Sea, Sail & Surf newsAround Alone
Top four boats are skirting the ’Saint Helena High’
lundi 4 novembre 2002 –
Emma Richards on Pindar is staving off Thierry Dubois on Solidaires still, the two of them just 30 miles apart and matching each other for performance in the last 24hrs. "Pindar is continuing to try her best upwind as the wind shifted that way again for most of last night !"
The top 3 boats are skimming round the system to avoid putting on extra miles, but risking a drop in wind strength and a more unfavourable direction if they shave too close to the light airs in the middle. Notably, it was Hexagon who recorded the fastest 24hr run and in her more Westerly position has the advantage of a consistent 15 knot breeze from a more favourable angle. New Zealand skipper Graham Dalton is gaining some advantage from his option as he draws parallel with Pindar & Solidaires, however he still has to get back those miles to the East.
Class 2 skippers are preparing themselves for the Doldrums. Leader Brad Van Liew on Tommy Hilfiger Freedom America is coasting along in the Trades still, and has chosen his route through at around 25 degrees West. In second, Open 40 Spirit of yukoh is fairly tight to the shore off Dakar, Japanese skipper Kojiro Shiraishi dreaming that "one day I’d like to do the Paris-Dakar race on a motorbike, but if I planned to do everything I have ever thought of doing I would not have a life long enough." More importantly, will he get in enough Westing in time to keep away from the worst effects of the Doldrums and stay ahead of his rivals behind ? Canadian Derek Hatfield is heading West and looking better on the rankings in 3rd place on Spirit of Canada, but Alan Paris on BTC Velocity is still on a SE heading. John Dennis on Bayer Ascensia is coming back into the fray from behind and could well benefit in his position when the leading boats slow up ahead.
Positions at 1400hrs GMT, 4th November 2002
Class 1
Boat, Lat, Lon, AvgBsp, AvgHeading, DTF (nm), DFL (nm) 24hr Run
Bobst Group Armor-Lux, 20 29.330 S, 20 49.380 W, 11.14 kt, 163 °T, 2291.30 nm
Pindar, 15 32.880 S, 20 50.840 W, 9.32 kt, 152 °T, 2518.51 nm, 227.20 nm, 253.38 nm
Solidaires, 15 29.450 S, 21 43.360 W, 10.92 kt, 152 °T, 2551.42 nm, 3 , 260.12 nm, 253.67 nm
Hexagon, 14 44.120 S, 27 20.070 W, 11.87 kt, 161 °T, 2798.40 nm, 507.10 nm, 286.74 nm
Ocean Planet, 10 15.330 N, 25 56.020 W, 10.29 kt, 182 °T, 4615.11 nm, 2323.80 nm, 234.93 nm
Tiscali, 43 27.320 N, 8 21.000 W, 0.00 kt, 0 °T, 6799.83 nm, 4429.14 nm
Class 2
Boat, Lat, Lon, AvgBsp, AvgHeading, DTF (nm), DFL (nm) 24hr Run
Tommy Hilfiger, 8 26.400 N, 25 46.090 W, 10.81 kt, 187 °T, 4511.23 nm, 281.25 nm
Spirit of yukoh, 12 39.040 N, 20 09.240 W, 5.80 kt, 211 °T, 4878.69 nm, 367.46 nm, 165.14 nm
Spirit of Canada, 14 50.280 N, 21 30.440 W, 8.02 kt, 238 °T, 4957.57 nm, 446.34 nm, 202.54 nm
Everest Horizontal, 14 27.780 N, 19 45.540 W, 8.34 kt, 260 °T, 4978.14 nm, 466.91 nm, 145.47 nm
BTC Velocity, 14 39.180 N, 19 59.520 W, 7.83 kt, 190 °T, 4978.80 nm, 467.58 nm, 190.32 nm
Bayer Ascensia, 15 28.070 N, 20 40.400 W, 7.88 kt, 191 °T, 5012.16 nm, 500.93 nm, 168.18 nm
Dans la même rubrique
Around Alone : Richards & Dubois hold an advantage to the East
Around Alone : Stamm crosses Equator as chasing pack exit Doldrums
Around Alone : Bernard Stamm finds a ’swiss exit’ through the doldrums
Around Alone : Stamm’s lead folds in half
