07.02.2005
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72ND MEDIA UPDATE: SO NEAR AND YET SO FAR, FINISH LINE
STILL ANOTHER 200 MILES...
KEY DATA DAY 71 0710 GMT:
Distance ahead: 585 miles
Time ahead: 1 day 8 hours [representing 66.67% of time reindexing] calculated using the time it took for Joyon to get to the same Distance to Finish as Ellen's current position
OMEGA: Official timekeeper for Ellen MacArthur
Lat/Long: 45 10 N / 007 22 W
Average Boat speed: 8.95 knots (heading NNE)
True Wind speed: 15.5 knots (direction E by N)
Distance sailed so far: 27,133 miles at an average speed of 13.9 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
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IN BRIEF:
* SLOW AND SLEEPLESS NIGHT FOR B&Q SKIPPER Ellen MacArthur as she tried to get through the weather transition into the new breeze.
* HOPES OF MAKING FINISH LINE OFF USHANT THIS AFTERNOON have all but disappeared although current routing models suggest crossing the line later tonight, arriving Falmouth tomorrow.
* SLEEP? A BIT SHORT OF IT: Ellen attacked the difficult sailing conditions of last night with a viewpoint that it was her last night at sea, and got just 15 minutes in total of sleep.
* * JOYON'S 72 DAY, 22 HOUR, 54 MINUTE WORLD RECORD rocked the sailing world when he crossed the finish line at 0654 GMT on 3rd February 2004
To listen to Ellen's audio, courtesy of Geolink/Iridium, click here
http://www.ocftp2.com/audio/ellen/em070205a_uk_e.mp3
IN DETAIL:
Slow and sleepless night for B&Q skipper Ellen MacArthur as she tried to get through the weather transition into the new and more favourable breeze. B&Q only made 100 miles distance towards the finish in the last 24 hours and at times during the night was actually sailing away from the finish - not surprisingly her lead on the record has dropped to 1 day and 8 hours. In comparison, Joyon on his 90ft multihull IDEC, was storming to the finish line clocking up 400+ miles in the same 24-hour period. Things can change quickly when MacArthur's 'virtual' competitor is having the opposite conditions to her - fast and in the right direction! B&Q was pushing eastwards most of yesterday as the northerly gale at the weekend slowly abated. The breeze was forecast to shift into the east and then south-east in the hourly hours of this morning. But the transition proved to be elusive with massive wind shifts of up to a 100 degrees forcing Ellen to tack the boat through the wind 11 times - one tack taking her towards the finish, the next away. It wasn't until just before sunrise that Ellen made what she hoped was the final tack to the north, although the permanence of the new wind direction is yet to be confirmed.
Hopes of making finish line off Ushant this afternoon have all but disappeared although current routing models suggest crossing the line later tonight is still possible - current ETA between 2300GMT and 0600GMT. Still 217 miles to go and with breeze in the 8-15 knot range this morning, Ellen will be anxious for south-easterly wind to become more stable and stronger, so she can power on towards the finish line that is so tantalising close but yet still so far away. The new best 'guess' for actually arriving in Falmouth will be Tuesday morning at present, all being well onboard.
Sleep? A bit short of it really! Ellen attacked the difficult sailing conditions of last night with a viewpoint that it was her last night at sea, and got just 15 minutes in total of sleep. The bad news for her this morning was that it doesn't look like it will be the last night. Getting some kind of naps will be critical for her today with extra vigilance also being required as she tracks across the Bay of Biscay quite close the route the cargo ships take from Finisterre to Ushant. On a call this morning Ellen admitted that she was really looking forward to seeing her family and friends, but that seeing land again would be a strange concept after so long at sea. Full audio will be available on the website today in the AUDIO/VIDEO section.
Joyon's 72 day, 22 hour, 54 minute world record rocked the sailing world when he crossed the finish line at 0654 GMT on 3rd February 2004, taking 21 days off the previous solo record set by 2001 Vendée Globe winner, Michael Desjoyeaux on his 60ft monohull PRB. As Ellen said before leaving: "It is the kind of record that deserves to stand for a decade or more..." when she only gave herself a 25 per cent chance of even getting close to his time. Francis Joyon set on 22 November 2003 on board his 90-foot trimaran to cross the start line off Brest. He subsequently set new solo times to every major landmark along the way - Equator, three Southern Ocean capes and back up to the Equator. IDEC covered 26,938.42 nautical miles at an average speed of 15.38 knots. Joyon chose to do his own weather routing for the trip and quietly and simply got on with the job. If one person can truly empathise with what MacArthur has been through so far it is Joyon - their respect and admiration for each other is mutual.
FROM ELLEN:
The last 24 hours have been absolutely horrendous. We've had everything from full on gusts of 40 knots in the tail end of a storm, we've had huge sea states at the end of yesterday after the storm in the north, we sailed out of that sea state during the night still with some very strong gusts and we had to tack in a small low pressure system, off the north of Spain and that's proved very, very complicated. What we thought would be one tack on a shift off to the north ended up being seven tacks during the night. I had 100 degree wind shifts which lasted for 45 minutes which meant I had to tack and then came back again. It's been very, very variable very, very tough. And unbelieveably cold out here.
There is definitely still a chance to break the record as long as I don't hit anything or break anything between where I am now and the finish line. If all goes well it looks like I should be finishing during the night, tonight. But obviously looking at what we had last night we got held up by about 6 hours, and the winds should not be that strong on the way up the Bay of Biscay so it all depends on what wind we have and what direction it chooses to blow
I'm absolutely exhausted, I had about 15 minutes sleep I think through the night, there has been ships everywhere, rain squalls. We had the wind direction changing. At one point the boat tacked itself because the wind shift was so great so! It's been a full on night and I am very, very tired. I was hoping to be in before sunset tonight but that looks absolutely impossible now, so I'm just going to have to hang in here and just try and hold on until the finish.
Getting to land is a strange thing to say because it's been a long time since we've even seen land. We didn't see Cape Horn, all I've seen have seen are the Islands in the South Atlantic. There's not been a lot of land sighted from B&Q so the thought of coming back to land is pretty novel in itself. I'm very much looking forward to getting in, to seeing all the team, my friends and family and all the supporters. I can't wait to get in. It's been a very, very long trip and an exceptionally hard one. I'll be glad to be crossing that finish line and finally feeling a little bit of relief.
WEATHER ANALYSIS FROM COMMANDERS' WEATHER 0600 GMT:
In the rules of record attempts, skippers are allowed to use the advice of shore-based weather experts to assist them with their choices. Ellen is working with two teams, principally Commanders Weather in the USA, backed up by Meeno Schrader in Germany.
From: Commanders' Weather Corp 0600UTC Monday, February 7, 2005
Summary:
1) Still having some clouds and showers playing with the wind and causing large variations in direction
a) speed also up and down, although the overall trend is to diminish
2) Would like to tack during the next hour - hopefully getting the breeze towards 060-065 or further right and then we go
3) The more E and ESE flow still out close to 7-7 30w but edging west and will be closer to 8w by 12utc Monday
4) Winds will be quite light Mon morning, but may still be briefly gusty at times near a shower
a) most of the showers should end by 9-12utc
5) Flow then clocks into the SE and should be in that by 11-12utc
a) breeze up to 11-17 kts around and after 15utc
6) Flow may bend more SSE to S towards 00utc although near shoreline could have a more SE flow
a) lightest wind near shoreline around and after 00utc Tuesday
7) SSW to SW flow on Tues, generally 8-15 kts
Strategy
1) we tack within the next hour or so then
2) favor the right side of rhumb line to get the more stable SE wind over the next few hours
Wind forecasts
Wind directions are TRUE, wind speed in kts, time is UTC
Mon, Feb 7
09: 070-100/ 8-15 - breeze a little stronger to the N
12: 100-120/ 8-15, near 46N/7W - wind lighter to the S
15: 140-160/11-17
18: 140-160/11-17
Cloudy to partly cloudy with a few leftover showers thru 09-12utc
Breeze may occasionally drop to 6-8 kts between 08-10utc
Tues, Feb 8
00: 160-180/12-17, Ushant, but 130-150/ 6-12 along the shoreline
06: 150-180/ 8-14, highest offshore and more right offshore
12: 180-200/ 8-14
Variable cloudiness
FRANCIS JOYON 24 HOUR RUNS
Francis Joyon's 24 hour runs. These are VMG distances, ie distance sailed towards the finish, not through the water:
26.1.05 IDEC 162 miles / B&Q 388 miles
27.1.05 IDEC 130 miles / B&Q 367 miles
28.1.05 IDEC 232 miles / B&Q 258 miles
29.1.05 IDEC 257 miles / B&Q 317 miles
30.1.05 IDEC 300 miles / B&Q 374 miles
31.1.05 IDEC 299 miles / B&Q 398 miles
1.2.05 IDEC 278 miles / B&Q 412 miles
2.2.05 IDEC 221 miles / B&Q 305 miles
3.2.05 IDEC 212 miles / B&Q 154 miles
4.2.05 IDEC 162 miles / B&Q 154 miles
5.2.05 IDEC 284 miles / B&Q 248 miles
6.2.05 IDEC 383 miles / B&Q 327 miles
7.2.05 IDEC 400 miles / B&Q 100 miles
8.2.05 IDEC 439 miles
9.2.05 IDEC 345 miles
[dates normalised to Ellen's]
PARTNER OF THE DAY : OYS
Official rigging and hydraulics supplier to Ellen and the Offshore Challenges Sailing Team
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