Lat/Long: 10 52 S / 029 39 W (112 miles SE Recife / 640 miles S Equator)
Average Boat speed: 14.45 knots (heading N by W)
True Wind speed: 16.6 knots (direction E)
Sea temperature: 27.6 degrees C
Distance sailed so far: 23,043 miles at an average speed of 16.4 knots
(data communicated by Thrane MiniC via BT Business Broadband)
Update based on data recorded 0710 GMT...check http://www.teamellen.com for the latest data updated hourly
IN BRIEF:
* B&Q BACK IN THE PLUS ZONE, six hours ahead this morning, winds up to 23 knots in the night: "It's been a pretty full on night - I had to go to one reef and Solent."
* RACE IS ON TO GET ACROSS EQUATOR AND THROUGH THE DOLDRUMS, the sooner MacArthur gets there, the smaller the Doldrums will but they are there and they are menacing. Even if Ellen crosses the Equator ahead of Joyon's time - 36 hours stuck in this weather phenomenom would quickly put B&Q behind again.
* B&Q'S LATEST 24-HOUR RUN TOPS 300 MILES for the first time in days. The switch from behind to ahead has been partly due to Ellen's good speed, but also from the fact that Joyon was entering one of the two worst days of his Atlantic passage.
* ELLEN'S OC SAILING TEAM MATE UPDATE: Nick Moloney is waiting to pick up a tow line from the Brazilian navy who sent a ship to standby Skandia after she lost her keel yesterday, effectively ending Nick's hope of finishing his first Vendée Globe. http://www.nickmoloney.com
IN DETAIL:
After a fast night of sailing in stronger than expected easterly Trade Winds, MacArthur is now six hours ahead this morning, returning from her deficit of 13 hours behind yesterday at midday. And as the winds veer further into the ESE-SE, this will allow B&Q to take a more northerly course aiming for the Equator 640 miles ahead to put her back into the Northern Hemisphere. From 1900gmt yesterday the boat speeds just kept on racking up - 13.90 knots at 2000gmt to 19.41 knots at 0300gmt, although speeds decreasing this morning to the 14-15 knot range. "It's been a pretty full on night - I had to go to one reef and Solent. I've had 23 knots of breeze in the night and sailing virtually upwind to try and keep the course. There's been loads of clouds around and a huge fishing boat I had to dodge as well. We're basically beating upwind in a pretty horrible sea and makes you realise this is what we will be doing the other side of the Equator but we're getting there. There's a lot of new noises because we've not really sailed like this for a while and it's weird to hear all the noise the boat makes when we're bouncing around. Yesterday evening, even when we started going fast, things were initially quite stable, but things are uncomfortable now in this sea." After sailing for several days with full sail up, Ellen had to dig deep again to go through the sail changing gear-shifts, back down to one reef and the Solent jib [70sqm] - replacing the larger 106sqm genoa. To finally feel the wind in the sails again will come as a huge relief to MacArthur who has spent over nearly five days where the wind has hardly averaged over 6-8 knots. The period of light airs may have served Ellen well in allowing her time to recover a bit from the relentless pace of this record attempt and the punishing mast climbs to repair the mast track that left her severely bruised, but it did little to calm her frayed nerves. Ellen has sailed over 23,000 miles through the water, and has less than 4,000 miles to go to the finish (as the crow flies, and still a very long way!). VMG [velocity made good towards the finish] is improving as wind veers more allowing Ellen to take a more northerly and direct route. Hopefully, B&Q may reach the Equator by the early hours of Friday morning - to stay ahead of Joyon's time, B&Q must cross by 0835gmt on Saturday, 29th January but that, perhaps, is a secondary concern to Ellen now, as a fast Doldrums crossing is all she is wishing for.
The sooner MacArthur can cross the Equator and get to the Doldrum area identified by Commanders', the smaller the Doldrums will be - this is the word from Commanders' Weather. After 1800gmt on Friday, the Doldrums area is set to increase and Ellen needs to push on to try and cross the Equator between 28-30 degrees west - eastwards of 27 degrees west and they are too great already. The Doldrums are currently sitting 1-2 degrees north of the Equator and the ENE Trade Winds are unlikely to develop until around 4 degrees north. The Doldrums is effectively where the South East Trade winds and the North East trade winds meet each other, effectively cancelling each other out and as a result the air is moving more vertically than horizontally - vertical air makes for a suction effect resulting in either no wind or often violent rain squalls. How quickly B&Q can get across is the big question and it is not inconceivable that Ellen could get trapped in this weather phenomenom for 36 hours which will quickly put her behind in the record stakes. "Francis 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," said Ellen.
B&Q's latest 24-hour run tops 300 miles for the first time in days. The switch from behind to ahead has been partly due to Ellen's good speed, but also from the fact that Joyon was entering one of the two worst days of his Atlantic passage. Francis Joyon's 24 hour runs, in terms of miles made towards the finish (VMG miles rather than distance sailed through the water), were for today 162 miles and 130 miles tomorrow, as he was stuck upwind off the Brazilian coast. Then speeds picked up again 232 miles, 257 miles crossing the Equator. Important to note that his fastest days between now and home were the last four days with big 400+ milers.
WEATHER ANALYSIS FROM COMMANDERS' WEATHER 0600 GMT:
Surprisingly strong trade winds during the past 6 hours. Must be a little careful because the wind speeds diminish and the winds back the closer we get to 30W. Regardless, this will be a short term problem as winds will begin to veer again, in all areas, by 1200UTC Wed. During the 2nd half of Wednesday, winds will slowly veer and slowly increase. This will allow Ellen to accelerate again and sail a most favorable northerly heading. Conditions should be quite good for much of Thursday with ESE and SE winds around 20 kts.
Will reach the doldrums on Friday. The sooner we arrive, the smaller the doldrums will be, but they will become quite large by 1800UTC on Friday. The ENE trade winds will develop around 4N.
Wind forecasts
Wind directions are TRUE, wind speed in kts, time is UTC
Wed, Jan 26
09: 050-070/14-18
12: 070-090/14-18
18: 080-100/14-18
Partly cloudy tonight, but fair to partly cloudy daytime Wed thru Thu. Satellite imagery is not real good, but nothing on satellite looks like a heavy squall in your vicinity
Thurs, Jan 27
00: 080-100/16-22
06: 090-110/17-23
12: 100-120/18-24, near 3 45s/30w
18: 110-130/14-18
http://www.teamellen.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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