16.12.2004
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DAY 19 MEDIA RELEASE: 'LIFE ON A SMALL ISLAND' WAITING FOR THE DEPRESSION TO PASS...
KEY DATA DAY 18 1410 GMT:
14 hours 24 minutes ahead of Joyon (data communicated by Thrane MiniC via BT Business Broadband)
Lat/Long: 38 33 S / 008 41 E (approx 525 W Cape of Good Hope)
Average Boat speed: 20.56 knots (heading E)
True Wind speed: 29.8 knots (direction NNW)
Distance sailed so far: 7229 miles
Update based on data recorded 1510 GMT...check http://www.teamellen.com for the latest data updated hourly
OMEGA: Official timekeeper for Ellen MacArthur
IN BRIEF:
* STILL SITTING IN DEPRESSION WAITING FOR THE WIND SHIFT TO GYBE SOUTH-EAST... "We await the passing of a very wet and rainy front. I look out of <> windows and see big grey waves and monotonous drizzle. Our world has closed in around us, and we can see very, very little other than the 400 mile radius..."
* 14 HOURS, 24 MINUTES Ahead OF THE RECORD racing towards the longitude of the Cape of Good Hope approximately 525 miles down the track - a close call for beating Joyon's time but certainly possible.
* LIFE ON A SMALL ISLAND... "This little world of <> and I feels like a small island...we hope that we shall have all we need, and will have to improvise for what we have not...." read Ellen latest email from today.
To listen to Ellen's audio from today, click here to download http://www.ocftp2.com/audio/ellen/em161204a_uk_e.mp3
IN DETAIL:
This afternoon, B&Q is still heading east in 25-30 knots of north-westerly breeze, as Ellen waits for the expected wind shift to the south-west: "We are waiting for the breeze to shift and we've been sitting in this thing [depression] now for about 12 hours and it's getting windier and windier. I'm hoping that means we're getting towards the end of it. We've got more wind now than we've had in the last 6 hours so its quite testing." Ellen is waiting to gbye to the south-east as the wind rotates which will take B&Q down to 40-42 degrees south: "The breeze has been at pretty much the same direction now for the last few days. So it's a bit stressful not really knowing when you're going to pop out the back, the satellite pictures show that it's still moving east as I am, so I don't think it's going to be a very fast process at all."
Judging the right sail configuration is difficult when a few extra knots of wind can make a big difference: "The guys [Commanders'] said the breeze would stay gusty and then decrease. So I changed the sails - I took the staysail down and I took out the third reef which is quite a manoeuvre in itself, and then the breeze started to rise again... Since then I've stayed with the same sail configuration and with this amount of breeze we're pretty much ok, but if it increases anymore than this I'm going to have to change sails again quite soon."
B&Q is 14 hours 24 minutes ahead of the record [at 1410 GMT] averaging consistent 19 knots of boat speed in the last six hours and making up good time on the clock as Ellen sails a more southerly track then Joyon. With approximately 525 miles to go to longitude of the Cape of Good Hope [18 29 degrees east], <> is expected to cross this major geographical landmark late on Friday night or in the early hours of Saturday morning. To beat Joyon's time of 19 days, 20 hours and 31 minutes, Ellen needs to cross before 0441 GMT on Saturday (18.12.04) - the prospect of 2-3 gybing manoeuvres between now and then, will make this a close call.
ELLEN EMAIL - 16.12.04
A few thoughts for a very wet morning whilst we await the passing of a very wet and rainy front. I look out of <> windows and see big grey waves and monotonous drizzle. Our world has closed in around us, and we can see very, very little other than the 400 mile radius. We have more wind than I would have otherwise imagined - quite gusty around 25 to 28 knots. But we're sailing along ok - and with the changeable conditions I am sure that we are doing the right thing - not pushing too hard... We should be gybing in a few hours anyway - so pulling out the reef [3rd reef] would not be the right thing now.
I was thinking in the early hours of this morning about life onboard, and what are the differences between what we have here, and what we experinence on land. I think the first thing is that this little world of B&Q and I feels like a small island. We hope that we shall have all we need, and will have to improvise for what we have not. There is only so much of everything, so each square of kitchen roll, each few cm of tape used get you closer to having none left. Everything is checked before it goes in the bin just to be sure it's not wanted. You need to be resourceful and tackle problems rationally and simply as they arise. There will always be problems, always... You just hope that they will be surmountable and dealable with - the rest is a logical waiting game.
You check everything, because you don't have a million replacements. In reality, it's quite a siimple life. I think that it's healthy to put other things before you sometmes, like putting the boat first as the moment - I let her state slide and I know that she will be less able to look after me too.
I am very aware of the level of her batteries, and that keeps her functioning, and each drop of fuel for charging is measured. Lights are never left on unneeded, the kettle is always filled with 15 pumps of the tap - just enough for a freeze dried meal and a cup of tea. Not more not less. It's about managing this littel space, keeping it dry, and as warm as I can. I don't have much here really, there are no luxiuries - just a few cd's and the odd photo scattered around. But I am so lucky beacuse the pleasure is inside me, the luxuries are inside me. Those moments shared with friends and loved ones, the simple things that make people smile, they are with me all the time. They are priceless and, lucky for my endeavour, weightless too!
It's funny the way your mind works when you're sitting on a boat, in the middle of a huge grey huge expanse of beautiful ocean...
that's it for now
ellen
WEATHER ANALYSIS FROM COMMANDERS' WEATHER:
From: Commanders' Weather Corp 0600UTC Thursday, December 16, 2004
Wind speeds will continue to diminish today for Ellen as she crosses a weakening frontal boundary. Wind speeds may drop as low as 10-15 kts for a few hours either side of 12 utc Thursday. Right now expect she will cross the front 9-12 utc with wind shifting from WNW to SW. A few showers are likely with the frontal passage but major squalls do not seem likely.
Once on the other side of the front expect the SW breeze will freshen again by 18 utc back to around 15 kts and into the 20 kt range later Thursday night and Friday. Ellen will need to get south to 42-43 south after she crosses the frontal boundary to get back to a 20-25 kt breeze. Need to be careful though about getting too far south as winds and seas will be stronger further south
and the ice threat will be increasing as well. So a gybe back toward ENE is likely Friday night to stay in moderate conditions.
Outlook for the weekend is for the breeze to be indexly westerly Saturday and then clock to NW by Sunday as the next trough of low pressure approaches from the west. Wind speeds may tend to diminish as she gets further east.
Wind directions are TRUE, wind speed in knots, time is UTC
Thu, Dec 16
12:00 290-250/18-12, still squally in the vicinity near 38 20S/7 20E - gybe to starboard, Frontal passage 10-12 utc - wind shift will be accompanied by lighter winds for a few hrs but wind still squally in nature. Wind shift will approach from the S-SW, so the further south you are, the sooner the wind shift, the further north the later
18:00 240-220/15-20 and squally - front just to your north
Cloudy to partly cloudy with scattered showers/squalls in the vicinity.
Seas 8-12 feet with developing SW swell
Fri, Dec 17
00:00 220-240/15-20 - stronger wind S
06:00 230-250/15-22
12:00 230-250/17-22, near 40 35S/16E
18:00 240-260/20-28
Variable clouds with a chance of a few scattered squally showers.
Seas 8-12 feet may build to 10-15 foot westerly swell
Sat, Dec 18 - gybe to port toward 00 utc as winds clock to a little N of W
and fill in further north
00:00 270-290/25-30 near 42 10S/ 20E - stronger wind to the S, lighter N
06:00 260-280/22-27
12:00 260-280/20-25 near 41S/25 E - gybe back - winds lighter north of 40
18:00 240-260/18-24
Variable clouds with some scattered showers
http://www.commandersweather.com
PARTNER OF THE DAY : MCMURDO
Official supplier of safety equipment to Ellen and the Offshore Challenges Sailing Team
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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