Ship on the horizon by Phesheya Racing
The leading Class40 in the Global Ocean Race (GOR) is approaching the final finish line of the 30,000-mile circumnavigation in Leg 5 from Charleston, USA, to Les Sables d’Olonne, France, and the two skippers, Conrad Colman and Scott Cavanough, are flat lining east through the Bay of Biscay in following wind with just 137 miles remaining for Cessna Citation on Tuesday afternoon and an ETA at the finish line of mid-afternoon on Wednesday for the GOR’s overall winner.
Meanwhile, in second place, the Italian-Slovak duo of Marco Nannini and Sergio Frattaruolo with Class40 Financial Crisis are piling towards the Bay of Biscay trailing Colman and Cavanough by 328 miles at 15:00 GMT on Tuesday with a 464-mile lead over the South African duo of Phillippa Hutton-Squire and Nick Leggatt in third with Phesheya-Racing and the Dutch team of Nico and Frans Budel in fourth with Sec. Hayai, 179 miles behind Leggatt and Hutton-Squire, are furthest south, 130 miles due north of the Azores.
For Cessna Citation and Financial Crisis, the final miles of the nine-month circumnavigation should be plain sailing, although the busy shipping lanes and increase in commercial fishing traffic always pose an obstacle and the south-westerly wind may build, particularly for Financial Crisis on Tuesday night. Overall, for Colman and Cavanough, the following breeze will sustain until the finish line while Nannini and Frattaruolo should escape the strongest of the southerly breeze that is forecast to arrive west of Biscay on Wednesday, but both Phesheya-Racing and Sec. Hayai are heading for harder conditions as they approach Europe.
On Phesheya-Racing, Nick Leggatt explains the scenario for the South African team’s final 790 miles: “There’s a complex system of three depressions, including the remnants of Tropical Storm Beryl, all merging somewhere about 700 miles east of Newfoundland and then tracking towards the east, towards us again!” says Leggatt, looking over his shoulder at the systems building to the north-west. “The latest forecast issued by Meteo-France would indicate winds of anything from 17-40 knots and with even stronger gusts,” he confirms.
The downloaded weather forecast was soon confirmed by an unusual source: “A contact appeared on our trusty Garmin radar screen and a short while later the AIS revealed it to be a cargo ship called the Friendship V,” says Leggatt. The 172-metre long ship was soon in sight: “She was clearly pitching and rolling with sheets of water spraying across her decks as she laboured her way southwards at just 9.5 knots,” he continues.
Leggatt and Hutton-Squire hailed the ship via VHF and discovered she was en route from Finland to Mexico, but both South Africans considered she was far south of the usual course for this route. “Upon further enquiry, her captain revealed that he had altered course towards the south as he is concerned about the approaching gale and wants to be well clear of its path!” adds Leggatt. “So it’s good to know that it is not just us that worry about the weather…”
GOR leaderboard at 15:00 GMT 5/6/12:
1. Cessna Citation DTF 137 9.2kts
2. Financial Crisis DTL 328 10.6kts
3. Phesheya-Racing DTL 792 7.7kts
4. Sec. Hayai DTL 971 9.8kts
Conrad Colman and Scott Cavanough and Cessna Citation Win Leg 4 in Charleston, South Carolina (Photo courtesy of Global Ocean Race)
The Kiwi-Australian duo of Conrad Colman and Scott Cavanough took first place in Global Ocean Race (GOR) Leg 4 from Punta del Este, Uruguay, to South Carolina with Akilaria RC2 Class40 Cessna Citation, crossing the finish line off Charleston at 05:45:00 GMT (01:54:00 local) on Tuesday morning. Colman and Cavanough took 28 days 11 hours and 45 minutes to complete the 5,700 miles from Uruguay to Charleston.
Crossing the finish line at #13 buoy to seaward of Charleston’s twin, offshore breakwaters, 28-year-old Colman and 30-year-old Cavanough lit orange flares in celebration as their Class40 ghosted north in minimal breeze on a long, oily swell beneath a half-moon and cloudless sky with the loom of Charleston’s city lights as a backdrop. Engaging their engine, the victorious duo motored down the clearly-marked channel towards Charleston Harbour, passing between Morris Island and Sullivans Island, then through the 2km-wide gap with Fort Sumter to port and Fort Moultrie on Sullivan’s Island and into the Charleston Harbor Resort & Marina.
Colman and Cavanough led the GOR fleet from the start on 2 April in Punta del Este, building a lead of 230 miles by the time Cessna Citation reached the Celox Sailing Scoring Gate at the easternmost point of Brazil after 12 days of racing and increasing further to almost 400 miles as the duo closed in on the Caribbean. For Kiwi skipper Conrad Colman, this isolation at the head of the fleet was satisfying, but the lack of close combat left an empty feeling: “We actually felt a little bit envious of the others as we made a quick break at the beginning and then the wind favoured us, so we very quickly extended out,” he explains. “Then it was just us and the flying fish, whereas the other guys were bouncing off each other and having a good time,” says Colman. “I’ll never get sick of winning, but it was a fairly relaxed way of winning the leg.”
With their impressive lead reduced as Cessna Citation sailed into a completely different weather system than the chasing pack of three Class40s, Colman and Cavanough regained ground again as they left the Bahamas to port before falling into light airs with just 130 miles to the finish. “Unfortunately, by being so far into the lead there was always the risk of moving into a high pressure area and a compression from behind,” Colman confirms. “So there was nothing we could really do.” The only option was to take a westerly heading away from the finish and watch their rich stock of leadership miles tumble. “We were just sailing VMG downwind and the others were power reaching,” he adds.
As Cessna Citation slipped across the Charleston finish line, their closest competitor, Marco Nannini and Sergio Frattaruolo with Financial Crisis, was 161 miles to the south and while the loss of so many miles in the last few days at sea and missing the chance of a fast finish might be mildly disappointing, the two sailors delivered an immaculate leg. This is doubly impressive as Colman and Cavanough have never raced together before – Scott Cavanough explains the potential setbacks this could have presented: “You can certainly tell sometimes that we’re both ex-solo sailors and ex-Mini sailors as we often wanted to do things ourselves in our own way,” he says. “The other guy would come out on deck half asleep and try and help out and would be told to go back to bed and leave everything alone! However, we got along well and made the boat go.”
Conrad Colman and Scott Cavanough win GOR Leg 4 with Cessna Citation (Photo courtesy Global Ocean Race)
On two subjects, both sailors agree unequivocally – the finest moment of the leg, which occurred on the last day at sea: “We were surrounded by dolphins and we sat on the bobstay while they were swimming along by the bow,” says Colman, “We reached out and touched them, which was something very, very special.” And, of course, the lowest point of the leg: “Pulling weed off the rudders and the hydrogenerator gets old really quick,” states Cavanough, recalling the massive fields of Sargasso weed the fleet encountered. “Repeated mechanical failures was also a real stress,” adds Colman, “but overcoming them was good for our team work. We didn’t break anything and we’re fatigued, but could leave tomorrow.”
As the Kiwi-Australian duo recover from Leg 4 at the Charleston Harbor Resort and Marina, Nannini and Frattaruolo were 116 miles from the finish line at 12:00 GMT averaging just over nine knots.
GOR leaderboard at 12:00 GMT 1/5/12:
1. Cessna Citation 28d 11h 45m
2. Financial Crisis DTF 116 9.1kts
3. Phesheya-Racing DTF 195 7.9kts
4. Sec. Hayai 215 9.2kts
Cessna Citation finish in Charlestion (Photo courtesy of Global Ocean Race)
Erik van Vuuren lets the autopilot run the show for a while ( Photo by Sec. Hayai)
At 15:00 GMT on Monday, the Global Ocean Race (GOR) fleet leaders Conrad Colman and Scott Cavanough on Cessna Citation were gradually picking up speed with less than 100 miles to the finish line in Charleston as the main trio of Class40s dig into the Gulf Stream.
Leading the pursuing pack in second place, Marco Nannini and Sergio Frattaruolo on Financial Crisis held a 62-mile lead over the South African duo on Phesheya-Racing – a gain of around 20 miles since Sunday afternoon – and were averaging the best speed in the fleet at 10.5 knots on Monday. “We’re pleased with how things have gone in the past two days after the tactical move to cover Phesheya,” confirmed Nannini on Monday morning. “We now feel a little more in control of our destiny,” he adds.
However, with weather files predicting a loss of wind, the remaining 215 miles could present a fresh set of tactical options: “The wind is progressively decreasing, so we hope the finale won’t be too much of a light winds struggle,” says Nannini. At 15:00 GMT on Wednesday, Nannini and Frattaruolo were 106 miles NE of Grand Bahama and 200 miles off the east coast of Florida. “We’re heading north-west, a little left of the direct route, in anticipation of the rotation of the wind and hoping to find the favourable flow of the Gulf Stream to help us run fast along the American coast,” he explains.
Meanwhile, on Phesheya-Racing, Nick Leggatt and Phillippa Hutton-Squire had slowed to just under seven knots on Monday afternoon with their speed averages dropping gradually from over ten knots earlier in the morning. “We’ve caught up 125 miles on Cessna and 131 on Financial Crisis,” reported Hutton-Squire on Monday morning, but the pressure from Van Vuuren and Beusker in fourth place is relentless. “We’ve lost 165 miles to Sec Hayai due to their incredible speeds and they have shadowed us like our reflection on the water.”
On Monday afternoon, the Dutch duo of Erik van Vuuren and Yvonne Beusker on Sec. Hayai continued to close in on Phesheya-Racing taking an extra 30 miles from their lead in 24 hours and trailing the South Africans by 56 miles on Monday afternoon. While Leggatt and Hutton-Squire keep a close eye on the Dutch, progress is still slowed by repeated entanglement with weed: “We sailed into a field of Sargasso Weed slowing the boat, clogging the hydrogenerator and jamming the rudders,” says Hutton-Squire. Putting on head torches, the duo investigated the extent of the entrapment. “We pulled the hydrogenerator up and found that the prop was jammed with weed,” she explains. “In the dark, Nick leant over the back of the boat with the boat hook to try and free the weed and this is when he discovered a fishing net caught in the weed.”
At sunrise, Leggatt and Hutton-Squire could get a better idea of the extent of the weed they were trailing: “I sailed dead downwind, slowing the boat and Nick was able to check the rudders and clear more weed,” continues Hutton-Squire. “We checked the keel through the peep hole in the hull next to the chart table and discovered more weed, but we decided that it wasn’t enough weed to stop the boat for.”
GOR leaderboard 15:00 GMT 30/4/12:
1. Cessna Citation DTF 91.7 6.1kts
2. Financial Crisis DTL 215 10.5kts
3. Phesheya-Racing DTL 277 6.7kts
4. Sec. Hayai DTL 333 9.4kts
Cessna Citaton during Punta del Este Start (Photo courtesy Global Ocean Race)
After 13 days at sea and a very demanding 2,000 miles of racing in Leg 4 of the double-handed Global Ocean Race (GOR), the leading Class40, Cessna Citation, has crossed the Celox Sailing Scoring Gate off the coast of Brazil netting the maximum six points and coming close to crossing the boat’s outbound track made on GOR Leg 1 from Palma, Mallorca, to Cape Town seven months ago.
Although Conrad Colman and Scott Cavanough took Cessna Citation across the Celox Sailing Scoring Gate shortly before midnight on Saturday and freed-off around Ponta do Calcanhar hitting ten-knot averages, it hasn’t been so comfortable for the trio of Class40s further south. The chasing pack were separated by 150 miles at 15:00 GMT on Sunday, led by Marco Nannini and Sergio Frattaruolo with Financial Crisis but as speed averages hovered around eight knots in approximately 14 knots of easterly breeze throughout Saturday, Nick Leggatt and Phillippa Hutton-Squire fell into a private weather system on Phesheya-Racing with the South Africans fighting to keep the boat moving as miles were lost to Financial Crisis and the Dutch duo of Nico Budel and Erik van Vuuren on Sec. Hayai.
Erik van Vuuren on Sec. Hayai (Photo courtesy Sec. Hayai / Global Ocean Race)
While Colman and Cavanough added 29 miles to their lead in the past 24 hours and led the fleet by 241 miles on Sunday afternoon, the South Africans have dropped 25 miles to the Italian-Slovak team on Financial Crisis with Budel and Van Vuuren winning 26 miles from Phesheya-Racing as Leggatt and Hutton-Squire recover from the seven-hour ordeal in unreadable conditions.
Marco Nannini up mast on Financial Crisis (Photo courtesy Financial Crisis / Global Ocean Race)
Meanwhile, at the head of the fleet, for 28-year-old Conrad Colman, triumph at the scoring gate was slightly marred: “Last night we rushed through the Celox Sailing Scoring Gate at ten-12 knots under our Code 3 gennaker before turning around the top of Brazil and again hoisting the big spinnaker,” he reported on Sunday afternoon. “It would be nice to be able to bask in the afterglow of getting more points on the board but, again, the day has dawned with a hot fury, eliminating all chances of basking,” says Colman.
For the complete update and more information abot the Global Ocean Race 2011-12, click here.
Global Ocean Race leg 4 start (Photo courtesy Global Ocean Race)
As the Global Ocean Race (GOR) Class40s approach the end of their first week at sea in Leg 4 from Punta del Este, Uruguay, to Charleston, USA, the double-handed teams are racing upwind along the continental shelf of Brazil with the New-Zealand-Australian team continuing to extend their lead on Akilaria RC2,Cessna Citation to 56 miles, while the three first generation Akilarias – Financial Crisis, Phesheya-Racing and Sec. Hayai – were spread over 37 miles at 15:00 GMT on Sunday with the Italian-Slovak duo of Marco Nannini and Sergio Frattaruolo squeezing fractionally higher speeds from Financial Crisis but unable to shake-off the South African and Dutch Class40s.
On Sunday afternoon GMT, Conrad Colman and Scott Cavanough continued to poll the best averages for almost 24 hours with Cape Frio 90 miles of the port beam and with Nannini and Frattaruolo 56 miles astern and both boats averaging just over seven knots. On board Financial Crisis in second place, there has been no break since the beginning of the race in Punta del Este: “Half the world is on holiday for a long Easter weekend, but for us it’s been more wind and waves as we sail north-east hoping to soon reach the trade winds,” reported Marco Nannini on Sunday afternoon. “Ahead of us the bottom corner of Brazil with Rio de Janeiro and a tangle of variable light winds to deal with.”
Following the passage of a front, the spell of downwind sailing was short-lived and the teams are now back on the most uncomfortable point of sail: “In the space of half a day we went from sailing downwind to beating upwind again, progress has been very slow since, especially as we are pushing against the unfavourable Brazil Current which runs from north to south decreasing our speed by nearly a knot,” Nannini confirms.
For the complete update, click here.
Marco Nannini and Hugo Ramon round Cape Horn with Class40 Financial Crisis (Photo courtesy of Gllobal Ocean Race)
At 23:25 GMT on Thursday, Marco Nannini and Hugo Ramon crossed the Felipe Cubillos Cape Horn Gate at 56S with Class40 Financial Crisis. Racing 49 miles off the infamous outcrop at the southern tip of Chile, Financial Crisis is the second, double-handed, Global Ocean Race 2011-12 (GOR) Class40 to round the world’s most notorious cape.
The fact that Conrad Colman and Adrian Kuttel took line honours at the gate with Cessna Citation doesn’t diminish the immense achievement of racing only the fifth Class40 to sail through the Southern Ocean and around Cape Horn. “What a day!” exclaimed Nannini shortly after crossing the gate. “I think it will take me a while to fully process this fact, but I’m sure it’ll live in my thoughts for the rest of my life.”
Having carried out a text book heaving-to manoeuvre west of Cape Horn to avoid strong winds as they approached the cape, Nannini and Ramon timed their run through the treacherous Drake Passage perfectly – almost: “Just when the weather was finally improving we were left with a last minute reminder of where we are as a squall came through during the night bringing another stint of 50-knot winds and lots of snow…it was quite surreal,” comments Nannini.
For Nannini’s co-skipper, Hugo Ramon, rounding the cape is an opportunity to indulge in some Cape Horn traditions: “Now I can wear a gold earring in my left ear and pee into the wind!” claims the 26 year-old Spaniard. On a more serious note, Ramon knows that sailing through Drake Passage is a monumental challenge: “I’ve really learnt, once again, that you have to respect nature and the elements,” he confirms. “I don’t think we tamed or conquered the elements by rounding Cape Horn safely,” he says. “Simply that Cape Horn has let us pass.”
After rounding Cape Horn conditions became increasingly light throughout Friday as Financial Crisis climbed north steeply and with weather models predicting further light airs, Nannini and Ramon decided to cut the corner. At 17:00 GMT on Friday, Nannini and Ramon had committed to sailing through Le Maire Strait – a 17-mile wide stretch of water between mainland Tierra del Fuego and the offlying Isla de Los Estados that has famously tricky currents and eddies.
Meanwhile, 370 miles to the north of Financial Crisis on Friday afternoon, Conrad Colman and Adrian Kuttel were 150 miles off the coast of Patagonia with Cessna Citation having left the Falkland Islands to starboard on Thursday night. Although the breeze has gone lighter for the New Zealand-South African GOR leaders, around 400 miles to the north a deep low pressure is building with 50+ knot winds forecast before the system tracks eastwards and into the South Atlantic. The duo on Cessna Citation are likely to aim for the western edge of the system.
Approximately 540 miles south-west of Cape Horn on Friday afternoon, Nick Leggatt and Phillippa Hutton-Squire are working beneath a high pressure system blocking the route of Phesheya-Racing: ““The weather forecast from the Chilean MRCC said that the wind would ease some more and the sea would be ‘rippled to slight’,” confirms Hutton-Squire. “They are very right as there is a small swell rolling, but generally it is very flat,” she adds. “I can’t believe we are in the South-East Pacific but we are enjoying the sea state and wind conditions.”
The weather on Friday did permit 45th birthday celebrations for Leggatt: “The sea is so flat today we lit the candles, sang happy birthday, took some video and photos, then Nick blew the candles out.” Despite the celebrations on board, the frustrating light airs are set to continue: “We think we have about three or four days until we get to Cape Horn, but it all depends on the high pressure in front of us,” predicts Hutton-Squire.
GOR leaderboard at 17:00 GMT 24/2/12:
1. Cessna Citation DTF 908 7.6kts
2. Financial Crisis DTL 375 8.7kts
3. Phesheya-Racing DTL 1011 7.6kts
Conrad Colman and Adrian Kuttel lead the GOR fleet around Cape Horn (Photo courtesy of Cessna Citation)
In the middle of the Southern Ocean night at 06:25 GMT on Wednesday, Conrad Colman and Adrian Kuttel crossed the Felipe Cubillos Cape Horn Gate with Class40 Cessna Citation at the head of the double-handed Global Ocean Race (GOR) fleet.
The 28 year-old Kiwi, Colman, and his 41 year-old South African co-skipper, Kuttel, now join the ranks of Cape Horners and take the Felipe Cubillos Trophy in memory of the late Chilean yachtsman and skipper of the first Class40 to round Cape Horn in the 2008-09 GOR.
Colman and Kuttel had pushed hard throughout Tuesday hitting 14-knot averages to beat the gale forecast to hit Cape Horn: “It was pretty intense yesterday, with 30 knots sustained, gusting more,” Colman reported on Wednesday morning shortly after rounding the cape. “I put myself on the helm for nine hours straight to make the best progress possible with the small running spinnaker,” he explains. “Following a backing shift in the wind, we were still able to make good miles east with flatter sails and as the squalls intensified we ended up broad reaching under just the staysail and double-reefed main.”
Colman and Kuttel crossed the Felipe Cubillos Cape Horn Gate at 57S, 87 miles south of Horn Island, clipping the southern tip of Latin America’s continental shelf and wisely avoiding the shallower water closer to the cape. “I finally had a nap just before crossing the magic line of longitude and climbed into the sleeping bag with a huge satisfied smile on my face,” says the Kiwi skipper. “A pretty special place to be and what a way to do it!” Colman exclaims. “First place at Cape Horn in my first circumnavigation after all the challenges just to get here. Very memorable.” Having submitted their Cape Horn ETA on Saturday when 1,000 miles west of the cape, Colman and Kuttel are in the running for the Cape Horn Navigation Prize as Cessna Citation rounded the cape just one hour and 25 minutes behind their projected routing schedule.
In the 15:00 GMT position poll on Wednesday, Cessna Citation was 69 miles south-east of Cape Horn, climbing north-east steeply as the gale approached. “The sea state is still well established, but the wind has moderated for now before building again significantly for a time,” says Colman who is already looking beyond Isla de los Estados. “Current routing is unequivocally around the east side of the Falklands,” predicts Colman of the obstacle positioned 330 miles down the track.
Meanwhile, 300 miles west of Cessna Citation on Wednesday afternoon in second place onFinancial Crisis, the Cape Horn ETA of mid-evening GMT on Wednesday submitted by Marco Nannini and Hugo Ramon became unachievable as the Italian-Spanish duo hove-to at 57S, south-west of the cape to avoid intercepting gale force winds sweeping up from Antarctica. Marco Nannini explained the decision on Tuesday evening: “After much debate, we decided it was simply too risky for us to carry on heading for such a dangerous rendezvous and have instead slowed down and we’ll let the worst of the gale blow through,” he confirmed. Although Cessna Citation had the lead and the horsepower to attempt clearing Cape Horn, Nannini and Ramon were further west and handicapped by the loss of their main, masthead spinnaker. “We considered this option, but ruled it out as we didn’t think we could make it in time,” Nannini explains.
His Spanish co-skipper was in total agreement: “Cape Horn may have the smell and aura of adventure and freedom, but it scares most experienced seamen,” points out Ramon. “Hundreds of boats have broken up and sunk here and it’s only because now it’s mainly racing boats that round the cape that the number isn’t even greater,” he adds. “The Race Director of the GOR, Josh Hall, has raced around Cape Horn three times and Nick Leggatt on Phesheya-Racing has been around the Horn five times and they both advised us in emails over the past couple of days that in the conditions we would face in the gale, there would be enormous, confused seas as we crossed close to the continental shelf.”
Early on Wednesday, Nannini and Ramon – carrying storm jib and four reefs in the main – reported that all was well on Financial Crisis and their skilled and text book heaving-to manoeuvre was working comfortably in 35-45 knots and gusts up to 55 knots. By 13:00 GMT, the low pressure was on the move, heading for Cape Horn, centred south-east of the Italian-Spanish Class40 and Nannini and Ramon were back in the game, tucking into the 30-knot south-westerlies on the back of the system. At 15:00, Financial Crisis was averaging just under eight knots with 280 miles remaining to the Felipe Cubillos Cape Horn Gate.
As Cessna Citation approaches the Southern Ocean’s exit door and Financial Crisis piles on to Cape Horn, Nick Leggatt and Phillippa Hutton-Squire are picking their way across the top of a high-pressure system with Phesheya-Racing and at 15:00 GMT on Wednesday, the South African duo had slowed to under three knots as the light airs struck at 58S with 860 miles to Cape Horn.
GOR leaderboard at 15:00 GMT 22/2/12:
1. Cessna Citation DTF 1363 10.4kts
2. Financial Crisis DTL 316 7.5kts
3. Phesheya-Racing DTL 918 2.3kts
Conrad Colman spots wind from masthead on Cessna Citation (Photo courtesy of Cessna Citation)
Self-administered surgery for Adrian Kuttel on Cessna Citation On Sunday afternoon GMT, Conrad Colman and Adrian Kuttel on Cessna Citation, leading the Global Ocean Race Class40s through the Southern Ocean, ran straight into a band of light wind stretching across the Pacific’s high latitudes with speed averages plummeting to below three knots. Further north-west, Marco Nannini and Hugo Ramon in second on Financial Crisis have held the breeze as they approach 54S, taking a massive 117 miles from Colman and Kuttel in 24 hours. West of the bluQube Scoring Gate, Nick Leggatt and Phillippa Hutton-Squire have made solid progress dropping south through the Roaring Forties in remarkable conditions with Phesheya-Racing. While Colman and Kuttel have been leading the fleet through the currently calm Furious Fifties, Adrian Kuttel took the opportunity to attend to his badly infected fingernails – a problem that arose through diesel spilt in the Class40’s bilge during the upwind pounding west of the scoring gate. “This was a high priority as it was affecting the sailing,” confirms the 44 year-old South African who was finding handling sheets and tying knots extremely difficult with swollen and tender fingers. Kuttel assembled the appropriate tools for the self-administered procedure: “In this case, the sharp knife blade in my trusty – if somewhat rusty – Leatherman and, after much deliberation and internal debate, a wet wipe from our ever-dwindling supply,” he explains. The process is not for the squeamish. “Works procedure was to scratch around the infected fingernail until a point of entry behind the fingernail could be found and the wound could be lanced,” says Kuttel. “Next step was to grunt up, clench jaw, and squeeze the infected fingertip until all the gunk had been expunged via the hole created during the earlier surgical procedure with the Leatherman.” This was then repeated a further nine times. “There was varying degrees of discharge with the amount of discharge being in direct proportion to pain,” he adds. Kuttel is now using antiseptic cream on his damaged hands and his fingers are improving rapidly. Meanwhile, the Italian-Spanish duo on Financial Crisis were making eight knots in the 15:00 GMT position poll on Monday, trailing Cessna Citation by 141 miles as Colman and Kuttel slowed to below two knots. The remoteness of their current location is getting to Hugo Ramon. “We are now getting a very long way south,” reports the Spanish yachtsman as they close in on 54S. “It is now more inhospitable and colder than I’ve ever experienced before,” he continues. “The closest speck of land is an uninhabited lump of rock about 1,700 miles to the north, which is almost the same distance as we have to Cape Horn in front of us.”
