Lat/Long: 14 54 S / 028 13 W (600 miles ESE Salvador / 900 miles S Equator)
Average Boat speed: 11.29 knots (heading NNW)
True Wind speed: 11.3 knots (direction NE)
Sea temperature: 29 degrees C
Distance sailed so far: 22,785 miles at an average speed of 16.3 knots
(data communicated by Thrane MiniC via BT Business Broadband)
Update based on data recorded 1210 GMT...check http://www.teamellen.com for the latest data updated hourly
IN BRIEF:
* SLOW NIGHT ON B&Q AS DEFICIT ON THE RECORD EXCEEDS HALF A DAY now 13 hours behind Joyon's record time.
* NEXT MAJOR WEATHER HURDLE LIES Ahead IN THE FORM OF THE DOLDRUMS at the Equator. Weak Trade Winds equals large Doldrums warn Commanders' Weather.
* JOYON STARTS TO SLOW UP AS OF TOMORROW and <> needs to cross the Equator by Saturday, 29th January to stay ahead of his time - current ETA is Friday, 28th.
* MACARTHUR'S SAILING TEAMMATE, NICK MOLONEY, FORCED TO ABANDON VENDEE GLOBE after losing his keel of his Open 60 Skandia off the coast of Brazil, south of Rio de Janeiro. Nick was competing in Ellen's old Open 60 Kingfisher, that she sailed into second place in the 2000/2001 Vendée Globe.
To listen to Ellen's audio, courtesy of Geolink/Iridium, click here http://www.ocftp2.com/audio/ellen/em250105a_uk_e.mp3
IN DETAIL:
Another slow night on board B&Q for Ellen MacArthur as her deficit on the record time exceeds half a day, standing at 13 hours behind Francis Joyon's record time at 1210gmt today. Through the night, winds decreased from around 8 knots to less than 4 knots as the breeze shifted into the north east, forcing B&Q to tack again back on to starboard to head on a north-westerly track. The course takes her away from a direct northerly route but the wind has been increasing since the early hours of this morning from 6 knots back up to 11.3 knots of breeze at midday.
Although MacArthur is desperately waiting for the south-east Trade Winds to take affect, she is already concerned about the next major weather hurdle that lies ahead, in the form of the Doldrums that can easily stall B&Q's progress northwards. The effect of the Doldrums is not certain as it is a constantly evolving weather phenomenom where the south-east Trade Winds meet the north-east Trade Winds, the other side of the Equator, effectively cancelling each other out [see Jargon Buster below]. Commanders' Weather are estimating that MacArthur will cross the Equator on Friday, hopefully west of 27 degrees west but would prefer B&Q to be as far east as practical to set up for the North Atlantic. "Also remember, strong trade winds, small doldrums, weak trade winds, large doldrums - we know trade winds are not good in the southern hemisphere now as Ellen is living that!" said Ken Campbell of Commanders'. B&Q is 900 miles south of the Equator and 600 miles ESE miles of Salvador on the coast of Brazil having covered 22,785 miles of the course at an average speed of 16.3 knots.
Joyon starts to slow down as of tomorrow, as his daily 24-hour mileage slips to 162 miles tomorrow and 130 miles the day after [these are VMG distances, ie distance sailed towards the finish, not through the water] as he got stuck close to the coast of Brazil. For MacArthur, the light airs may be testing her mental resolve but she continues to find time for recuperation and reflection: "It's actually quite beautiful [out here], and having just a little time to rest, and recover in stable conditions has probably done me the world of good before what I am sure will be a stressful, stromy and tense final two weeks..." See Ellen's latest email in full below, or click here http://www.teamellen.com/ellen.asp?artid=2197
Sadly, Ellen's Offshore Challenges sailing teammate, Nick Moloney, lying in 7th place in the solo, non-stop Vendée Globe race, has been forced to withdraw from the race following major technical failure to the keel, which has led to the keel breaking away from the boat. Nick is safe and the situation is stable as the shore team work to get him and Skandia back to shore. This was Nick's first Vendée Globe and he was competing in Ellen's old Open 60 Kingfisher, that she sailed into second place in the 2000/2001 Vendée Globe. http://www.nickmoloney.com
FROM ELLEN TODAY 25.1.04:
What was your reaction on hearing the news about Nick?
I was absolutely shocked this morning when I heard the news that Nick's keel had come off. I was worried for his safety but it seems the boat is fine and everything seems stable. But to imagine after all that time racing, all that time on your own, then suddenly for that whole dream to be just slaughtered in a few seconds, that's awful to be going through. And not only will he now not be finishing the Vendée, but he's got to come to terms with that, get the boat into port and realise that all those years of work, those dreams, will lead to no Vendée Globe. I don't know if he's got ideas to go again in four years time, based on previous conversations, I doubt that, but it just seems very, very cruel after all he's been through for that to happen.
South Atlantic is certainly proving to be a harsh place for everyone?
It's amazing really, you couldn't wish for a more beautiful place to be sailing in, we've got 8-10 knots of breeze, a boat that is slipping along at 9 knots. We've got a beautiful moon - the most beautiful moon I have ever seen - it's like perfection, but you struggle to appreciate it. You don't get to live moments like this very often but the timing is not ideal and that is what makes it difficult.
What is the most difficult part of the record right now?
It's the pain of not knowing. Right now, we're going slowly, we're not going to go anywhere fast, the forecast is not going to allow us to go anywhere fast and we just don't know what's going to happen. It's this question mark - how fast can we get to the Equator, the faster we get to the Equator, the better the Equator crossing will be. The slower we get there, the worse it's going to be. We could get stuck there for two days, we just don't know. And that could seriously jeapardise the record even more, everything's a question mark. Just trying to look after the boat and sail it as fast as possible is really hard, it's so hard. It's so not over yet, we’ve still got two weeks of sailing. And you worry all the time - will we get stuck in the Doldrums for 36 hours, what does the Northern Hemisphere hold for us... All these questions - so much rattles around in your head 24 hours a day.
Are you concerned about Joyon's progress at this stage?
You know, he didn't actually have a Doldrums - he was already in the north-easterly Trades by the time he got to the Equator. We may cross ahead of him but if we get stuck for 36 hours, we will be way behind.
How are you dealing with it mentally?
I think I am dealing with it okay, trying to be philosophical and having some sleep really does help on that front. But it is just the unkown - I am just so nervous about what's going to break, what's going to go wrong, are we going to get through the Doldrums, what are we going to be dealt in the northern hemisphere, is it going to be an 80 knot storm that Britain has been hit by so many times before, or are we going to run into a high pressure - we just don't know what's going to happen. There are so many unknowns and we are getting closer to the finish - its literally just a case of 14 days and then its all over whether I've broken the record or not. I've just got to do the best I can in that time and I feel pretty nervous about that.
I just want to feel like we're going home and, right now, we're still three days away from the Equator. To take four days longer than Joyon in the South Atlantic is just terrible. I keep telling myself it's not over, we only need to break the record by a second, you know, we've just got to hang in there and do the best we can with the weather we've got. Hopefully, if we don't hit too many hurdles, we're still in with a chance.
Will you have to give more than you have already given to get to the finish?
I've put everything in - my heart, my soul, my flesh, my blood, just everything. I've never pushed this hard, I've never driven myself so hard, I've never got so close to the edge for so long - never, ever. And it's not through choice, its just through pushing so hard and the changeable conditions and the demands of a boat like this. It's been a real rollercoaster - I really had to grunt up, and it's not over yet, we're not there yet. When we get north of the Doldrums, I'll start to feel happier, I think. It will start to get cooler and we should have some relative concentrated north-east Trade Winds, even if they are not that strong, it should be relatively fast sailing and if we can have that and get some miles in to the finish... We've just got to do the best we can.
ELLEN EMAIL FROM LAST NIGHT 24.1.05:
It's flat calm outside as we spend another 24 hour period on this incredibly flat sea... It's a strange sensation to be out here, still with the clock ticking but at the same time feeling utterly helpless and unable to make a difference. Here we have light winds, and that's that... We can sail our optimum upwind - and that's the best we can do for now... It's actually quite beautiful, and having just a little time to rest, and recover in stable conditions has probably done me the world of good before what I am sure will be a stressful, stromy and tense final two weeks.. <> is as ready as she will ever be, I have checked, rechecked and hope that we can do no more.. I am OK - I think I've managed my time pretty well to try to de-tune a little and find myself again after the last few weeks of near exhaustion... That's a good thing I guess that has come out of this... Its incredible to think that we've been out here for almost 60 days, and that xmas and New year are all behind us.. It seems like only yesterday that we slipped our lines from Falmouth, seen off by a fantastic flotilla of boats.. but on the other hand it feels like life onboard is almost all I know now, and that re adjusting to another life 'the' other life wil be hard.. But hey.... we're still a couple of weeks away, so life here goes on... In some ways I really am looking forward to finishing, to see everyone again, those I've been apart from for almost two months, I am tired and a bit beat up - and this journey drawing to an end will help that. But I think the index draw to the finish is to finally end the worry, pressure and strain that my mind and body is under right now. It's the not knowing - how we'll finish, what will break, that's what takes it toll... Take the record away, and it simply becomes a voyage around the world - add the record again, and it becomes a very real and very arduous race...a race against time, my invisible competitor - but above all - a race against my own capabilities and myself...
exx
WEATHER ANALYSIS FROM COMMANDERS' WEATHER 0600 GMT:
Trade winds are starting to become established along Ellen’s route. Winds have shifted into the NE, but reindex quite light, generally 5-9 kts. During Tuesday, the NE winds will slowly increase throughout the day. Wind speeds will average around or a little above 10 kts. Wind directions will continue to be NE during the day. Skies will be mostly sunny and it will be hot.
Conditions will continue to change during Tuesday night and Wednesday. Wind speeds will continue to slowly increase and will average close to 13 kts during the daylight hours on Wednesday. Wind directions will become ENE and then E during the day – this will allow Ellen to sail a more northerly course. Conditions will continue to improve Wednesday night and Thursday.
Wind forecasts
Wind directions are TRUE, wind speed in kts, time is UTC
Tue, Jan 25
12: 020-040/ 8-12
18: 020-040/ 9-13
Fair to occasionally partly cloudy thru Thursday
Wed, Jan 26 - winds increase some
00: 040-060/10-15
06: 060-080/11-15
12: 070-090/10-15, near 10 30s/29 40w
18: 070-090/11-16
JARGON BUSTER: THE DOLDRUMS. At the Equator, there is an area known technically as the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). In very basic terms its where the North East Trade winds and the South East trade winds meet each other, effectively cancelling each other out as the result is air moving more vertically than horizontally - vertical air makes for a suction effect resulting in either no wind or often violent rain squalls. In the old days sailing ships might be stuck for weeks in the Doldrums. These days, it can still be race losing or winning, but the light and powerful trimaran can accelerate so quickly that she can use each squall to get B&Q across relatively quickly – albeit with large amounts of sweat and frustration on the way!
PARTNER OF THE DAY : TBS
Official shoe partner to 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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