Friday, February 04, 2005
Have A Frozen-Ass Weekend...
Geneva, Switzerland, After A Recent Ice Storm
(Photographer: Jean-Pierre Scherrer)
And Now For Something Completely Different...
Are you male, over 65, and bored? Fancy a little adventure, a little male bonding, and an ocean adventure? Then you might want to give 78-year old Englishman Anthony Smith a call. Why? Because Smith is looking for three elderly, interesting gentlemen to join him on a raft for a little jaunt across the Atlantic, from the Canaries to the Bahamas. Smith is a classic example of the Eccentric Adventurer. He has flown a balloon over the Alps, ridden a motorbike the length of Africa, rafted the Amazon, a searched for new species of fish in Iran. He's even had the pleasure of reading his own obituary (written after he was--mistakenly--feared dead in an African balloon accident). His latest attempt to avoid boredom involves a 45 ft. by 25 ft. raft, built out of massive gas pipes that have been bolted together (some will be sealed and empty for buoyancy, and others will contain water and provisions). It will feature two huts fashioned out of large heating oil tanks, and Smith expects quite a smooth ride for the 50-day voyage. "You can sit on the deck in your bedroom slippers having a drink; I thought it would be far more civilized. We won't have a fridge, because it needs too much electricity. But there will be food and drink on board," says. "I like the idea of cultivating bamboo shoots. They grow very quickly and, as anyone who goes to a Chinese restaurant will tell you, they are delicious. If you are Ellen MacArthur, food is enriched protein coming out of a toothpaste tube. We will not be eating out of a toothpaste tube."
If you are worried it might be dangerous, have no fear. "We will all be tied on to the raft. Being old, we will know what we are capable of," Smith says. "There have been 43 raft voyages since the Kon-Tiki in 1947 and only one person has died."
Oh, and it will help a lot if you are interesting: "I would like a raconteur or perhaps a musician with the right kind of instrument - not a violin, which would fail in a salt water environment."
So what are you waiting for? I guarantee it will beat sitting around watching Dr. Phil and waiting for your dentures to be bleached...
Forget The QE II: "Let's go, gentlemen, the evening poker game is about to start on the bridge deck..."
If you are worried it might be dangerous, have no fear. "We will all be tied on to the raft. Being old, we will know what we are capable of," Smith says. "There have been 43 raft voyages since the Kon-Tiki in 1947 and only one person has died."
Oh, and it will help a lot if you are interesting: "I would like a raconteur or perhaps a musician with the right kind of instrument - not a violin, which would fail in a salt water environment."
So what are you waiting for? I guarantee it will beat sitting around watching Dr. Phil and waiting for your dentures to be bleached...
Forget The QE II: "Let's go, gentlemen, the evening poker game is about to start on the bridge deck..."
Ellen Gets Mad....
I'm mad, too, because the geniuses running Ellen's website are apparently surprised by the sharp increase in traffic as Ellen approaches the finish. So the website, other than the opening page, is down. The sponsor has got to love that.
Luckily, however, I received the e-mail version of her Day 69 report, which I'll pass on almost in its entirety in case you also can't navigate her website. She's 918 miles ahead, which her team calculates as a 2 day 12 hour advantage. Here's the report:
* SOLO RECORD DEMANDING FULL VERSE AND CHAPTER from MacArthur as the final stages of her solo, non-stop round the world record unfold. She has had endure a night of little to no wind as boat speeds rarely topped 1 knot [1 nautical mile per hour, 1.15 mph, 1.85 km/h] of speed for a six hour period and then, this weekend, she will possibly have to face a northerly gale gusting up to 40 knots with very rough seas. As expected, B&Q's lead has fallen to 2 days and 15 hours this morning [200 miles north of the Azores and 735 miles west of Vigo, Portugal], losing 11 hours in the last 24 hour period as <> only managed 154 miles of distance towards the finish. <> has now sailed 26,288 miles at an average speed of 16.1 knots and there are 946 miles left on the clock requiring an average VMG [Velocity Made Good towards the finish] of 7.9 knots, current VMG at 0710gmt this morning is 7.1 knots. The early part of the night offered MacArthur no reprieve and sleep became impossible as the total lack of wind meant the autopilot alarms were constantly going off - unable to hold on as the wind data goes round in circles and lack of boat speed means no steerage left - leaving MacArthur evenly more deeply fatigued and seething with frustration [a bruised fist and broken mp3 player resulted!]. This solo attempt is demanding everything from her and the 75ft multihull <>. If they can hold it together they have a good chance of reaching the finish line off Ushant by Tuesday. But as Mike Golding's spectacular finish to his solo Vendée Globe race has proven [he lost his keel 40 miles from the finish in Les Sables d'Olonne] - it isn't over, until its over...
* IS MACARTHUR'S LEAD ENOUGH TO GET HER THROUGH? Yes, definitely, if she can get into the stronger wind soon. The latest boat data for 0800gmt shows wind speeds nudging over five knots suggesting she might be already seeing signs of new breeze ahead of schedule, as the forecast is for very light 5 knots to develop from the north from 1200gmt today. There are three distinct weather phases for MacArthur to get through to the finish line off Ushant: phase 1 - clear the light winds of the high pressure some time today to get into fresher breeze from the north; phase 2 - survive a northerly gale over the weekend delivering 30-35 knots of breeze, gusts of 40, and very, very rough seas - potentially boat-breaking conditions and extreme conditions for MacArthur; phase 3 - hook into more favourable south-east winds off north-west Spain to reach [wind at 90 degrees ie side on to the boat] to the finish line, although some weather files show this becoming very light as Ushant approaches. Latest routing shows that as the northerly breeze kicks in, <> tack will tack on to port to head east towards Cape Finisterre, north west tip of Spain, before tacking back on to starboard as the breeze veers into the south-east to head for Ushant. Once in a more stable weather system of low pressure [albeit a gale!], the prediction of when MacArthur is expected to arrive, technical issues aside, can be made with greater confidence. But for now the best guess for her arrival is Tuesday...
Hmm. Wonder what she was listening to when the MP3 player met its end? Or maybe she had just received the following weather report from Commanders Weather. It's both ugly (boat-breaking conditions ahead) and promising (if she survives the weekend intact she'll have good finishing conditions):
Still very slow going for Ellen next 6-12 hours as she negotiates a small cell of high pressure not far away. But a much bigger high pressure system now in the central Atlantic near 51n 40w will be building eastward over the next 1-2 days. By midday Sat expect the center of the high to be centered near 52n 29w.
Initially this high will begin to freshen Ellen's winds slightly late Friday afternoon or evening up towards 10 kts. By daybreak Sat speeds likely in the 15-20 kt range and by Saturday evening likely 25-30 kts with stronger gusts. The wind direction for the most part will be northerly so Ellen will have to play it tight to the wind to get home.
There likely will be one last period of gale force winds overnight Saturday night into early Sunday as the wind gradient strengthens between the big high and developing low pressure near Cape Finisterre. Winds likely will gust utoward 40 kts and seas will be building to 15-20 feet. This will be a very rough period for Ellen.
But diminishing winds Sunday and clocking to E-SE by Monday should allow Ellen to have a more comfortable finish to her long journey.
Wind forecasts
Wind directions are TRUE, wind speed in kts, time is UTC
Fri, Feb 4
09: 320-340/ 4-7
12: 320-340/ 4-8, near 42 n/25 w Bubble high just to your W
18: 320-340/ 6-10
Partly cloudy to mostly cloudy, maybe a brief, squally shower or 2
Sat, Feb 5 - BECOMING VERY ROUGH LATE DAY AND NIGHT
00: 350-010/10-15
06: 360-020/15-20
12: 350-010/20-25, near 44N/20 W
18: 340-360/25-32
Cloudy to partly cloudy - squally showers likely with gusts to 40 kts overnight
Seas building to 12-18 feet at night.
Sun, Feb 6 - VERY ROUGH
00: 350-010/26-34, gust 40
06: 360-020/24-32, gust 40
12: 010-030/24-32, gust 35, near 45 N/13 W
Want to be up near or north of 45 if possible
18: 030-050/22-30 g 35
Lots of clouds and more squally showers likely - gusts to 35-40 kts likely
Seas 16-22 feet but subsiding pm/night.
It's going to take all Ellen's skill and intuition to decide how hard to drive her fatiguing tri through the rough weather. It would be tragic to break down now. But it would also be tragic to nurse the boat only to miss out on the record by a few hours...
"Damn, I hope this boat is put together a bit better than that MP3 player. I didn't even put any weight into that punch..."
Luckily, however, I received the e-mail version of her Day 69 report, which I'll pass on almost in its entirety in case you also can't navigate her website. She's 918 miles ahead, which her team calculates as a 2 day 12 hour advantage. Here's the report:
* SOLO RECORD DEMANDING FULL VERSE AND CHAPTER from MacArthur as the final stages of her solo, non-stop round the world record unfold. She has had endure a night of little to no wind as boat speeds rarely topped 1 knot [1 nautical mile per hour, 1.15 mph, 1.85 km/h] of speed for a six hour period and then, this weekend, she will possibly have to face a northerly gale gusting up to 40 knots with very rough seas. As expected, B&Q's lead has fallen to 2 days and 15 hours this morning [200 miles north of the Azores and 735 miles west of Vigo, Portugal], losing 11 hours in the last 24 hour period as <
* IS MACARTHUR'S LEAD ENOUGH TO GET HER THROUGH? Yes, definitely, if she can get into the stronger wind soon. The latest boat data for 0800gmt shows wind speeds nudging over five knots suggesting she might be already seeing signs of new breeze ahead of schedule, as the forecast is for very light 5 knots to develop from the north from 1200gmt today. There are three distinct weather phases for MacArthur to get through to the finish line off Ushant: phase 1 - clear the light winds of the high pressure some time today to get into fresher breeze from the north; phase 2 - survive a northerly gale over the weekend delivering 30-35 knots of breeze, gusts of 40, and very, very rough seas - potentially boat-breaking conditions and extreme conditions for MacArthur; phase 3 - hook into more favourable south-east winds off north-west Spain to reach [wind at 90 degrees ie side on to the boat] to the finish line, although some weather files show this becoming very light as Ushant approaches. Latest routing shows that as the northerly breeze kicks in, <
Hmm. Wonder what she was listening to when the MP3 player met its end? Or maybe she had just received the following weather report from Commanders Weather. It's both ugly (boat-breaking conditions ahead) and promising (if she survives the weekend intact she'll have good finishing conditions):
Still very slow going for Ellen next 6-12 hours as she negotiates a small cell of high pressure not far away. But a much bigger high pressure system now in the central Atlantic near 51n 40w will be building eastward over the next 1-2 days. By midday Sat expect the center of the high to be centered near 52n 29w.
Initially this high will begin to freshen Ellen's winds slightly late Friday afternoon or evening up towards 10 kts. By daybreak Sat speeds likely in the 15-20 kt range and by Saturday evening likely 25-30 kts with stronger gusts. The wind direction for the most part will be northerly so Ellen will have to play it tight to the wind to get home.
There likely will be one last period of gale force winds overnight Saturday night into early Sunday as the wind gradient strengthens between the big high and developing low pressure near Cape Finisterre. Winds likely will gust utoward 40 kts and seas will be building to 15-20 feet. This will be a very rough period for Ellen.
But diminishing winds Sunday and clocking to E-SE by Monday should allow Ellen to have a more comfortable finish to her long journey.
Wind forecasts
Wind directions are TRUE, wind speed in kts, time is UTC
Fri, Feb 4
09: 320-340/ 4-7
12: 320-340/ 4-8, near 42 n/25 w Bubble high just to your W
18: 320-340/ 6-10
Partly cloudy to mostly cloudy, maybe a brief, squally shower or 2
Sat, Feb 5 - BECOMING VERY ROUGH LATE DAY AND NIGHT
00: 350-010/10-15
06: 360-020/15-20
12: 350-010/20-25, near 44N/20 W
18: 340-360/25-32
Cloudy to partly cloudy - squally showers likely with gusts to 40 kts overnight
Seas building to 12-18 feet at night.
Sun, Feb 6 - VERY ROUGH
00: 350-010/26-34, gust 40
06: 360-020/24-32, gust 40
12: 010-030/24-32, gust 35, near 45 N/13 W
Want to be up near or north of 45 if possible
18: 030-050/22-30 g 35
Lots of clouds and more squally showers likely - gusts to 35-40 kts likely
Seas 16-22 feet but subsiding pm/night.
It's going to take all Ellen's skill and intuition to decide how hard to drive her fatiguing tri through the rough weather. It would be tragic to break down now. But it would also be tragic to nurse the boat only to miss out on the record by a few hours...
"Damn, I hope this boat is put together a bit better than that MP3 player. I didn't even put any weight into that punch..."
Golding Glides Home In Third...
Well, last night Mike Golding officially become the first man ever to finish a global race with no keel. And just as amazing, he still made the podium. Golding sailed the course in 88 days 15 hours 15 minutes, which was just over a day slower than winner Vincent Riou, but more than four and a half days faster than previous winner Michel Desjoyeaux. This morning Golding gave an account of what it feels like to have the boat suddenly sit upright in 22 knots of breeze while you approach the finish of the world's most difficult sailboat race and are daydreaming about steaks, and booze, and...well, never mind:
"I jumped up and released the mainsheet, and then I felt I was easing a lot of mainsheet, and didn’t really understand why. There was no real noise….no, actually there was a slight noise but it was quiet, it wasn’t particularly noisy, anyway so then I operated the keel buttons for a few seconds and it ran for a few seconds and stopped. I then went below and checked the ballast tanks and made sure there was water in the weather one and the leeward one was empty and they had not dumped the water across, and the leeward one was empty. I looked in the top of the keel and the keel was fully canted. I went on deck to the cap shrouds and looked over the side where you would see the keel and I couldn’t see the keel. It could have been murky water and I was thinking maybe it was murky water so I went down below and got the endoscope out and had a look out through the rudder endoscope fittings and couldn’t see anything forward. I could see the daggerboards but I couldn’t see the keel, but a lot of paint had been coming off the keel so consequently it wasn’t as orange as it should have been and I just thought mabe that was it. Then I looked through the escape hatch and stuck my head in the water and there was a keel, but it was at a different angle to what I had seen at the keelbox, but it was at a different angle but your head doesn’t get round that and I thought there was something I was missing, and I got a torch and looked down the keelbay. Usually when the keel is canted you can see the edge of the ‘olive’ and there should be an orange strip where the blade is and in the middle of the orange strip I could see daylight, and I couldn’t work that out and while I was there, looking, there was a larger crack and that was the keel departing the boat. It didn’t do anything. I had the sails flogging but still had the Solent drawing. I went back round the whole routine again, did every check all over again and that’s when I thought : ‘I’ve lost the keel’."
Uh, that's got to be a moment he'll remember forever. Undeterred, Golding sailed on under reduced sail, averaging a whopping five knots (and touching nine knots at one point) in his suddenly flat-bottomed 60-foot dinghy, and finished well before anyone expected. Nicely done, Mike. It's not always about the placings...
"In my darkest hour, this is the vision that kept me going: A man. A beer. A burrito. Buurp.."
"If they were impressed that I sailed home without a keel, just think how amazed they're going to be when I eat this bottle..."
"I jumped up and released the mainsheet, and then I felt I was easing a lot of mainsheet, and didn’t really understand why. There was no real noise….no, actually there was a slight noise but it was quiet, it wasn’t particularly noisy, anyway so then I operated the keel buttons for a few seconds and it ran for a few seconds and stopped. I then went below and checked the ballast tanks and made sure there was water in the weather one and the leeward one was empty and they had not dumped the water across, and the leeward one was empty. I looked in the top of the keel and the keel was fully canted. I went on deck to the cap shrouds and looked over the side where you would see the keel and I couldn’t see the keel. It could have been murky water and I was thinking maybe it was murky water so I went down below and got the endoscope out and had a look out through the rudder endoscope fittings and couldn’t see anything forward. I could see the daggerboards but I couldn’t see the keel, but a lot of paint had been coming off the keel so consequently it wasn’t as orange as it should have been and I just thought mabe that was it. Then I looked through the escape hatch and stuck my head in the water and there was a keel, but it was at a different angle to what I had seen at the keelbox, but it was at a different angle but your head doesn’t get round that and I thought there was something I was missing, and I got a torch and looked down the keelbay. Usually when the keel is canted you can see the edge of the ‘olive’ and there should be an orange strip where the blade is and in the middle of the orange strip I could see daylight, and I couldn’t work that out and while I was there, looking, there was a larger crack and that was the keel departing the boat. It didn’t do anything. I had the sails flogging but still had the Solent drawing. I went back round the whole routine again, did every check all over again and that’s when I thought : ‘I’ve lost the keel’."
Uh, that's got to be a moment he'll remember forever. Undeterred, Golding sailed on under reduced sail, averaging a whopping five knots (and touching nine knots at one point) in his suddenly flat-bottomed 60-foot dinghy, and finished well before anyone expected. Nicely done, Mike. It's not always about the placings...
"In my darkest hour, this is the vision that kept me going: A man. A beer. A burrito. Buurp.."
"If they were impressed that I sailed home without a keel, just think how amazed they're going to be when I eat this bottle..."
Thursday, February 03, 2005
Golding Gallery...
The pictures tell the story. Minimal sail. Ballast tanks full. Submerged waterline. A nervous looking skipper...
Can't imagine the suspense when he tries to gybe that baby around once he hits the layline...
Can't imagine the suspense when he tries to gybe that baby around once he hits the layline...
Breaking News: Killer Keel Flu Hits Golding...
How cruel a race can the Vendee Globe be? Just ask Mike Golding, who is believed to have lost his keel just 52 miles from the finish. The most complete report I could find on the situation comes courtesy of the always excellent Daily Sail:
At the same instant the Ecover shore team in Les Sables d'Olonne were about to pull the champagne out of the cooler, so disaster struck Mike Golding's Open 60, lying third in the Vendee Globe, incredibly just 50 miles from the finish line after the best part of 23,000 miles of sailing.
At 1400GMT Ecover developed a severe problem with her keel. At this point the team are not 100% certain whether the keel has fallen off or not, but they think the most likely scenario is that, like Skandia, the keel foil has broken outside of the hull. Golding has inspected the underside of the boat with an endoscope, but this is not providing him with an answer. Golding says the keel is not behaving as it should, so it seems likely that as with Skandia the foil may have failed and the bulb itself not yet fallen off.
Ecover Boat Project Manager Graham Tourell spoke to Golding after the incident. "The boat did come upright, but looking through the endoscope he said 'I cannot be sure 100% whether it has gone or not'. It is definitely not a ram problem. If it broke it would have broken in the same way as Skandia.
The 1500GMT position reports show Ecover making just 2.1 knots on a course of 317deg, 52 miles from the finish line.
At present Ecover is still upright and Golding is safe. The Cross Etel, the French equivalent of the MRCC are aware of the situation and are on standby. Golding says that at present he is not in need of assistance. At present he is heading towards Les Sables d'Olonne gingerly with the daggerboards down, her centreline water ballast tanks full to stabilise the boat and flying just her staysail alone. Tourell says that it is possible to sail upwind under the arrangement.
The Ecover shore team are currently looking into way they can get a member of their team out to Golding.
There are of course theories that Golding is cursed in this stretch of water. It cannot have been far from his present position that Golding's Team Group 4 was dismasted at the start of the 2000 Vendee Globe.
Another theory is that the keel foils of the Owen Clarke designs may be too small/not strong enough. Hence why the Skandia Open 60 and Ecover have both developed similar problems.
Is it safe to say there may be a fundamental issue with the fitting of canting keels on board race boats?
Interestingly, the next closest competitor, Dominique Wavre on Temenos, is more than 800 miles back. So even though Golding's boatspeed is just over 2 knots, he can still snag third...if he can just keep the damn boat upright. He's got light air for another day or so, but after that the wind will fill, and start to blow hard from the north. So the window is small. If he pulls it off, I have no doubt that he will be the first sailor ever to finish a round-the-world yacht race without a keel. Go, Mike, go...
Keel-less Golding?: "Bugger! Bugger, bugger, bugger..."
At the same instant the Ecover shore team in Les Sables d'Olonne were about to pull the champagne out of the cooler, so disaster struck Mike Golding's Open 60, lying third in the Vendee Globe, incredibly just 50 miles from the finish line after the best part of 23,000 miles of sailing.
At 1400GMT Ecover developed a severe problem with her keel. At this point the team are not 100% certain whether the keel has fallen off or not, but they think the most likely scenario is that, like Skandia, the keel foil has broken outside of the hull. Golding has inspected the underside of the boat with an endoscope, but this is not providing him with an answer. Golding says the keel is not behaving as it should, so it seems likely that as with Skandia the foil may have failed and the bulb itself not yet fallen off.
Ecover Boat Project Manager Graham Tourell spoke to Golding after the incident. "The boat did come upright, but looking through the endoscope he said 'I cannot be sure 100% whether it has gone or not'. It is definitely not a ram problem. If it broke it would have broken in the same way as Skandia.
The 1500GMT position reports show Ecover making just 2.1 knots on a course of 317deg, 52 miles from the finish line.
At present Ecover is still upright and Golding is safe. The Cross Etel, the French equivalent of the MRCC are aware of the situation and are on standby. Golding says that at present he is not in need of assistance. At present he is heading towards Les Sables d'Olonne gingerly with the daggerboards down, her centreline water ballast tanks full to stabilise the boat and flying just her staysail alone. Tourell says that it is possible to sail upwind under the arrangement.
The Ecover shore team are currently looking into way they can get a member of their team out to Golding.
There are of course theories that Golding is cursed in this stretch of water. It cannot have been far from his present position that Golding's Team Group 4 was dismasted at the start of the 2000 Vendee Globe.
Another theory is that the keel foils of the Owen Clarke designs may be too small/not strong enough. Hence why the Skandia Open 60 and Ecover have both developed similar problems.
Is it safe to say there may be a fundamental issue with the fitting of canting keels on board race boats?
Interestingly, the next closest competitor, Dominique Wavre on Temenos, is more than 800 miles back. So even though Golding's boatspeed is just over 2 knots, he can still snag third...if he can just keep the damn boat upright. He's got light air for another day or so, but after that the wind will fill, and start to blow hard from the north. So the window is small. If he pulls it off, I have no doubt that he will be the first sailor ever to finish a round-the-world yacht race without a keel. Go, Mike, go...
Keel-less Golding?: "Bugger! Bugger, bugger, bugger..."
Wetass Hall Of Fame...
One man's hurricane is just another man's big surf day. Check out this absolutely classic news clip, in which the reporter is doing the typical fire and brimstone hype job on the weather ("Winds of more than 110 miles an hour!"). Then his producer points something out to him. The camera zooms in. He can't believe it. But yes, there is a Hardass Wetass out there, surfing for his life on a massive storm wave. If you watch closely, you'll see him surf right past a sailboat getting pounded into scrap. Cowaf*ckingbunga, Dude! We are not worthy...
(Update: E-mailers are saying this is from a Powerade commercial. Ah well, it was too good to check...and still worth a look. It's called suspension of disbelief).
"Look, Ma. I'm live on News 4...!"
(Update: E-mailers are saying this is from a Powerade commercial. Ah well, it was too good to check...and still worth a look. It's called suspension of disbelief).
"Look, Ma. I'm live on News 4...!"
Ellen Exhausted....
She's fighting for every minute and mile, and that means she's not sleeping. In other words, Little Big Mac is fried (sorry, couldn't help myself). She's had just 20 minutes in the past 24 hours, and not much more in the preceeding days. Getting through the Azores was a nightmare:
"Can't believe what we've been through. We stopped for two hours with two knots of breeze from the wrong direction, we were so close to the island. The breeze went into the north-west and we were heading back towards the island, only 14 miles away. We've moved some, we've stopped, we've talked about tacking, we've been taking reefs out, putting reefs in, we've had 22 knots then we've had 4 knots, then 19 knots, the whole **** fight."
Early this morning B&Q was ripping along at a stupendous 0.72 knots. Now they're back in good southeasterly flow, but she lost about 6 hours of her precious lead on Joyon. That leaves her with a lead of 944 miles with just over 1000 miles to go. Can she sail at least half as fast as Joyon in his closing sprint? Latest report here; latest weather here. Before she finishes Ellen is going to get: light air, no air, and then a nrtherly gale which will force her to beat toward the finish. Finishing this thing is going to be the hardest thing Ellen has ever done, and it will take every ounce of guts and determination she's got. But I still wouldn't bet against her...
"Hello, Commanders Weather? I really don't like the forecast. Have you got another...?"
"Can't believe what we've been through. We stopped for two hours with two knots of breeze from the wrong direction, we were so close to the island. The breeze went into the north-west and we were heading back towards the island, only 14 miles away. We've moved some, we've stopped, we've talked about tacking, we've been taking reefs out, putting reefs in, we've had 22 knots then we've had 4 knots, then 19 knots, the whole **** fight."
Early this morning B&Q was ripping along at a stupendous 0.72 knots. Now they're back in good southeasterly flow, but she lost about 6 hours of her precious lead on Joyon. That leaves her with a lead of 944 miles with just over 1000 miles to go. Can she sail at least half as fast as Joyon in his closing sprint? Latest report here; latest weather here. Before she finishes Ellen is going to get: light air, no air, and then a nrtherly gale which will force her to beat toward the finish. Finishing this thing is going to be the hardest thing Ellen has ever done, and it will take every ounce of guts and determination she's got. But I still wouldn't bet against her...
"Hello, Commanders Weather? I really don't like the forecast. Have you got another...?"
Veni, Vidi, Vincent...
"Vincent The Terrible," as his competitors like to call him, conquered the Vendee Globe race last night, gliding home to a massive welcoming fleet in first place. He lapped the planet in just 87 days, 10 hours, 47 minutes, setting a new nonstop record for a solo sailor in a monohull. Jean Le Cam followed him in six and a half hours later. Riou had lots to say about his experience. Here are his comments:
Damage
"We suffered damage in two areas. On entering the Indian Ocean I suffered problems with my keel, the hydraulics in particular. That prevented me from canting the keel. I also had trouble with one of the ballast tanks. The water would come in and the air would go out and then the tank would become pressurised to the extent that it finally exploded. When on port tack I lacked 1.5 tonnes of water. Fortunately a lot of the climb up the Atlantic was on starboard tack. Thanks to my shore crew I had a very well prepared boat."
Solitude
I didn’t suffer with the solitude but I like the contact with the shore. I spent a lot of time on the telephone. The difficult thing was that I had some hard days but I find it difficult to express my feelings. The descent down the Atlantic was pretty stable (in terms of place changing and pressure) but the return proved expensive. The Indian Ocean was very hard with some big depressions but we always had the choice as to whether to go there or not. We always had the solution of a compromise route. We finished with 8 days of beating between the Indian and the Pacific. The Southern Ocean is exceptional.
Ice
You can decide yourself if you are going to stay in the North or not and then we managed to get through the Pacific pretty much just on the front of a depression.
Management
Good routing of the weather enabled me to sail calmly. I was prepared to lose some miles in the pursuit of more favourable conditions to the north. I don’t go looking for difficult situations.
Weather
I love it. Strategy is the greatest aspect of sailing; the tactics and the strategy to choose the optimum route.
Mistakes
Jean made a mistake at the Horn. He went into a light wind zone which couldn’t be seen in the weather models. Satellite picture observation enabled me to spot it, but Jean went right into it. He lost 200 miles in 36 hours, maybe he didn’t have any Fleet 77 aboard. I was really fed up after the Azores, and also when I lost the lead after Australia. The tropical depression off Brazil and the big anticyclone after the Azores annoyed me a lot. I was very frustrated not to be able to mark my adversaries too. The conditions were changing an awful lot so I had to make a lot of sail changes.
Adventure
The Vendée Globe is an adventure and that’s not something you can forget. You have to prepare yourself for something new. You try to discover where your limits are. It’s a very important human dimension.
Performance
I haven’t always had the means to prepare myself in my career. This Vendée Globe enabled me to achieve that. I think it’s easier to win a Vendée Globe that requires versatility rather than pure racing.
Future
I’m not difficult. I like competitions of all types, on any kind of boat. I just want to continue to earn my living doing something I love to do and know how to do. I would like to do another Figaro campaign next year.
Boat
I’ve known this boat since it was conceived. It has a soul. I am happy for the people that designed it. I have never understood why you would choose to build a boat anywhere else than France. Boats have evolved greatly over a number of years as regards the hull shape.
Victory
Jean and Mike have raced a fine race. Being ahead doesn’t mean much in the southern Atlantic. Jean had a chance to comeback and didn’t take it.
Hmm. I don't think Le Cam is going to like what Riou had to say much. But to the victor goes the right to talk a little trash. I guess...
Riou Returns: "Bon. Steak-frites s'il vous plait..."
Damage
"We suffered damage in two areas. On entering the Indian Ocean I suffered problems with my keel, the hydraulics in particular. That prevented me from canting the keel. I also had trouble with one of the ballast tanks. The water would come in and the air would go out and then the tank would become pressurised to the extent that it finally exploded. When on port tack I lacked 1.5 tonnes of water. Fortunately a lot of the climb up the Atlantic was on starboard tack. Thanks to my shore crew I had a very well prepared boat."
Solitude
I didn’t suffer with the solitude but I like the contact with the shore. I spent a lot of time on the telephone. The difficult thing was that I had some hard days but I find it difficult to express my feelings. The descent down the Atlantic was pretty stable (in terms of place changing and pressure) but the return proved expensive. The Indian Ocean was very hard with some big depressions but we always had the choice as to whether to go there or not. We always had the solution of a compromise route. We finished with 8 days of beating between the Indian and the Pacific. The Southern Ocean is exceptional.
Ice
You can decide yourself if you are going to stay in the North or not and then we managed to get through the Pacific pretty much just on the front of a depression.
Management
Good routing of the weather enabled me to sail calmly. I was prepared to lose some miles in the pursuit of more favourable conditions to the north. I don’t go looking for difficult situations.
Weather
I love it. Strategy is the greatest aspect of sailing; the tactics and the strategy to choose the optimum route.
Mistakes
Jean made a mistake at the Horn. He went into a light wind zone which couldn’t be seen in the weather models. Satellite picture observation enabled me to spot it, but Jean went right into it. He lost 200 miles in 36 hours, maybe he didn’t have any Fleet 77 aboard. I was really fed up after the Azores, and also when I lost the lead after Australia. The tropical depression off Brazil and the big anticyclone after the Azores annoyed me a lot. I was very frustrated not to be able to mark my adversaries too. The conditions were changing an awful lot so I had to make a lot of sail changes.
Adventure
The Vendée Globe is an adventure and that’s not something you can forget. You have to prepare yourself for something new. You try to discover where your limits are. It’s a very important human dimension.
Performance
I haven’t always had the means to prepare myself in my career. This Vendée Globe enabled me to achieve that. I think it’s easier to win a Vendée Globe that requires versatility rather than pure racing.
Future
I’m not difficult. I like competitions of all types, on any kind of boat. I just want to continue to earn my living doing something I love to do and know how to do. I would like to do another Figaro campaign next year.
Boat
I’ve known this boat since it was conceived. It has a soul. I am happy for the people that designed it. I have never understood why you would choose to build a boat anywhere else than France. Boats have evolved greatly over a number of years as regards the hull shape.
Victory
Jean and Mike have raced a fine race. Being ahead doesn’t mean much in the southern Atlantic. Jean had a chance to comeback and didn’t take it.
Hmm. I don't think Le Cam is going to like what Riou had to say much. But to the victor goes the right to talk a little trash. I guess...
Riou Returns: "Bon. Steak-frites s'il vous plait..."
Wednesday, February 02, 2005
Wetass Video Of The Week...
Enough high speed sailing. It's time for some kickass, crazy skiing. And I don't know who they are, but Chris and Matt Collins are apparently just the guys to give it to us. Check out this Atom films production of the duo tearing it up and jumping off some rather large cliffs. Their Mama must have had a stressful time with these boys...
"I sure hope they get this in one take..."
"I sure hope they get this in one take..."
Annals Of Ingenuity...
Here's a real puzzler. You're on your way to a relaxing winter vacation, with a car full of beer and provisions. Suddenly, as you are winding along a mountain road, an avalanche buries your car. You open your window and try to dig your way out, but you have nowhere to put the snow and it starts to fill your car. What do you do? WHAT DO YOU DO?
Well, if you are a sharp Slovakian named Richard Kral, you take note of the fact that you have 60 half liters of beer. You drink a little, scoop a little snow from above your window, and pack it below your window. Then...you pee on it. It melts. You drink a little more beer, pack a little more snow, and pee again. And you keep repeating the cycle until you have packed and melted enough snow to burrow your way out. "It was hard and now my kidneys and liver hurt. But I'm glad the beer I took on holiday turned out to be useful and I managed to get out of there," said Kral, after he was found drunk and staggering on a mountain path four days after the avalanche hit.
I can't even begin to imagine what the snow outside his car door looked like by the time he escaped. But I suspect there was a bit of serendipity involved. Why? My guess is that he was stuck in his car and just started drinking the beer, because why wouldn't you? And when he started peeing out his window...EUREKA!
After his escape, Kral still had a surplus, so...
Well, if you are a sharp Slovakian named Richard Kral, you take note of the fact that you have 60 half liters of beer. You drink a little, scoop a little snow from above your window, and pack it below your window. Then...you pee on it. It melts. You drink a little more beer, pack a little more snow, and pee again. And you keep repeating the cycle until you have packed and melted enough snow to burrow your way out. "It was hard and now my kidneys and liver hurt. But I'm glad the beer I took on holiday turned out to be useful and I managed to get out of there," said Kral, after he was found drunk and staggering on a mountain path four days after the avalanche hit.
I can't even begin to imagine what the snow outside his car door looked like by the time he escaped. But I suspect there was a bit of serendipity involved. Why? My guess is that he was stuck in his car and just started drinking the beer, because why wouldn't you? And when he started peeing out his window...EUREKA!
After his escape, Kral still had a surplus, so...
Vendee Vincent....
Unless his mast falls down or his boat sinks, it looks certain that Vincent Riou will be the first across the Vendee Globe finish line tonight. He's got a lead of 97.4 miles over Jean Le Cam on Bonduelle with just 162.7 miles to go. Pretty hard to screw that up. Latest report here; latest positions here. Mike Golding is another 90-plus miles back, and resigning himself to a hard-fought third. Golding wanted a win in this race in the worst way and is torturing himself with "what ifs" before he even hits the docks. Here's some of what he said during his last radio interview:
"It’s a shame, I would have liked to have won this race in particular and we have worked very hard towards that, but it’s quite clear that whatever you do, no matter how prepared you are there is still an element of it which is not fully in your control. It is a long race and lots of things can happen, and the good thing for me it is that I have competed in the Vendee twice and had major problems on one and very few on the other, but both times I have been successful in completing the course and there are lots of less fortunate people than myself, and again this race has been no different in having a very high rate of attrition...My regrets are obviously all linked to the halyard saga, and that is just a twofold regret and one is whether we made the right choice of what to carry as a spare, and that is a matter for us to discuss when we hit the shore, but secondly the fact that I did find a resolution that is working and that I am comfortable and confident with and so there is a slight annoyance in my mind that if only I’d elected to make this change on the first occasion then I wouldn’t have had to go through two of the halyard failures, one of them which was very expensive in terms of miles I had to give, so that is the only regret and that is remarkable that that is the only regret, because this is a long, long race, and yet I have had lots of other things happen to regret and yet I don’t regret them, so I feel very lucky to be in the situation where my regrets are so few, and I can say with honesty that I have been honest and true to myself and that I have sailed the best race that I can.”
Golding also spoke generously about his competition:
“I think that both the other guys (PRB and Bonduelle) have sailed a fabulous race. PRB I think I noticed very quickly how sharp he is tactically and I think that my first recognition of that was actually at Finisterre on the way out, when he took a little hitch down to Finisterre and got a little boost off it, and I remember thinking then he was really on the pace, and prepared to do whatever it takes. Jean: Jean has been extremely talented, extremely reliable and just consistently fast. I think that they have both done a fabulous job and I am honoured to be here amongst the two of them.”
It's been quite a race...
Gloomy Golding: "Sigh. Stupid halyards..."
"It’s a shame, I would have liked to have won this race in particular and we have worked very hard towards that, but it’s quite clear that whatever you do, no matter how prepared you are there is still an element of it which is not fully in your control. It is a long race and lots of things can happen, and the good thing for me it is that I have competed in the Vendee twice and had major problems on one and very few on the other, but both times I have been successful in completing the course and there are lots of less fortunate people than myself, and again this race has been no different in having a very high rate of attrition...My regrets are obviously all linked to the halyard saga, and that is just a twofold regret and one is whether we made the right choice of what to carry as a spare, and that is a matter for us to discuss when we hit the shore, but secondly the fact that I did find a resolution that is working and that I am comfortable and confident with and so there is a slight annoyance in my mind that if only I’d elected to make this change on the first occasion then I wouldn’t have had to go through two of the halyard failures, one of them which was very expensive in terms of miles I had to give, so that is the only regret and that is remarkable that that is the only regret, because this is a long, long race, and yet I have had lots of other things happen to regret and yet I don’t regret them, so I feel very lucky to be in the situation where my regrets are so few, and I can say with honesty that I have been honest and true to myself and that I have sailed the best race that I can.”
Golding also spoke generously about his competition:
“I think that both the other guys (PRB and Bonduelle) have sailed a fabulous race. PRB I think I noticed very quickly how sharp he is tactically and I think that my first recognition of that was actually at Finisterre on the way out, when he took a little hitch down to Finisterre and got a little boost off it, and I remember thinking then he was really on the pace, and prepared to do whatever it takes. Jean: Jean has been extremely talented, extremely reliable and just consistently fast. I think that they have both done a fabulous job and I am honoured to be here amongst the two of them.”
It's been quite a race...
Gloomy Golding: "Sigh. Stupid halyards..."
Tuesday, February 01, 2005
More Skiff Candy...
Still have cravings? Here, have another bon-bon. We gave you the Musto Performance skiff, a J-105, and the Melges 32. And now it's time to go back to a new video of an old favorite: the PS8. (Read a Sailing Anarchy review here). We've featured this baby before. But Sportzboats USA has a nice new clip up. Watch it, and drool. If this keeps up, we're going to have to start handing out Wetass bibs. Note to self: that's not a bad idea, smurfy (uh-oh, I've been reading too many dispatches from Maud (see below))...
"Heh-heh. Can't wait to see the faces on the big boys up ahead when we fly by them..."
"Heh-heh. Can't wait to see the faces on the big boys up ahead when we fly by them..."
Ellen Extends...
She's pushed out to a lead of 3 days and 10 hours (almost 700 miles), with just 1,714 miles left. Normally, that would be Game Over, barring a major breakdown. But the North Atlantic weather gods are not ready to let Ellen rest easy yet. They've thrown up one of the strangest weather patterns ever seen, and the prime feature is a massive, light wind, high pressure system that will be sitting directly between Ellen and the finish. See latest report here, and latest weather forecast here. Here's what Ellen has to say about it all:
"I don’t know what’s going to happen with the high... I’m sitting here and every single report that’s coming in its moving - the four different models this morning, all say different things. The only thing I hope really doesn’t happen is that we end up finishing with 35 knots upwind and, to be honest, I think that’s the most likely scenario. I’m not trying to be negative, it’s going to be really, really bad at the end if that’s what happened. It will be 'boat-breaking' scenario...
My hands are so hard and so tight and so rotten...they look quite disgusting! There is white rot underneath all my fingernails, I can chew bits of the skin off without feeling a thing, it’s that hard and that knackered. Not very beautiful..."
No, it's not. But skin is very nutricious...
Snack, Anyone?: If this is what they looked like at Cape Horn, I'm not sure we want to see an update...
"I don’t know what’s going to happen with the high... I’m sitting here and every single report that’s coming in its moving - the four different models this morning, all say different things. The only thing I hope really doesn’t happen is that we end up finishing with 35 knots upwind and, to be honest, I think that’s the most likely scenario. I’m not trying to be negative, it’s going to be really, really bad at the end if that’s what happened. It will be 'boat-breaking' scenario...
My hands are so hard and so tight and so rotten...they look quite disgusting! There is white rot underneath all my fingernails, I can chew bits of the skin off without feeling a thing, it’s that hard and that knackered. Not very beautiful..."
No, it's not. But skin is very nutricious...
Snack, Anyone?: If this is what they looked like at Cape Horn, I'm not sure we want to see an update...
Is Maud Losing It...?
I'm beginning to worry about Mme. Fontenoy, all by her lonesome out there in the Pacific. She's got months and months, and miles and miles, of rowing to go before she makes landfall in Tahiti. And she's already created an entire fantasy world. Check out this recent report. I admit the rough translation only makes it sound more bizarre, but still:
"It’s about 11 smurf in the morning when it happened. I was smurfy rowing, my ipod in the smurf pocket; and then, a smurfy wave, 3 times bigger than a smurf bush arrived on OCÉOR’s portside. My ipod was running away but nevertheless, the smurf wave catched him, and in a last cry he couldn’t even let Johann Pachelbel finish my favourite canons.
The ocean, feeling that I was smurf angry, remained quiet.
My little Ipod in my smurf hands, trying to dry it, turning it in all ways but nothing to do.
I organised a little altar, with a small candle (looking like a duck) offered by Jean Jacques D.
Pétula manage all this really well."
Are the Smurfs still big in France? Thank god Petula is still there. Wait, who the hell is Petula...?
Mad Maud: "I'd better finish this quickly. It's almost Petula's birthday. Hmm, I wonder if I should start rowing again tomorrow..."
"It’s about 11 smurf in the morning when it happened. I was smurfy rowing, my ipod in the smurf pocket; and then, a smurfy wave, 3 times bigger than a smurf bush arrived on OCÉOR’s portside. My ipod was running away but nevertheless, the smurf wave catched him, and in a last cry he couldn’t even let Johann Pachelbel finish my favourite canons.
The ocean, feeling that I was smurf angry, remained quiet.
My little Ipod in my smurf hands, trying to dry it, turning it in all ways but nothing to do.
I organised a little altar, with a small candle (looking like a duck) offered by Jean Jacques D.
Pétula manage all this really well."
Are the Smurfs still big in France? Thank god Petula is still there. Wait, who the hell is Petula...?
Mad Maud: "I'd better finish this quickly. It's almost Petula's birthday. Hmm, I wonder if I should start rowing again tomorrow..."
Vendee Final Sprint...
Well, it looks as if Vincent Riou on PRB is surviving (so far) the massive risk he took by heading north and separating from his pursuers, Jean Le Cam and Mike Golding. He's sailing directly toward the finish, which is now less than 400 miles away, and holding a lead of just over 20 miles on Le Cam. Golding has fallen back to 77 miles, and doesn't look like a threat. See daily report here; and latest positions here. Riou is in an older boat (it won the last Vendee) so you know he's sailing flat out, on the edge of any number of disasters. Le Cam is no doubt doing the same, so we'll see if Golding's suspicion that someone's rig might fall over the side before all is said and done comes true. Here's Riou's assessment of the end game. He sounds very French, very cool, about the whole thing. But do I detect a slight note of regret that this epic battle is drawing to a close?:
“Conditions are like they were the other night. It’s unstable so you have to take care of the boat, on course, dividing my time between easing and hardening up the sheets. I have little siestas, waking up when the boat stops so I’ve no idea how long they last. It was cold last night but it’s warmed up a bit now.” Asked if things were going to plan, Vincent replied in a dead pan voice “they’re going. I’m making do with what I’ve got. It’s nice to be back in home waters and it will be good to get home. I’ve got wind shifts of 30˚ with 8 to 18 knots last night. Jean is not on course and he’s going slower. I’m reaching at the moment though it can change to close-reaching in the space of just 5 minutes, while he will be headed fortunately. It all depends on the cloud cover. I’m not between Jean and the mark so I haven’t got perfect control. You just have to make as much ground as you can, you mustn’t fall asleep. I have all the cards in my hand but when racing you always know you have to be careful. I’ll be reaching to Les Sables d’Olonne and I think I’ll be behind a small light patch. It doesn’t look like a clean lift for Jean but I reckon he may make a direct course. I’m limiting myself to the bare minimum in terms of sleeping, eating and drinking. It’s been a fine race, I knew this kind of finish was possible but didn’t quite imagine this. I don’t feel stressed but it is tiring. I hope to get in, in around 36 hours time but it may well be 38.”
I can't get over the fact that less than 2 hours separate these guys after an entire lap of the globe. We'll update frequently as the boats approach the finish...
PRB Pursued: "Merde, if I have to keep looking over my shoulder all the way to the finish I'm going to need neck surgery..."
“Conditions are like they were the other night. It’s unstable so you have to take care of the boat, on course, dividing my time between easing and hardening up the sheets. I have little siestas, waking up when the boat stops so I’ve no idea how long they last. It was cold last night but it’s warmed up a bit now.” Asked if things were going to plan, Vincent replied in a dead pan voice “they’re going. I’m making do with what I’ve got. It’s nice to be back in home waters and it will be good to get home. I’ve got wind shifts of 30˚ with 8 to 18 knots last night. Jean is not on course and he’s going slower. I’m reaching at the moment though it can change to close-reaching in the space of just 5 minutes, while he will be headed fortunately. It all depends on the cloud cover. I’m not between Jean and the mark so I haven’t got perfect control. You just have to make as much ground as you can, you mustn’t fall asleep. I have all the cards in my hand but when racing you always know you have to be careful. I’ll be reaching to Les Sables d’Olonne and I think I’ll be behind a small light patch. It doesn’t look like a clean lift for Jean but I reckon he may make a direct course. I’m limiting myself to the bare minimum in terms of sleeping, eating and drinking. It’s been a fine race, I knew this kind of finish was possible but didn’t quite imagine this. I don’t feel stressed but it is tiring. I hope to get in, in around 36 hours time but it may well be 38.”
I can't get over the fact that less than 2 hours separate these guys after an entire lap of the globe. We'll update frequently as the boats approach the finish...
PRB Pursued: "Merde, if I have to keep looking over my shoulder all the way to the finish I'm going to need neck surgery..."
Monday, January 31, 2005
High Speed Sailing Extravaganza (cont.)....
Found some more (see next post) surfing, planing, spray-throwing action over at Sailing Anarchy. Perfect for anyone trapped in the frozen wastes of winter...
Clip 1: Check out this J-105 (Quicktime only, again; it's officially a trend) on the way out to the race course at Key West 2005. That's about as fast as a J-105 will ever look...
Clip 2: And here's the spanking new Melges 32 doing what it is designed to do: fly offwind and get everyone soaking wet. Bonus vid: click here for a dockside tour of the Melges 32 (TWC. Always willing to go the extra mile, I mean Google search)...
Clip 1: Check out this J-105 (Quicktime only, again; it's officially a trend) on the way out to the race course at Key West 2005. That's about as fast as a J-105 will ever look...
Clip 2: And here's the spanking new Melges 32 doing what it is designed to do: fly offwind and get everyone soaking wet. Bonus vid: click here for a dockside tour of the Melges 32 (TWC. Always willing to go the extra mile, I mean Google search)...
Gather, Skiffleheads...
And prostrate yourselves before this very seductive video (Quicktime only; stop whining, just get it...) of Musto's performance skiff (which I learned of via an interesting--and wildly eclectic--blog called "The Horse's Mouth"). This pocket rocket is a solo ride (the first singlehanded trap skiff with gennaker), which makes finding crew easy but boathandling demanding. The video shows you about all you need to know about the "performance" side. But if you want more blather, Sailpower has an in-depth review. Or you can read this ale-soaked regatta diary by double-Olympic medalist in the 49er, Simon Hiscocks. Hiscocks did a lot of swimming, so the thing sounds pretty damn tricky (though it's hard to know for sure since it appears he was either drunk or hungover most of the time). Looks like a great little package...
Hiscocks Hikes It Out: "Damn, it's hard to reach for a beer from out here. No wonder I prefer to sail with crew..."
Hiscocks Hikes It Out: "Damn, it's hard to reach for a beer from out here. No wonder I prefer to sail with crew..."
Ocean Racing Orgasmatron...
It really doesn't get any more action packed than this. We've got Ellen, Bruno, Jean, Vincent and Mike. All racing their guts out, in three different events. So let's take a tour, shall we?
First up, Ellen. Little Big Mac has now pushed her lead over Joyon's seemingly unbeatable solo circumnavigation record to more than 2 days, with just over 2,000 miles to go. She's hammering north with the help of decent trade winds, scrapping for every extra mile she can get and praying that her boat stays more or less in one piece and doesn't hit anything. Most sailors with a 2 day lead in this stretch of water would be laughing and drinking Mai Tai's. But Ellen can't afford to. Joyon put up some massive runs over the last four days of his record bid, and Ellen is facing a massive high pressure system parked over Ireland, which could eat her up. And even if she avoids that trap, the forecast right now is calling for brutally strong headwinds as she approaches the Channel. In other words, this thing is going down to the wire, and every f*cking minute and mile will count. Unbelievable, really...
Well, if you think Ellen v. Joyon is exciting, we've got more. The Vendee Globe leaders (Le Cam, Riou and Golding) are all within 650 miles of the finish, and all within 60 miles of each other. Not only that, the two leaders--Le Cam and Riou--are within a mile of each other (no, that's not a typo) after 85 days of racing. This is the tightest Vendee ever, and anything could happen. Riou and Le Cam are separated by a lot of water, so one or the other has made the best tactical decision. And Golding, who's on new leader Le Cam's line is going faster than anyone. Golding, as usual, is most quotable, and not just because he's speaking English. Here he is on former leader Riou risking such great separation between himself and the chasing pack: "Having sailed such a beautiful race it does seem rather daft to have dropped such a clanger at the end. Even if he gets away with it, I believe what he's done is a big mistake. He shouldn't have let that happen." Jeez, Mike, I don't thing Vincent is going to be buying you that steak dinner you keep dreaming about. And here's Iron Mike on surviving the frustrating conditions of the final sprint: "All sorts of things could happen. In these conditions, I could easily see a rig coming down, frankly. You can't afford to be fully powered up. If you happen to find yourself at 100 per cent performance, it's just coincidence. There is a lot of load going through the boat, and you look up at the rig and think, how long is it before something goes 'ping'? You can't see these squalls coming, they haven't got labels on...I'm not coping with it very well. I can't make the boat display its best qualities, and I can't display my best qualities if I'm forever changing sail plans. I've found it excruciatingly difficult. I'd do anything to get out of these changeable conditions. I'd climb the mast to get out of this. It's so random I'm not able to do anything with it, except that I am closing down the miles. So to that extent, I suppose you grin and bear it, and hope the miles keep on coming down." Golding says that he has been taking out his stress on anything breakable (and expendable) and that he has been doing a lot of cursing. Four more days to go...
And last but not least, cruising along at high speed into the Southern Atlantic we find B. Peyron and his jolly crew on Orange II. The big cat will cross The Line ahead of Cheyenne's time, but behind Geronimo's 6 say, 11 hour record time (update: Orange II crossed the Quator after 7 days, 3 hours, giving her a lead of 190 miles on Geronimo's Jules Verne time and 534 miles on Cheyenne's world record time. Orange II has averaged more than 20 knots since the start). Now Peyron and his cat are hoping that the unbelievably favorable weather forecast for the South Atlantic pans out. Normally, boats heading to the Southern Ocean have to head far west, and contend with light winds to get past the St. Helena high. But right now the forecast has the high well west, with a corridor of northerly winds to the east. If that holds up, Orange II will slingshot into the Roaring Forties with a huge advantage. We'll see. In the meantime, check go to the video page on Orange II's website and check out the start (1/24) and the two most recent clips for some good maxi-cat shots...
Ellen Exclaims: "There's got to be a better way to make coffee..."
Golding Grouses: "Did I mention it was wet, too..."
Peyron Prays: "Please, St. Helena high, oh please, please, please, we're coming as fast as we can..."
First up, Ellen. Little Big Mac has now pushed her lead over Joyon's seemingly unbeatable solo circumnavigation record to more than 2 days, with just over 2,000 miles to go. She's hammering north with the help of decent trade winds, scrapping for every extra mile she can get and praying that her boat stays more or less in one piece and doesn't hit anything. Most sailors with a 2 day lead in this stretch of water would be laughing and drinking Mai Tai's. But Ellen can't afford to. Joyon put up some massive runs over the last four days of his record bid, and Ellen is facing a massive high pressure system parked over Ireland, which could eat her up. And even if she avoids that trap, the forecast right now is calling for brutally strong headwinds as she approaches the Channel. In other words, this thing is going down to the wire, and every f*cking minute and mile will count. Unbelievable, really...
Well, if you think Ellen v. Joyon is exciting, we've got more. The Vendee Globe leaders (Le Cam, Riou and Golding) are all within 650 miles of the finish, and all within 60 miles of each other. Not only that, the two leaders--Le Cam and Riou--are within a mile of each other (no, that's not a typo) after 85 days of racing. This is the tightest Vendee ever, and anything could happen. Riou and Le Cam are separated by a lot of water, so one or the other has made the best tactical decision. And Golding, who's on new leader Le Cam's line is going faster than anyone. Golding, as usual, is most quotable, and not just because he's speaking English. Here he is on former leader Riou risking such great separation between himself and the chasing pack: "Having sailed such a beautiful race it does seem rather daft to have dropped such a clanger at the end. Even if he gets away with it, I believe what he's done is a big mistake. He shouldn't have let that happen." Jeez, Mike, I don't thing Vincent is going to be buying you that steak dinner you keep dreaming about. And here's Iron Mike on surviving the frustrating conditions of the final sprint: "All sorts of things could happen. In these conditions, I could easily see a rig coming down, frankly. You can't afford to be fully powered up. If you happen to find yourself at 100 per cent performance, it's just coincidence. There is a lot of load going through the boat, and you look up at the rig and think, how long is it before something goes 'ping'? You can't see these squalls coming, they haven't got labels on...I'm not coping with it very well. I can't make the boat display its best qualities, and I can't display my best qualities if I'm forever changing sail plans. I've found it excruciatingly difficult. I'd do anything to get out of these changeable conditions. I'd climb the mast to get out of this. It's so random I'm not able to do anything with it, except that I am closing down the miles. So to that extent, I suppose you grin and bear it, and hope the miles keep on coming down." Golding says that he has been taking out his stress on anything breakable (and expendable) and that he has been doing a lot of cursing. Four more days to go...
And last but not least, cruising along at high speed into the Southern Atlantic we find B. Peyron and his jolly crew on Orange II. The big cat will cross The Line ahead of Cheyenne's time, but behind Geronimo's 6 say, 11 hour record time (update: Orange II crossed the Quator after 7 days, 3 hours, giving her a lead of 190 miles on Geronimo's Jules Verne time and 534 miles on Cheyenne's world record time. Orange II has averaged more than 20 knots since the start). Now Peyron and his cat are hoping that the unbelievably favorable weather forecast for the South Atlantic pans out. Normally, boats heading to the Southern Ocean have to head far west, and contend with light winds to get past the St. Helena high. But right now the forecast has the high well west, with a corridor of northerly winds to the east. If that holds up, Orange II will slingshot into the Roaring Forties with a huge advantage. We'll see. In the meantime, check go to the video page on Orange II's website and check out the start (1/24) and the two most recent clips for some good maxi-cat shots...
Ellen Exclaims: "There's got to be a better way to make coffee..."
Golding Grouses: "Did I mention it was wet, too..."
Peyron Prays: "Please, St. Helena high, oh please, please, please, we're coming as fast as we can..."
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