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Around Alone

Stamm crosses Equator as chasing pack exit Doldrums

mercredi 30 octobre 2002 – Information Velux 5 Oceans

Today’s big news in the Around Alone is that the leader, Bernard Stamm, with perfect Swiss timing, crossed the Equator at 1300 hrs GMT exactly. Bernard is not resting for a moment though, despite a 197m advance on paper. "Pindar & Solidaires took the risk of crossing further to the East, and once they have come through, they will be in a better position than me, as I will have to sail back all those degrees in longitude towards the East." Always the gentleman, Stamm is in awe of his closest rival, the young British skipper Emma Richards on Pindar : "She has nothing to be jealous about in her position, she is attacking me on a boat which is much harder to manoeuvre - I take my hat off to her !"


At 1400hrs GMT, the positions show a definitive move for the 3 boats chasing the leader Bobst Group-Armor Lux in Class 1 out of the Doldrums and into more stable winds, even if they are ’on the nose’. Not long after Bernard’s crossing was announced, a message came through to Race HQ from Thierry Dubois on Solidaires to say that he had definitely come through the Doldrums at 21 degrees West - much further East than the others - "thanks to the Northerly movement of the weather system otherwise known as the ’Intertropical Convergence Zone’, which was already quite high up at the time".

Emma Richards’ second place has been shaken but not stirred given her more Westerly position, but she is ’on the outside track’ now compared to Dubois as they position themselves to skirt around the South Atlantic High. Emma’s log came earlier in the day from Pindar and at the time she was still concerned about both Hexagon and Solidaires coming through on either side of her. "Its funny, yesterday I saw some teltale trade wind clouds, little fluffy cumulus, all lined up, was sure the wind would just slowly increase and come round as my weather info tells me ! Wrong, I just missed it and it has changed on my doorstep and I have a horrible feeling both sides of me is looking better and they’ll leave me for dead, I am patiently waiting (well, kind of) the updated grib files. This is not exactly a safe second place, but I relish it while I have it and push harder to keep it !"

Three boats in Class 2 are flanked together as they pass through the Canary Islands, just over 180 miles behind leader Brad Van Liew on Tommy Hilfiger Freedom America. Kindly North Easterly trades are keeping their average speed at around 7 knots, which must be a relief for the skippers after the frustratingly weak conditions of previous days.

Back marker John Dennis on Bayer Ascensia has also found more consistent wind and had a great day’s sailing, which does wonders for a solo skipper’s morale. Another boost for these singlehanders is the modern technology on board which allows them to keep in constant contact with both Race Organisation and of course family and friends. John explains how vital this link to the rest of the world is : "The e-mail onboard and my iridium phone which has worked well since Spain where I shortened the antenae lead and moved the antenae are a god send for keeping in touch with home and my wife , children and other family members. Both my children are in their last year of university and are both doing well despite worrying about dad. My son, Frank who is away at school tends to phone more. My daughter, Stephanie keeps the e-mail working overtime and keeps the map of the world marked daily with my position reports and generally gives large doses of moral support to my wife Penny. Thanks, Stephanie."

Positions at 1400hrs GMT 30th October

Class 1
– Boat Time Lat Lon AvgBsp AvgHeading DTF
– 1 Bobst Group Armor-Lux 10/30/02 14:00 0 08.480 S 24 35.000 W 7.85 kt 199 °T 3983.75 nm
– 2 Pindar 10/30/02 14:00 2 57.840 N 22 41.400 W 7.47 kt 207 °T 4181.16 nm
– 3 Solidaires 10/30/02 14:00 3 20.029 N 21 03.366 W 7.73 kt 206 °T 4218.26 nm
– 4 Hexagon 10/30/02 14:00 4 36.021 N 26 35.184 W 6.66 kt 197 °T 4262.57 nm 
– 5 Ocean Planet 10/30/02 14:00 27 14.440 N 14 26.360 W 8.60 kt 212 °T 5799.33 nm
– 6 Tiscali 10/30/02 14:00 43 27.320 N 8 21.000 W 0.00 kt 0 °T 6799.83 nm 

Class 2
– Boat Time Lat Lon AvgBsp AvgHeading DTF
– 1 Tommy Hilfiger 10/30/02 14:00 26 11.440 N 16 45.640 W 8.24 kt 202 °T 5688.13 nm 
– 2 Spirit of yukoh 10/30/02 14:00 29 34.849 N 17 01.885 W 7.23 kt 203 °T 5870.08 nm 
– 3 Spirit of Canada 10/30/02 14:00 28 57.760 N 15 19.680 W 6.42 kt 208 °T 5871.06 nm 
– 4 Everest Horizontal 10/30/02 14:00 28 59.340 N 15 07.140 W 5.58 kt 221 °T 5877.14 nm 
– 5 BTC Velocity 10/30/02 14:00 29 18.640 N 15 40.400 W 7.17 kt 187 °T 5882.57 nm 
– 6 Bayer Ascensia 10/30/02 14:00 30 25.880 N 15 18.000 W 5.91 kt 201 °T 5951.89 nm 

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