Friday, March 05, 2004
Have A Wetass Weekend...
Michael Ho Livin' Large At Pipeline
(Photo: Mark Berkowitz)
Michael Ho Livin' Large At Pipeline
(Photo: Mark Berkowitz)
TWC Quick Hits....:
Two French Climbers Will Try To Climb All 82 4,000 Meter Alps in 82 Days: Boy, are they going to be tired...
Russian Arctic Research Station Consumed By Shifting Ice Floes: Twelve stranded scientists now conducting hypothermia studies...
U.S. Navy Uses Dolphins To Combat Underwater Terrorists in Persian Gulf: Civil rights groups complain Arab scuba divers are being singled out...
"Just remember. First you ask them for a photo ID, and then you ask them to remove their flippers. And make sure you pull over an old lady every once in a while..."
Two French Climbers Will Try To Climb All 82 4,000 Meter Alps in 82 Days: Boy, are they going to be tired...
Russian Arctic Research Station Consumed By Shifting Ice Floes: Twelve stranded scientists now conducting hypothermia studies...
U.S. Navy Uses Dolphins To Combat Underwater Terrorists in Persian Gulf: Civil rights groups complain Arab scuba divers are being singled out...
"Just remember. First you ask them for a photo ID, and then you ask them to remove their flippers. And make sure you pull over an old lady every once in a while..."
Arctic Adventurers--Ready To Take The...Plunge: Trans-Arctic skier Ben Saunders, and North Pole soloer Wave Vidmar, report that the Russkies have finally put down their vodka bottles and agreed to provide airlift to Sredny, then on to Cape Arkticheskiy at the edge of the ice pack. Except--little problem--the ice pack isn't, err, ice anymore. In fact, it looks like this...
Uh-oh. Here's Wave Vidmar's report:
"Bettina Aller, one of the other expeditioners called a satellite weather monitoring service in her native country of Denmark and they report there was 70 kilometers of open water around the Cape. This could be a serious and dangerous problem. If there is that much open water, then I will ask to be flown further north until there is ice.
Each year the ice is decreasing, by about a rate of about 1%, or 10% every decade. Some people say that global warming does not exist, but our polar regions tell no lies; our earth is getting warmer."
Good plan, Wave. Maybe you could get a lift halfway to the Pole. Except according to Explorer's Web you won't get credited for a North Pole trek unless you leave from terra firma. These guys had better start praying for the Mother Of All Cold Snaps or thinking about small boat design. Ben Saunders is worried about the situation. But he's definitely got something else on his mind for the moment: "I'm hoping against hope that there will be solid ice all the way to the coastline. We'll see...For now, I'm going to enjoy my last night with my girlfriend for three months. In a bunk bed. Great." No one ever said Arctic adventure would be without extreme sacrifice...
"Uhh, Ben? Baby? I know you're eager to get going, but do you think you could take all your gear off before coming to bed...?"
(Saunders and Ice Pack Images via Explorer's Web)
Uh-oh. Here's Wave Vidmar's report:
"Bettina Aller, one of the other expeditioners called a satellite weather monitoring service in her native country of Denmark and they report there was 70 kilometers of open water around the Cape. This could be a serious and dangerous problem. If there is that much open water, then I will ask to be flown further north until there is ice.
Each year the ice is decreasing, by about a rate of about 1%, or 10% every decade. Some people say that global warming does not exist, but our polar regions tell no lies; our earth is getting warmer."
Good plan, Wave. Maybe you could get a lift halfway to the Pole. Except according to Explorer's Web you won't get credited for a North Pole trek unless you leave from terra firma. These guys had better start praying for the Mother Of All Cold Snaps or thinking about small boat design. Ben Saunders is worried about the situation. But he's definitely got something else on his mind for the moment: "I'm hoping against hope that there will be solid ice all the way to the coastline. We'll see...For now, I'm going to enjoy my last night with my girlfriend for three months. In a bunk bed. Great." No one ever said Arctic adventure would be without extreme sacrifice...
"Uhh, Ben? Baby? I know you're eager to get going, but do you think you could take all your gear off before coming to bed...?"
(Saunders and Ice Pack Images via Explorer's Web)
JV Jumble--Geronimo in the South: Well, one of the two French multihulls finally made it across the Equator without having to turn back for repairs or more fois gras. Geronimo crossed The Line yesterday, 7 days, 22 hours and 13 minutes after she set out. That was a touch slower than Orange 2002's time (13 minutes, to be exact), but 8 hours faster than Cheyenne. Olivier De K and his crew can take some comfort from that fact....which they need because they are still going slow. Only 254.5 miles yesterday, their slowest run to date, and the band of light air straddling the Equator looks as if it will keep them in its clutches late into today. After that they'll catch the southeast trade winds and starting looking ahead to the next tactical challenge: how to get around the South Atlantic High and into the Southern Ocean.
Down Under Australia, Cheyenne slowed a bit too, but not much, logging 507 miles yesterday as the cold front she has been racing finally caught her and dumped some squalls on Fossett and his crew. The wind has shifted to the west, putting Cape Horn dead downwind for the moment, which will force the big cat to start gybing and slow her headlong sprint toward the Pacific. Even so, Cheyenne has now streteched her lead over Orange 2002 to 1688 miles (chart here). Just another day at the office....
Geronimo Grinding: "Holy Merde, Olivier, this thing is so narrow all I get is a snootful of unwashed Gallic armpit....Medic!"
Down Under Australia, Cheyenne slowed a bit too, but not much, logging 507 miles yesterday as the cold front she has been racing finally caught her and dumped some squalls on Fossett and his crew. The wind has shifted to the west, putting Cape Horn dead downwind for the moment, which will force the big cat to start gybing and slow her headlong sprint toward the Pacific. Even so, Cheyenne has now streteched her lead over Orange 2002 to 1688 miles (chart here). Just another day at the office....
Geronimo Grinding: "Holy Merde, Olivier, this thing is so narrow all I get is a snootful of unwashed Gallic armpit....Medic!"
Thursday, March 04, 2004
Can Everest's North Face Be Climbed?--Da!: TWC regulars know that TWC loves Russian climbers, because they are always pulling the craziest sh#t, and having the most fun while they are doing it. March is Everest expedition time, as all the teams that hope to go to the top of the world in the coming months start assembling in Nepal and hiking in. And among the teams this year is a group of 14 Russkies who are not content to simply follow all the fixed ropes and ladders to the top via the traditional highway to the sky route on the Nepal side. Instead, this collection of dream teamers--Russia''s best climbers, and some of the best climbers in the world, in fact--are planning to go up the hard way. Which is to say, they plan to get to the top by pioneering a new route straight up the middle of Everest's North Face. This is a monster climb, one of the hardest in the world, and to even attempt it is mountain climbing hubris on a magnitude that deserves prostration and cries of "We are not worthy" from all the wannabees and vanity climbers who are hoping to bag Everest at the end of a rope on a guided expedition. The Russians are already on their way out of Katmandu, after partying up a storm in classic Russian climbing fashion, and are headed to Ama Dablam for a nice, little warm-up climb. When questions were raised about whether the team would be using performance enhancing drugs, the Russians just laughed and noted their performance enhancer of choice happens to be vodka. "Let other people be tormented by how much the Russian can drink on the Northern Face of Everest," a spokesperson scoffed. They've packed their guitars, too. This expedition is going to be a great one. Stay tuned...
Everest's 8848 Meter North Face: "Leaping Lenin, Viktor, we're going up THAT? At least it won't be hard to keep the vodka cold...."
Everest's 8848 Meter North Face: "Leaping Lenin, Viktor, we're going up THAT? At least it won't be hard to keep the vodka cold...."
JV Jumble--Fossett Scores Again: The man is just a record breaking machine, and yesterday he an his 125-foot catamaran nabbed another one, making the fastest run in the history of the world from the English Channel to the longitude of Cape Leeuwin in western Australia. Cheyenne and her crew got there in 25 days, 14 hours and 8 minutes, and sailed almost 12,000 miles at an average speed of 18.95 knots doing it. Cheyenne's time was 14 hours faster than De Kersauson's blistering 2003 record for this segment, and a full 3 days, 17 hours faster than Orange 2002's time. She's now 1474 miles ahead of Orange's 2002 record pace (chart here), and ripped off a 577 miles day yesterday. Here's what crewman Fraser Brown had to say about the exhilarating ride:
"Blasting - We have finally got the good full-on Southern Ocean conditions that you come here for. We have had the last 2 full days of incredibly blasting conditions riding on strong North Westerlies with squalls coming through increasing the wind from 35 to 40 knots. We have been sailing at a 100 to 110 wind angle with 2 reefs and storm jib and even reefed the storm jib at one stage. We have been sitting on the good numbers all day and night topping out at around 36 knots, this boat was built for these conditions - we haven't yet stuffed the bow in which is enabling us to drive as hard as we can.
Great conditions through the night - wet and fast driving with clear goggles on just seeing the white caps around you and the B and G displays. We have just broken the Ushant to Cape Leeuwin record beating Geronimo's time. Nice to break something other than the boat. We are currently about 1300 miles ahead of the record but not quite halfway so heaps can happen yet. We are in Aussie waters and heading straight east at 51 South soon to be under kiwi land, then next up the Horn.
Bring it on. Sheet on and send it."
Hmm, think there guys are having fun? Conditions will change, though. Strong winds are forecast to continue for a couple more days, but there is a big, fat high pressure system sitting over New Zealand which will mess with the fast-moving depression they just surfed across the Indian Ocean. So the routing could get complicated. And there's always the endless challenge of keeping the boat in one piece. Cheyenne may be handling the Southern Ocean extremely well, and keeping her bows above water. But she's not even halfway round yet and is taking some hard hits on the back beam as waves shoot up through the trampoline. At 30-35 knots, that's a sick, sick impact...
The Look of 30 Knots...
(Photo: Nick Leggatt)
"Blasting - We have finally got the good full-on Southern Ocean conditions that you come here for. We have had the last 2 full days of incredibly blasting conditions riding on strong North Westerlies with squalls coming through increasing the wind from 35 to 40 knots. We have been sailing at a 100 to 110 wind angle with 2 reefs and storm jib and even reefed the storm jib at one stage. We have been sitting on the good numbers all day and night topping out at around 36 knots, this boat was built for these conditions - we haven't yet stuffed the bow in which is enabling us to drive as hard as we can.
Great conditions through the night - wet and fast driving with clear goggles on just seeing the white caps around you and the B and G displays. We have just broken the Ushant to Cape Leeuwin record beating Geronimo's time. Nice to break something other than the boat. We are currently about 1300 miles ahead of the record but not quite halfway so heaps can happen yet. We are in Aussie waters and heading straight east at 51 South soon to be under kiwi land, then next up the Horn.
Bring it on. Sheet on and send it."
Hmm, think there guys are having fun? Conditions will change, though. Strong winds are forecast to continue for a couple more days, but there is a big, fat high pressure system sitting over New Zealand which will mess with the fast-moving depression they just surfed across the Indian Ocean. So the routing could get complicated. And there's always the endless challenge of keeping the boat in one piece. Cheyenne may be handling the Southern Ocean extremely well, and keeping her bows above water. But she's not even halfway round yet and is taking some hard hits on the back beam as waves shoot up through the trampoline. At 30-35 knots, that's a sick, sick impact...
The Look of 30 Knots...
(Photo: Nick Leggatt)
JV Jumble II--Geronimo Slowing: Olivier De Kersauson and his 110-foot tri are slowing as they approach the light winds of the Doldrums, logging only (seems like a joke to say "only") 329 miles on her 7th day at sea. She's still got about 180 miles to the Equator, so her Channel-Equator segment time is not looking good. Geronimo is still behind Orange 2002 and may well end up behid Cheyenne's dismal Equator time. This has to be frustrating, but The Admiral is the most experienced Jules Verne sailor on the planet (having made something like seven attempts, completing 3), and he knows what the weather gods usually give a little and take a little. Right now they are not being very generous, but there's a lot of ocean left to sail. Stay tuned...
Classic Doldrums: "I say, Olivier old chap. There's no point in looking for wind. We're like a pig in molasses here. Shall I get out and do a spot of rowing...?"
Classic Doldrums: "I say, Olivier old chap. There's no point in looking for wind. We're like a pig in molasses here. Shall I get out and do a spot of rowing...?"
And....Slow Guy Check-In: With all the fast sailing going on, let's not forget our old friend "Wrong Way" Jean Luc Van Den Heede. He's sailing hard for home in the Atlantic, and should arrive early next week sometime. That would put him up to 28 days--28 DAYS--ahead of the current record for sailing, solo, non-stop around the world against the prevailing winds. VDH has now been alone at sea for 118 days, and he's awestruck at the big chunk he's going to take out of the record, but nervous it somehow won't happen:
"4 whole weeks, I couldn’t have dreamt of anything better... but I haven’t done it yet. I still remain very, very cautious. Last night, my SIMRAD radar, which is always left on, as I don’t have any electrical supply problems, warned me there was a cargo ship passing 2 miles away from us. So I need to keep an eye open!"
Getting run down by a ship in the final days would be the definition of a sea-going tragedy, so VDH will have to stay hyper-alert. Which isn't the easiest thing to when the most exciting thing VDH has done in the past week is catch a fish....
118 Days Alone: "I can't decide whether to eat it or offer it coffee...."
"4 whole weeks, I couldn’t have dreamt of anything better... but I haven’t done it yet. I still remain very, very cautious. Last night, my SIMRAD radar, which is always left on, as I don’t have any electrical supply problems, warned me there was a cargo ship passing 2 miles away from us. So I need to keep an eye open!"
Getting run down by a ship in the final days would be the definition of a sea-going tragedy, so VDH will have to stay hyper-alert. Which isn't the easiest thing to when the most exciting thing VDH has done in the past week is catch a fish....
118 Days Alone: "I can't decide whether to eat it or offer it coffee...."
Wednesday, March 03, 2004
TWC Breaking News--Orange II Is Out: No real surprise, but it's always a shame to watch a boat and crew fail. If you had a spanking new untested boat and just two months to get it ready for a round the world record run, Bruno Peyron is probably the one guy you'd want in charge. But the odds were always stacked against him. The maxi-cats, particularly one as big as 120 feet, need development time. Which is to say, they need to be taken out, beat to sh*t, and rebuilt where they break, over and over again until they stop breaking. Orange II will be back in the water soon, and will probably break some more before she is sound. TWC bets Peyron will next target a series of Atlantic records, Round Britain and Ireland, Cross Channel, Trans Med, all leading to the east-west transatlantic, and then an assault on PlayStation's monster west-east transatlantic mark of 4 days 17 hours. Bonne Chance, Bruno...
How It's Meant To Be...
How It's Meant To Be...
TWC Quick Hits...:
Parts of Mars Once "Drenched" in Water: NASA rovers now searching for evidence of Martian Wetass...
Navy Sinking Retired Missile Cruisers and Aircraft Carriers to Create Reefs: In related news, Department of Homeland Security notices surge in Al Qaeda interest in underwater salvage schools...
Teenage Humpback Whale Seemingly Falls in Love With Coast Guard Cutter: Rubs amorously against hull...
Happy "Hump" Back: "Everybody take cover...I think he's gonna blow!"
(Photo: Boatswain's Mate Bret Miller via Star Bulletin)
Parts of Mars Once "Drenched" in Water: NASA rovers now searching for evidence of Martian Wetass...
Navy Sinking Retired Missile Cruisers and Aircraft Carriers to Create Reefs: In related news, Department of Homeland Security notices surge in Al Qaeda interest in underwater salvage schools...
Teenage Humpback Whale Seemingly Falls in Love With Coast Guard Cutter: Rubs amorously against hull...
Happy "Hump" Back: "Everybody take cover...I think he's gonna blow!"
(Photo: Boatswain's Mate Bret Miller via Star Bulletin)
JV Jumble II--Doldrum Dangers: Half a world away, in the tropical Atlantic, it ain't lookin' good for either Orange II or Geronimo. Bruno Peyron is now taking his wounded cat to southern Cape Verde island of St. Vincent after Fogo turned out to be too rough to inspect and attempt a repair on the cracked S-drive fairing. His chances of getting back into this thing, unfortunately, seem to be about, umm, zero. Time to pull the plug, Bruno...
Well to the south of Orange II, Olivier De K and Geronimo are starting to lose the trades. Worse, the windless Doldrums zone is looking large and intimidating. Geronimo is still slightly behind Orange II's pace, and if she doesn't find a reasonably fast route across the Equator she's going to be hurting. We'll know how she did compared to Cheyenne in about two days....
"What beautiful sailing, Olivier. To bad we're going...so...damn...slow."
Well to the south of Orange II, Olivier De K and Geronimo are starting to lose the trades. Worse, the windless Doldrums zone is looking large and intimidating. Geronimo is still slightly behind Orange II's pace, and if she doesn't find a reasonably fast route across the Equator she's going to be hurting. We'll know how she did compared to Cheyenne in about two days....
"What beautiful sailing, Olivier. To bad we're going...so...damn...slow."
JV Jumble--Cheyenne Kicking Ass: Well, Stevie Fossett and his crew didn't quite notch up a 600 mile day, hitting 584 for the best run of this record bid as they rocketed along at speeds up to 34 knots in perfect Southern Ocean conditions--25-30 knots of reaching wind, and flat seas ahead of the cold front they are racing. The good conditions are expected to last about another day, and if they do (and nothing on the boat breaks) they will hurl Cheyenne later today past Cape Leeuwin in record time (see chart here). In 2003 Geronimo got from the English Channel to this Great Cape in 26 days and 5 hours, and Cheyenne is on track to break that mark by about half a day. Fossett and his big cat may also take the Cape of Good Hope to Cape Leeuwin record (currently 7 days, 14 hours), but this is nip and tuck. This has got to have Fossett grinning from ear to ear. Geronimo's 2003 JV run was lightning fast, and set many of the course segment records (it was also tragic; she ran out of wind in the North Atlantic after leading Orange 2002 by days most of the way around). To be ahead of Geronimo's 2003 pace at this point after a miserably slow run to the Equator is totally unexpected and has Cheyenne poised to put up a big number.
But to do it, she'll have to steer in the right direction, which isn't always easy in the Southern Ocean. Here's watch leader Brian Thompson:
"The magnetic variation here is huge, we have just passed through a point near the Kergeulens that had 60 degrees of W variation, and by the time we reach Australia it will be back down to 0. We are passing less than 1000 miles to the north of the South Magnetic Pole and the lines of variation come pouring out from this point, so are changing very fast for our passage. Up on deck we have compass heading displayed and additionally course over Ground True as a reference, and to prove we are really sailing east and not 150 as the compass is telling us. "
And the stress on the boat and gear has got to be building....
"Uh-oh. According to the instruments we're heading for Sri Lanka...Wait, it's warm there, isn't it?"
(Photo: Nick Leggatt)
But to do it, she'll have to steer in the right direction, which isn't always easy in the Southern Ocean. Here's watch leader Brian Thompson:
"The magnetic variation here is huge, we have just passed through a point near the Kergeulens that had 60 degrees of W variation, and by the time we reach Australia it will be back down to 0. We are passing less than 1000 miles to the north of the South Magnetic Pole and the lines of variation come pouring out from this point, so are changing very fast for our passage. Up on deck we have compass heading displayed and additionally course over Ground True as a reference, and to prove we are really sailing east and not 150 as the compass is telling us. "
And the stress on the boat and gear has got to be building....
"Uh-oh. According to the instruments we're heading for Sri Lanka...Wait, it's warm there, isn't it?"
(Photo: Nick Leggatt)
Tuesday, March 02, 2004
TWC Breaking News--Orange Peeling....: Guess it was premature to suggest Orange II wasn't losing any more bits and pieces....Bruno Peyron reports that through the night a loud and increasing hull vibration forced him to bring the big cat to a stop for a little underwater inspection. Over the side goes Vladimir Dzalba-Lyndis, a professional combat diver. Using a spotlight he discovers that the fairing around the boat's S-drive propeller is cracked and water is forcing its way in...which would eventually lead to serious hull delamination. Peyron is not quitting the JV race yet. Instead, armed with a hurriedly concocted "how-to" e-mail from Multiplast, the boat's builders, he's headed for the Cape Verde island of Fogo, 90 miles away. There, he will anchor Orange II and attempt to make an underwater repair. This from Orange II HQ:
"Yann Penfornis, architect with the Multiplast yard, explained that two solutions could be envisaged: "if the S Drive fairing is still in place, then the crack should be repaired by applying a "strapping"--which means stretching a wide strap saturated with epoxy resin over the crack to consolidate the whole area. If the fairing has been torn off, then it will be necessary to cut it as close to the hull as possible. The main difficulty for such an operation is to find enough air capacities (it can last several hours). Unfortunately, there is no compressor onboard to refill the 3 diving bottles. The second difficulty is to saw off the aluminum S Drive (19 mm thick in its frontal area) underwater with plain handsaws."
TWC admires the spirit, Bruno, but give it up. There's no way a quick and dirty repair is going to survive the 25,000 miles of hard sailing remaining. And even if it does, Orange II can kiss any hope of a JV record good-bye, as both Geronimo and Cheyenne press on. And even if both of those boats suffer the same fate, Orange II isn't even beating Orange I at the moment. No doubt the sponsor will be disappointed, but that's the big, bad world of multihull speed sailing. Wonder if it was that shark they hit....
Peeved Peyron: "Holy Merde, all the duct tape and epoxy in the world probably isn't enough to get this floating lemon around the globe..."
"Yann Penfornis, architect with the Multiplast yard, explained that two solutions could be envisaged: "if the S Drive fairing is still in place, then the crack should be repaired by applying a "strapping"--which means stretching a wide strap saturated with epoxy resin over the crack to consolidate the whole area. If the fairing has been torn off, then it will be necessary to cut it as close to the hull as possible. The main difficulty for such an operation is to find enough air capacities (it can last several hours). Unfortunately, there is no compressor onboard to refill the 3 diving bottles. The second difficulty is to saw off the aluminum S Drive (19 mm thick in its frontal area) underwater with plain handsaws."
TWC admires the spirit, Bruno, but give it up. There's no way a quick and dirty repair is going to survive the 25,000 miles of hard sailing remaining. And even if it does, Orange II can kiss any hope of a JV record good-bye, as both Geronimo and Cheyenne press on. And even if both of those boats suffer the same fate, Orange II isn't even beating Orange I at the moment. No doubt the sponsor will be disappointed, but that's the big, bad world of multihull speed sailing. Wonder if it was that shark they hit....
Peeved Peyron: "Holy Merde, all the duct tape and epoxy in the world probably isn't enough to get this floating lemon around the globe..."
More Rinspeed Splash...: Here are some more (and much better) photos of the car that's also a hydrofoil, featured earlier in TWC....
"Hi there, Big Boy. I just love the Viagra blue...."
"So, Baby, let me show you a little deserted island I know..."
(Photos via Newsfilter.org)
"Hi there, Big Boy. I just love the Viagra blue...."
"So, Baby, let me show you a little deserted island I know..."
(Photos via Newsfilter.org)
JV Jumble III--Stinky Sailing...: Sure, racing around the world on a maxi-multihull is a glamorous business. But it's far, far from comfortable. In an e-mail that ended up in a forum of the website Sailing Anarchy, Cheyenne's Fraser Brown provided a detailed description of the, umm, atmosphere aboard Cheyenne, and the difficulties of keeping dry:
"I will say that the heat and humidity coming down in the St Helena high was something else. Everyone one was a complete sweat ball and breaking out in salt rashes left right and centre, it's a hard compromise between getting the kit off but still protecting yourself from the salt and sun in fact most of us ended up wearing thermal trousers and long sleeved shirts, as long as we all do it then we all smell the same right. Self preservation in the heat is actually harder than the cold. Salt rash is also something you don't want to get especially before getting in thermals for the south.
So after escaping that we are now in some pretty damn cold conditions which brings me to Ginge and Lyn's questions, yes the boat is like a freezer down below but worst of all the condensation is unbelievable we have shammy's going constantly to wipe the walls and the roof. My bunk is a shocker the mattress is totally soaked and even with 2 layers of insulation on the roof which I put on in Plymouth it's still like a rain forest. I woke up about 3 days ago to water dripping in my ear lobe and one smack bang in the eye. The only thing saving us in a goretex bivy bag zipped around the sleeping bag which is keeping the sleeping bag dryish but you still can't get rid of the cold damp thing, oh well it's only for another 20 days!!!!!!
It's also been a hard call as to when to change to your southern ocean thermals and mid layers you don't won't to change to early because thats it until the Horn same clothes, our navigator has informed me that I have about the next 18 days in these clothes and they have already been on for 3 days. We had a cold snap 2 days ago when we saw icebergs so that was my executive decision to take the plunge and get out of the Atlantic thermals and shit did they have a hum on. Although the shower was great, a whole bunch of pampers disinfectant wipes under your arm pits and of course in the high maintenance place called the groin. So now I have peeled to 2 sets of base layer thermals one mid layer 2 pairs of socks gloves 2 balaclava's and a neck scarf at night with another mid layer top ready to go if needed although all of that under your foulies plus a harness and boots it's getting hard to walk. Makes it bloody hard to open the chocolate bars.
The food is a hard one, some of the lovely gourmet dishes likes shephards pie are actually okay but the curries are just disgusting although I have only had 3 times so far that I have had to really force it down just to eat. The constitution is just a shocker, sometimes when you undo the lid to your food your faced with a dried up looking chunder ( expained by our fearless navigator Ado ) then you start to add more water tabasco sauce pepper and garlic, real gut luggage. I won't eat rice again for years."
Luckily, aside from the ride of a lifetime there are some advantages, too. Like being able to whizz through the trampoline instead of going below....
Funky Fraser: "Damn, my watch is over and it's time to head back down into the Black Hole of Calcutta...."
(Photo: Nick Leggatt)
"I will say that the heat and humidity coming down in the St Helena high was something else. Everyone one was a complete sweat ball and breaking out in salt rashes left right and centre, it's a hard compromise between getting the kit off but still protecting yourself from the salt and sun in fact most of us ended up wearing thermal trousers and long sleeved shirts, as long as we all do it then we all smell the same right. Self preservation in the heat is actually harder than the cold. Salt rash is also something you don't want to get especially before getting in thermals for the south.
So after escaping that we are now in some pretty damn cold conditions which brings me to Ginge and Lyn's questions, yes the boat is like a freezer down below but worst of all the condensation is unbelievable we have shammy's going constantly to wipe the walls and the roof. My bunk is a shocker the mattress is totally soaked and even with 2 layers of insulation on the roof which I put on in Plymouth it's still like a rain forest. I woke up about 3 days ago to water dripping in my ear lobe and one smack bang in the eye. The only thing saving us in a goretex bivy bag zipped around the sleeping bag which is keeping the sleeping bag dryish but you still can't get rid of the cold damp thing, oh well it's only for another 20 days!!!!!!
It's also been a hard call as to when to change to your southern ocean thermals and mid layers you don't won't to change to early because thats it until the Horn same clothes, our navigator has informed me that I have about the next 18 days in these clothes and they have already been on for 3 days. We had a cold snap 2 days ago when we saw icebergs so that was my executive decision to take the plunge and get out of the Atlantic thermals and shit did they have a hum on. Although the shower was great, a whole bunch of pampers disinfectant wipes under your arm pits and of course in the high maintenance place called the groin. So now I have peeled to 2 sets of base layer thermals one mid layer 2 pairs of socks gloves 2 balaclava's and a neck scarf at night with another mid layer top ready to go if needed although all of that under your foulies plus a harness and boots it's getting hard to walk. Makes it bloody hard to open the chocolate bars.
The food is a hard one, some of the lovely gourmet dishes likes shephards pie are actually okay but the curries are just disgusting although I have only had 3 times so far that I have had to really force it down just to eat. The constitution is just a shocker, sometimes when you undo the lid to your food your faced with a dried up looking chunder ( expained by our fearless navigator Ado ) then you start to add more water tabasco sauce pepper and garlic, real gut luggage. I won't eat rice again for years."
Luckily, aside from the ride of a lifetime there are some advantages, too. Like being able to whizz through the trampoline instead of going below....
Funky Fraser: "Damn, my watch is over and it's time to head back down into the Black Hole of Calcutta...."
(Photo: Nick Leggatt)
JV Jumble II--Cheyenne Is About To Put the Pedal Down...: Almost half a world away, in the cold and wet, Steve Fossett's Cheyenne has passed through a ridge of light airs (which dropped their Day 24 run to just over 400 miles) and is lining up in front of a fast-moving cold front. The pre-frontal winds are from the northwest, which allows Cheyenne to sail almost directly on course toward the next gate off Cape Leewin, about two days away, and also to line herself up with the big Southern Ocean swells. That means surfing, Baby! And this is the basic setup in which big mile days are possible in the Southern Ocean. Once the front passes over, the wind will shift to the southwest and the seas will become confused and dangerous to sail at high speed. So the key is to stay ahead of the front as long as possible, which will be quite a race because right now it is moving at 30 knots. Here's navigator Adrienne Cahalan on the general strategy:
"We have settled down into a corridor of 50S now for this section of the Southern Ocean. 50S is the mean axis of the storm track and allows us to sail maximum east at the shortest longitudinal distance realistically possible. At 50S one degree of longitude is only about 38 miles whereas at 40S one degree of longitude is about 45 miles. So when we sail about 11-12 degrees of longitude each day being further south represents a net gain in distance of about 80 miles a day just by sailing at a lower longitude (the great circle route as opposed to rhumbline).
Weather wise however, we are limited by how far south we can go as the centres of the low pressure systems tend to sit around a mean position of about latitude 60S (also known as the circumpolar trough). If we get on the south side of a low pressure system we are into head winds, which is disastrous. In the South Pacific Ocean we will sail at a little lower latitude at around 53-54S to stay in the centre of the storm track. We will also leave our approach to the Horn hich is at 56-57S, until the last minute if possible.
So as the barometer continues to drop we prepare for a couple of days of fast sailing in probably the roughest conditions yet. The next 2 days and into next weekend we may see 30-40kts which we can not escape by diving north so it will be important to keep it all together and the boat in one piece."
If Adrienne, who's Australian, sounds like she knows what she is talking about, she does. She's the top woman ocean racing navigator in the world--in addition to being a great person--and just completed an advanced degree in meteorology. Her thesis? Southern Ocean weather.
Cheyenne is now 1206 miles ahead of Orange 2002's pace after 24 days at sea (chart here), and is probably going to stretch that further in the next few days. If the boat holds up we could see Cheyenne's first 600 mile day of the voyage.....
Formal Dinner: "Eat up, boys, we're going to surf this incoming depression all the way past Australia...."
(Photo: Nick Leggatt)
"We have settled down into a corridor of 50S now for this section of the Southern Ocean. 50S is the mean axis of the storm track and allows us to sail maximum east at the shortest longitudinal distance realistically possible. At 50S one degree of longitude is only about 38 miles whereas at 40S one degree of longitude is about 45 miles. So when we sail about 11-12 degrees of longitude each day being further south represents a net gain in distance of about 80 miles a day just by sailing at a lower longitude (the great circle route as opposed to rhumbline).
Weather wise however, we are limited by how far south we can go as the centres of the low pressure systems tend to sit around a mean position of about latitude 60S (also known as the circumpolar trough). If we get on the south side of a low pressure system we are into head winds, which is disastrous. In the South Pacific Ocean we will sail at a little lower latitude at around 53-54S to stay in the centre of the storm track. We will also leave our approach to the Horn hich is at 56-57S, until the last minute if possible.
So as the barometer continues to drop we prepare for a couple of days of fast sailing in probably the roughest conditions yet. The next 2 days and into next weekend we may see 30-40kts which we can not escape by diving north so it will be important to keep it all together and the boat in one piece."
If Adrienne, who's Australian, sounds like she knows what she is talking about, she does. She's the top woman ocean racing navigator in the world--in addition to being a great person--and just completed an advanced degree in meteorology. Her thesis? Southern Ocean weather.
Cheyenne is now 1206 miles ahead of Orange 2002's pace after 24 days at sea (chart here), and is probably going to stretch that further in the next few days. If the boat holds up we could see Cheyenne's first 600 mile day of the voyage.....
Formal Dinner: "Eat up, boys, we're going to surf this incoming depression all the way past Australia...."
(Photo: Nick Leggatt)
JV Jumble--Northern Drag Race: The drag race to the Equator between Orange II and Geronimo is heating up, with Orange peeling (heh, heh) off two consecutive 500-plus mile days and closing the gap to Geronimo almost down to nothing. Olivier De Kersauson's big trimaran took a more easterly route between the Canary and Cape Verde Islands, and gave up some distance. But this part of the leg is all about picking your longitude and setting up for the Doldrums crossing. De Kersauson says they are looking ugly, and we won't really know who has won Round 1 of this battle until both boats are across the Equator and into the southeast trade winds. Right now, thanks to the tricky weather and a lot of gybing, both boats are slightly behind Orange 2002's record pace. This is good news for Cheyenne, since her slow time on this leg was vulnerable to the trailing boats, while her post-Equator passage has been pretty damn quick. So if OII and Geronimo don't make too bog a gain on Cheyenne here, they are going to have to sail their asses off to stay ahead of her pace to Australia.
Still, Orange II is showing some decent speed, even though she wrapped a 6-9 foot shark around her daggerboard at 23 knots and needed a half hour to get the unhappy beast off. For those who are into it, this race is more than a test of crew, versus crew, and tri versus catamaran. No, no bits off boat fell off in the incident.....It is also a test of two of the world's best weather routers, with Roger "Clouds" Badham of Australia (in TWC's view simply the best out there) calling the shots for Orange II (which also has chronic round-the-world addict Roger Nilson in the nav seat), and France's Pierre Lasnier (also at the top of his game and helping our buddy VDH find his way home) calling the weather for Geronimo. This is high speed, 3D chess, and TWC is loving every minute of it.....
"The Admiral" De Kersauson: "Merde, is that a flash of orange I see....Didier, get me Lasnier on the phone, right now!"
Still, Orange II is showing some decent speed, even though she wrapped a 6-9 foot shark around her daggerboard at 23 knots and needed a half hour to get the unhappy beast off. For those who are into it, this race is more than a test of crew, versus crew, and tri versus catamaran. No, no bits off boat fell off in the incident.....It is also a test of two of the world's best weather routers, with Roger "Clouds" Badham of Australia (in TWC's view simply the best out there) calling the shots for Orange II (which also has chronic round-the-world addict Roger Nilson in the nav seat), and France's Pierre Lasnier (also at the top of his game and helping our buddy VDH find his way home) calling the weather for Geronimo. This is high speed, 3D chess, and TWC is loving every minute of it.....
"The Admiral" De Kersauson: "Merde, is that a flash of orange I see....Didier, get me Lasnier on the phone, right now!"
Monday, March 01, 2004
Annals Of Irresponsibility--Buy 'Em, Dump 'Em...Run Away: For some reason (better weed, maybe?), Miami is the exotic animal capital of the United States. Every year, tens of thousands of strange and unusual birds, lizards, snakes, monkeys--you name it, South Floridians apparently will buy it--are flown in so people with too much money and too little sense can brag about owning the only blue-tongued Nile monitor lizard on their block. And naturally, when said owner discovers--surprise--that the cute little snake or lizard they bought on a whim is not so cute once it is full grown and working on a way to eat its owner, the children and the dog, out the window and into the swamps it goes. According to the New York Times (sorry, free registration required), the result is that South Florida is teeming with weird and exotic animals, many of whom are doing just fine, thank-you very much, and starting to give native species a run for their money. The Nile Monitor lizard, for example, is living large in the canals of Coral Gable, and looking for new housing markets. "There's no question they are expanding their range," Dr. Kenneth Krysko said. "They are scaring the heck out of residents...Any child can go to a pet store and buy a hatchling for $10. But no one realizes the ability this animal has to tear off your cat's head with one twist." Dang. Sorry, Garfield.
It's turning into a raging, unpredictable biology experiment fueled by human vanity and ignorance, with Burmese pythons proliferating in the Everglades and retirees watching them fight it out with the crocs (the crocs still win and The Times has a picture to prove it). Can't wait 'til these animals start coming back out of the swamps to overrun the housing tracts. Oh, wait, they already are. Excellleennt...
Pesky Python: "This guy was on his way to the Early Bird at Hooters..."
(Photo: Everglades National Park via NYT)
It's turning into a raging, unpredictable biology experiment fueled by human vanity and ignorance, with Burmese pythons proliferating in the Everglades and retirees watching them fight it out with the crocs (the crocs still win and The Times has a picture to prove it). Can't wait 'til these animals start coming back out of the swamps to overrun the housing tracts. Oh, wait, they already are. Excellleennt...
Pesky Python: "This guy was on his way to the Early Bird at Hooters..."
(Photo: Everglades National Park via NYT)
North Pole Jumble--Sitting Around...: Apparently, just getting out onto the ice is one of the hardest parts of any attempt to walk to the North Pole or across the Arctic Ocean. Ben Saunders, who's planning to ski solo and unsupported from Russia to Canada via the North Pole, was cooling his heels in Khatanga over the weekend, desperately trying to move on to Sredniy, near his jumping off point. His sense of humor is starting to wither:
"I’m starting to wonder if we’ll ever leave Khatanga.
One of the joys of being solo on the ice (if I ever get there!) is that I’m entirely in charge of my own destiny. Right now, that couldn’t be further from the case - our stay in the frozen town of Khatanga has now doubled and Russian bureaucracy (which at its best can only be described as baffling) has conspired to extend our sojourn here still further. So far we’ve had permit delays, radio operators unwilling to work on the weekends, gunfights over who runs the polar base and official delegations commandeering our helicopter. We have been told ‘definitely tomorrow’ at least four times. We fly to Sredniy on Monday. ‘100% for sure’, apparently. Hmm."
I don't think Saunders has discovered the art of the well-placed bribe yet.
Wave Vidmar, who's also in Khatanga and hoping to be the first American to ski solo and unsupported to the North Pole, isn't any happier:
Well, Monday morning has come and we are still here in Khatanga with no clear idea of when we will be able to proceed. This morning's excuse was 'bad weather', but we all know it is simply game playing and leverage for control and money disputes that keeps us grounded. Unless things change dramatically with Cerpolex (the local expedition organizer) and their situation, planning an expedition from the Canadian side might be a wiser choice for future expeditions...[W]e (the expeditions on hold here in Khatanga) are pawns and are being leveraged by each side in this drama for polar control....[A]t the forefront of our thoughts is each day wasted waiting lessens the chances of a successful trek to the North Pole.
We got news shortly before lunch that all of our expeditions are in jeopardy, and Cerpolex conceeded that they may not even be in business next year. Not even starting the expedition would be tragic and I dare not think about the consequences. Hopefully everything will work out but things are very much up in the air at the moment.
Hmmm, sounds like the final negotiation phase has started....
"Heh-heh. Just keep stalling another day or two and these stupid capitalist adventurers will bury us in dollars...."
"I’m starting to wonder if we’ll ever leave Khatanga.
One of the joys of being solo on the ice (if I ever get there!) is that I’m entirely in charge of my own destiny. Right now, that couldn’t be further from the case - our stay in the frozen town of Khatanga has now doubled and Russian bureaucracy (which at its best can only be described as baffling) has conspired to extend our sojourn here still further. So far we’ve had permit delays, radio operators unwilling to work on the weekends, gunfights over who runs the polar base and official delegations commandeering our helicopter. We have been told ‘definitely tomorrow’ at least four times. We fly to Sredniy on Monday. ‘100% for sure’, apparently. Hmm."
I don't think Saunders has discovered the art of the well-placed bribe yet.
Wave Vidmar, who's also in Khatanga and hoping to be the first American to ski solo and unsupported to the North Pole, isn't any happier:
Well, Monday morning has come and we are still here in Khatanga with no clear idea of when we will be able to proceed. This morning's excuse was 'bad weather', but we all know it is simply game playing and leverage for control and money disputes that keeps us grounded. Unless things change dramatically with Cerpolex (the local expedition organizer) and their situation, planning an expedition from the Canadian side might be a wiser choice for future expeditions...[W]e (the expeditions on hold here in Khatanga) are pawns and are being leveraged by each side in this drama for polar control....[A]t the forefront of our thoughts is each day wasted waiting lessens the chances of a successful trek to the North Pole.
We got news shortly before lunch that all of our expeditions are in jeopardy, and Cerpolex conceeded that they may not even be in business next year. Not even starting the expedition would be tragic and I dare not think about the consequences. Hopefully everything will work out but things are very much up in the air at the moment.
Hmmm, sounds like the final negotiation phase has started....
"Heh-heh. Just keep stalling another day or two and these stupid capitalist adventurers will bury us in dollars...."
JV Jumble--What Did We Miss...?: Not much, thankfully. No falling masts, no collisions with underwater objects. Cheyenne, Orange II and Geronimo are all sailing hard. Cheyenne has covered more than 10,000 miles since the start, and has gybed south past the Kerguelen Islands (chart here). After a slow day of just 422 miles on Sunday, she's back up to speed as she drops below 50 South to find stronger winds. Her lead over Orange 2002 is around 1187 miles, or about 3 days, and she hasn't had a daily run under 400 miles for 11 days now. Next up: Australia's Cape Leeuwin, the second Great Cape on the route, in about 3 days. If you'd like to know more about the watch rotation and daily routine aboard a maxi cat, check out Dave Scully's description. The icebergs have been left behind for the moment, replaced by a less deadly annoyance. Here's watch leader Brian Thompson:
"There has been quite a bit of kelp floating around, in long strands of brown strips about a foot wide. We have caught quite a few on the dagger boards, causing a great rushing sound inside the hull. Usually they fall off very quickly, but one time we did have to raise the dagger board fully up to free some of the tough strands. To look at what is happening underwater we have an endoscope, a metal rod about 2 feet long that fits through a special hull fitting. At the top of the rod is an eyepiece, and at the bottom a tiny lens. By rotating the tube you can see, in a fish eye view, the bottom of the hull and the dagger board. There are 4 of these through the hulls, one each near the dagger boards, and one each near the rudders."
Plus, it gives the onboard doctor another option for....
Meanwhile, back in the warm waters of the tropics, Orange II and Geronimo are continuing their race to the Equator. Light winds have forced the boats to gybe their way south, and they are struggling to keep up with Orange 2002's pace. Bruno Peyron checks in from his new toy to report that the rudder design is not optimum, and means that Orange II is giving her helmsmen big biceps: "[W]e drive her like a big unruly truck. We use a lot of muscle power. It's very physical - she's not sensitive to the helm." After four days of sailing, Geronimo is still south and east of Orange II, so Bruno Peyron's Monster Truck hasn't caught Olivier De K's tri...yet. But she's making little gains every day now. Peyron says he is loving the chase. No word from "The Admiral," De Kersauson, but he's undoubtedly looking over his shoulder a lot...
Olivier De K Is Nervous: "Keep pushing, you swabs. It'll be a dozen lashes all around if that bastard Peyron passes us in that pig of a boat...."
"There has been quite a bit of kelp floating around, in long strands of brown strips about a foot wide. We have caught quite a few on the dagger boards, causing a great rushing sound inside the hull. Usually they fall off very quickly, but one time we did have to raise the dagger board fully up to free some of the tough strands. To look at what is happening underwater we have an endoscope, a metal rod about 2 feet long that fits through a special hull fitting. At the top of the rod is an eyepiece, and at the bottom a tiny lens. By rotating the tube you can see, in a fish eye view, the bottom of the hull and the dagger board. There are 4 of these through the hulls, one each near the dagger boards, and one each near the rudders."
Plus, it gives the onboard doctor another option for....
Meanwhile, back in the warm waters of the tropics, Orange II and Geronimo are continuing their race to the Equator. Light winds have forced the boats to gybe their way south, and they are struggling to keep up with Orange 2002's pace. Bruno Peyron checks in from his new toy to report that the rudder design is not optimum, and means that Orange II is giving her helmsmen big biceps: "[W]e drive her like a big unruly truck. We use a lot of muscle power. It's very physical - she's not sensitive to the helm." After four days of sailing, Geronimo is still south and east of Orange II, so Bruno Peyron's Monster Truck hasn't caught Olivier De K's tri...yet. But she's making little gains every day now. Peyron says he is loving the chase. No word from "The Admiral," De Kersauson, but he's undoubtedly looking over his shoulder a lot...
Olivier De K Is Nervous: "Keep pushing, you swabs. It'll be a dozen lashes all around if that bastard Peyron passes us in that pig of a boat...."
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