* IF ELLEN CROSSES THE LINE ON SUNDAY (28.11.04) SHE WILL HAVE TO FINISH BY 9 FEB 2005 TO SET A NEW WORLD RECORD...
* B&Q WILL NEED TO AVERAGE BETTER THAN 15.38 KNOTS FOR 72 DAYS TO BREAK THE CURRENT RECORD...15 knots is faster than most leisure sailors go even for a minute, in their lives..
* TIME TO BEAT 72 DAYS, 22 HOURS, 54 MINUTES AND 22 SECONDS SET BY FRENCHMAN FRANCIS JOYON...he sailed almost 27,000 miles to get around the planet finishing 3 February 2004 last year and taking 21 days off the previous record.
Official Timekeeper of Ellen MacArthur: OMEGA
http://www.teamellen.com follow Ellen's record attempt via the website for all the latest information, see Race Viewer console for latest positions and animations, click on webcam to see 'live' images from onboard (when connected online) and updates from Ellen...
Ellens Gedanken vor dem Start - Audio - in English :
http://www.ocftp2.com/audio/ellen/em271104a_uk_e.mp3
IN DETAIL:
At 1400 GMT the lines attaching the 75-foot trimaran B&Q to the dockside in Falmouth were cast off and the tow boat gently nudged Ellen MacArthur out of Falmouth Harbour and on her way.
Am impressive mid-winter crowed had gathered at Port Pendennis Marina next to the National Maritime Museum in Falmouth to wave goodbye to MacArthur as she sets out on her biggest challenge to date to attempt to set a new solo, non-stop world speed record around the planet.
Conditions in Falmouth Harbour were slightly overcast with a light SW breeze as Ellen and her shore team got to business hoisting the huge indexsail up the 30 metre mast. Her shore team will stay onboard for a few hours to make the final preparations of unloading mooring lines, fenders and any other unnecessary weight into the support boat, as well as carrying out 'pre-flight checks' to all the boat's systems - from here on in, Ellen won't have anyone onboard to help her when things go wrong. Ellen will then head off alone across the busy shipping lanes of the English Channel, a sleepless night ahead of a sleep depriving voyage of speed.
US based weather routers, Commanders' Weather, have predicted good starting conditions for Sunday morning between 0600-0900 GMT bringing 20-30 knots of wind from the NW following the passage of the cold front in the early hours of Sunday morning rotating the wind from a SW direction to NW which is ideal to propel B&Q over the start line at the start of the 26,000 mile lap of the planet. Ellen will make the final decision of when to actually cross the start line tonight, when the latest weather models can be assessed.
The course is 26,000 miles (approx 42,000 km), a thousand marathons, around the globe, although in reality B&Q could sail more miles in search of favourable weather conditions. B&Q will cross the start line between Ushant and the Lizard (crossing closer to the French side for the official representative from the World Sailing Speed Records Council to ratify her start time) and the course should take her west to east on a route south of the three Capes (Cape of Good Hope, Cape Leeuwin and Cape Horn) all kept to port with Antarctica to starboard. The round the world route will take Ellen into the heart of the Southern Ocean, where gales are the norm, and storm force winds are expected. Icebergs, towering seas and bitter cold are the real enemy here, on the most desolate part of the world's oceans.
FROM ELLEN MACARTHUR IN FALMOUTH JUST BEFORE DEPARTURE:
To listen to complete audio : http://www.ocftp2.com/audio/ellen/em271104a_uk_e.mp3
What is the weather situation looking like?
The front will go through tonight which will give us the breeze in the north and head south with this. The weather in the first week is showing NW-N but ahead is a low pressure off Portugal and west of that low is 40 knots of breeze so very windy for a crucial gybe down to the south but there is a good high below for 36 hours and I will use its strength to get down to the trade winds. Not sure, right now, how good the Trade Winds will be but will just have to wait and sea.
Why are you doing this?
I love sailing, I love being on the ocean and I love learning...it is really a logical step following on from the solo, non-stop Vendée Globe, then sailing in 60ft multihulls and the fully crewed Jules Verne attempt - I learnt masses on that even though we lost the mast. The next step was to build B&Q to try this record. I have sailed 25,000 miles in her already and I can't think of a better boat to be in to try this attempt.
How hard will it be to break Francis Joyon's record?
Francis has made my job much, much harder! He set a very high benchmark. It is not impossible to break and I am holding onto that small possibility with both hands. To average 15.38 knots of boat speed over two and a half months is very hard and every second counts. Managing yourself, the boat, the weather, in the Southern Ocean the big storms, icebergs and the isolation itself can be hard. It is important to manage yourself to make sure you can go the distance.
How hard is it racing against the clock?
It is really hard. The person you're racing against is the clock and we will always be making comparisons to Francis (Joyon) but he would have been in different weather to what I will encounter and that is the hard part because in a fleet race you are racing against the other guys but you are in the same weather. So if they have a slow day, you do too but it is no big deal - against the clock it is totally different mentality.
How are you feeling right now:
Pretty stressed...pretty nervous and I am about to be on my own for a long time... It has taken three years of planning and a lot of hard work to get to this point but it is just the next step...
FORECASTED WEATHER FOR THE START BY COMMANDERS' WEATHER:
Winds will be SSW on Saturday and Saturday night for the delivery to the start area. Wind speeds 10-16 knots midday Saturday and increasing to 12-18 knots for few hours during the afternoon, but wind direction will be more SW when the wind speeds increase. Partly to mostly cloudy with few squally showers overnight, especially at midnight with risk of pockets of fog in late afternoon/evening.
A cold front will pass between 0600-1200UTC Sunday. Winds NW 20-30 knots at 0900 GMT decreasing through day to 18-24 knots by 1800 GMT. Sea state 4-7 feet from the NW and WNW. Few early showers possible with cold front then mix of clouds and sunshine.
Two obstacles are ridge of high pressure developing from WNW to the ESE and getting west of a low pressure area off Portugal during Monday morning. The low will move east and it will be important to get west as the boat moves south.
WHY IS THIS RECORD SO EXCEPTIONAL:
1800+ people have reached the summit of Everest...
450+ people have been in space...
12 astronauts have stepped on the moon...
6 solo sailors have attempted to race around the globe NON-STOP on MULTIHULLS (the fastest and most extreme boats to traverse the oceans)...
Only 1 succeeded to go the distance non-stop and set a new world record...
Francis Joyon, current solo round the world record holder, set off on 22.11.03 and finished 72 days, 22 hours, 54 minutes and 22 seconds later on 3.2.04 to set a new world record. This is the time MacArthur has to beat.
Click here for further information on Sailing Speed Records http://www.sailspeedrecords.com and here for information on Ellen's campaign http://www.teamellen.com
To change frequency of email updates selecting daily, weekly or major, please click here
http://www.teamellen.com/updates.asp
For further information, please contact Offshore Challenges:
Lou Newlands or Lucy Harwood
T: +44 (0)870 063 0210
E: lou@offshorechallenges.com or lucy@offshorechallenges.com
http://www.sailspeedrecords.com
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