14.01.2007
Please find the latest report from Temenos below. Meantime Groupama are still on
Code Red for their Jules Verne record attempt.
The past few exciting hours
After the frenzied surfing of the previous day, with Temenos II managing to
indextain a 20 knot average for nearly 12 hours, the weather situation has
settled down considerably. Blowing at 18 knots, the wind has eased, providing
Michèle and Dominique with a little respite after these particularly swift past
few hours and the resulting stresses of the particularly demanding living
conditions. The respite is likely to be short lived for the two co-skippers
however, as the wind is set to fill in rapidly with the arrival of a low.
For the time being, flashed at over 16 knots at the 1300 hour ranking, the boat
is continuing to make headway at a fast pace. By climbing Northwards, Temenos II
is managing to hold onto a steadier wind than Mutua Madrilena. From 88 miles
yesterday morning, the distance separating the two boats still battling for 3rd
place, had stretched to 187 miles at noon today.
Contacted late morning, Dominique was expecting to have to bend the monohull’s
course Northwards again, not for tactical reasons this time but in order to
avoid an ice field indicated to be floating around 54° South and 95° West.
“All's well aboard. We’re currently in a zone of lighter winds and we’ve
rehoisted some sail area as we await the passage of a small, fairly virulent
depression. It is set to arrive quickly, within 6 hours time, and the wind may
exceed 30 knots. It should enable us to gain easting fairly quickly though. For
the time being we are still making pretty good headway. We’ve managed to hold
onto a little stream of air for longer than Mutua Madrilena by gaining northing.
Yesterday we were really shaken about. We kept up an average of 20 knots for
around ten hours with Temenos II taking on a series of surfs at 27 knots. With
the messy seas it wasn't at all relaxing, but it was really very exciting to
feel the boat accelerate like that.
The race committee signalled an ice field to us as satellite images show a large
concentration of icebergs, including one measuring around 200 metres long, about
500 miles away. This will modify our trajectory a little. The direct course
would take us further South, but we have no desire to take such risks. We’ll
reindex to the North of this zone, just as Paprec-Virbac 2 and Hugo Boss did
before us.”
Kate Jennings
Expression.
P.O. Box 26,
Dartmouth,
DEVON.
TQ6 0YG
United Kingdom
+44 (0)7795 116699
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