15.11.2010
LIGHT AIRS FRUSTRATE VELUX 5 OCEANS FLEET
Weather causes problems for ocean racers during final part of first leg
WHILE American Brad Van Liew has been revelling in his victory in the first ocean sprint of the VELUX 5 OCEANS, the rest of the fleet have been making frustratingly slow progress towards Cape Town. Light airs have dogged Zbigniew ‘Gutek’ Gutkowski, Derek Hatfield and Chris Stanmore-Major as they battle their way to the finish line of the 7,400 nautical mile leg which started in La Rochelle on October 17.
Frustration has swept through the fleet, now tantalisingly close to Cape Town. At the last position report at midday UTC second placed Gutek and his Eco 60 yacht Operon Racing were just 560 nautical miles from the line but in the previous 24 hours covered just 121 nautical miles.
“Right now I have no wind,” the 36-year-old Pole said. “I am sailing very, very slowly.
During the last three days I made less distance than I would normally in 24 hours. The longer I sail the slower I go. I keep looking back for the boys, but I don’t think they will catch me because they won’t have any good wind either.”
He is right – Canadian Derek Hatfield was today experiencing equally frustrating conditions on Active House, just over 1,000 nautical miles from the finish. The cause of the problems for the ocean racers is the St Helena High, a complicated series of high pressure systems that cover a huge area of the South Atlantic.
“This high pressure system that we sailed so far to get around landed on me with both feet,” Derek said this morning. “It’s a moving target all the time and unfortunately I now have to deal with it over the next few days. It’s going to be a slow one for sure. This morning I’ve got really glassy seas, seven knots of breeze and I’m doing about 6.3 knots. The boat is heeled right over with the canting keel and it’s very quiet. The sound of the water running past the hull could send you to sleep.”
The latest ETA for Gutek’s arrival into Cape Town is Wednesday but unless the wind picks up it could be later. It is likely Derek and Chris arrive during the weekend and with just 230 nautical miles separating them the race for third place is on! Christophe Bullens is currently stuck in the Doldrums, the area of low pressure close to the Equator known for patchy and unpredictable weather. Brad Van Liew yesterday became the first skipper to arrive in Cape Town, winning ocean sprint one in 28 days.
Statistics from 12pm UTC position report:
Skipper; distance to finish (nm); distance covered in last 24 hours (nm); average speed in last 24 hours (kts)
Brad Van Liew: finished Nov 14, 28 days, 1 hour, 51 mins
Gutek: 562.3; 523.6; 121.8; 5.1
Derek Hatfield: 1,067.1; 207.2; 8.6
Chris Stanmore-Major: 1,298.8; 170.6; 7.1
Christophe Bullens: 3,761.2; 122.1; 5.1
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