Positionstabelle
26.01.2005
26.01.2005
www.conradhumphreys.com
HELLOMOTO Race Update No. 57, 260105
CONRAD SPOOKED BY OWN KEEL PROBLEM
Starboard hydraulic ram fails on HELLOMOTO
Elapsed Time: 80 days, 01 hours, 10 mins
Vendée Globe Fleet Leader: PRB (V. Riou FRA)
HELLOMOTO: 9th out of 14, level with Rio Grande, Brazil
• After 80 days at sea, HELLOMOTO has caught up to lie 176 miles behind Arcelor Dunkerque, & is better positioned to sail faster in the strong south westerly breeze on the favourable (left) side of the low pressure system, whereas Joe Seeten is toughing it out sailing in shifty winds through the middle of it.
• Conrad was thoroughly spooked last night as just hours after hearing about Skandia’s keel failure, his own keel lost all pressure & he discovered that the starboard hydraulic ram, one of two rams which cant the keel, had totally failed.
• Conrad explains that the hydraulic ram system is designed for the second ram to act as a back up if one does fail, and he can get home on one ram, however if the other was to fail it would be a major problem…see Notes on keel at end.
• Fellow competitor Nick Moloney will be touching dry land around midnight after securing a tow from a Brazilian marine patrol ship, and due to Skandia’s misfortune HELLOMOTO will move up one place in the rankings but Conrad is not resting on his laurels after his own keel problem – see UK Breaking news window launched from the homepage
• Audio: Interview with Conrad is available to listen to and download from www.windreport.com/vguk or on www.o6t.com click on latest news and follow the link to 260105 audio file on the RHS
Conrad Humphreys interview from onboard HELLOMOTO this morning courtesy of Geolink/Iridium:
“Just hours after hearing Nick’s news, I lost all pressure in the keel as well. The keel was rocking around so violently that I literally thought it would shake itself out of the boat and said as much to Joff. I even got my grab kit together. After watching it quite closely I discovered it seemed like the starboard ram had let go. The port ram still seemed to be trying to hold the keel but the way the system is designed, the keel ram will work independently and one will work as a back up for the other. A loss of oil pressure in the starboard ram was causing the whole system to loose pressure and hence the keel had free movement to go whichever way it wanted to go. Having found that out, I isolated the starboard ram and that ram is now out of action so I am just running on the port ram. As I said, the system is designed to be able to cope with just one ram which is a feature of these boats. I was pretty surprised to have a total ram failure and I expected to be able to shut it off and at least stabilise the keel in the centre. But the way it’s failed means that I couldn’t do that and I can’t lock and secure the keel. If the other ram suffers the same failure then we would have a major problem.
“During this time I had reduced sail and it was a difficult decision whether to drop the sails but the sea state was nasty and I felt it was a little bit kinder on the boat to keep sailing so I kept the indexsail up but made pretty slow progress for a few hours. My confidence was pretty low anyway after Nick’s news and suffering a keel problem myself. It took me most of the day to get my head together and get focused on the fact that I have one ram and this has to get me home. Gradually as the day went on I became more confident and you don’t want to at the same time miss the opportunities that lie ahead. I am nervous about fully canting the keel and I am trying to keep the load off it. The electronics (motor) that drive the keel ram are designed to be shared between 2 rams and now there is a lot more load on the motor and so realistically I can really only cant the keel half way and then probably manually pump the rest of the keel up which is obviously time consuming and I have to think well in advance of manoeuvres.
“At the moment I am running deep in 25 knots of breeze so half keel is not so much of a problem but when I get in the trade winds particularly in the North Atlantic when I’m on the wind and slamming into waves I am obviously going to be quite nervous – I’m sure I’m going to be nervous – about pushing the boat hard with just the one ram. That was the day really. It ended on a high as the breeze backed round and picked up as expected. I am on the right side of the low pressure system as I’d hoped. Joe Seeten probably toughed it out with the low going over the top of him so I wouldn’t be surprised if at the next position report I have made more miles up on him.
“I have been sailing pretty deep and pretty fast and had a nice night’s sail with the Code 5 headsail up and full index for a bit. Now I have got one reef in and the gennaker and it seems stable. My fear and anxieties have passed for the moment. I guess I don’t like the unknown. When I lost my generator I persevered with the engine and managed to economise. You just have to adjust to the setbacks and get on with it. Tactically we’re well placed, although HELLOMOTO is a bird with a broken wing right now.”
Notes on the keel:
the carbon keel on HELLOMOTO is a canting keel, and it is swung from side to side by two hydraulic rams, which Conrad controls with the push of a button. There are two rams positioned on the port and starboard side of the keel and as the keel is canted one ram will extend and the other will contract. They do work together but are independent and so are also a back up for each other. The keel is canted in order to increase righting moment (stability), so as the breeze strengthens, the keel is canted further over.
HELLOMOTO Position & Ranking* polled at 0930 GMT
Ranking / Boat / Latitude / Longitude / heading / Speed** / DTF*** / Miles from leader
1. PRB / 30 40.92' N 32 58.96' W / 034 / 14 / 1728.0
8. Arcelor Dunkerque / 29 48.08' S 37 01.80' W / 032 / 10.2 / 5020.0 / 3291.9
9. HELLOMOTO / 31 35.92' S 41 04.20' W / 009 / 13.3 / 5196.3 / 3468.3
*Rankings – A series of waypoints marking a logical route have been used to calculate the rankings. The boat is ranked according to the waypoint it is nearest to.
**Speed - this is an instantaneous reading
***DTF (Distance to finish) - This is worked out in comparison to the logical route
Full rankings – launch Race Console off the homepage and click on link to fleet positions
ENDS
Media enquiries: Mary Ambler
Communications Manager – Motorola Ocean Racing Team – Open 60 HELLOMOTO
Email: mary@o6t.com - Tel: +44 (0) 1752 600111 - Mob: +44 (0) 7887 643583
Motorola Ocean Racing Team web site
www.conradhumphreys.com – for all sports & news media enquiries & resources
Click on the homepage button for live English breaking news on the race
Vendée Globe Official Race web site
www.vendeeglobe.org/uk
About Conrad Humphreys and O6T
Conrad Humphreys, 31, from Devon, is an inspirational team leader and world-class British yachtsman who in 2001 became the youngest ever skipper to win the BT Global Challenge. His ambition is to compete on the international Open 60 racing circuit for the 2004-05 FICO-Lacoste World Championship title. O6T is the management company for the Motorola Ocean Racing Programme, and delivers a range of major PR, relationship building and team & leadership development opportunities to business. For more information: www.conradhumphreys.com / www.o6t.com
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