13 March, 2007
VELUX 5 OCEANS - Leg 2, Media Alert
DRAMA FOR DALTON - ONE RUDDER DOWN
AT 1930 UTC on Monday March 12, the watchkeeper in the VELUX 5 OCEANS race office noticed that Graham Dalton's boat A SOUTHERN MAN - AGD had stopped. Approximately one hour later Dalton phoned into the race office to report that he had hit a UFO in the water; it was pitch black so he was uncertain what it was but it had caused serious damage to one of his rudders.
The damage sustained had forced him to cut the cassette away and remove the rudder blade. Dalton is currently in around 15 knots of east-southeasterly breeze just over 150 miles off the coast of Brazil. The Kiwi skipper is currently assessing the damage to his boat and is in constant communication with his boat builder to establish a method to stabilize the reindexing rudder so that he can recover steerage.
The VELUX 5 OCEANS race office is in regular communication with Graham Dalton and his shore crew, and more information will be released in due course.
Boat Positions as at 05:32 UTC 13 March 2007
Yacht
Skipper
Latitude
Longitude
Course (°)
Speed (knot)
DTF (nautical miles)
Dist - last Pos (nautical miles)
Dist - 24h (nautical miles)
Average speed - 24h (knots)
VMG - 24h (knots)
1
Cheminées Poujoulat
Bernard Stamm
FINISHED: 48 days, 22 hours and 59 minutes
2
Spirit of Yukoh
Kojiro Shiraishi
31° 14.32 N
070° 51.64 W
251
8
435
38.3
220.8
9.2
8.5
3
PAKEA
Unai Basurko
06° 37.61 N
048° 31.51 W
293
10.5
2370
56.6
290.6
12.11
10.67
4
A Southern Man-AGD
Graham Dalton
02° 45.44 S
036° 03.76 W
274
2.3
3272
11.3
122.8
5.12
5.03
5
SAGA Insurance
Sir Robin Knox-Johnston
12° 26.92 S
035° 29.64 W
20
10.2
3913
53
234.9
9.79
9.79
- END -
For more information on VELUX 5 OCEANS please visit www.velux5oceans.com, or contact:
Tim Kelly / Justine Ozoux
RACE PRESS OFFICE: + 44 20 7494 1616
E: tim.kelly@pitchpr.com / justine@pitchpr.com
Notes to Editors
About the VELUX 5 OCEANS - The Ultimate Solo Challenge
The VELUX 5 OCEANS is the oldest and most established, single-handed round the world yacht race. With a rich sporting heritage, the race has been contested every four years since 1982, previously under the titles of 'BOC Challenge' and more recently 'Around Alone.' The ultimate in human endeavour, more people have climbed Mount Everest and travelled to the moon, than have completed a solo circumnavigation.
In 2006, the race celebrates its 25th Jubilee year and, with new title sponsors, VELUX, is set to be greater than ever before. The 30,000 mile three-leg race is scheduled to begin in Bilbao on 22nd October and will stop in Australia and the USA before returning to Bilbao approximately 6 months later. The introduction of fewer stopovers and shorter preparation times between legs has been specifically introduced to provide a more cost effective global marketing opportunity for entrants and their sponsors.
Over the years, the race has consistently attracted a wide spread of entries from around the globe, making heroes of many celebrated yachtsmen and women, including Mike Golding, Philippe Jeantot, Giovanni Soldini, Jean-Luc van den Heede, Isabelle Autissier, Bernard Stamm and Emma Richards.
www.velux5oceans.com
About The VELUX Group
VELUX creates better homes by letting daylight and fresh air through the roof. The duct range contains a wide range of roof windows and skylights in many sizes, types and variants as well as a whole family of decoration and sunscreening products, roller shutters, installation products, remote control units and solar panels for installation in the sloping roof. VELUX Technology also supplies original VELUX components to their partners working in the field of roof window sunscreening.
VELUX is one the strongest brands in the global building materials sector and is sold around the world. The VELUX Group has production companies in 10 countries and sales companies in nearly 40 countries. The Group is owned by VKR Holding A/S and, for competitive reasons, the financial results are incorporated into the VKR Group's consolidated accounts. In 2004, the VKR Group's total turnover was almost DKK 12.7 billion and the result before tax was DKK 2,097 million.
The core objective of the VELUX Group is described in the Model Company Objective: "It is the Group's purpose to establish a number of Model Companies, which cooperate in an exemplary manner. By Model Company we mean a company working with products useful to society, which treats its customers, suppliers, employees of all categories and shareholders better than most other companies. A Model Company makes a profit, which can also finance growth and indextain financial independence."
In the VELUX Group, results are achieved through united effort. Our core values are commitment, mutual respect, improvements, local initiatives and thoroughness. At the beginning of 2005, some 8,500 people were employed in the VELUX Group.
www.VELUX.com
About Clipper Ventures Plc
This year marks the 37th anniversary of Sir Robin Knox-Johnston's historic solo and non-stop circumnavigation in 1970. Now, as Chairman of Clipper Ventures PLC, he is at the forefront of promoting round the world yacht racing. Clipper Ventures, the marine sports company founded in 1995 and listed on AIM stock market in London in 1999, is focussed on developing and promoting major events capable of attracting significant participation, income, media coverage and associated sponsorship revenue. The company owns the rights to the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race, the VELUX 5 OCEANS, and Zapcat Racing, the world's largest one-design powerboat series.
www.clipper-ventures.com
About Bilbao (Basque Country)
Set in the province of Bizkaia, the City of Bilbao, in a joint initiative with the Diputacion Foral de Bizkaia and the Basque Government, has committed to be the official host port for both the start and finish of the 2006/7 VELUX 5 OCEANS. Bilbao is the economic capital of the Basque country in the north of the Iberian Peninsula and has historically strong ties to the oceans. Renowned for its spectacular Guggenheim Museum and having recently undergone significant urban regeneration and development, the city will provide an outstanding backdrop for the race. The race will be based in a new marina and waterfront development at the Port of Getxo, which is linked directly to the city by a new metro system designed by Norman Foster.
www.bilbao.net / www.bizkaia.net
About Fremantle (Western Australia)
At the mouth of the Swan River, the vibrant port town of Fremantle is located 20 minutes' drive southwest of Perth, Western Australia. Rich in heritage buildings and attractions, maritime history and culture, visitors are guaranteed to enjoy the relaxed outdoor lifestyle, some of the country's best beaches, bustling markets, nightlife, unrivalled sporting facilities and amazing marine adventures. The VELUX 5 Oceans Race Village will be at the picturesque Fremantle Sailing Club, where the race crews will be able to make use of the world class facilities used during the recent Clipper 05-06 round the world yacht race, and Whitbreads of the past.
www.westernaustralia.com
About Norfolk, Virginia (USA)
Norfolk, which is home to Naval Station Norfolk, the largest military station in the world, can host hundreds of vessels at one time including cruise ships, destroyers and submarines and once made history when it berthed five nuclear aircraft carriers at the same time. The port will provide the skippers and ground crews of the VELUX 5 OCEANS with world class facilities.
The City is bordered by the Chesapeake Bay and the Hampton Roads Harbour, one of the most famous sailing areas in the USA which attracts hundreds of thousands of yachts and sailing fanatics to the area every year and has played host to some of the world's major sailing events including the Volvo Ocean Race and the Mount Gay Rum Sailing Week. The situation of the City also makes it an idea venue for the VELUX 5 OCEANS providing unique opportunities to watch the fleet arrive from vantage points on the coast and on the water.
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