06.11.2005
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DAY 2: A HARD DAYS NIGHT AS SILL ET VEOLIA TAKE POLE POSITION
IN BRIEF:
A TOUGH FIRST NIGHT AS WINDS GUST IN EXCESS OF 40 KNOTS
24 HOURS INTO THE RACE - ELLEN AND BILOU LEAD THE FLEET TOWARD CAPE FINISTERRE
SIXTEEN MILES SEPARATE TOP FIVE BOATS, AS THE FLEET FACE TOUGH TACTICAL CHOICES AS THEY head SOUTH
“ ITS BEEN A TOUGH FIRST NIGHT, BUT WE MADE IT THROUGH WITHOUT ANY BREAKAGES AND ALL IS WELL ON BOARD "
IN DETAIL:
As the end of the first full day of racing approaches Ellen and Bilou are holding pole position, closely chased by the leading pack. At 1300GMT Sill et Veolia was making steady progress on a SSW heading at around 11 knots. Just over 16 miles separates the top five boats as the fleet head past Ushant across Biscay, and on to Cape Finisterre. The latest position reports show that Ecover, Virbac and Bonduelle are all close on Sill et Veolia’s heals having all made gains in the last two hours. It has been a tough night onboard Sill et Veolia, as Ellen and Bilou were thrown around in the rough upwind conditions experiencing around 30 knots of wind. But, they are reindexing in good spirits as they focus on the next section of the race.
Bonduelle was the first boat to pass through the cold front early this morning and tacked south. Approaching the front, conditions become increasingly rough with winds in excess of 40 knots, however once though, winds are more westerly, and lighter at around 20kts. By 1300hrs all the boats had tacked and were making the difficult choice of how fast to sail in the Bay of Biscay – by sailing higher but more slowly the boats can place themselves closer to the next cold front (expected tomorrow) but this loses them miles on the rankings. If they can sail lower and faster, they will make a more southerly progress, giving them more miles to make to the west to clear Cape Finisterre.
The next cold front is set to approach from the west tomorrow, meaning a tack back to the west and into stronger conditions once more, however once past the landmark of Finisterre, the fleet should enjoy some heavy air downwind sailing - a respite from going upwind in 40kts!
From Ellen onboard:
“It has been a tough first night, but we made it through without any breakages and all is well onboard. The conditions have been extreme and although it has been full on, the boat is sailing well and we are happy if not a little tired and wet! Our progress has been good so far, but we can’t afford to relax, as the top five boats are still close together. It is early days and this is still anyone’s race at the moment, our tactical choices over the next 24hrs will be crucial to indextaining our position within the fleet.”
OPEN 60 RANKINGS 1300 GMT:
1. SILL ET VEOLIA / DISTANCE TO FINISH 4147.3 MILES
2. ECOVER / + 4.9 MILES
3. VIRBAC-PAPREC / + 7.5 MILES
4. BONDUELLE / + 13 MILES
5. PRO FORM / + 16.6 MILES
FOR LATEST POSITIONS CLICK HERE
PARTNER OF THE DAY:SEEDA/COWES WATERFRONT
Offshore Challenges Sailing Team UK Base
http://www.teamellen.com/seeda
For more information on the Transat Jacques Vabre log onto: http://www.jacques-vabre.com
For further information, please contact Offshore Challenges Sailing Team:
Lou Newlands or Lucy Harwood
T: +44 (0)870 063 0210
E: lou.newland@ocgroup.com or lucy.harwood@ocgroup.com
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