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Class 1 yachts find the Doldrums better than expected

dimanche 27 octobre 2002 – Information Velux 5 Oceans

The wind has filled in for the Class 2 yachts, and all except John Dennis on Bayer Ascensia are enjoying ideal sailing with the wind from behind and clear skies above. They have passed the latitude of Gibraltar and are now off the African coast making good speed.


Canadian skipper Derek Hatfield reported in : "Making good progress overnight with 15kt breeze from the North East. The weather is getting hotter now, we are shedding our fleeces and polypro underwear for shorts and t-shirts. The evenings are still cool but very pleasant on deck. Spirit of Canada glides along heading straight for the Canary islands, just under 400 miles away." The yachts are not completely out of the woods yet. There is some uncertain, ’transitional’ weather ahead and the next 48 hours could see a bit of a shake-up, but once past this next area they should be well into the trades and flying south.

It will be interesting to see if Brad van Liew on Tommy Hilfiger Freedom America can maintain his lead. Brad has consolidated with the fleet, giving up his position to the west, and is sailing a smart race. He is between his competition and the next weather pattern, and as any inshore sailor will tell you, that’s the right tactical move to make. Brad’s only concern might be Tim Kent on Everest Horizontal. Tim is sailing well to the east of the fleet. By being that close to land Everest Horizontal could well get his own private wind as the continent of Africa generates it’s own weather, but at some point Tim is also going to have to make some westing. It never pays to be that far East as you get further South. It will be interesting to see how the two strategies play out.

Further to the south the Class 1 yachts seems to be finding the Doldrums better than expected. All four front boats have maintained good speed through an area known for trapping yachts for days at a time. The reason for this seems to be a small area of low pressure that is to the East of leader Bernard Stamm on Bobst Group/Armor Lux, and to the South of Thierry Dubois on Solidaires and Emma Richards on Pindar. These localized low pressure systems are not uncommon ; it’s just nice to get one in the exact right place and to keep the speed on until the Southeast trade winds of the Southern hemisphere kick in. Solidaires is still reeling in Bobst Group-Armor Lux little by little, recording the best 24hr run of 240 miles compared with Bernard’s 160 mile run. However, Stamm is already feeling the edge of the new wind judging by his more Westerly heading over the last 8 hours and looks to have escaped the worst of the light airs and be on his way towards the threshold of the Equator.

Early this morning Emma Richards on Pindar, sailing off the African coast in an area known for odd happenings, reported a strange encounter. Sometime in the night Emma heard a clear but mysterious "voice" on the VHF accompanied by a blip on the radar screen nearby but no lights were to be seen from deck. Lack of sleep can certainly fuel an overactive mind, but this was more than just an overactive imagination ; it was one more thing a solo sailor has to deal with. Emma reported : "Must be a small fishing vessel, unlit. Now at this point I was wishing I hadn’t read the Nav area reports that you get a few of a day, along with Met area reports. Today’s one was the piracy reports. I decide to sail the opposite direction from radar blip with my nav lights off, but at 1 knot it doesn’t do justice to ’doing a runner’ ! I should be thankful that he had no idea I was a ’single chick’ on board." Sir Robin Knox-Johnston commented : "At sea, if a solo sailor comes across another boat behaving in an unusual way, it will give cause for concern, and it is an instinctive reaction to feel apprehensive in such a situation. However, Emma acted cautiously, most likely it was an errant fishing vessel."

Positions at 1400hrs UTC, 27th October

Class 1
– Boat, Lat, Lon, DistRun, AvgBsp, AvgHeading, DTF
– 1 Bobst Group Armor-Lux, 5 49.360 N, 24 35.040 W, 48.70 nm, 6.09 kt, 192 °T, 4392.41 nm
– 2 Solidaires, 8 57.160 N, 23 17.680 W, 79.77 nm, 9.97 kt, 159 °T, 4593.84 nm
– 3 Pindar, 10 23.200 N, 23 03.720 W, 89.71 nm, 11.21 kt, 172 °T, 4676.89 nm
– 4 Hexagon, 12 45.760 N, 23 53.840 W, 84.42 nm, 10.55 kt, 173 °T, 4791 .27 nm
– 5 Ocean Planet, 34 27.280 N, 10 16.960 W, 91.07 nm, 11.38 kt, 182 °T, 6281.73 nm
– 6 Tiscali, (in port) 42 27.320 N, 8 21.000 W, 0.00 nm, 0.00 kt, 0 °T, 6746.69 nm

Class 2
– 1 Tommy Hilfiger Freedom America, 32 32.200 N, 13 25.720 W, 104.09 nm, 13.03 kt, 203 °T, 6106.77 nm
– 2 Everest Horizontal, 32 46.560 N, 10 30.080 W, 73.93 nm, 9.24 kt, 196 °T, 6188.92 nm
– 3 Spirit of Canada, 33 55.080 N, 11 48.320 W, 67.76 nm, 8.47 kt, 194 °T, 6217.39 nm
– 4 BTC Velocity, 34 31.400 N, 11 13.080 W, 67.27 nm, 8.41 kt, 191 °T, 6263.10 nm
– 5 Spirit of yukoh, 35 43.160 N, 14 12.400 W, 74.11 nm, 9.26 kt, 212 °T, 6264.96 nm
– 6 Bayer Ascensia, 36 59.000 N, 12 06.320 W, 67.73 nm, 8.47 kt, 203 °T, 6375.62 nm

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