08/12/08
08.12.2008
Day 30: Playing It Safe in the North
In brief:
- "Boat-breaking" conditions in the night but Sébastien Josse comfortable with his 3rd position to the north of the leaders
- Jean-Pierre Dick holds the lead on a high-risk course in the south along with Roland Jourdain in 2nd
- Risk of ice ever-present as sea temperature hovers at 5 degrees
- Partner of the day: Dean Reddyhoff Marinas
In detail:
Sébastien Josse onboard BT is quite clear about his own strategy in the Southern Ocean and is adamant not to get dragged into a battle for speed at the front.&xnbsp; The risks are high and the race is long.&xnbsp; BT is currently ranked in third place, 54 miles behind the new leader Jean-Pierre Dick (Paprec-Virbac 2) but is actually around 130 miles to the north of these two frontrunners.&xnbsp; If the actual positions on the race course stayed the same for the leading trio with BT in the north, Veolia in the middle and Paprec-Virbac in the south, Sébastien is actually only 16 miles behind Dick in terms of distance to go.
&xnbsp;From Seb this morning: "We got shaken quite roughly last night with 35 knots of wind and a boat-breaking sea - we were passing over a shallow shelf. Despite the fact we are sailing downwind the boat movements are quite hard, constantly slamming into the waves, so it's important to be conscious of the fact the race is still long and I don't want to push too hard because there is no point in stepping on the gas with both feet and end up turning left before Cape Horn [ie be forced to stop in Australia or NZ]. If you look at the average speeds it's clear that some people are really pushing to the limit and when I need to accelerate to reindex with the leading pack I do it but I also know how not to put too much strain on the boat otherwise it's not reasonable. Strategically the end of the depression we're riding now is good for the front of the fleet but the next low pressure system will help the others come back and we won't really see the leading pack make a massive breakthrough and create a huge gap.&xnbsp;&xnbsp; I don't want to go further south because of the risk of ice - the water temperature is only 5 degrees."
Knowing when to push and when to ease off is a thin line between significant gains and disaster.&xnbsp; Jean-Pierre Dick grabbed the lead having dived South after the second ice gate but reported having spent one of his worst days ever at sea.&xnbsp; Dick ended up fighting for hours on the foredeck trying to repair the furling system of his gennaker that he admitted to have left up a bit longer than it was reasonable to do so.&xnbsp; As Dick admitted the consequences could have been serious as Paprec-Virbac was exposed to being hit by a lot of waves putting both himself and the boat in a dangerous position.
Partner of the day: Dean Reddyhoff Marinas
Dean Reddyhoff Marinas is one of the UK's leading marina operators and official berthing facility for the Offshore Challenges Sailing Team.&xnbsp; With locations at Haslar (Gosport), East Cowes, Weymouth and Portland (opening 2008-9), the company prides itself on its excellent shoreside facilities and high standards of customer service.
Photos: Thierry Martinez/ SeaCo/ BT Team Ellen
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