30.12.2004
Trimaran title sponsor B&Q is the biggest DIY retailer in Europe and third biggest in the world. http://www.diy.com
DAY 33 MEDIA RELEASE: NEW YEAR OBSTACLES FOR MACARTHUR...
KEY DATA DAY 32 1510 GMT: 2 days 7 hours 18 minutes ahead of Joyon
OMEGA: Official timekeeper for Ellen MacArthur
Lat/Long: 52 50 S / 145 06 E (560 miles S Tasmania / 965 miles WSW New Zealand)
Average Boat speed: 19.56 knots (heading ESE)
True Wind speed: 22.7 knots (direction NW)
Sea temperature: 7.3 degrees C
Distance sailed so far: 13,408 miles at an average speed of 17.3 knots
(data communicated by Thrane MiniC via BT Business Broadband)
Update based on data recorded 1510 GMT...check http://www.teamellen.com for the latest data updated hourly
IN BRIEF:
* MACARTHUR BREAKS TWO DAY BARRIER building an advantage of more than 50 hours (still only 5.5% of time reindexing) over the record time of Francis Joyon...
* TIME TO RECOUP AFTER THE RECENT SUCCESSION OF BAD WEATHER both for MacArthur and <>...
* NEW YEAR OBSTACLES... A cell of high pressure to the north and an ice zone south-east of Campbell Island [south of indexland New Zealand] could check <> progress but Ellen may find time to open the Christmas presents yet!
To listen to Ellen's audio, courtesy of Geolink/Iridium, click here http://www.ocftp2.com/audio/ellen/em301204a_uk_e.mp3
IN DETAIL:
Ellen MacArthur's 75-foot trimaran <> is passing 550 miles south of Tasmania and heading towards Campbell Island, south of indexland New Zealand, 910 miles further to her east this afternoon. MacArthur has built up a lead to over two days, capitalising on the current fast reaching conditions and <> has increased her advantage over Joyon's time by another 24 hours since Monday morning. The reindexing good north-westerly breeze and much less rough seas are providing ideal conditions that are allowing the 75-foot multihull to race close to her potential: "Things are much better now then they have been the last few days, we've got breeze between 20-25 knots so the boats sailing pretty easily. We've got a nice wind angle of 130 [degrees] and although its very misty and pretty cold and the water temperature is down to 6 degrees, things are pretty okay." Indeed they are, in comparison, this morning B&Q was only 230 miles behind the pace of the 110-ft maxi-catamaran 'Orange' on day 32 of their fully-crewed 64-day Jules Verne record in 2002.
The current conditions are allowing MacArthur time to recoup and to manage the continuous workload that is needed to keep B&Q in one piece having covered 13,408 miles so far (now less than 350 miles from the midway point): "I'm going to use the next 24hrs to try and sleep as much as possible... I've already done a run of repairs today, one of the halyards was broken so I've re-spliced that and it's just good to have time to look over the boat and check things. I've got myself a list of things I'm going to do as the weather improves. Some of those I'll start doing tomorrow and some of those I'll do when the winds a little bit lighter near New Zealand." MacArthur was lucky not to lose the halyard all together - only two strands of the kevlar halyard were left, which is only one-tenth of the original diameter. As she said afterwards: "You earn your luck a bit, but that was lucky!"
The wind is expected to start decreasing by tomorrow lunchtime as B&Q approaches a cell of high pressure that is stretching from south-east Tasmania down to around 51 degrees south. Ellen has been slipping south since yesterday and is now far enough south to skirt the corner of the high pressure before starting to head north-east to pass north of Campbell Island possibly on Sunday afternoon: "We've certainly got a few obstacles ahead of us - one of those obstacles is a light wind area and we've got to get through the corner and then out again back into the stronger south westerlies. But we've also got the iceberg zone which is to the east of the Campbell Islands, just south of New Zealand. What I'm trying to do is use the two in tandom to try and help us by sailing into the ridge and coming out with a good angle of breeze, and by the same token using that going north to get over the icebergs." The only upside of what will be a slower New Year period for Ellen, is that the lighter conditions may allow Ellen time to get to her Christmas Box and open the presents that have reindexed unwrapped since the succession of storms began on Christmas Eve.
As MacArthur seeks some 'downtime' from the relentless pace, she feels cocooned in a world of her own: "It literally feels like we're sailing along under a blanket, you can't see anything and the sky has closed in to just a couple of hundred metres away. Maybe even a hundred metres, I can only see a couple of wave crests, three at best. To be flying along, averaging 20 knots, and to see the situation around you is a bit stressful. You've got to be able to detach you're mind from it, because you can't spend all the time looking ahead. We shouldn't have icebergs here, even though the water temperature is down to 6 degrees. You just try and detach yourself from it, and just hope that everything's okay! It is pretty incredible to look out and see absolutely nothing and to realise that you're world is pretty tiny around you..."
WEATHER ANALYSIS FROM COMMANDERS' WEATHER:
Ellen continues between high pressure just SE of Tasmania and low pressure well off the W and SW. This pattern is producing a potent NNW to NW flow, generally between 24-32 kts. This will keep her moving along very steadily towards the ESE. Expect this pattern to hold until 09-12utc Friday with the wind then starting to diminish. This should allow continued good boat speed for the next 24-30 hours.
By 12utc Friday, high pressure will have nosed down towards 50-51s/160-165e and will stay in that area thru 12utc Saturday. Winds will decrease and tend to back after 12utc Friday. Goal will be to come along the bottom side of the high where we can indextain some breeze. Winds will become light on Saturday, but the very light conditions likely nearer the high, around and north of 51s. We will want to come NE some around this time and probably aim to pass north of Campbell Island sometime after 00-06utc Sunday. This will be a safer course to try and avoid the ice area to the ESE of Campbell Island.
Strategy:
1) Aim for 53-53 30s/155e by 12 utc Fri - north of there ok - do not get any further south
2) As winds back to W then SW head north toward 52n west of Campbell Island.
3) Around 52 n then go onto starboard and head east passing north of Campbell Island.
4) Continue east mostly on starboard next week staying north of Golding iceberg near 154 44s and 136w.
Wind forecasts
Wind directions are TRUE, wind speed in kts, time is UTC
Thurs, Dec 30
15: 330-345/22-30
18: 330-345/24-32
Dense fog with perhaps a little drizzle, light shower
Seas 15-20 ft
Fri, Dec 31
00: 330-345/22-30
06: 320-340/22-30
12: 320-340/20-25, near 53 20s/155e - winds diminish
18: 320-31/22-17
Areas of dense fog with few showers developing.
Seas 12-18 ft and diminishing.
Sat, Jan 1 - Winds back - passing just under high pressure cell
00: 300-280/17-12 nr 53 20s/160 30e
06: 270-250/15-10
12: 250-240/ 8-12 nr 52 20s/164e - lighter wind N and W - stronger S and E
18: 230-250/ 12-17- heading east on starboard
Showers end then mostly cloudy, dense fog less frequent
Seas 6-12 feet mostly W-WSW swell.
http://www.commandersweather.com
PARTNER OF THE DAY : OMEGA
Official timekeeper of 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
Email powered by Active24
http://www.active24.com
B&Q has over 350 stores in the UK, China and Taiwan and employs about 40,000 people. With its sister DIY company Castorama which has stores in France, Italy and Poland, B&Q is the biggest DIY retailer in Europe and third biggest in the world.
http://www.diy.com
|
