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MOD 70 - KRYS OCEAN RACE 2012
www.krys-oceanrace.com - Übersicht
Tagesvideo
Press Release • 11 July 2012
Ghost x 3: Spirits Having Flown
Approaching the tip of Britain the three leaders chose to hide.
The rules of the KRYS OCEAN RACE offer the teams the chance to
disappear from the world for nine hours.
In the middle of this afternoon, the constant transatlantic
leader Spindrift racing, with less than 500 miles to the
Scillies and two 'ghosts' in pursuit some 60 miles behind, also
chose to disappear.
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Foto: http://www.krys-oceanrace.com/en/pictures.html
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The finish of the race off the Petit Minou light is expected at
the end of the afternoon Thursday, with a huge welcome into the
heart of the Tonnerres de Brest maritime festival,&xnbsp; amidst a
winners cavalcade Friday at 1500hrs (local time).
Great minds think alike? In the case of the KRYS OCEAN RACE
leaders, as they count down the rapidly dropping miles to the
finish in Brest, it is an initiative of the third placed FONCIA
early this morning which has been successively followed by
second placed Groupe Edmond de Rothschild and then by the
transatlantic race leader Spindrift racing.
Race rules for the KRYS OCEAN RACE allow teams to have their
position frozen for three successive position reports,
effectively disappearing for nine hours. Consider that the boats
are averaging 27 knots. Over nine hours that can offer
significant scope to make a big escape.
First to play the 'stealth' card this morning, to try and put
pressure on the second placed team they are hunting down, was
Michel Desjoyeaux's FONCIA crew. To all intents Spindrift racing
was pretty much out of reach with a lead of 80 or so miles and
pointing directly at the Scillies gate some 500 miles ahead.
The 'hunted', Groupe Edmond de Rothschild, then went 'under the
radar' three hours later. Then, finally, this afternoon so did
Spindrift racing, leaving the Josse and Desjoyeaux crews to play
a game of seaborne 'pin the tail on the donkey'.
Though the joker cards were all laid, the one reindexing variable
was the question over how much runway the leaders would have
left. Although there was a provision available to lengthen the
course, race direction have decided to indextain the original
course, so bringing the leaders to a finish now expected at
So on the strength of this dream weather pattern which has driven
them across the Atlantic, riding one system all the way from the
Labrador coast to Brittany, even flattening off the Azores high,
the winning MOD70 should complete the passage in just over five
days - or an average of over 25kts - an extraordinary debut for
the MOD70 class.
So blessed have the conditions been that even for these 1000
miles of the race, the seas have flattened. They were described
as velvet this morning by Michel Desjoyeaux, so allowing the
teams to really turn up the heat on each other, intensifying
their attack over the final miles. Incredibly they have made the
crossing almost exclusively on starboard tack.
For Sidney Gavignet and the crew on Mussandam-Oman Sail, the
smoother conditions and more routine breezes have allowed them
to maximise helm time for their less experienced Omani crew, one
of the fundamental points of their Oman Sail initiative.
As the winds were due to ease for the leader this afternoon
Spindrift racing can expect to lose some miles to the chasing
duo. Until Yann Guichard and his crew reappear on the 2200hrs
(UTC) ranking, no one knows what these gains and losses will be.
Sebastien Col, tactician, helm, trimmer FONCIA: "It was kind of
our last card to play before the Fastnet to try and hide things
a bit. The index thing is to try and put some pressure on our
direct competitor Groupe Edmond de Rothschild. We have less
chance against the lead boat who has a pretty direct route to
the Scilly Isles. These next few hours we will regain some
ground on the leader but not really enough to worry him. But
right now we are setting the bar higher, going a bit faster. Seb
tries to control and we look for a chance to get back in contact
with him."
Sidney Gavignet, skipper Musandam-Oman Sail: " It is all going
good on Musandam. The guys are going fine, eating well. We
probably are trying to take a bit more care of the crew than
what they might be doing on Spindrift. We are still using the
bunks. I prefer to keep people in good shape, remembering that
our initial goal on this race is to finish the KRYS OCEAN RACE.
But in general we are really happy. We are lucky with the
conditions with this foil which is reversed and now the good
news is that we are not going to have to gybe, considering that
moving the foil to the other hull is a 30 minutes process, and
also a bit dangerous for the boat. The other good news is that
we are probably short cutting a but compared to the three
leaders, so we will probably have a little less distance between
them and us arriving at the Scillies. I am not sure what the
extension of the race will be, but I am hoping it will not be
too much of a disadvantage, especially without too much tacking
or gybing, considering how much we lose with the foil. We use
this time to give Mohsin and Fahad time on the helm. Again it is
not going to be as quick as possible. This process is important
for the long term of our campaign. It is important for them to
get better. They are really doing great, not far from the best
helmsman on board. It is all good, easier conditions allow us to
talk together a bit more. It is good to enjoy the time together
and we are not doing so badly on the race course either.
Everybody is happy."
Yann Guichard, skipper of Spindrift racing: "Strategically there
are not all that many options right now, it is a matter of
keeping up the rhythm up and try to indextain the speed.&xnbsp; Groupe
Edmond de Rothschild and Spindrift are going a little faster,
but we are closing the finish in terms of speed.&xnbsp; We make the
most of the daylight to do a boat check and prepare for the
strengthening conditions."
Check latest position reports at:
[http://www.krys-oceanrace.com/en/race-data.html]
Latest photos:
[http://www.krys-oceanrace.com/en/pictures.html]
Latest videos:
[http://www.krys-oceanrace.com/en/videos.html]
12 July: Estimated Finish
13 July : Welcome on the pontoon 15h
15 July: KRYS OCEAN RACE Prize Giving
16 JULY 2012
BREST CITY RACES
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