Estrella Damm Sailing Next To Calpe (Photo © Nico Martínez / FNOB)
Estrella Damm set the New York Barcelona Record at 12 days 6 hours 3 minutes 48 seconds
· W Hotels’ around 50 miles behind, perhaps due to finish around 0700hrs UTC
12 days, 6 hours, 3 minutes and 48 seconds, is the mark for the sailing record books. Estrella Damm, the IMOCA Open 60, and the crew of Alex Pella (ESP), Pepe Ribes (ESP) and Stan Schreyer (USA) set the first record for the 3670 (orthodromic) miles passage under sail from New York to Barcelona very early this Wednesday morning when they crossed the finish line in front of the Catalan capital’s 26 story iconic glass W Hotel, at 00:37:06hrs UTC/ 02:37:06 local time Barcelona. They sailed an average speed of 12.48 knots
From the top storey of the avant garde new landmark, the blinking navigation lights of Estrella Damm could finally be slowly seen becoming more distinct through an otherwise foggy evening and night. As the trio crossed the finish line, set effectively by the transit of the peak of the sail-shaped hotel and the historic Tibidabo church, they finally brought to an end a passage which comprised two stages which contrasted sharply: a very fast crossing of the Atlantic and an almost painfully slow, exacting climb up the Mediterranean in capricious spring breezes, ending with a crawl to the finish line.
Estrella Damm Arrives In Barcelona (Photo by Nico Martínez / FNOB)
And as the upbeat, relieved Estrella Damm team stepped ashore close to the hotel which was built last year, one of the chain which bears the name of their New York to Barcelona record rivals, the eponymous IMOCA Open 60 with Pachi Rivero, Toño Piris and Peter Becker on board, was still making very slow progress, some 50 or so miles further out to sea.
While the Estrella Damm crew were pleased to have got home first there was considerable disappointment for the W Hotels team who put up a close fight all of the way across the Atlantic, mostly within 20 miles of their rivals until they were struck two successive body blows last Thursday and Friday.
First their port rudder mechanism was damaged by a wave, when they were in big winds to the north of Madeira, on the edge of a malicious low pressure system. Then, while they were repairing it, they were knocked over by a big wave as W Hotels broached.
As a result they lost more than 130 miles to be 168.5 miles behind on the 1700hrs GMT position report last Friday (16th). But the tenacious Piris, Rivero and Becker fought back on the approach to and into the Mediterranean, closing the gap again to 53.9 miles on by last Sunday lunchtime (18th).
But they were never able to get back on terms with Estrella Damm which had lead across the start line at Ambrose Light, and for the final one third of the route, they were always on the back foot.
Two boats, two seas, one record.
One of the targets of the New York – Barcelona Transoceanic Sailing Record challenge was to join the two cities by establishing a record route. The weather patterns which characterize both seas have proven a worthy challenge, and the record which has been established sets the bar at a high level.
In the Atlantic Estrella Damm and W Hotels enjoyed fast hand-to-hand combat, matching each other closely, high speed reaching only a few miles apart, pacing each other to high mileages. At first they rode the front of a low pressure system in classic style, in SW’ly winds before having a simple, slow but brief respite transiting a high pressure ridge, then moving to benefit from the boisterous conditions generated by a cut-off low pressure system situated between Madeira and the Iberian peninsula.
Estrella Damm In Front Of Barcelona's World Trade Center (Photo Nico Martínez / FNOB)
The duo left Ambrose Light led by Estrella Damm at 1833hrs UTC/(1433 NY Time) on Thursday April 8th in conditions more reminiscent of summer, light winds and sunshine as they departed New York but were soon fast reaching out into the Atlantic in 18-25 knot winds. The first few days allowed high averages, regularly in the realms of 20 knots, and between the 9th and 11th April they surpassed 400 miles in 24 hours reaching 462 miles on the first Saturday, only 38.7 miles off the 24 hours world record set by Alex Thomson and Andrew Cape during the 2007 Barcelona World Race.
It was the ability to cross the high pressure ridge in a single day as much as the speed on the depressions which contributed to their very high speed to Gibraltar. The average of more than 15 knots was set for the passage to Gibraltar, crossing the Atlantic in a time which compared favorably with 2925 miles Ambrose Light to the Lizard passage 60 footers record, held at 7 days and 23 hours by Bernard Stamm (SUI). They were around a day quicker for the same mileage and surpassed Stamm’s 13.79 knots average considerably. That was until the Mediterranean slow down.
W Hotels Crossing The Finish Line In Barcelona (Photo by Nico Martínez / FNOB)
While the best run was in excess of 460 miles in 24 hours, by comparison it took about three days and 10 hours to cover the 528 miles to from Gibraltar to Barcelona. But a new record has been set, a new chapter in sailing history opened with the New York – Barcelona Transoceanic Sailing Record, and both cities have contributed to an exciting new ocean racing benchmark which could prove hard to beat.
(All times are provisional and subject to ratification by WSSRC
W Hotels Three Skippers On Their Arrival In Barcelona (Photo by Nico Martínez / FNOB)
Estrella Damm Before The Straight (Photo © Estrella Damm / FNOB)
After a fast crossing of the Atlantic, comparing very favourably to the existing 60 foot monohull record of Bernard Stamm set in 2001 on the traditional route from Ambrose Light to the Lizard, the prospects of a slow sting in the tail for the two New York to Barcelona sailing record IMOCA Open 60’s Estrella Damm and W Hotels seem possible, maybe even probable.
Estrella Damm’s passage time for an equivalent 2925 miles across the Atlantic, albeit on this more southerly routing, is unofficially timed at around 7 days 23 hours. Stamm’s crossing in 2001 was 8 days 20 hours 55 minutes and 25 seconds. By comparison that sets an average speed of around 15.31 knots, compared with Stamm’s 13.79 knots.
For the two trios aboard Estrella Damm and W Hotels there was little time to reflect on the pace they have enjoyed across the Atlantic. Estrella Damm was in the Straits of Gibraltar early this afternoon and was more concerned about their routine of regular tacking, the lack of any real conclusions from the different forecast models, and the proliferation of shipping in the busy lanes which link the Mediterranean ports with the Atlantic.
On W Hotels, equally, there was little time for self satisfaction. Not yet. They have been steadily recouping some of their losses they sustained between Thursday and Friday as a result of damage to their port rudder. Estrella Damm passed Tarifa light at 1436hrs GMT, whilst Pachi Rivero, co-skipper on W Hotels reported an hour earlier that they still had 134 miles to the Strait. But since yesterday the chasing trio, Becker, Piris and Rivero, have gained the best part of 40 miles on Estrella Damm, which has lead this New York Barcelona sailing record challenge since the start.
The concern common to both crews has been the lack of clarity to be drawn from the recent forecasts for the Mediterranean. Both boats were into headwinds this afternoon, Estrella Damm’s upwind work was at least featured on some forecasts, whilst out further to the west Peter Becker thought their easterly might be a local effect.
Certainly no one is predicting a quick passage in the Mediterranean, but all four of the Spanish crews know the waters well, both the inshore micro effects and the big picture offshore patterns. At the moment Estrella Damm have the upper hand with less than 550 miles to the finish, and a 10 knots VMG, but – as they say -anything could happen.
Tono Piris On Board W Hotels (Photo © Laura Carrau / FNOB)
Quotes
Pachi Rivero (ESP) co-skipper W Hotels: “ We are 144 miles from the Strait. We are doing 17.7 knots with the wind at 164 degrees. We are tacking, a little bit more eased upwind. It is a bit before we will see the coast yet, but we are quite keen to see a boat because it has been a few days since we have seen one. All the repairs are holding up well.
We can see from the forecast that the wind is dying in the area in which Estrella Damm is, but we don’t really know how much we will catch them up, or if we will get a chance to pass them. But at the moment this is our chance to get closer and we will take all we can.
The weather forecasts are not playing out as they say. Conditions are different to what we expected.
There is not much wind in the Med. There is an area developing in the Med which promises no wind and I am just a little worried that Estrella Damm will be able to cross it and we might get stuck.
We should be in the Strait in around 10 hours or so.
We are not conscious of any other record times. I guess at least if we were ahead we might be thinking of it, but after these problems our focus is getting closer to Estrella Damm, we can’t really think how fast we’ve been.”
Peter Becker co skipper W Hotels: “We have some local winds which are different to the winds that we wanted but we’re fine. We are working hard to go forwards as fast as we can.
Of course the IMOCA Open 60’s are much faster than the big boats I am used to sailing. These are wonderful boats and the two guys are wonderful too. I think the main thing I have seen and learned is the remarkable friendship which has been created, and the very important lessons from these phenomenal offshore sailors, every little thing you see is learning in seamanship, decision making and management.”
Pepe Ribes co skipper Estrella Damm: “We have to be sharp because we are about to tack and we are in the Straits sailing more on the Moroccan side. We are going upwind with the wind at 18 knots, tacking all the time. In fact these winds are completely different to what we had seen on the forecasts. We were expecting still southerly or south westerly and we have easterly.
We are not really conscious of comparisons with other records. We certainly know e have been fast but now we are getting to the coast and to Gibraltar and that is going to screw up the averages. But the average for the Atlantic itself is really high.
As for an ETA for the finish, well it is really hard to say because the forecasts keep changing and never seem to agree. It could be anything.
There is a lot of traffic here, at the moment on the radar I can see 70 boats”
Standings at 1300hrs GMT Saturday
1. Estrella Damm (ESP), Ribes, Pella, Schreyer: 535.2 miles to finish
2. W Hotels (ESP), Rivero, Piris, Becker: 663.7 miles to finish (+128.4 miles to leader)
The Three Skippers Onboard W-Hotels Hours Before The Record (Photo Courtesy of W-Hotels)
· High stress levels and intense concentration as the two Barcelona IMOCA Open 60’s fight to get free of the light winds and into the strong north easterlies which will propel them at speed towards Gibraltar.
· W Hotels closes up and sights leader Estrella Damm five miles away after four days and 1450 miles of racing since leaving New York Thursday.
Barcelona, 12 April 2010.- If any small measure or additional motivation was required for the two teams on the Barcelona IMOCA Open 60’s, it was injected early this morning when W Hotels spotted their sole rivals Estrella Damm on the horizon only five or six miles away after four days and 1400 miles of racing since the pair set their transatlantic duel in motion, departing New York’s Ambrose Light last Thursday.
On running into the calmer airs Sunday both teams had individually highlighted that light, capricious breezes are much more stressful and tiring than the high speed, on- the-edge reaching which they have enjoyed since they left. And today as they fought for every metre early on (their) Monday morning, the resulting fatigue was much more apparent in the voices of the two co-skippers who joined today’s short audio call to the Record control headquarters in Barcelona.
W Hotels’ Toño Piris (ESP) admitted that he is maybe getting no more than an hour’s sleep in eight, and even when he did lie down to rest, his level of stress and adrenalin, hearing his team-mates working tirelessly on deck was not conducive to switching off and achieving restful sleep easily.
The Bow of Estrella Damm At Dawn (Photo courtesy of www.ny-bcn.org)
But Piris and Pachi Rivero (ESP), along with American co-skipper Peter Becker ,were quietly satisfied that their hard work to date has ensured they remain a constant challenge to Estrella Damm, the yacht on which Pepe Ribes (ESP) and Alex Pella (ESP) have already completed one gruelling east-to-west Transatlantic last November as a duo.
Their key focus during the hours of very light breezes and calms have been simply to keep the boat moving. Piris explained today that they had already witnessed the ‘triple donuts’ on the speedo that all sailors hate to see, a trio of big fat zeroes.
On the IMOCA Open 60’s when the boat stops and steerage is lost, the boat can tack involuntarily and it takes many minutes to regain boat speed and to sort out the mess of sails and ropes which sometimes results.
Both boats were on the wind, trying to maintain forward momentum to escape the clutches of the high pressure ridge which has been barring their eastwards progress. Estrella Damm’s Pepe Ribes wondered if they might be emerging from the worst of it, arriving into a more northerly breeze.
After having a deficit of 26 miles yesterday evening, today W-Hotels was within five miles of their rival, and was still sailing slightly faster on average, but as soon as they wriggle free of the calm zone they remain assured of a speedy passage to the Straits of Gibraltar.
Quotes:
Pepe Ribes (ESP) Co-skipper Estrella Damm (ESP): “We are sharing all the jobs, we do everything when we are on watch. Everyone does his job and we are doing very well. We are not specialised in any one thing, we all do the work depending who is on watch, the one who is off watch is the one who is doing the weather. We normally schedule everything like that at the moment. Last night was very stressful with a lot of sail changes and we still only have three knots of wind, so there is a lot of concentration to sail the boats in the puffs, to trim the sails and to drive the boat, build the speed up. We are very tired but we need to keep up concentration. We are doing about 4 knots of boat speed at the moment, the wind is from about 090 degrees and we are heading 140 degrees. We are not really sure where we are in relation to the middle of the high pressure ridge. The decision where we head all the time is about where we can make maximum speed, the best angles for the wind and where we want to be going, we are not really thinking about W Hotels at the moment. If we were 20 miles from Barcelona it would be maybe different but there are too many miles to go.”
Toño Piris (ESP) co-skipper W Hotels (ESP): “We are both on port tack, we have the wind right on the nose, under Code Zero, but we cannot tack yet. It feels like we have been eaten by the High. We have even had 0.00 but have been able to move on in some puffs under the clouds, but not much. We both knew that we would have to pass through the complicated high area. We hope this evening we will be able to tack and get the Northerlies. It is a difficult situation. The sea conditions are quite flat, we put some stuff out to dry. In these conditions with a sailboat you have to concentrate more when it is light. In terms of rest I can reassure you that we are all tired. We were lucky to have less than maybe one hour every eight hours or something. It does not matter if you are supposed to have three hours to go to sleep or three hours to be on watch. I personally have struggled to find sleep. Pachi is an incredible hard worker all the time, he does a bit of navigation and then is on the bow and is all over all the time but we are all very motivated and very hard working. Peter is working like a champ all the time and is really motivated.”
Standings at 1300hrs GMT Monday:
1 Estrella Damm (ESP), Ribes, Pella, Schreyer: 2260.9 miles to finish
2 W Hotels (ESP), Rivero, Pires, Becker: 2267.3 miles to finish (+6.4 miles)
Sran Schreyer The American Skipper On Board Estrella Damm (Photo Courtesy of http://www.nyc-bcn.org)
Groupe Bel During Training (Photo by Martin-Raget Gilles)
On a race which has a recent history of dealing close, tight finishes, the final miles of the Transat Jacques Vabre can be the most nerve racking. The finish line is all but in sight, the miles counting down with a pleasing whirr, but for Safran’s Marc Guillemot and Charles Caudrelier – who are seeking to convert the lead they have held for nine days – they still have no shortage of pressure, and it is likely to stay heaped upon them until the end.
And with less than 450 miles to go in this ninth edition of the Transat Jacques Vabre, the gap back from Safran to Kito de Pavant and François Gabart on Groupe Bel is just over 70 miles. In 2007 the Safran duo missed out, taking second just 54 minutes behind Michel Desjoyeaux and Manu Le Borgnan on the course from Le Havre to Salvador de Bahia, Brazil. In 2005 the winning margin of Jean-Pierre Dick and Loick Peyron was just 35 minutes over Roland Jourdain and Ellen MacArthur. This new coffee route course to Costa Rica may yet brew up an equally close finish.
Groupe Bel are an ever present threat, as they have been to Safran since they eased past Mike Golding Yacht Racing a week ago, Saturday night 14th, to install themselves in second place. A relatively stationary little low pressure trough has installed itself over the Gulf of Panama. That has contributed to some spicy squall activity for the two leaders today but so there is the distinct threat that the final miles in to the finish line off Costa Rica’s Puerto Limon will not be easy. This morning, in a blustery 30 knots, Safran’s co-skipper Guillemot sounded slightly slightly harassed and was certainly too busy to speak for more than a few snatched seconds.
Marc Guillemot And Charles Caudrelier Benac On Safran (Photo by Jean Marie Liot / DPPI)
Groupe Bel are but one gybe behind, but how much compression there will be in the variable, fluky winds which are predicted for the finish tomorrow (Tues) late afternoon or evening, no one is prepared to guess.
Safran crossed the longitude of Cartagena (Colombia) which was the finish for the Transat Jacques Vabre from 1993 to 1999, with a time of 13 days and 22 hours of sailing.
Underlining the evolution of the class ten years ago, the winner of the IMOCA Open 60 division took 19 days and 17 hours over the same course.
By comparison with the course record to Salvador de Bahia, JP Dick and Loick Peyron’s 13.51 knots in 2005 compares with the course average so far of Safran at 13.26 knots.
Safran had done 375 miles over the 24 hours to 1100hrs today.
While Mike Golding Yacht Racing and Foncia seem assured of third and fourth, the race for sixth to eighth remains the closest group of the IMOCA Open 60. While Pepe Ribes and Alex Pella now hold sixth place on W-Hotels, Dee Caffari and Brian Thompson were breaking away from eighth and the heat of battle to effect a rapid pit stop to collect a replacement generator control panel at a rendezvous off St Lucia. The British duo were just two miles short of Veolia Environnment’s seventh when they diverged north.
Golding confirmed to this morning’s radio vacs with Puerto Limon, Costa Rica that he feels sure that the leaders will squeeze up in the lighter, variable airs expected, but – he said – it would be unlikely to be enough for he and his Spanish co-skipper Javier Sanso to make any impact on the two leaders who are head by more than half of the remaining race track. Plagued by electrical problems, he is still on target for his fourth Transat Jacques Vabre podium finish in the six times he has raced in this Autumn classic.
Quotes:
Charles Caudrelier, (FRA) Safran:
“It has calmed a little since last night. It is calmer but no holidays. It is very demanding just now. We have so much to do, there is just one thing after another. I helm in shorts which is quite pleasant but you are soaked most of the time with water coming over the deck. We take turns doing things, I don’t mind from time to time being at the chart table.
It feels like we are getting near the end. You sleep little and make lost of moves..
Stealth mode? I don’t know if that is supposed to be funny, but for you it would not be funny now not to know who was leading now….!!”
Dee Caffari, (GBR), Aviva:
“It is all set up and we are now just trying to sail to St Lucia as fast as possible, these are great conditions to be sailing in and so we can’t complain too much and it should not cost us too much time, which is good because our competition is tough.
It was an incredible night to drive in, I kind of struggled. I kind of thought we would have lost a lot, and when we got our position reports it was one of our better nights….
It is full of surprises, but it just goes to show how hard we are all working. It is closer and closer.
We are trying to organize so it will be as swift as possible and not let us lose too much, especially in terms of our focus. We are so just trying to concentrate on boat speed all the time and the generator is just background.”
Mike Golding, (GBR) Mike Golding Yacht Racing:
“The gybes are quite interesting with a short sea, and quite a lot of wind. We are making good progress. We are still having to do quite a lot of hand steering which is quite tiring. At the one time we are massively overpowered and at the other we are hardly moving at all, so that is the only way to do it with no wind on the pilots.
We run trust watch system with no fixed timings, so we work as long as we feel we are alert and try and give the other person as much respect as possible, sometimes one guy is pretty tired then the other will know that and be feeling up for it and so give the other a bit more time lying down, and then when conditions get tough like just now then we are hand steering a lot then we maybe try and do three hour stints, but we have no precise watch system.
There will be a close up towards the end, as inevitably it will get lighter towards the finish, and that may well make for an exciting finish, certainly for the first two boats, and we might see some significant compression, right now with the conditions but with a large gap ahead of us and a similarly large gap behind us, then we are straight lining and trying not to break anything unecessarily.”
