11:00 UTC 26/11/06
MEANWHILE BACK IN THE RACE.......
The skippers, teams and followers of the VELUX 5 OCEANS are still digesting the extraordinary events of the past few days. Alex Thomson took the devastating decision to abandon HUGO BOSS in the Southern Ocean (1,000 miles south of Africa). The young skipper was then heroically rescued by fellow Brit and race rival Mike Golding (ECOVER). Hours after this act of bravery and seamanship, Golding suffered the cruel blow of a broken mast and is now working with Thomson to get his boat to Cape Town as quickly as possible. The drama and action at sea are a testament to the experienced sailors and the IMOCA class.
Away from the drama below South Africa, Bernard Stamm (CHEMINEES POUJOULAT) continues to hold a commanding lead of 895 miles over Kojiro Shiraishi on SPIRIT OF YUKOH. The defending champion had a tiring night of very strong and changeable wind conditions, with gusts peaking at 40-50 knots and suffered two knockdowns overnight. But demonstraing the true grit we have come to expect of the defending champion, the Swiss skipper got little sleep as he forced to make numerous sail changes throughout the night. Koji, the Japanese hero, has reported plunging temperatures and has even made a snowman on deck as he takes second place in the race.
Back in the fleet, Sir Robin Knox-Johnston (SAGA INSURANCE) continues to be plagued by problems with his auto pilot systems as he begins to turn west away from Brazil and head towards South Africa. The experienced British skipper and sailing legend is therefore being conservative with sail selection and not wishing to push the boat too hard. On the bright side, Sir Robin is beginning to reflect that his later than anticipated arrival in Fremantle and potentially missing the Ashes series might be a blessing in disguise as the outcome of the opening test proves to be dismal for the Brits. Unai Basurko (PAKEA), despite having reported port rudder problems, continues to chase down Graham Dalton (A SOUTHERN MAN AGD), close the gap in his bid to move out of last place.
Bernard Stamm, CHEMINEES POUJOULAT:
"I'm very sorry for what happened to Alex. It is very sad to leave a boat behind. I hope he is well. Very disappointed also when I heard about Mike's problem. I hope he will be able to fix his problem and return to the race. I had a cold front pass through with 45-50 knots of northerly wind, and then it turned northwest and dropped slowly. I expect it will turn to the west and increase again. This night, I was forces to change the sail configuration 11 times."
Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, SAGA INSURANCE:
"Well done Mike. A nice and tidy, professional operation. There is no higher praise. The good news today is that Alex is safe and, knowing him, it won't be long before he is out racing again, but it is a very sad end to this project for him. Mike did not need to be asked once he knew Alex's situation, he turned back immediately as you would expect. Giving assistance is not just a voluntary thing though - it is an international obligation and takes precedence over all racing rules. This mutual support amongst singlehanders goes with the general ethos of self-sufficiency."
"Still making our way south and trying to get to the 40's where the strong and generally westerly winds are found which will push us to Australia. I would have gybed for a more southerly course earlier, but it would have meant actually going South West, more than 90 degrees from the course we want and I could not bring myself to do it."
"I am losing ground a little to the others. I am afraid this is inevitable. I really don't dare set a spinnaker or even a gennaker with an unreliable auto pilot, it's just asking for a wipe out, a damaged or lost sail, and possibly worse, rigging damage. So the turbo charger is not available and not likely to be until this pilot problem is resolved which I am hoping we can do in Fremantle. Bernard Stamm is now closer to Fremantle than to me! He's running very close to his prediction for the time he thought he would take, but then he is Swiss! For me a wild guess would be 25 days, so ETA Fremantle 20th December which is based on an assumption of 10 knots average from here."
"Receiving the cricket information from Australia, maybe I should not worry about missing the Perth test. There is only one slight hope to fasten on to, that the Aussies have peaked too early! And then the rugby versus the South Africans. Its all very depressing."
Kojiro Shiraishi, SPIRIT OF YUKOH:
"I was relieved so much, it was great to know Alex was safe onboard ECOVER. After I changed the course, I had been very frustrated because the wind was light and I could not approach him as quick as I wished. I waited to resume racing until I heard confirmation that Alex had been safely rescued by Mike, and now I am back in racing"
"The weather is fine, occasionally snowing, but the wind is very unstable. It was my first time to make a snowman on a deck. I am not planning to go too far down south and will try to stay between 45 to 47 degrees. I do not have a code 6 anymore and the choice of sails are bit limited. Temperature has gone down a lot to 7 to 8 degrees C."
Michael K. Rasmussen, Marketing Director VELUX Group:
"As race sponsor our top priority is of course the safety of the skippers. Mike Golding's extraordinary rescue of fellow competitor and countryman Alex Thompson clearly expresses the character of these brave skippers. Safety always comes first."
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