29.11.2007
Day 19: Estrella Damm finally through the Fernando de Neronha gate
Today at 08:54 GMT Estrella Damm finally passed through the Fernando de Neronha gate ticking off the third milestone of the Barcelona World Race. The passage between the gate off the Canary Islands and the gate off the Fernando de Neronha Islands has been a slow and tedious one for the team of Guillermo Altadill and Jonathan McKee, taking them 9 days 07 hours and 29 minutes. Now the team, are relishing in their new-found breeze and have kicked the boat up a notch and over last night were the fastest boat in the fleet, covering 371 miles in just 24 hours.
However crossing through the gate was not without it's problems for McKee and Altadill who sailed too far east and missed the gate first time around. Having to double back, their diversion cost them a couple of extra hours, but the Altadill-McKee tandem are now back on course and roaring south in pursuit of the front runners.
Yesterday Jonathan McKee sent in an email reflecting on the challenges the team has faced over the last week admitting that they have made a few navigational errors: Granted we had been having a rather bad race, whether making some poor decisions or being unlucky or some combination of those two. We have spent most of the time either becalmed or in light headwinds with a bad seaway, with only intermittent periods of good sailing breeze to allow us to escape this hell on earth.The worst thing is that all the boats ahead are likely to jump ahead a weather system as we get into the southern hemisphere. Maybe not, I reindex optimistic of course, but that is the likely scenario. Now we have lost complete touch, not just with the leaders, but with the group in front of us."
Read Jonathan's full email here http://www.estrelladammsailingteam.com/default.asp?section=article&type=1&artID=11162
Jonathan's email sparked interest among Estrella Damm's competitors who are beginning to fear that a similar weather situation may impact their performance and their distance to the leaders. Delta Dore's Sydney Gavinet empathized with the Spanish-American team: "I have just read the mail sent by Estrella Damm, probably written by Jonathan. I can really understand his suffering and frustration. To a lesser extent we are experiencing the same thing, especially looking at the weather situation that is in place. The two, in fact three leaders who are already enjoying the last few days conditions and in fact are going to get even more ahead in front of the low pressure system which has been sitting off the Brazilian coast. It has just started moving and will probably divide the fleet up even more because those of us who are behind are going to have to fight the light airs whereas the leaders are going to benefit from stronger wind."
The two leading boats are in a strong position, with many in the chasing pack making the observation that the leaders might just catch a weather system that shoots them down south well ahead of the pack. The coming days will show whether that fear is justified.
While Estrella Damm plays catch up all is not lost the boat as Guillermo has a reputation for being a very strong skipper in the Southern Ocean and on previous races has really excelled in the wild conditions that the Southern Ocean delivers; perhaps it will be here that Estrella Damm can sneak back into the race.
Day 19 - November 29, 16:00 GMT - Position report with distance to leader
1. PAPREC-VIRBAC 2 - Jean Pierre DICK / Damian FOXALL - 0.0
2. PRB - Vincent Riou / Sebastien JOSSE - 4.1
3. VEOLIA ENVIRONNEMENT - Roland JOURDAIN / Jean Luc NELIAS - 138.1
4. HUGO BOSS - Alex THOMSON / Andrew CAPE - 257.1
5. DELTA DORE - Jérémie BEYOU / Sidney GAVIGNET - 260.3
6. TEMENOS 2 - Dominique Wavre / Michele PARET - 332.8
7. MUTUA MADRILENA - Javier SANSO / Pachi RIVERO - 353.3
8. ESTRELLA DAMM - Guillermo ALTADILL / Jonathan MCKEE - 497.3
9. EDUCACION SIN FRONTERAS - Servane ESCOFFIER / Albert BARGUES - 758.8
For more information about Estrella Damm, Guillermo Altadill and Jonathan McKee please visit www.estrelladammsailingteam.com http://www.estrelladammsailingteam.com
To view the latest videos, images and to hear the skippers in their own words visit www.estrelladammsailingteam.com http://www.estrelladammsailingteam.com
For the official event website and to view the current boat standings visit www.barcelonaworldrace.com http://www.barcelonaworldrace.com
For further information about the Estrella Damm Sailing Team, please contact:
Natalia Kim (Spanish)
Mobile: (+34) 608-59 50 10
http://www.damm.es http://www.mail2web.com/cgi-bin/redir.asp?lid=0&newsite=http://www.damm.es
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