Estrella Damm (Photo by Estrella Damm / Barcelona World Race )
* Virbac-Paprec 3 detour north to avoid Canary Islands lee
* ETA Virbac-Paprec 3 at Gibraltar overnight 31st March to 1st April
* Central Lechera Asturiana aim to restart from Wellington after 25 day technical stopover.
As anticipated by many, Virbac-Paprec 3 has tacked north again this afternoon, taking a short hitch to avoid passing directly through the Canary Islands archipelago and the likely long wind shadows cast bay the high mountains, especially Tenerife. With some 90 miles left to reach the westernmost extremity of the islands, Jean-Pierre Dick and Loick Peyron will take a short hitch back to the north before extending east all the way to the Moroccan coast.
Iker Martinez retains his fierce optimism, believing that there will be chances to pull back some miles on the leading pair after MAPFRE passes the Canary Islands.
“As far as strategy goes there is not much before the Canary Islands, we make a mainly northerly course and will tack to the east depending on the evolution of the anticyclone, but what seems more complex is after the Canaries to the Straits of Gibraltar when it seems like there will be less wind.? The Spanish double Olympic medalist explained on this morning’s visio link up with MAPFRE. They remain determined to be resigned to second place, but he admits “our destiny is for sure not 100% in our own hands.?
If the Spanish sailing icons don’t feel particularly compromised on this long upwind leg since the Equator byt the damaged dagger board, Martinez saying it might be causing them a small fraction of a knot of difference, Boris Herrmann and his co-skipper Ryan Breymaier are much more frustrated by the fact they cannot cant their keel to its maximum, so losing valuable righting moment as they duel with Estrella Damm. Herrmann’s assertion is backed up by their loss of 14 miles over the last 24 hours to their Spanish rivals. Estrella Damm are now 36 miles ahead:
“It is just a bit nuts for us just now because we feel like if we had the full potential of our keel then it would be a totally different game, for us it is like driving a car with only four out of five gears. We cant switch into fifth gear and get the last bit of speed. We reckon that it is almost a knot that we are missing, so it is a good thing for them. They seem to be able to sail away from us with no trouble.
Sunset from Neutrogena (Photo by Neutrogena / Barcelona World Race)
It is like in a dinghy, a lighter dinghy crew has to sail a higher angle, a closer angle to the wind, trying to do the same VMG like that. That is what we try to do here. The boat has slightly less righting moment, the only option is to sail higher at a slower speed, but that works pretty well. Explained Herrmann
But for the Spanish-English duo of Anna Corbella and Dee Caffari on GAES Centros Auditivos there is the hope that they will be able to sail the north Atlantic with their IMOCA Open 60 back at very close to 100% potential after completing their ballast tank repair yesterday. Corbella confirmed they will be giving the lamination 48 hours to cure completely before building up to maximum speed.
But the biggest repair of all has been that of Central Lechera who have been in Wellington since 3rd March when they arrived with their broken mast, but the team informed Race Direction in Barcelona that they intend to set out from the Kiwi capital tonight.
“Our objective was and continues to be the completion of the circumnavigation. As the Mexican song goes, ‘finishing first is not really the important thing, the important thing is to know how to finish’. We really have this desire to complete what we started? explained Juan Merediz, while his co-skipper, Fran Palacio, explains: “ Our
shore team, management and the FNOB are doing all in their power for us
to be able to fulfill our dream. We do not have enough words of gratitude
to express all we feel for this help. Without a doubt we have worked
with the best”.
Standings of Sunday 27th March at 1400hrs
1 VIRBAC-PAPREC 3 1401 miles to finish
2 MAPFRE + 242 miles to leader
3 RENAULT Z.E at + 1081 miles to leader
4 ESTRELLA DAMM Sailing Team at + 1236 miles to leader
5 NEUTROGENA at + 1271 miles to leader
6 GAES CENTROS AUDITIVOS at + 1846 miles to leader
7 HUGO BOSS at + 3367 miles to leader
8 FORUM MARITIM CATALA at + 3855 miles to leader
9 WE ARE WATER at 5640 miles to leader
10 CENTRAL LECHERA ASTURIANA at + 10149 miles to leader
RTD FONCIA
RTD PRESIDENT
RTD GROUPE BEL
RTD MIRABAUD
Quotes:
Boris Herrmann (GER) Neutrogena:“It is just a bit nuts for us just now because we feel like if we had the full potential of our keel then it would be a totally different game, for us it is like driving a car with only four out of five gears. We cant switch into fifth gear and get the last bit of speed. We reckon that it is almost a knot that we are missing, so it is a good thing for them. They seem to be able to sail away from us with no trouble.
It is like in a dinghy, a lighter dinghy crew has to sail a higher angle, a closer angle to the wind, trying to do the same VMG like that. That is what we try to do here. The boat has slightly less righting moment, the only option is to sail higher at a slower speed, but that works pretty well. In any case this is a very good boat upwind, which makes us even more mad. If we had everything together we could be doing very well, and sail quite fast.
Upwind we have established a four hours routine in these conditions, one of us is four hours is controlling the pilot, trimming, and trying to optimise the speed or performance all the time while the other one is down below looking at the weather and stuff like that. I have one good book that I am reading now.
I play with thoughts when you have time to think just now, the thoughts can take you anywhere into the future, for future professional life I would hope that if it was not sailing it could be in a sector like that (adventure and environmental projects)
Maybe every 15 minutes there is one big slam in a wave, but mostly we go through quite smoothly. We have a reef in the main because of the keel, it is a little bit gusty and puffy but we are quite happy with this pace doing 9.5 to 10 knots.
We don’t have grib files which reach from here to Gibraltar so it is hard to make a route more than a week ahead, we expect probably five days upwind on this tack. To be honest I am not pressed by tactical options, I am just hoping the whole scenario will change to give more opportunities.
I would like to go into the Pyrenees when I get back, it is not far from Barcelona, maybe still in April so I hope to find time for that.?
Iker Martinez (ESP) MAPFRE: “All is good on board and we are pressing on. Right now we are beating, upwind which we have been doing pretty much since the Equator. I don’t remember when we last did such a long upwind, I guess since the last Volvo, but it is not really upwind like the Copa del Rey, tacking back and forth.
As for our food situation, well it is really precipitated by a problem we have had with some of the freeze dried which got contaminated, we will find out how or why later, but we have been rationing it for three weeks now, but in fact we are quite used to watching our weight for the 49er racing, so it is not unusual for us.
The problem with the daggerboard is not so noticeable, on port it goes a little better but we are talking fractions of a knot, but the figures are not so important.
As far as strategy goes there is not much before the Canary Islands, we make a mainly northerly course and will tack to the east depending on the evolution of the anticyclone, but what seems more complex is after the Canaries to the Straits of Gibraltar when it seems like there will be less wind.
The race feels like it is counting down the end feels not far away but like others at the stage that kind of makes the days feel longer. This section feels quite long. But the motivation increases all the time. To be closer to the finish really motivates you, just the same as it does in the Olympics. But the tiredness catches up with you now, too. And for us the added problem is the lack of food because after all it is the fuel, and we are lacking fuel
What worries us, if anything, just now is breaking something because the boat still slams and waves hit the boat a bit, so you are not always forcing it.?
Anna Corbella (ESP) GAES Centros Auditivos:“The wall of the ballast tank is the same as the structural ring frame and so we had to make a hole in the tank to laminate it on the inside. So we hope that it will hold and we are confident it will. We needed 24 hours and now 48 hours to make sure it cures, and so until then we have to sail gently with small sails and then we have to cross the Doldrums.
Yesterday we had to check the rig while we were slowed down in the light winds and it was good to know that it is all good.?
Heading east, Virbac-Paprec 3 attempts to escape at high pressure and headed straight to the Canary Islands that will have to ward off heading north on the way home. The challenge is therefore to avoid the wind shadow of the Islands imposing reliefs. Recall that the highest peak of Spain is in this archipelago: a volcano called Mount Teide rising to over 3700 meters. XXX farther south, the problem is the same for the crew of MAPFRE: Stepped up north, cross the Cape Verdean archipelago without getting caught. On board the former owners, multiple Olympic and world champions Iker Martinez and Xabi Fernandez will not resign themselves to occupy the place of dolphin, but they also know that their fate is not entirely in their hands. With a delay that is X way to go and a strategy almost obligatory to close the passing lanes will be rare … Virbac Paprec-3 is expected to Gibraltar on the night of March 31 to April 1. MAPFRE 24 hours later.
Neutrogena handicapped by its keel
Behind in the south of Cape Verde, Renault ZE doing very well at his two rivals at bay. Pachi Rivero and Antonio Piris received the first of strengthening trade winds. And since there is neither large nor underhanded strategies on the horizon, the hierarchy should remain the same for at least a good week, Estrella Damm in 4th position and Neutrogena fifth. At the upwind a bit tough, the boat crew Germano America is hampered by the inability to switch all the keel (the problem of jacks found earlier this month). Neutrogena go slowly and Boris Hermann did not have any illusions about the outcome of this race the wind speed.
Tinker day for girls
At the entrance of the Pot Black, Dee Caffari and Anna Corbella sacrificed yesterday to repair the bulkhead ballast before Gaes Centros Auditivos. They spent almost 24 hours arrested with three reefs in the mainsail to carry out the work of stratification. Anna took this “pause tinkering” to make a climb in the mast and see that the rigging of the boat was spotless. Here they are again en route to the equator, low speed but at 100% capacity.
Hugo Boss line with English
In southern Brazil, taking advantage of a weather pattern where successive depressions and anticyclones, Hugo Boss is trying to sow his companion CME. A few days ago, when Verbraak Wouter and Andy Meiklejohn left the Falklands after stopping technique to repair their sails and the mast track, the two vessels were separated by only 120 miles. Today, this gap amounts to XXXX and it is likely to widen the first spin downwind when the second fight against headwinds.
Central Lechera Asturianawill start in the race
While We Are Water progressing without difficulty mainsail towards Cape Horn, Central Lechera Asturiana is about to join the Pacific, after 25 days in port in Wellington. March 3, Juan Merediz and Fran Palacio stopped in the capital of New Zealand to repair their mast broke two days earlier in the Tasman Sea. The spar has been repaired. The crew set and tested its equipment and now wants to finish her world tour. According to a statement released by their teams, and Juan Fran plan to cast off at 00:00 GMT tonight (Monday 02 am in Europe). Then they depart with more than 10,000 miles and almost two oceans behind the leaders …
Virbac Paprec 3 Announces They Are In Ghost Mode (Photo by Virbac-Paprec 3 / Barcelona World Race)
Virbac-Paprec 3 in ‘ghost’ mode
We Are Water prepare for the worst case scenario
Renault Z.E. third into northern hemisphere
‘Let’s play!’ commented Loick Peyron and Jean-Pierre Dick (FRA) from Virbac-Paprec 3 this morning as they entered ‘stealth’ mode at 1000hrs (UTC). Their position or rankings will not be visible for 36 hours, ensuring that their movements will remain hidden from view by the fleet and nearest rivals MAPFRE.
Tactically the forthcoming upwind section of Atlantic raises an interesting dilemma for the front-runners, and particularly for MAPFRE, 244 miles behind in this morning’s 0500hrs position report. The Azores High is expanding east-west across the north Atlantic, creating a large obstacle on the way to the Mediterranean. Whilst taking a westerly route looks like an unworkable tactic given the considerable extra mileage involved, the issue of when to tack east to avoid the centre of the anticyclone remains uncertain.
The GRIB files show stronger winds near the coast so by tacking early towards North Africa they will reach better pressure soonest, but will be sailing an unfavorable angle for longer. Carry on heading north as long as they dare and they will benefit from lifting pressure, but are at risk of getting trapped by the light winds at the centre of the high, while taking a ‘middle road’ between the two means avoiding the light winds in the lee of the Canary Islands. When to tack in, and when to tack back out? Timing will be everything, and by selecting stealth mode Virbac-Paprec 3 are hiding the clues for MAPFRE.
Estrella Damm (Photo by Estrellan Damm / Barcelona World Race)
Battening the hatches
The situation is more serious on We Are Water. “The barometer has gone down to 956mb, we are preparing for the worst possible scenario,? emailed Jaume Mumbru (ESP) this morning, as he and Cali Sanmarti prepared to ride out what Barcelona World Race meteorologist Marcel van Triest predicted could be the worst Southern Ocean storm of the race due to a deep low pressure system.
The weather forecast for the area they are sailing in for the next 18 hours is severe: a south-westerly gale of 45-60 knots, gusting 75: a Force 12. In conjunction with the strong winds, huge seas are also predicted with a 9-12 metre swell. Heavy rain, squalls, and even snow are all likely as the winds are blowing directly from Antarctica, bringing bitingly cold dense air which makes the conditions all the more intense.
Jaume Mumbru reported from the boat around 1500hrs this afternoon that they were running away from the gale under storm jib only with zero mainsail, in around 55 knot (63mph or 101 km/h) winds. The pair were safely inside the boat, which was making around 11 knots in a north-easterly direction, and reported that although conditions were intensely cold, the wave pattern was better than anticipated with no confused cross-seas.
Battle for bronze
Just 118 miles divide the third to fifth-placed boats this afternoon as Renault Z.E., Estrella Damm and Neutrogena sweat it out in the Doldrums, where temperatures are soaring to over 30 degrees inside, making sleep during daytime almost impossible for some.
Renault Z.E. became the third boat to re-enter the northern hemisphere at 1445 (UTC) this afternoon, in what so far appears to be a relatively benign Doldrums crossing. Just 76 miles behind, Alex Pella and Pepe Ribes (ESP) remain solid in fourth, ahead of Ryan Breymaier (USA) and Boris Herrmann (GER) on Neutrogena. Ryan Breymaier explained today:
“There are position reports every six hours and I’m always looking on the map to see how many more miles we still have to cover, how fast, and when we’ll arrive. There are lots of things that can affect the rankings, the weather can change things quickly and as we saw from the start of the race the Mediterranean is not very easy for anyone to manage so we hope to be close to each other and still able to earn miles on them. But we don’t think too much about third place as I think with our damaged keel it’s going to be too difficult to get near enough.?
At 535 miles behind, Dee Caffari (GBR) and Anna Corbella (ESP) on GAES Centros Auditivos are also anticipating the light winds, as they require flat water to make laminating repairs to their leaking ballast tank. Instead they have experienced fluctuating and unpredictable breezes that Dee Caffari this morning described as a ‘practice Doldrums’, but are this afternoon once again making 10 knots.
Hugh Boss Sail (Photo by Hugo Boss / Barcelona World Race)
Having exited yesterday’s brief but fierce low pressure system, Forum Maritim Catala and Hugo Boss are the fastest of the fleet over the past 24 hours, with just under 200 miles dividing the pair. With the depression having rapidly moved south-east, the race is now on for both to make sufficient ground north to avoid the chasing high and accompanying light winds. Forum Maritim Catala having gained over 80 miles on Hugo Boss over the past 24 hours, and the competition between the two is yet to be settled.
Standings at 1400hrs Wednesday 23rd March, 2011
1 VIRBAC-PAPREC 3 in ‘ghost’ mode
2 MAPFRE at 3066,6 miles from the finish
3 RENAULT Z.E at 887,5 from the MAPFRE
4 ESTRELLA DAMM Sailing Team at 963,5 miles
5 NEUTROGENA at 1005 miles
6 GAES CENTROS AUDITIVOS at 1540,8 miles
7 HUGO BOSS at 3558,1 miles
8 FORUM MARITIM CATALA at 3749,4 miles
9 WE ARE WATER at 5462,2 miles
10 CENTRAL LECHERA ASTURIANA at 9371,2 miles
RTD FONCIA
RTD PRESIDENT
RTD GROUPE BEL
RTD MIRABAUD
Quotes from today’s skippers:
Dee Caffari (GBR), GAES Centros Auditivos:
“It’s like a practice for the Doldrums that we’ve had. It’s a bit frustrating because we still can’t sail the boat at 100 per cent because we’re waiting to do the big repair, and yet we’re still really struggling with the conditions. But today’s been much better.
“I need to laminate some carbon over some damage in our ballast tanks that are structural to the boat. So we can’t sail the boat at 100 per cent because we’re upwind and we can’t afford the cracks to open up. But we can’t do the repair unless we’re in flat water to allow it to stick, so it’s a case of really looking after the boat.?
Ryan Breymaier (USA), Neutrogena:
“The Doldrums are going very well thus far, knock on wood. We have between 5 and 10 knots out of the breeze and it’s not stopped yet, so hopefully that continues.
“In these lighter conditions we’re not as compromised as we will be later on when there’s more wind and waves, so we’re pretty happy to be keeping up now and are differently worried about what’s going to happen when we get into the stronger upwind trade wind conditions a little later on. There is no real plan for it, the boat is the condition that it’s in and we do the best we can with what we have. At the moment that’s what we’re doing and that’s what we’re going to continue to do – you know you can’t change reality, and the reality is we are not capable to cant the keel to the maximum and that compromises our speed all the time, Boris and I have accepted that and we just get on with our day to day work.
“The sun is an issue every day. Right now in the cabin it’s 32 degrees and outside it’s probably 36, I don’t know – a lot! For me more than Boris I get burned very easily and I have factor 50 suncream at least every day and wear hats and that kind of stuff, so it’s a real problem for sure, especially in this area. I would’ve told you six weeks ago that the heat really bothered me a lot, but it was awfully cold down in the south for a long period of time! But all things considered though I would say the heat is worse than the cold though, and I think Boris agrees with me.?
One of the few crews to have escaped any major technical problems onboard during the Barcelona World Race so far, the all female duo aboard GAES Centros Auditivos were dealt a cruel blow over the weekend. After tacking in bad conditions on Friday, a tonne and a half of water gushed into the boat through a crack in one of the ballast tanks. Having identified the problem area, Caffari and Corbella laboured hard to repair the damage over the weekend, with further work being conducted today in the hope that GAES Centros Auditivos will reach the finish line in Barcelona without the need for a technical pit stop.
Boat Project Manager, Joff Brown, explains the situation:
“Part of the structure which acts as both the front wall of the forward ballast tank and as part of the hull strengthening network in the mid bow area was compromised. Despite daily checks on the yacht’s structure, the girls only noticed the damage when they tacked and filled the forward ballast tank. They realised it was emptying out of the tank into the front of the boat. The damage had probably been done in the previous 24hrs of upwind sailing on the other tack and was caused by the slamming of the boat into the waves.”
“We had an indication that we were vulnerable in this area during the 2009 TJV but had taken action to reinforce this area. The boat has sailed 35,000 miles since then, so we were a bit surprised to see the damage. “
“However, following the damage in 2009, the amount of materials onboard that can be used to repair such problems was doubled and so Dee and Anna have enough materials to carry out repairs at the moment. On Saturday, Dee and Anna managed to prepare the area and laminate some new patches to cover the damaged part and as soon as the wind goes light and the motion of the boat is reduced the girls are going to make a hole in the ballast tank top so that they can make a repair to the other side of the damaged structure, that is hidden from them at the moment.”
Caffari added:
“When you see structural damage in the boat it makes you very nervous, particularly when you discover it in bad conditions as we did over the weekend. I am confident and experienced in most boat maintenance and repairs but when it comes to boat building I have limited knowledge. Thankfully I am given detailed instructions and I trust my team entirely so I feel I am well supported in this venture. We are going to drop all the sails and stop the boat in order to carry out the repair on the inside of the ballast tank. We have a long way to go yet and our success is dependent on these repairs.”
Dee Caffari at work (Photo copyright DCR)
Despite this setback, Caffari and Corbella continue to make gains on the boats ahead and at the 0900 hrs ranking were in 6th place, 636 miles behind Boris Herrmann and Ryan Breymaier on Neutrogena. There are more than 4000 miles to the finish in Barcelona.
Estrella Damm (Photo courtesy of Estrella Damm / Barcelona World Race)
The numbers never lie, but it is the on-board computer which delivers the devilish detail. While for Estrella Damm, the rising stars of the Barcelona World Race ‘peloton trio’ the five- hourly rankings report will have been a spur to keep them pressing home their advantage, pulling back miles on their nearest rivals Neutrogena and also on Renault Z.E Sailing Team.
But for other pair of crews, the rankings reports more recently have become more of a source of stress than satisfaction.
“Sometime you are afraid to log on to the internet and see how many miles you are losing, sometimes it’s just a bit like that!? grimaced Renault Z.E’s Toño Piris this morning on the Visio-Conference, confirming that he and Rivero had hit the wall-like transition zone of variable breezes.
And for Boris Herrmann, now only 153 miles behind Renault Z.E Sailing Team, but correspondingly with their lead to Estrella Damm shrunk to just four miles this afternoon, there was the same reticence to log on perhaps this afternoon, fully expecting to have lost their long held fourth place to the Barcelona duo Pepe Ribes and Alex Pella:
“ We obviously lost a bit, this might be the last position report showing us ahead of Estrella Damm. We definitely have been a bit handicapped with the keel we can’t cant fully, also we had lighter breeze I think because their speed since yesterday afternoon has been better so they must have had some better breeze.?
The difficult, widely expected cold front transition zone is still likely to see considerable compression between the trio, but it is Renault Z.E Sailing Team which was first to endure the pain of seeing their speedo plumbing the depths of single digits, making only 3.4 knots, Herrmann describing the area as a ‘mini doldrums’ to be dealt with on the way north to the real thing.
Virbac-Paprec 3 back in the north
Jean-Pierre Dick and Loïck Peyron lead back into their ‘home’ hemisphere, passing north across the equator at midday today, at the top of the rankings just as they were when they passed north to south back on January 13th when they held a 40 miles lead over Foncia which they were managing to grow.
Today the duo’s lead was still shrinking, down to 167 miles ahead of MAPFRE and the Spanish Olympic medallists’ challenge was still growing even if their waistlines have not been. Iker Martinez admitted today their enforced diet and the heat is starting to take a toll: “At first it’s funny, but now that we can not eat much … it’s not that much fun.? Martinez said.
And for Gerard Marin there is the knowledge that he and Ludovic Aglaor should complete a comparatively quick passage of the Pacific sometime between Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning on the vintage Forum Maritim Catala. They had 370 miles to Marin’s first ever passage of the Cape of Storms.
Standings at Friday 18th March at 1400hrs
1 VIRBAC-PAPREC 3 at 3092 miles to finish
2 MAPFRE at 167 miles to leader
3 RENAULT Z.E at 913 miles
4 NEUTROGENA at 1066 miles
5 ESTRELLA DAMM Sailing Team at 1070 miles
6 GAES CENTROS AUDITIVOS at 2176 miles
7 HUGO BOSS at 3375miles
8 FORUM MARITIM CATALA at 4176 miles
9 WE ARE WATER at 6134 miles
10 CENTRAL LECHERA ASTURIANA at 8458 miles
RTD FONCIA
RTD PRESIDENT
RTD GROUPE BEL
RTD MIRABAUD
Dee Caffari (GBR) GAES Centros Auditivos: “It is very bouncy out here. It is pretty miserable, a bit grey, the waves are very messy, the seas short and sharp, so we are slamming quite a lot. We have 25-28 knots of wind, and I think that tonight when it gets dark the front will come through and I should that will be quite squally with a lot of rain. And then quite a big change of wind direction to get to the nice downwind stuff. We have 24 hours of bouncy, horrible stuff to go.
I am really concentrating on looking ahead, I want to take those miles down. It has been really difficult those last 48 hours, traversing the high pressure and these guys had really good, fast conditions, so we have lost miles to them there. There is still the Doldrums and a fair amount of time to go. So I am still confident and aiming to get those miles back and maybe finishing a little too close for comfort.
The showers made us feel great and were just at the right time. It depends how desperate you are for a shower. It was 15 degrees and we were quite desperate and it was quite hard work, it was certainly nice to put lots of layers on and have a hot drink after that. Yesterday the sea temperature was 20 degrees and I could happily put the bucket over my head and enjoy it.?
Iker Martinez (ESP) MAPFRE:“On their food ‘shortage’ and the heat which means they have lost some weight’: “At first it’s funny, but now that we can not eat much … it’s not that much fun.?
“We have passed the coast of Chile, Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil quite far from the coast. A high pressure near Buenos Aires has prevented us from making a shorter route and we see now how the race is still getting longer.. ”
“Every day that passes we are closer to get to Barcelona and although on the one hand we believe in hunting the leader, on the other we have that fear behind the ear that we can suffer some serious damage that prevents us from finishing. But hey, it is normal, when there is something you care about you are afraid to lose it, right? ”
” If all goes well, we’ll be in a week more between Cape Verde and the Canary Islands, almost smelling “papas arrugadas? (canarian crinkled potatoes) and Canarian gofio (Canarian flour made from roasted grain), ¡I can’t wait to be there! We trained hard this winter in those waters and we will feel like home, so … go, go! ”
Boris Herrmann (GER) Neutrogena:“We obviously lost a bit, this might be the last position report showing us ahead of Estrella Damm and we definitely have been a bit handicapped with the keel we can’t cant fully, also we had lighter breeze I think because their speed since yesterday afternoon has been better so they must have had some better breeze. We do all we can to sail as fast as possible, making lots of sail changes, and we had between the big kite and the gennaker, to play with the wind shifts, now we are down to the gennaker, and VMG running as close as possible to the rhumb line, that is our strategy, we don’t think this area in front of us is anything predictable we just detail it as a mini doldrums to go through as quickly as possible. If we do our routage is shows us going west, gybing away from the rhumb line, and we don’t want to do that because we don’t see the weather pattern here very reliably enough to take such an extreme option to gybe off the lay line and go sideways for a day or something like that, That is what the models show, so we prefer to stay on a course as close as possible to where we aim. We see Renault moving at only seven knots but we too are getting slower every hour too, I think we have some compression for a while with Estrella and hopefully get much closer to Renault and it is going to be a very challenging two days for Estrella and us, this light wind sailing is always more of an effort than you might think. The big kite is a heavy sail to get up and down and it is so warm and the sun is burning down on us.?
Toño Piris (ESP) Renault Z.E Sailing Team: “It does not look very healthy for us going through some light stuff, especially last night and we are going through some big squalls, we are feeling like this is a wall we are hitting, and we need that wall to kind of stop so that we get a bit of relativity to it, and we can get through it and us not slow up with it completely. That is what we have been waiting for, for this cold front not to keep going north and then even if we can get out and grab those northerly winds and feel like we can get there, then maybe we can keep moving rather than the other guys just getting closer to us and to the wall.?
“ Yes it is not a very relaxing time for us. Sometime you are afraid to log on to the internet and see how many miles you are losing so, sometimes it’s a bit like that!?
Anna Corbella and Dee Caffari with red noses (Photo courtesy of Dee Caffari Racing)
GAES Centros Auditivos in the Barcelona World Race supporting Comic Relief with Babybel-made red noses!
Currently sixth in the rankings, record breaking British yachtswoman Dee Caffari is now heading North towards Barcelona on her fourth lap of the planet. Racing with Spanish co-skipper Anna Corbella, they are the only all female crew taking part in the race and both girls send their support to Comic Relief from the South Atlantic.
To support Comic Relief, please visit: www.comicrelief.com
Hugo Boss (Photo courtesy of Hugo Boss / Barcelona World Race)
After eighth placed Hugo Boss and ninth placed GAES Centros Auditivos round Cape Horn this Friday evening there will be just three of the Barcelona World Race fleet left in the Pacific, including Central Lechera Asturiana in Wellington where Juan Merediz and Fran Palacio await the repair of their broken mast.
Andy Meiklejohn and Wouter Verbraak were expected to pass Cape Horn at around 2000hrs UTC this evening with the girls duo on GAES Centros Auditivos only around three hours behind them. Dutch co-skipper Verbraak, reporting to the Global Sports Forum’s live Barcelona World Race Visio-Conference today, confirmed that the duo have had a tough Pacific and were looking forward to the release of the ‘big left hand corner’ and the challenges and opportunities the Atlantic should bring them:
“It feels great for us to be getting there….I was only supposed to be going to the Cape Verdes, here I am at Cape Horn!? quipped Verbraak.
For both of them it will their third passage of the Cape of Storms. The complex pattern of multiple low pressure centres was giving them variable breezes, anything from 10 to 35 knots within minutes of each which was making it hard for the duo to find an ideal sail-plan.
Today’s prelude to their passage was the first time that either of the co-skippers have been contacted live on air since their exit from the Cook Strait because they have been very strictly rationing their energy use.
“The fuel situation is not that great. We’ve had generator problems where a coolant part of the generator has stopped working. This happened well before New Zealand, and thanks to the support and creativity of our shore crew we have managed to find a solution using another part on the boat and plumbing that in, which wasn’t straightforward but we managed to do it. But that was a big bonus, and means we don’t have to stop for fuel, but we do have strict strict rations so unfortunately we haven’t been able to go into the videoconference, which is big shame but it’s good to be talking now.?
Caffari and Corbella look like they might be able to reap a reward for their prudent strategy across the Pacific, but like Hugo Boss they are expected to have little time for souvenirs and tourism. Indeed it was shaping up to be unfortunate timing for Caffari’s Spanish co-skipper Anna Corbella. She may be set to become the first Spanish woman ever to race round Cape Horn and add to her honours as the first Spanish female sailor to race the Atlantic solo – finishing 13th in the 2009 MiniTransat – but with 104 miles to the rock at 1600hrs UTC it was shaping up very much like the girls would pass into the Atlantic during the hours of darkness.
It will be a considerable triumph for Corbella who disliked sailing when she started at four on her parents’ small yacht. It was only when she started racing in the 420 that the bug bit and since then she moved through into an Olympic 470 programme which she progressed She helped prepare Jaume Mumbrú’s MiniTransat and then was leant his boat to compete on her own. Considering she only stepped on an IMOCA Open 60 for the first time just over one year ago, hers is an achievement to be proud of.
But time will not be waiting for either Hugo Boss nor GAES Centros Auditivos as a high pressure system is set to develop off the Argentine/Uruguay coast which would effectively force them out on to an easterly routing up the Atlantic. Their most recent routing suggests they need to get north and west as possible, perhaps set to be the first boats to route west of the Falklands and maybe even through the notorious Le Maire Straits which separate Cape Horn from Staten Island.
Standings at 1400hrs UTC Friday 11th March
1 VIRBAC-PAPREC 3 at 4462,5 miles de l’arrivée
2 MAPFRE at 544,8 miles to the leader
3 RENAULT Z.E at 1308,2 miles
4 NEUTROGENA at 1706,6 miles
5 ESTRELLA DAMM Sailing Team at 1790,5 miles
6 MIRABAUD at 1796,4 miles
7 GROUPE BEL at 2394,7 miles
8 HUGO BOSS at 2500 miles
9 GAES CENTROS AUDITIVOS at 2544,2 miles
10 FORUM MARITIM CATALA at 4588,3 miles
11 WE ARE WATER at 6732,5miles
12 CENTRAL LECHERA ASTURIANA at 7087,8 miles
ABN FONCIA
ABN PRESIDENT
Quotes
Iker Martinez (ESP) MAPFRE:“The big picture for last few days was very hard for us, we’ve been floating not sailing. We have gone too much west in the high pressure, and we couldn’t do anything else. We have had to wait to hoist the spinnaker because we didn’t have this halyard and then we were too late. So we just try to manage the situation and now we’re happy because we’re sailing fast again. The leader is a little bit more far away, 500 miles, which is a lot but we’re moving so that’s good, and we’ll keep going.
On the video conferences: “It’s nice because you have a little contact with the world, and when we’re here sailing we almost don’t remember what’s going on outside. So we try to show a little to our family, and to know a little about what’s going on outside. It’s completely different compared to what happened for example in the Olympics where the press is pushing you were too much, and you just don’t want to deal with the press because you’re concentrating on your things, they’re pushing too much. Here it’s much nicer, it’s just a couple of minutes of enjoyment and I enjoy it quite a lot! I try to push Xabi to the videoconference but he doesn’t like it so much!?
Wouter Verbraak (NED) Hugo Boss:
“We’re pretty excited to have Cape Horn not so far away, but it’s not making things easier – we’ve had a lot of snow and hail storms through the night, and the wind really up and down. At the moment we only have 10 knots but some times in the squalls we have 35-40, so it’s pretty challenging times. It’s as if the Southern Ocean is desperate to show us it’s not over until we’ve really rounded Cape Horn.
“Cape Horn is a big milestone for this race, and obviously for Andy and myself it’s the third time so we know what it means to go around it. It influences a lot of more light airs and a warmer climate, so we’re excited to go into the Atlantic and make our way home.
“This next part, especially for the group ahead of us, there are some difficult weather situations for them to negotiate, whereas for us it looks pretty much downwind so we’re pretty happy with that. We’ve said all along, from the moment when we were in last place, this race isn’t over until we’re back in the Med and we’re still in contention, so we’re looking for any opportunity we can have and see who we can overtake.
“Andy and I myself are in good shape. One thing that has been really strong on our boat is that we’re a great team, we’re very balanced between ourselves and we have complementary skills that we learn from each other. And so we’re good in that sense, and I think that’s going to be a player in the way up the Atlantic.
[Fuel] “The fuel situation is not that great, so we’ve had generator problems where a coolant part of the generator has stopped working. This happened well before New Zealand, and thanks to the support and creativity of our shore crew we have managed to find a solution using another part on the boat and plumbing that in, which wasn’t straightforward but we managed to do it. But that was a big up, and means we don’t have to stop for fuel, but we do have strict strict rations so unfortunately we haven’t been able to go into the videoconference, which is big shame but it’s good to be talking now.
[Rounding Horn] “I was never meant to go past the Cape Verde islands! Normally there would be a bottle of strong liquor on the boat, but I think on this occasion there will be a lot of candy, maybe an extra delve into the supplies of chocolate!
“For us ever since New Zealand we’ve been bouncing into this low pressure system ahead of them, and as we all know the conditions just behind the low pressure system are not very ideal for sailing, so we’ll see what happens. We just crossed a line so we’re happy with that, and ahead there’s still some challenging times. It’s actually fun to have somebody to race against, and we’ll see when Groupe Bel comes out she’ll be another potential competitor that we’ll keep our eye on.?
Alex Pella (ESP) Estrella Damm: “Yesterday we spent more of our time clearing kelp and seaweed from under the boat, it was stuck everywhere. We were unlucky because we had to go backwards. We are pretty happy now because we are going north and the waves are smaller and the weather is pretty good. We are going upwind in 15 knots, with small waves and pointing home. It is a tricky part of the course, because there is no clearly defined route, it is a bit unstable. We have a big front in two days and we need to see how we do with that, how we can work with that and what the others do. It is quite uncertain how it will go and there are many options, but for sure the race for us is wide open.”
Anna Corbella and Dee Caffari on GAES (Photo by Maria Muina)
British yachtswoman Dee Caffari and her Spanish co skipper Anna Corbella have been experiencing extreme sailing conditions and have also been struggling without a fleet broadband connection for the last few days. The fleet broadband allows the all-female duo to download crucial weather data and other important information that combined enable them to make key strategic decisions.
GAES Project manager, Harry Spedding, said:
“A few days ago the fleet broadband connection started to show problems, Dee was struggling to get a full weather download without losing the signal. We have been working closely with suppliers and Dee has emailed back the connection logs that are stored on the computer. Currently the strongest likelihood is that this is simply bad luck. A combination of their position in the Pacific Ocean combined with the heel angle of the boat, and the elevation and azimuth* of the satellite has led to there being an exceptionally bad connection. We have a few tests to run to ensure there are no other reasons for this problem occurring.
“Whilst the girls are unable to connect to the Inmarsat they are seriously handicapped with their decision making. Weather models and navigation software are now so good that it helps the skippers to not only choose their route, plan sail changes and selection but also when to rest and when to push hard. With gales forecast at Cape Horn in the next week it will be important for the girls to be able to receive the necessary data in order to plan their strategy for the rounding of the Cape.”
The stressful conditions seem to have abated for the girls with Caffari reporting this morning:
“We now have some respite with lighter winds that are finally allowing some downwind sailing. The more comfortable living is allowing us to sponge the water from inside the boat ready for the next high winds. Rest and recuperation and some enjoyable sailing rather than stressful sailing are on order for the weekend. We even saw some blue sky today which is a real treat and has helped lift spirits onboard.”
Caffari then quipped:
“Anna has made a remarkable achievement. She has brought back to life her ebook. It was completely dead, clearly not enjoying the cold damp conditions but somehow she has nursed it back to life so I am hoping her skills will do the same for the fleet broadband too.”
As a result of the conditions and lack of information, the Gaes girls have lost further miles to Andy Meiklejohn & Wouter Verbraak on Hugo Boss and at the 0900hrs ranking were 245 miles behind their closest race rivals. At the front of the fleet Virbac-Paprec 3 continue to hold poll position comfortably with Mapfre and Renault Z E in second and third respectively.
Neutrogena (Photo by Neutrogena / Barcelona World Race)
From the leading duo counting down their final 750 or 800 miles to Cape Horn to those nearly 5000 miles behind fighting to make it across the Tasman to the Cook Strait, the vast majority of the Barcelona World Race fleet today are either racing in strong winds, or expecting them imminently.
Virbac-Paprec 3 and MAPFRE, some 78 miles apart this afternoon, are trying to outrun the approach of a fast moving low pressure system, the regenerated, reinvigorated Atu (Atu v2.0?) and escape around Cape Horn into the Atlantic. But it is the fleet’s tailgunners on We Are Water which has struggled the most today after being temporarily knocked flat by a big wave, taking water inside the boat.
Jaume Mumbrú and Cali Sanmarti reported that they are both fine, but unable to gybe due to a broken lazyjack and other sundry problems the duo were making slow SE’ly course during the early afternoon, before heaving while they baled water out of the boat and try to sort out their electronics problems. The impact of the wave ripped apart plastic spray curtains which protect part of the cockpit,. Part of the electrical equipment is not working at the moment.
And Dee Caffari and Anna Corbella last night (day time local for them) suffered a series of involuntary tacks when GAES Centros Auditivos’ autopilot hiccupped twice. With two sails partly in the water, the duo had their hands full, choosing to run north and take some pressure off themselves and the boat. The robust hard reaching conditions, with the wind slightly forward of the beam in difficult seas, made their choice of sacrificing some miles to Hugo Boss a difficult one, but a necessary one at the time.
“Things are horrible. We are upwind in 35 knots of wind and it is pretty wet and miserable. We had an ‘everything’ problem, the good thing about it all was that it was daylight when it happened. It was a catalogue of disasters and it took us quite a lot to get through it. And I just had a very brief time in the bean bag and I said to her that I feel like I have been beaten up. I feel quite exhausted by it. We are really wanting this wind to drop now.
We have come back on course now. We decided that we cant run away to the north for ever because it does just make the course worse afterwards. We are back where we should be after having a bit of rest and recovery. We are now just upwind and it is 30-35kts.” Said Caffari on this morning’s Visio-Conference.
“It was a bit emotional at the time but we did manage to giggle about it, we found the funny side of it, the fact that we were so ridiculously wet. But everything is still working, the boat is OK. We got the sails back on board, so of all the things that did go wrong we dealt with it all well.”
The duel at the front of the fleet between Virbac-Paprec 3 and MAPFRE now sees the French duo taking a clear advantage with their more northerly tracking. Individually both sets of co-skippers reported that they were struggling with the very changeable and unstable winds – requiring many sail changes and constant vigilance – in the brisk, but variable breezes sent by the low pressure centre which was just to the south east of them today, slightly closer for the Spanish duo.
Despite the intensity of the battle with the Virbac-Paprec 3, the evident chagrin at losing miles to the French pair, not to mention the extreme cold – 4 deg C and the fact that it was in the middle if a dark, dirty night – it was again an inspiration today to see the pleasure that Fernandez, Spain’s three times 49er world champion, double Olympic medalist and twice Volvo round the world veteran, takes in answering questions put to him by the young local Barcelona schoolchildren.
The duel with Dick and Peyron is dismissed for a few stolen moments Fernandez’s smile breaks his lips, the twinkle in his eyes lights up the gloomy fug inside MAPFRE as he takes time and pleasure to answer each question fully. One of this race’s unique and pure pleasures, one which perhaps will inspire a new generation of round the world racers?
And the duel for third evens out again this afternoon as Renault Z.E’s Toño Piris and Pachi Rivero fight back, 19 miles ahead of Neutrogena this afternoon both sailing at even speeds.
A special Visio-Conference in the early afternoon linked up guests and representative of sponsors Mirabaud with Dominique Wavre and Michèle Paret.
Rankings at 1400hrs Tuesday 1st March 2011
1 VIRBAC-PAPREC 3 at 7642 miles to finish
2 MAPFRE 79 miles from the leader
3 RENAULT Z.E at 1411 miles
4 NEUTROGENA at 1430 miles
5 MIRABAUD at 1597 miles
6 GROUPE BEL at 1887 miles
7 ESTRELLA DAMM Sailing Team at 1957miles
8 HUGO BOSS at 2308 miles
9 GAES CENTROS AUDITIVOS at 2444miles
10 FORUM MARITIM CATALA at 3907 miles
11 CENTRAL LECHERA ASTURIANA at 4236 miles
12 WE ARE WATER at 4859 miles
RTD FONCIA
RTD PRESIDENT
Dee Caffari (GBR) GAES Centros Auditivos:“Things are horrible. We are upwind in 35 knots of wind and it is pretty wet and miserable. We had an ‘everything’ problem, the good thing about it all was that it was daylight when it happened. It was a catalogue of disasters and it took us quite a lot to get through it. And I just had a very brief time in the bean bag and I said to her that I feel like I have been beaten up. I feel quite exhausted by it. We are really wanting this wind to drop now.
We have come back on course now. We decided that we cant run away to the north for ever because it does just make the course worse afterwards. We are back where we should be after having a bit of rest and recovery. We are now just upwind and it is 30-35kts.
According to the forecast by 1800hrs this evening it should start to ease and then we go through our daylight hours upwind.
It was a bit emotional at the time but we did manage to giggle about it, we found the funny side of it, the fact that we were so ridiculously wet. But everything is still working, the boat is OK. We got the sails back on board, so of all the things that did go wrong we dealt with it all well.
It was really good, because I just jump on deck and get on with then I think that she gets a lot of confidence in that, so she drove while I got the sails back on board, and she drove while I sorted the pilots, so she got a bit of a battering each day. We both warmed up and put some dry clothes on and since then we have recovered. It is really good to see her confidence grow so much and in the boat. And we looked after each other, she just said to me that the only thing she wanted was that I not go in the water. I said I was not planning on it!
It is really nice to see Anna progressing, most of confidence and she says that comes from me which I am surprised about, but now she is confident in what the boat can do and making choices like what sails to put up and I am pleased about that, because it makes my life easier. So it is working for both of us.
And she asks questions about, like this is not what you said the Southern Ocean would be like, and I say it is different for me too. It is nice to hear her talking to other skippers in the fleet and sounding more knowledgeable and confident.
Xabi Fernandez (ESP) MAPFRE: “The situation is a little more complicated than the last few days. We have spent the last 24 hours with a lot of showers, one after the other and so we have had no rest. And an area of light winds has really struck us and so we have been losing some miles, little by little.
There are some clouds with showers which bring you squalls and more wind which give you a good push but not in the direction you want. For example we are on a course yesterday of 100-110 degrees and suddenly you get a 50 degrees shift, that is you pointing 50 degrees off your course. On the other hand there are another kind which tyou get which suddenly see the breeze drop from 20 knots to five or six knots, totally quiet and you can do nothing. It pours with rain. And in these hours you are given to wondering how the other boat is going. You kind of assume that it is the same for us both, but the truth is that we had another bad cloud and a spell with zero wind.
I think they are going a bit better than us, we are fighting to stay with them. Although we have got a little bit back I think we can see some compression into Cape Horn. To pass Cape Horn first? …Well it is a big enough achievement at all to pass Cape Horn, but first would be better.
The target is just to go as fast as possible we need to simply get there as quick as possible. If we are slowed or delayed it would be difficult. There is always acceleration of the wind there, and so aside from Virbac-Paprec 3, we just want to be there before the storm gets us.”
Dominique Wavre (SUI) Mirabaud: “We will do all that we can to attack third place, but it is a bit difficult at the moment because tomorrow we have a big depression coming and that will put us in conservation mode not to break anything. And so it is a bit of a difficult position. We are expecting two storms between now and Cape Horn and so it will be difficult but we will be doing all we can to get at third place.”
Michèle Paret (FRA) Mirabaud:“We mostly have enough food to get us to the finish. We have cut back on our consumption. We will have a bit less food for the last week but we don’t have any great concerns. And it is not normal to have to stop to take on food.
At the end of the South Atlantic before the south I felt a bit weak and so we spoke with the doctor and he said I was a bit anemia. And what we had in the boat’s pharmacy would not be enough until the end of the race. And the treatment is long term. So the preference was to get a supply from New Zealand and as soon as I started to take the iron I have been feeling better. And so I continue to take it to make sure I don’t risk a new weakness.”
Dominique Wavre: “Mirabaud is in good shape. We have no big concerns. Yesterday there was a problem with a wind indicator but we use the spare which is a bit less precise but it is a little les precise. The boat feels a little tired, but everything is intact. We have been surfing at 22-23 knots. The wind is lifting and so we go a little north again to wait for the shift and then to return to the south on the back of a major depression heading in the direction of Cape Horn.”
