07.12.2004
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KEY DATA AFTER 9 DAYS 7 HOURS: 11 hours 29 minutes ahead of Joyon
(data communicated by Thrane MiniC via BT YAHOO!)
Lat/Long: 03 13 S / 030 03 W (193 miles S Equator / 440 miles NE Recife, Brazil)
Average Boat speed: 15.40 knots (heading SSW)
True Wind speed: 15.6 knots (direction SE)
Distance sailed so far: 3630 miles
Update based on data recorded at 1510 GMT...check http://www.teamellen.com for the latest data updated hourly...
IN BRIEF:
* A MILESTONE HAS BEEN REACHED AND A NEW BENCHMARK but it's back to business for Ellen: "It's a moment where you know it's just one of the milestones and a lot could change between now and later, there's no doubt about it...."
* MACARTHUR SETS NEW TIME TO THE EQUATOR of 8 days, 18 hours, 20 minutes taking off 14 hours and 3 minutes from Joyon's Equator time of 9 days, 8 hours and 23 minutes...
* EXTRAORDINARY RENDEZVOUS WITH THE ROYAL NAVY YESTERDAY...a helicopter fly past and two ships accompanied the 75-foot trimaran before waving Ellen on her way: "It was so unbelievable - this has never happened to me before. One ship was to port and one to starboard - I chatted with the captain for a while, then they peeled away and carried on there way home. I felt really emotional once they had gone..." [Click on the links below to download these amazing images taken by the Royal Navy]
* DOOR IS OPEN TO NEXT WEATHER HURDLE BUT IT COULD SO EASILY CLOSE...the St Helena High - a notorious anticyclone area of no wind, that can stretch thousands of miles across the South Atlantic, can block the way through to the Southern Ocean but a corridor is opening for B&Q...
* B&Q 190 MILES SOUTH OF THE EQUATOR and 440 miles NE of Recife on the north-west coast of Brazil...west-east gap between B&Q and IDEC decreases to 120 miles but looks like Ellen will have to sail further west of Joyon's track for next few days that could eat into her time advantage...
OMEGA: Official timekeeper for Ellen MacArthur
Download images from:
http://www.ocftp2.com/images/ellen/8041low_oc.jpg (Royal Navy helicopter)
http://www.ocftp2.com/images/ellen/8042high_rn.jpg (B&Q and HMS Iron Duke)
http://www.ocftp2.com/images/ellen/8043high_rn.jpg (ariel image trimaran B&Q)
http://www.ocftp2.com/images/ellen/8044low_rn.jpg (close-up Ellen)
IN DETAIL:
Ellen MacArthur has set a new solo time to the Equator of 8 days, 18 hours, 20 minutes. MacArthur crossed the Equator into the southern hemisphere at 0230 GMT this morning (7.12.04) and took 14 hours and 3 minutes off Joyon's solo time of 9 days, 8 hours, 23 minutes. This sets a new benchmark in reaching this milestone but it is business as usual back onboard B&Q: "It's a moment where you know it's just one of the milestones and a lot could change between now and later, there's no doubt about it. In your own mind you tick one of these boxes and I've always imagined this trip in five sections [start-Equator-Southern Ocean-Equator-home] so we've ticked off one of those 10-day boxes and we are probably about a seventh of the way through. But my eyes are very firmly focussed on the days ahead."
Francis Joyon crossed the Equator further east, at around 26 degrees west, and was happy with his progress having pushed the boat hard and haNd steered many miles. Since the start, Joyon's track has been to the east of MacArthur, effectively sailing a more direct course to the ultimate goal - the finish, and this trend looks set to continue over the next few days as B&Q heads south across the South Atlantic, and her 11+ hour advantage over the record could start to diminish.
Ahead lies the St Helena High but Ellen is being cautiously optimistic about a possible motorway south: "It is looking like there may be a corridor between it [St Helena High] and the low pressure developing off the Brazilian coast. It's going to be actually quite difficult to sit between the high and the low because if we go too far south, and go behind the front of the low the sea conditions will be terrible and there will be no wind, and if we go into the north into the high we will lose the wind completely and we won't be able to stay in the gap, so timing is going to be absolutely crucial. It may pay off, it may not, but we don't really have any choice - we've got to go through that gap and we've got to hope we make it so it's going to be very, very important to get the timing right and get the boat sailing as fast as I possibly can to get through that gap to spit us out into the Southern Ocean."
Not only setting a new time to the Equator of 8 days, 18 hours and 20 minutes, Ellen had another extraordinary experience yesterday afternoon. The Royal Navy's frigate HMS Iron Duke and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary tanker RFA Gold Rover, rendezvoused with Ellen just north of the Equator at approx 1700 GMT and a Lynx helicopter from HMS Iron Duke 'buzzed' past Ellen to take a few aerial shots... "It was so unbelievable - this has never happened to me before. One ship was to port and one to starboard - I chatted with the captain for a while, then they peeled away and carried on there way home. I felt really emotional once they had gone..." Sailing alone on the world's oceans, hundreds or thousands of miles from land, it is rare to see any birdlife and it is equally unusual to have visual contact with another boat or ship. The two ships, enroute from the Falkland Islands via Brazil had been closely monitoring Ellen's progress, came within a mile of the trimaran B&Q and the ships company came on deck to cheer and wave.
EXCERPTS FROM ELLEN AUDIO 1200 GMT :
courtesy of Geolink/Iridium
To listen to the full audio http://www.ocftp2.com/audio/ellen/em071204a_uk_e.mp3
Are you pleased with your Equator time?
I'm very pleased with the Equator time, it's fantastic to always be ahead of the record but to cross the Equator over 14 hours ahead of Francis was brilliant. We know it's still very early days and although its a good feeling to be ahead and cruising south with good breeze, it's also a moment where you know it's just one of the milestones and a lot could change between now and later, there's no doubt about it.
Is it business as usual now you have passed this milestone?
In your own mind you tick one of these boxes and I've always imagined this trip in five sections - the first going down to the Equator, the second going down to the Southern Ocean, the third being the Southern Ocean itself, the fourth being back up to the Equator and the fifth being the Equator to home. The first two are about 10 days, the third one is about 30 days and the last two are about 10 days, so we've ticked off one of those 10-day boxes and we are probably about a seventh of the way through. But my eyes are very firmly focussed on the days ahead - first of all finding somewhere that is a little bit cooler from where we are now but also plunging down into the Southern Ocean.
WEATHER ANALYSIS FROM COMMANDERS' WEATHER:
From: Commanders' Weather Corp 0600UTC Tuesday, December 7, 2004
Next obstacle is the tricky South Atlantic, St Helena high pressure area. It is currently rather weak, only 1022-1024mbs, and will reindex weak during our passage around counter-clockwise around the high.
Trade winds will be okay, generally 11-17 kts, but the wind direction, around 120-140, will force us a little further west, west of 30W. Winds will start to back south of 5-6S, and this will allow us to sail a little faster and also allow us to set-up for sailing between high and an organizing area of the low pressure.
The tactics for the next 2-3 days are to set-up for the proper angle to sail between the high and the low. Once we get into the proper wind slot, it will determine whether we have a quick passage into the westerlies, south of 35S or a slow passage. It will be quite tense the end of this week.
Routing: See no changes in the strategy at this time!!
1) Will be aiming for 5-6S/30-31W, but may have to come in west of there - do not want to slow the boat to hit 30W
a) southward along 31-32 and when the winds back,
b) we will probably have 2 gybes to position ourselves in the best channel of wind speed, generally want to hit 24-26S/25-26W. Then,
c)we will be gybing around this waybox and sailing ESE
Wind directions are TRUE, wind speed in kts, time is UTC
Tues, Dec 7
15: 120-140/12-17
18: 110-140/12-17, could drop to 10-12 knots at times, if full sunshine
Fair to partly cloudy, will have to watch out for a spot trade shower between 6 and 14S
Wed, Dec 8
00: 100-130/12-17
06: 100-120/13-18
12: 090-120/13-18, near 7 55S/31 55W
18: 090-110/12-17
http://www.commandersweather.com
PARTNER OF THE DAY : Bollé
Official eye protection wear for Ellen MacArthur
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
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
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