how to recuperate," he said.
SKANDIA will now be sailed back to the Offshore Challenges' base in Cowes, England, where the shore team will make minor adjustments prior to the Vendée. "We feel we need some more lead in the keel [for righting moment and upwind power] but we going to keep focusing on reliability and sailing well. They'll be our trump cards in the Vendée.
SKANDIA crossed the line 20 hours after class winner ECOVER, skippered by friend Mike Golding. "He sailed a really nice race,' said Nick, congratulating the British yachtsman. "His position was under threat from Mike Sanderson [PINDAR] and Dominique Wavre [TEMENOS] but he pushed himself hard, made some good calls on the weather, took control, covered well, advanced and closed the deal. It showed he's a talented yachtsman as well as a hard-core tough solo sailor."
Echoing the thoughts of friends and family, André Oszmann, Skandia's group marketing director said," We're really delighted that Nick has completed this immense race safely and in such a good position, after his relatively slow start. Nick's competitive nature has shone through and he's laid down a strong marker for the Vendee.
"Congratulations from all at Skandia and our three fund partners Invesco Perpetual, Gartmore Investment Managers and Merrill Lynch Investment Managers.."
IMOCA POSITIONS 1700 GMT 13/06/2004
NAME / SKIPPER / LAT / LONG / DIST
1. ECOVER / Golding / Finished 04:18:08 GMT 13/06/04 (12d 15h 18m 8s taking 2d 43m off the 1992 record)
2. TEMENOS / Wavre / Finished 07:22: 03 GMT 13/06/04 (12d 18h 22m 03s)
3. PINDAR ALPHAGRAPHICS / Finished at 09:54:33 GMT 13/06/04 (12d 20h 54m 33s)
4. SKANDIA / Moloney / Finished at 22:13:19 GMT 13/06/04 (13d 9h 13m 19s)
5. HELLOMOTO / Humphrey's / 41 51.56' N / 69 20.64' W / 77.3 miles to finish
ABD CHEMINÉES POUJOULAT - AMOR LUX / STAMM
ABD PRB / RIOU
ABD VIRBAC / Dick
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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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