21.12.2007
Kate Jennings:
Dear all,
Sorry for the lateness of the hour (in certain lands)! Today has been great!
The Transat Ecover BtoB came to a sad end today (in the sense that it is over
not that anything bad happened!) with the arrival of American Rich Wilson and
Canadian Derek Hatfield (long itw below) who both sounded utterly and completely
exhausted when I spoke to them over the phone this evening, British skipper Dee
Caffari's tow set to make La Coruna around midnight UTC this Friday. It’s been a
great race!
I was set to translate a release (just over Xmas I think) for Paprec Virbac
today but they didn’t reckon to have enough material so the latest plan for that
is the morning of Christmas Eve (UTC). Sodeb’O ..no news tonight so maybe a
release over the weekend... if there's anything I'll send it.
Temenos is doing fine all things considered! …. Word from Groupama today… she is
on Code Orange…currently likely to set off on their crewed Jules Verne record
attempt on ... Christmas Eve!! : ( If you haven't downloaded the JV fact file I
translated and are happy with just a Word doc one without all the pics then I'm
happy to send you that. Just let me know!
Anyway, do read the quotes from Rich and Derek below – their voices said it all
and hopefully that’ll come across in my transcription too!
Kind regards and Happy Christmas to anyone that's going away. There's likely to
be more releases tomorrow evening as far as I know.
Kate
TRANSAT ECOVER BTOB
It’s over! All the racers still competing in the Transat Ecover BtoB have arrived in Port la Forêt, after this return race between Salvador de Bahia,
Brazil and Brittany, NW France: 4,120 miles which have dished out very different
conditions for the fifteen solo sailors that set off on 29th November at 1400
UTC off the Yacht Club de Bahia. Close-hauled, eased sheets, a little downwind,
a doldrums where each competitor got something different, a long climb up the
edge of a zone of high pressure in powerful tradewinds, then a zone of
transition which let the leaders through and left the backrunners floundering.
In short, a race full of twists between the top trio (Loïck Peyron, Kito de
Pavant, Michel Desjoyeaux) with some last minute surprises such as Foncia’s
collision with a trawler forty miles from the finish and Dee Caffari’s
dismasting just miles from the finish, as well as a whole host of damage on
nearly all the reindexing monohulls…
Right to the end, the Transat Ecover-BtoB has been marked by intrigue: when Mike
Golding (Ecover) accumulated so many serious technical issues that he was
forced, with a very heavy heart, to retire around the Canaries, when Armel Le
Cléac’h (Brit Air) dismasted after the doldrums, when Loïck Peyron (Gitana
Eighty) powered away in this same zone, when Marc Guillemot (Safran) broke his
hydraulic keel actuator rod, when Jean-Baptiste Dejeanty (Maisonneuve) broke his
stay and Arnaud Boissières (Akena Vérandas), Derek Hatfield (Spirit of Canada),
Yannick Bestaven (Cervin EnR) and Yann Eliès (Generali) experienced sail or rig
issues… The rich lessons from this race whose index aim was to qualify the solo
sailors for the next Vendée Globe, have been to validate the reliability of the
boat and the complicity between the skipper and his/her machine… And in the end,
each and every skipper has seen that they have some work ahead of them on every
front and the coming winter is going to be a busy one! The big question now is
“how far can they go in the Vendee Globe?”
In any case, American Rich Wilson (Great American III), Canadian Derek Hatfield
(Spirit of Canada) and British sailor Dee Caffari (Aviva) can be proud of their
transatlantic race, each of them being dealt a rotten hand in terms of weather,
rounding it all off with 40 knots and more in the Bay of Biscay over the past
few days! All are safely at the finish now other than Dee Caffari (Aviva) whose
tow to La Coruna is set to end at midnight tonight – just in time for Christmas!
Arrivals in Port la Forêt:
1-Loïck Peyron (Gitana Eighty) in 14d 09h 13' 25''
2-Kito de Pavant (Groupe Bel) in 14d 12h 22' 49'', 3 hours 09 minutes 24 seconds
behind the winner
3-Michel Desjoyeaux (Foncia) in 14d 13h 43' 24", 4 hours 29 minutes 59 seconds
behind the winner
4-Yann Eliès (Generali) in 14d 19h 22' 02'', 10 hours 07 minutes 37 seconds
behind the winner
5-Marc Guillemot (Safran) in 15d 08h 25' 44'', 23 hours 12 minutes 19 seconds
behind the winner
6-Bernard Stamm (Cheminées Poujoulat) in 15d 16h 24'34'', 1 day 07 hours 09
minutes 09 seconds behind the winner
7-Samantha Davies (Roxy) in 17d 17h 38' 46'', 3 days 08 hours 25 minutes 21
seconds behind the winner
8-Yannick Bestaven (Cervin EnR) in 18d 00h 57' 48'', 3 days 15 hours 44 minutes
23 seconds behind the winner
9-Arnaud Boissières (Akena Vérandas) in 19d 00h 57' 26'', 4 days 15 hours 44
minutes 01 seconds behind the winner
10-Jean-Baptiste Dejeanty (Maisonneuve) in 20d 06h 21' 45'', 5 days 21 hours 08
minutes 20 seconds behind the winner.
11-Rich Wilson (Great American III) in 21d 23h 22’ 34’’, 7 days 14 hours 09
minutes 09 seconds behind the winner.
12-Derek Hatfield (Spirit of Canada) in 22d 02h 20’ 21’’, 7 days 17 hours 06
minutes 56 second behind the winner.
Rich Wilson: “It’s really a big relief to have made it into port! I'm not sure
if I enjoyed it! It was very hard. A couple of nights ago we had a lot of wind.
The motion was very violent and it was very physical. Not surprising I guess
when you head into the Bay of Biscay in December. I’ve learned a lot about the
boat certainly. I’ve basically spent the past 3 months sailing on it as we
started off by delivering the boat across the Atlantic from Massachusetts for
the TJV. I’ve done 14,000 miles since October 6th! That’s a lot of sailing and
I’m really tired.
The little trio at the back of the fleet really got pounded off Finisterre. As
the second low hit it was complete chaos, like bombs going off underneath the
boat every 30 secs. These boats have got so much buoyancy that when the waves
hit it's the boat that moves into you. The edge of the chart table nearly went
into my face on numerous occasions. You can really get hurt out there. My legs
are the most tired of all as you have to brace yourself in every possible
direction the whole time.
Inevitably there were high points in all this. The stars, the flying fish, the
dolphins in the multiple doldrums we had off the Azores with very clear water
and no wind. I called Derek (Hatfield) around the equator as I saw a sail on the
horizon and I emailed Dee after she dismasted. I just said to her how much I
admire her as she started off behind us (after suffering from furler problems at
the start) and then just kept coming back on us. I had some extra diesel and
wondered if she might need it but she had everything under control. When
somebody dismasts near you, you really start to worry about your own rig. I had
shroud issues during the TJV so during this race I stressed about the rig the
whole way. In the big storms I remember very vividly sitting there with my hands
over my face waiting for my mast to fall.
I’m certainly going to work on increasing the comfort onboard as there is simply
no place to recover on the boat and after around 58 days on the water that
starts to take its toll. The sail handling and being able to take reefs from the
cockpit are really good improvements on the boat and certainly made life a lot
easier.
It's been a hard slog though and I think those of us that have been out on the
water all this time in this race deserve attention too. As Bill Rogers, an
infamous marathon runner in the US, said at the end of one particular marathon:
"I put 100% into this race for 2 hours 10 minutes, so just think about those who
have given 100% for 4, 5 or 6 hours!" The new boats in this fleet are in a class
of their own, they're just gone; they just disappear over the horizon. We don't
have the sponsors or the shore crews and that's fine but it's a different ball
game. I haven't even thought about Christmas because I'm a bit superstitious
about that kind of thing when I'm at sea. All I've been able to focus on of late
is one single question, not why do these boats fall apart but how do they stay
together!?"...
Derek Hatfield (Spirit of Canada): “Well here I am! It’s been a struggle all
the way to the end. It just wouldn’t let up. For the past 4 days I’ve have 30 –
40 and then 28-30 knots today. At 40 knots the boat banks really hard and just
bangs constantly. I’m bruised and battered because of the movement of the boat.
You feel so weak. The boat is very jerky. There's always lots of motion and
action. It feels really unstable and you wonder if you're getting weaker or
whether the boat is becoming more unstable and your balance goes too. This was
tougher than any of the legs in the Around Alone. It's a very physical boat.
Part of my problems were down to lack of preparation. I wasn't fully prepared
leaving Canada for starters.
The automatic pilot issues were really hard as it would do surprise tacks or
gybes at will. I was constantly on tenterhooks and could never relax. I don't
know if there was a flaw in the automatic pilot or if it was to do with the
sizing. Whatever it is it needs to be resolved because you can't race if you
can't relax and shut down at some point.
This is my first race on an Open 60 so the learning curve has been very steep.
I’m not in the best shape physically either and I’ve also been concentrating on
raising sponsors and finance instead of spending quality time on the water. My
sail handling has improved but there are a lot of improvements I want to make.
The boat was only at about 70% of its potential if not less and a lot of that is
down to me not being ready and lacking experience. I had issues with the
headsails too - I was surprised by how easily they get damaged and a lot of the
damage occurred when taking them down or furling them. The first sail I lost was
the genoa, but that was down to hydraulics problems. Then over the past few days
I lost the solent and the staysail in quick succession - the clew blowing out in
both of them. I ended up under storm jib over the past few days and was
delighted to see Michel Desjoyeaux and his whole team welcome me in this evening
and make sure I got in safely with the tide.
I haven't had any weather files (MaxSea issues) other than 3 tiny short range
forecasts, which has led to some drastic tactical errors. I have to say though,
the level of the leaders is astonishing! It's been a really rude awakening.
They're in a different class of boat and have very different amounts of
experience. To be honest, it’s unnerving to try to play the same game as them. I
shall take all that I've learnt from this though and move forward. I have a lot
of financial and physical hurdles ahead and to play a tough game like this you
yourself have to be tough. Right now though I'm looking forward to Christmas in
France with my family!"
Dee Caffari (Aviva): “Today has been a waiting game as the Spanish tug made her
way to my aid. At 15.30 UTC this afternoon the navy bid me farewell and the tug
guys took over. They took me under tow in a difficult sea state and began
guiding me to Spain. It is slow going but conditions will continue to improve as
the wind continues to drop and the sea state settles, so hopefully we can
increase our speed and get to La Coruna where the boat team is waiting and more
importantly Harry is there to give me a cuddle because I need one. In the mean
time I shall continue to try a fight the rudders, as one is twisted since the
dismasting and get the boat to follow the tug without me having to hand steer
all the time.”
The little trio at the back of the fleet really got pounded off Finistere. As
the second low hit it was complete chaos, like bombs going off underneath the
boat every 30 secs. These boats have got so much buoyancy that when the waves
hit it's the boat that move into you. The edge of the chart table nearly went
into my face on numerous occasions. You can really get hurt out there. My legs
are the most tired off all as you have to brace yourself in every possible
direction the whole time. Inevitably there were high points in all this. The
stars, the flying fish, the dolphins in the multiple doldrums we had off the
Azores with very clear water and no wind. I called Derek (Hatfield) around the
equator as I saw a sail on the horizon and I emailed Dee after she dismasted. I
just said to her how much I admire her as she started off behind us (after
suffering from furler problems at the start) and then just kept coming back on
us. I had some extra diesel and wondered if she might need it but she had
everything under control. When somebody dismasts near you, you really start to
worry about your own rig. I had shroud issues during the TJV so during this race
I stressed about the rig the whole way. In the big storms I remember very
vividly sitting there with my hands over my face waiting for my mast to fall.
I’m certainly going to work on increasing the comfort onboard as there is simply
no place to recover on the boat and after around 58 days on the water that
starts to take its toll. The sail handling and being able to take reefs from the
cockpit are really good improvements on the boat and certainly make life a lot
easier. It's been a hard slog though and I think those of us that have been out
on the water all this time in this race deserve attention too. As Bill Rogers,
an infamous marathon runner in the US, said at the end of one particular
marathon: "I put 100% into this race for 2 hours 10 minutes, so just think about
those who have given 100% for 4, 5 or 6 hours!" The new boats in this fleet are
in a class of their own, they're just gone, they just disappear over the
horizon. We don't have the sponsors or the shore crews and that's fine but it's
a different ball game. I haven't even thought about Christmas because I'm a bit
superstitious about that kind of thing when I'm at sea. All I've been able to
focus on of late is one single question, not why do these boats fall apart but
how do they stay together!?"...
Canadian, Derek Hatfield (Spirit of Canada) is due to round off this Transat
Ecover BtoB race this Friday evening, after what has been a hard ride without
the use of his headsails for the majority of the race.
At 09.00 UTC today, Dee Caffari reported that she and her dismasted Open 60
yacht Aviva, currently under tow by Spanish tug, are not scheduled to arrive at
La Coruna port until around midnight tonight, which means yet another long, cold
day at sea for the inspirational and courageous yachtswoman. Caffari and Aviva
have spent a long, slow night heading towards the northern Spanish port at a
steady speed of 4 knots. As daylight broke this morning Caffari reported that
the strong swell, that she has been subjected to since losing her mast on
Wednesday morning, had begun to die down enabling the convoy to travel the
reindexing miles to La Coruna at 6 knots.
Once on dry land, Caffari will be keen to ensure Aviva is safe and secure before
bidding farewell to the boat that has been her sole companion for the last 21
days. Caffari will then return to the UK on Sunday 23 December, just in time to
spend Christmas with her family and friends. However, Aviva will be berthed in
Spain until after the festive period when one of the Aviva Ocean Racing shore
team will ensure her safe return to the UK.
Dee Caffari: “Today has been a waiting game as the Spanish tug made her way to
my aid. At 15.30 UTC this afternoon the navy bid me farewell and the tug guys
took over. They took me under tow in a difficult sea state and began guiding me
to Spain. It is slow going but conditions will continue to improve as the wind
continues to drop and the sea state settles, so hopefully we can increase our
speed and get to La Coruna where the boat team is waiting and more importantly
Harry is there to give me a cuddle because I need one. In the meantime I shall
continue to try to fight the rudders, as one is twisted since the dismasting and
get the boat to follow the tug without me having to hand steer all the time.”
KJ
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