04.12.2004
DAY 7: B&Q STRETCHES OUT ADVANTAGE BUT tableS CAN TURN QUICKLY...
KEY DATA AFTER 7 DAYS 7 HOURS: 6 hours 28 minutes ahead of Joyon
(data communicated by Thrane MiniC via BT YAHOO!)
Lat/Long: 13 30 N / 027 23 W (190 miles WSW of Cape Verde Islands/630 miles west of African coast)
Average Boat speed: 17.64 knots (heading S)
True Wind speed: 13.3 knots (direction ENE)
Distance sailed so far: 2592 miles
Update based on data recorded at 1510 GMT...check home page for the latest data updated hourly...
IN BRIEF:
* SAILING SOUTH & FAST, B&Q STRETCHING TO 6 HOURS Ahead OF RECORD but the tables can turn quickly: "Now we have a few hours lead on Francis so that's a good thing...but we are going to have a difficult Doldrums crossing..." (see Ellen audio below)
* ON SAME PART OF RACE TRACK, JOYON WAS FORCED TO TAKE LOSING GYBE WEST now B&Q is making better VMG - the speed at which you approach your destination (see Jargon Buster below) but Ellen sees real gains much further down the track..."I certainly feel his first period of the trip was very quick...I think the area where we stand to gain the most or where we have the most cushion is the Atlantic on the way up..."
* ELLEN LEAVES CAPE VERDE ISLANDS BEHIND heading towards a Doldrums 'passage gate' at 27-28 degrees west and will start to feel the effects of the Doldrums at around 8 degrees north tomorrow...
OMEGA: Official timekeeper for Ellen MacArthur
IN DETAIL:
Since this morning B&Q has stretched out her 3 hour lead by another 3.5 hours as Ellen capitalises on the stable and strong Trade Winds to sail fast along the direct course south to improve her lead by 6.5 hours.
Currently making 17 knots of boat speed out of 13.3 knots of breeze from the ENE, Ellen is sailing a better course to the final destination compared to Francis Joyon, who at the same stage had to take a 90-mile losing gybe to the west as he waiting for the winds to send him south again. "Its nice to be down in the Trade Winds now and the boat is performing fantastically and I am so pleased with her speed she is really amazing which is great to see and she feels pretty safe too. I know we are going to have a difficult Doldrums crossing but right now we have a few hours lead on Francis so that's a good thing and we've got a long way to keep playing."
The good conditions are allowing Ellen to get some much needed rest - before the arrival of the energy-sapping Doldrums - and to check the trimaran over: "I've been able to do checks on the boat, wander round, just inspect things, changing a few lashings, making a few finishing touches to things but it is stressful and you spend most of your time just thinking about what's going to break next(!) and it's not particularly healthy for the brain but things are okay."
With the Doldrums on the horizon, B&Q will start to feel the effects of this volatile and unpredictable weather region tomorrow at around 8 degrees north of the Equator: "It's a very difficult region to cross and you can get it good and you can get it bad, and it doesn't look like we are going to have one of the best crossings." It doesn't take much to turn the tables in this game...
EXCERPTS FROM ELLEN AUDIO 1200 GMT :
courtesy of Geolink/Iridium
Back ahead of the record this morning are you happy with your progress?
Its nice to be down in the Trade Winds now and the boat is performing fantastically and I am so pleased with her speed she is really amazing which is great to see and she feels pretty safe too. I know we are going to have a difficult Doldrums crossing but right now we have a few hours lead on Francis so that's a good thing and we've got a long way to keep playing.
What is the most difficult aspect of crossing the Doldrums/Equator?
Francis had a very good Doldrums crossing because the Trade Winds were quite strong to the north and we've got less strong Trade Winds which means it's going to be harder for us. Basically, the Doldrums are the boiling point of the earth and rather than having weather systems like the northern and southern it's a very difficult region to cross and you can get it good and you can get it bad, and it doesn't look like we are going to have one of the best crossings.hemispheres, its literally just a boiling point so there are no highs or no lows really.
How are things on board B&Q?
Things on board are good now although its pretty hot - we're at 14 north so we are getting down to the Equator and I feel a bit more relaxed than I did to begin with. There is still a fair amount of tension, I still want to do well and want to give my maximum. I've been able to do checks on the boat, wander round, just inspect things, changing a few lashings, making a few finishing touches to things but it is stressful and you spend most of your time just thinking about what's going to break next(!) and it's not particularly healthy for the brain but things are okay.
How was Joyon's start to the Equator and getting across the South Atlantic?
I certainly feel his first period of the trip was very quick... The south Atlantic wasn't quite bad either, looking at the figures now he had a few quieter periods where he averaged 10, 11 and even 8 knots, but they were few and far between. Generally, he was up with the 15s, 16s and 18s [of boat speed] so he certainly had a quick trip down to the Southern Ocean. His Southern Ocean period was pretty quick too and, personally, I think the area where we stand to gain the most or where we have the most cushion is the Atlantic on the way up because there was a period on his way back up the Atlantic where he was quite slow for a number of days.
WEATHER ANALYSIS FROM COMMANDERS' WEATHER:
From:Commanders' Weather Corp 0600UTC Saturday, December 4, 2004
High pressure reindexs to the north, around 35N/25W and is ridging south. Trades continue good, indexly ENE to NE at 12-19 kts. Breeze will slowly edge down a few knots later in the day. Plan to continue pretty much on a south heading and take advantage of the decent breeze and wind angle and set us for the Doldrums crossing.
There will be a continued lessening of the wind Saturday night with a significant diminishing trend occurring during the day on Sunday as we get south of 8N. These are the Doldrums and will have to deal with clouds, showers, squalls, and light winds Sunday into early Monday. Lots of shiftiness in the wind during that time as well. Think somewhere between 27-28W is where the Doldrums are narrowest and will aim to get through them as quickly as possible there.
Expect better conditions south of 3-4N with a more ESE flow taking over. Present aim is to cross the Equator between 28-28 30W during Monday night/early Tuesday
Routing: Gates to keep in max wind strength
1) 9-10N/26 40-27 10W - wind a little lighter east of 26
2) 5N/27-28W
3) 0/28-28 30W
4) 5-6S/30-31W
5) 10-12S/30-31W - don't want to get too much further west of 30W
Wind directions are TRUE, wind speed in kts, time is UTC
Saturday, Dec 4- winds more left further east and more right to the west
15: 070-090/14-18
18: 060-080/13-17
Partly cloudy, a widely scattered brief trade wind shower possible
down to 9N
Sun, Dec 5- Winds
00: 060-080/12-16
06: 060-080/12-16
12: 060-080/10-14, near 8N/27 10W - wind lighter closer to 25W
18: 070-100/ 6-12 - lightest to the east
Variable clouds with scattered showers and squalls indexly south of 8N
Commanders' Weather
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