Figaro Solo Transatlantic race 2005 11.04.2005 DAY 9: SKANDIA headS FOR THE BAHAMAS... Skandia is a leading provider of long-term savings and pioneer of the highly successful multi-manager investment approach. IN BRIEF: * FLEET SPLITS IN TO THREE DISTINCT GROUPS AS THEY SETTLE IN TO SECOND HALF OF ATLANTIC CROSSING... * SAM HAS RENDEZVOUS WITH PARENTS AS SHE PASSES ISLAND OF FAIAL... * "I'M HAPPY WITH MY COURSE AND MY DECISIONS. I FEEL LIKE IT'S AN ADVANTAGE TO BE SOUTH..." * "PHYSICALLY THIS FIRST WEEK HAS BEEN EXHAUSTING, MY BODY ACHES ALL OVER AND MY HANDS ARE SO SORE..." IN DETAIL: Leaving the Azores behind them, the fleet are now settling in to the second half of the Atlantic crossing. It was a big day for Sam yesterday, not only due to the passage through the Azores but there was also a chance of meeting up with her parents who live on their boat in Horta Marina, on the island of Faial which is approximately 50miles southwest of Graciosa, the island Sam past closest to... "Finally we made radio contact and tried to work out a converging course, but I was a little too far ahead. I saw their magnificent yacht, a 59 foot wooden schooner, 'Ninita' cruising along behind me! We spoke on the VHF for over an hour. I wished I could slow down a bit, but this is a race, so we never got really close, so after a little while we said our goodbyes and 'Ninita' turned around and headed for Horta. I was alone again!" The fleet is splitting up into 3 distinct groups. Five boats in the north (CERCLE VERT 2nd, AQUARELLE.COM 4th, TOTAL 5th, COUTAT ROHERIG 6th, LITTLE BLACK SHARK 9th), five boats in the middle (BOSTIK 1st, CREDIT MARITIME-ZEROTWO 3rd, SKANDIA 7th, BANQUE POPULAIRE 8th & ENTREPREDRE AU PAYS DE LORIENT 11th), and two are taking the southern route (GEDIMAT 10th and ATAO AUDIO SYSTEM 12th) - looking for the trades much earlier. "I'm happy with my course and my decisions and I'm happy that I didn't take the gybe south like Dominic (ATAO AUDIO SYSTEM), even if it does pay off, I think it's too much of a risk. I'm happy in the middle of the fleet. Looking at the long-term weather forecast, I can't really see much reason to stay in the north. For me the aim is whenever I can to heat up and gain a bit of south. I feel like it's an advantage to be south and maybe it's a disadvantage for those boats up north, but I could be wrong!" The fleet are currently sailing in a more stable south-easterly wind of 15-20knots, or up to 25knots for the boats further south. The wind is expected to turn to the east by this evening (Monday). If the breeze reduces in the north we could dramatic places changing, with the possibility of the northern pack slipping down the rankings. EMAIL LOG FROM SAM Hello! I am writing this at 02.35, in order to keep myself awake until the 03.10 compulsory vacation. Today was a BIG day! It was the passage of Flores Island in the Azores, which is a big waypoint for this race. It is nice to think about a long race broken down into "manageable" sections. In my head, I have Azores as the first stage, then Transatlantic as the second, longest stage and then the last section from the passage at Turks to the finish in Cuba. In the end, my route took me very close to the islands Graciosa, Sao Jorge, Pico and Faial. I stayed further away than the ideal route to avoid too much "shadowing" by these high volcanic islands, which was a shame, as I didn't get to see them. I did see the small island of Graciosa however, loom out of the mist. As I got close (before I could see Graciosa) I could smell the land which is a fantastic scent, and I think it is only moments like these that I appreciate my sense of smell and how powerful it is. Now, for me, the other important part of the day was to try to meet up with my parents, who live on their boat in Horta marina (Faial). It was a bit tricky, as this would only be possible if I passed close enough for them to be able to work out where I was (by phone call - they do not have iridium for the moment) and make a dead reckoning to aim for. In fact, last night, they had decided it probably wouldn't work, but when I called them this morning, they said OK! So, finally we made radio contact and tried to work out a converging course, but I was a little too far ahead. But anyway, I saw their magnificent yacht (59 foot wooden schooner) 'Ninita' cruising along behind me, white sails glowing in the sun, and we spoke on the VHF for over an hour. We were both going at the same speed. I wished I could slow down a bit, but this is a race, so we never got really close, so after a little while we said our goodbyes and 'Ninita' turned around and headed for Horta. I was alone again! (before that, I hadn't seen my parents since they left the UK last June, so it was an amazing moment!). Then, just as I was contemplating my solitude, I had a call on the VHF from the Horta Marina office, to wish me luck and to say that everyone there were following my race - how amazing! The guy spoke perfect English, and was SO nice, he seemed absolutely over the moon to be able to talk to someone in the middle of a solo transatlantic race! That was lovely! Then, finally, I was alone. Luckily, now, we have a stable wind, and SKANDIA is under autopilot, happily marching through the waves all alone, while I can rest, write, and eat a proper meal. The whole day was exhausting as the wind was all over the place (changing sails all the time, wind from 18kts to over 30kts at times). In fact, physically this first week has been exhausting, and now is the first time I have a bit of down time and I am beginning to realise that I am a bit knackered and beaten up! My body aches all over (muscular, and also bruises), my hands are SO sore (from salt water and ropes), my nose is sore and wind burnt. I think I need to take a minute to try to treat some of my aches and pains if I get a chance! AND my feet are wet! I HATE having wet feet. I have stuffed my boots with my pre-start weather forecast sheets (no longer needed) to try to dry them. (Feet currently being housed in plastic bags!) I am hoping for a drying day asap with some sunshine! Preferably tomorrow?? Speak soon Sam xx TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO WITH SAM How was your passage through the Azores? and how was it seeing your parents? "It was cool, it was fun to talk to my parents and incredible to see their boat. We were both reaching in 30 knots of wind and they were matching my speed but were 1-2 miles behind. We kind of converged on a 90 degree angle because they came up from the south and I was coming from the NE. We worked out our converging but they left a little bit late because they thought I was going to be too far away but then they changed their mind. Then they tacked round because their boat is too difficult to gybe in 30 knots, and were parallel to me but they were too far behind. We were going the same speed pretty much, they had me on their radar and they were going to put their engine on to keep up with me! In the end, they decided it would take too long to catch me and seeing as I was in a race I couldn't slow down, so we decided it was good enough! It was so nice to see them and talk to them after such a long time." How did you feel when you and your parents went your separate ways? "It was really sad because I'd been hoping that I'd see them for all this time in the race. The Azores is quite a big waypoint in the race anyway, and it's almost like you get to the finish but then you're not finished and you've got a massive great big thing ahead of you. It was the same with my parents, I could almost see them but at the same time I hadn't really seen them properly and then they were gone and I won't see them until they get back to the UK. Hopefully they'll leave sometime during my race so when I get back they'll not be far away! After they left, they had obviously told all their friends that I was passing and I had a call from Horta marina when I was about 40miles away from the island. They called me on the VHF to say good luck, to let me know that they've been following me, to tell me that my parents are really cool and they said hopefully one day I'll come to see them! It was really funny!” How does it feel going past this waypoint with the next one 2500 miles away? "It's strange, a bit like when I did the Mini-Transat (2001) - it was the same. We had a waypoint to pass through the Cape Verde Islands, I was really unprepared for it and after I got to the islands, I was completely dead. This time it's a bit different and for me it's just another step. I've got on my GPS 2500 miles to go till next one. It's also quite nice to have such a long straight line ahead of me - a nice free feeling!" How are you feeling about your position in the race? "I was happy with being 5th through the Azores, that was really cool. I made a bit of a mistake going too far south and I reckon I did about 30 miles extra. Then reflecting on that, I managed to catch some of it back up again because the I came in to the Azores on a really good spinnaker angle. The others were a bit tighter and a bit slower. I'm happy with my course and my decisions and I'm happy that I didn't take the gybe south like Dominic (ATAO AUDIO SYSTEM), even if it does pay off, I think it's too much of a risk. I'm happy in the middle of the fleet, I'd be happier if I was at the front but I'm happy that I'm between the north and the south.” At the moment, looking at the whole fleet, there seem to be 5 boats in the north and 4 other boats in the middle with you...do you think the boats in the north may run out of wind? “I'm not sure if they'll run out completely but I know that further south there is more wind so we'll have more. Looking at the long-term weather forecast, I can't really see much reason to stay in the north. With this race and the way we've studied it I've got a big black line on my chart at 45 degrees west where really we need to be as far south as possible cause that's when you can hook in to the trade winds for sure. Obviously watching that there's no cold fronts or depressions further below. For me the aim is whenever I can to heat up and gain a bit of south. I feel like it's an advantage to be south and maybe it's a disadvantage for those boats up north, but I could be wrong!..." Listen to the full audio from Sam at Audio/Video section of website Communications thanks to BT Broadband LATEST POSITIONS 1000 BST 11/4/05 (boat name / average boat speed /distance to leader) 1. BOSTIK / 9.2kts / 2820nm to finish 2. CERCLE VERT / 8.1kts / +13.3nm 3. CREDIT MARITIME - ZEROTWO / 8.6kts / +22.2nm 4. AQUARELLE.COM / 8.9kts / +22.6nm 5. TOTAL / 8.0kts / +68.9nm 6. COUTOT ROEHRIG / 9.1kts / +70.6nm 7. SKANDIA / 7.8kts / +74.0nm 8. BANQUE POPULAIRE / 8.3kts / +87.0nm 9. LITTLE BLACK SHARK / 8.7kts / +122.5nm 10. GEDIMAT / 10.9kts / +180.9m 11. ENTREPRENDRE AU PAYS DE LORIENT / 9.9kts / 186.2nm 12. ATAO AUDIO SYSTEM / 10.3kts / +198.9nm Official race website: http://www.trophee-bpe2005.com (French only) 2005 FIGARO PROGRAMME 3 April: Trophée BPE 2005 (St.Nazaire – Cienfuegos, Cuba) 6-25 June: La Generali Solo 2005 1-28 August: La Solitaire Afflelou Le Figaro 2005 PARTNER OF THE DAY : NAUTIX Official Supplier of Underwater Finishings to Sam and the Offshore Challenges Sailing Team http://www.samdavies.com/nautix Email powered by Active 24 For more information visit http://www.samdavies.com/skandia or contact : Josie Robinson (English) josie@offshorechallenges.com T: +44(0) 870 063 0210 Caroline Muller (Francais) bienvenue@welcomeonboard.fr T: +33 (0)6 80 40 00 24 Other information sources online: Finistère Course au Large Classe Figaro Bénéteau Copyright © 1996-2016 - SEGEL.DE