Positionstabelle 28.05.2008
28.05.2008
Day 18: Pushed to the limit in the final miles
- Beluga Racer steps on the gas
- Alex Bennett has his whip ready
- Halvard Mabire racing 'blind' to the finish
- A request from Miranda Merron
- On board video from Boris Herrmann and Beluga Racer at http://www.theartemistransat.com/60/video.asp?vidid=1576310791channel=1494779298 http://www.theartemistransat.com/60/video.asp?vidid=1576310791&channel=1494779298
Race winners Giovanni Soldini and Telecom Italia crossed the finish line in Marblehead at 11:11:27 GMT this morning in just under 17 days (for a full report of Soldini's finish http://www.theartemistransat.com/40/article.asp?sid=16173), but 9 Class40s continue racing in the North Atlantic:
At 1400GMT today, Boris Herrmann and Beluga Racer were 74 miles from the finish. Herrmann is 28 years-old today and his birthday wish was for good breeze to drive him across the finish line and this afternoon the German yachtsman continues to indextain 9 knots boatspeed. While Beluga Racer has 69 miles of separation between Thierry Bouchard and Mistral Loisirs - Pole Sante ELIOR in 3rd, the high probability of the breeze going light this afternoon and into the early evening, followed by 15 knot westerly or south-westerly headwinds forecast for the chasing pack off Marblehead, there is a possibility of a race 'restart' in the final stages for the index bulk of the Class40 fleet.
Alex Bennett in 5th place explains the likely conditions over the next 24 hours for the pack trailing Boris Herrmann: "It's not bad for Fuji at the moment, we're sailing the rhumb line and it's a straight line to the finish," he explained, before adding ominously, "..although that will change during the course of the day." With 180 miles reindexing, the weather scenario off the coast of America could dramatically affect the race: "It could be light headwinds," continues Bennett, "and that'll be interesting. If it goes light and fickle, then it's anybody's game." This afternoon the gap between Thierry Bouchard on Mistral Loisirs - Pole Sante ELIOR in 3rd and Halvard Mabire on Custo Pol in 6th is only 55 miles. "It could become a 'restart' just a few miles from the finish. I really think, 3rd, 4th and 5th place are wide open." For Bennett, Bouchard, Duc and Mabire, the next 24 hours will be among the toughest of the race: "We're still locked in a fierce battle with Groupe Royer in front and Custo Pol a few miles behind and Mistral is not a million miles away. So, we're whipping the horses at the moment!"
Just 2 miles behind Bennett, Halvard Mabire is racing blind and receiving neither position polls nor weather at a time when this information is tactically crucial. Reporting shifty breeze and 2 knots of foul current, the sooner Custo Pol starts receiving this information, the better Mabire's performance will be for the final approach. Thierry Bouchard has also had a technical hiccup on board Mistral Loisirs - Pole Sante ELIOR: "I had a really bad computer problem," he explained earlier. With competition for the podium becoming increasingly intense, loss of position and weather data would have been catastrophic and severely limited his ability to defend 3rd place: "It was fairly stressful, but after an hour I managed to fix it." For Louis Duc, evaluating the weather is becoming increasingly crucial on board Groupe Royer: "I'm sailing precisely to the weather files at the moment," he admitted to the race office earlier. Reporting the presence of increasing amounts of commercial shipping, a rapid drop in temperature and thick fog, Duc's weather analysis has proved accurate so far: "I've taken a few miles off Fujifilm overnight, so I'm pretty happy," he says. Throughout the afternoon, both Bouchard and Duc have averaged 10 knots to Bennett's 8 knots and Duc on Groupe Royer has extended his lead over Fujifilm from 11 to 27 miles since dawn.
Despite dropping from 4th to 7th place yesterday, Miranda Merron was on excellent form this morning: "I'm inside a fridge!" she told the race office earlier. "I can now see my breath and the water temperature has dropped to 5.8 degrees." The intense cold and fatigue meant drastic measures on board 40 Degrees: "It's been an interesting night. For preservation purposes I was with 3 reefs and staysail because it was very gusty and to keep warm I draped my self over the engine cover." Seeking warmth from the boat's motor after charging the batteries, Merron's slumber was deep and a slight change in wind direction and minimal canvas caused a rude awakening as 40 Degrees stalled: "I woke up and the boat was very nearly in irons as the shift had started." Since then, she has been busy shaking out reefs, changing headsails and getting back up to speed. Merron made one request this morning: "I'd love everyone to park up if they wouldn't mind. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it's someone else's turn!" Regardless of the freezing conditions on board, Merron has increased her lead over Benoit Parnaudeau in 8th place on Prevoir Vie from 17 miles to 31 miles throughout the day.
For the Class40 fleet, The Artemis Transat has been a close and deeply tactical race. With each skipper's energy reserve reaching the stages of complete depletion, the final hours of the race will require every scrap of endurance in tricky weather conditions through the busy coastal shipping lanes and fishing grounds. It really isn't over, until it's over, for the 9 boats still racing.
Class40 ranking and Distance to Leader figures at 1400GMT on Wednesday 28th May
1 Telecom Italia 0
2 Beluga Racer 0
3 Mistral Loisirs - Pole Santé ELIOR 69.2
4 Groupe Royer 85.2
5 Fujifilm 112.8
6 Custo Pol 114.8
7 40 Degrees 182
8 Prévoir Vie 213.8
9 Groupe Partouche 229.6
10 Clarke Offshore Racing 277.9
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