18.03.2005
Two different oceans
Tony Bullimore and is team on Daedalus are trucking north as a weak front passes over the boat. The front, bringing squally weather, is a relief from the frustrating calms of a day ago and the big cat is making steady progress up the coast of Argentina. At the 07:00 GMT poll on Friday morning Daedalus was 425 miles from the Los Lobos turning mark. The forecast, however, shows that the next 24 hours are going to tricky sailing for the crew. A new low pressure system is currently forming over land to the north and west of Daedalus. It’s forecast to move southeast and deepen, meaning that it will pass directly in front of Tony and his team feeding the same bumpy conditions and vicious squalls that Doha 2006 experienced as they neared the turning mark. This region is known for Pampero’s, small localized squalls that hit with an intensity that can cripple and unaware crew. The systems develop over land where hot dry air from the Argentinean pampas generate energy before moving out over the ocean. The first sign is a low, cigar-shaped cloud on the horizon. The ocean becomes still and glassy with a sudden increase in humidity. Then the wind comes, strong and gusty, howling through the rigging and driving horizontal spray that makes it difficult to reduce sail and keep the boat moving in the right direction. These waters are familiar to Tony and he will be sure to be keeping an eye out for these unwanted Argentinean exports.
Meanwhile on the other side of the ocean Doha 2006 has been dealt their first bad wind card in many weeks. After being forced south to pass under the South Atlantic High, they continued sailing east under a second high that had formed in the Indian Ocean. A day ago Brian Thompson was hoping that they would be able to skirt under that system as well, but it’s not to be. The Indian Ocean high has steadily increased in size, rising in pressure until it has become a giant obstacle that stands between Doha 2006 and Madagascar. Passing under and to the east of the system now seems an impossible route and Brian and his team have made the tough decision to pass it to the west. This new tactic means strong headwinds for the next few days as the Qatari cat sails north out of the Southern Ocean. They will not see any relief from the upwind sailing until they are close to the Indian Ocean island of Madagascar, still 1,500 miles away. The time for some prudent sailing is ahead. It’s precisely these same conditions that crippled Geronimo a month ago. Olivier de Kersauson believes the boat his a submerged object, however the relentless, bone-jarring pounding experienced as a maxi-cat goes to windward are precisely the kind of conditions when damage can happen. They are clearly taking it slow as their days run for the last 24-hours was a paltry 245 miles. Team Daedalus has already taken over a hundred miles out of their lead.
During the first half of the race we received updates from Cheyenne navigator Wouter Verbraak. His analysis was invaluable and made for great reading. Now, however, with Cheyenne out of the race we are no longer receiving the daily updates. Verbraak is no back in Holland with his family and sent a final report. Here it is in full:
THE LONG JOURNEY HOME
With the loud bang, our non-stop round the world race came to an end, but at the same time a new journey started; to get the boat safely to the harbour and the crew home.
Thanks to some very valuable contacts in Argentina, the Argentinean Navy was mobilised within hours after our dismasting. The closest navy vessel was only 140 NM south of us, and within 10 hours she arrived at our position. Soon Gordon, Herve Jan and myself were transferred to the navy vessel to facilitate the communication with the naval officers. After a warm welcome from the crew on board the Castillo we went directly to the bridge, where we got introduced to the commander and his staff. They were very keen to proceed immediately with setting up a tow, as the sun would go down within an hour. No more than 15 minutes later the naval vessel was in position along Cheyenne and a towing rope was transferred. Unfortunately before everything was in place, the sea anchor broke! The light cat immediately accelerated to 5 knots, and ran over the towing line! This resulted in a big mess with the towing line around the daggerboard and rudders. Not good! The only way to proceed was to let go of the towing line and start again. However, by this time darkness had set-in, which made things more complicated.
We followed the second attempt very closely from the bridge of the Castillo, and we were well impressed by the professionalism and smooth operation of the naval crew. Despite more than 20 people present on the bridge, you could have heard a needle drop. A few calm words of the commander were enough to set in motion a complex chain of commands and actions that maneuvered the Castillo within meters of the Cheyenne. Taking into account the strong winds (30 knots), waves and large difference in weight between the two boats, the operation can not be described as anything but an extraordinary display of seamanship by the Argentinean Navy. The next day and a half on the Castillo were a welcome relief from the primitive life onboard Cheyenne. Warm showers, fresh fruit and Argentinean beef, we couldn’t believe our eyes! After 30 hours, we arrived in Comodoro Rivadavia, where we docked Cheyenne amongst the local fishing boats. The locals were lining the docks to see this strange boat, and soon we were front page news. However, due to the large tide and relative unsheltered harbour, it was decided that it would be better to tow Cheyenne further up the coast to Bahia Blanca. Six of the crew were to go with her, the other seven were to get home as soon as possible.
This proved to be a new adventure in itself; all flights to Buenos Aires were full for the next four days. Trains don’t connect to this part of Argentina and coaches are infrequent. The fastest option was to rent a car and drive to Buenos Aires; a journey of 1800 km through the planes of Patagonia. Gordon, Anders, Gerard, Jim, Herve Jan and myself rented a car and started the long drive. This part of Argentina is extremely arid. The Andes takes all the rain and leaves blue skies with a few clouds for the large planes to the east. Cities are scarce, with the index industry being based on oil production. As we progressed north the landscape slowly turned green and on Monday morning we reached Buenos Aires. We managed to get flights for the same day, so after a short good-bye we all went our own ways, and that was it; I am sure our paths will cross again soon, but first we will spend time with our family and friends. The Volvo Ocean Race taught me that it will take a long time to reflect on all the intense moments we had in this trip. Despite our dismasting, we can look back at a great race, and a great journey for everybody.
There are images in the Gallery at www.oryxquest.com of Cheyenne in Argentina.
To read all the crew logs from Doha 2006 go to www.maxicatdoha.com.
To read the logs from Daedalus go to www.teambullimore.com.
There are new audio interviews with both Tony Bullimore and Brian Thompson in the Gallery at www.oryxquest.com.
--- Brian Hancock brian.hancock@qisel.com
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