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Jules Verne Record

Kingfisher2 in the 30s of southerly latitude

jeudi 13 février 2003 – Redaction SSS [Source RP]

HEAVEN OR HELL, IT’S HARD TO TELL : The contrast couldn’t be greater, one minute shorts and t-shirts, sunshine and gentle but frustrating progress - the next, water hosing across the deck, violent motion in to an opposing sea, oilskins on, storm clouds and a sense of foreboding as the Southern Ocean approaches - but at least a boatspeed in double figures...


Photo : Kingfisher Challenges

KINGFISHER2 IS NOW IN THE 30s of southerly latitude, and seems to have finally touched some new breeze that will propel them in to the Southern Ocean. A sense of relief onboard, but also a sense of nervousness as life onboard changes dramatically in the space of just a few hours.

TACTICALLY THE NEXT CHALLENGE is to hook into one of the depressions that circle the bottom of the globe (see JARGON BUSTER below on how the weather can do this), and hopefully begin the Southern Ocean sleigh ride.

GERONIMO HAS PASSED THE 180 DEGREE MERIDIAN - now sailing east of the dateline Geronimo is starting to count down the degrees of longitude on her way to Cape Horn. Her lead over Peyron’s record has reduced dramatically to just over 2 days, after having to make her way south again. The new record time to the 180 degree meridian of 32 days, 3 hours, 13 minutes and 47 seconds puts them 2 days, 6 hours and 7 minutes ahead of the time Bruno Peyron.

ELLEN LATEST LOG :

– What a stark contrast from just hours ago... It’s now a black night - we are crashing through the waves making typing virtually impossible. It was Neal’s watch just before sunset - there was little wind, less than 15 knots - and the sea was as flat and quiet as it had ever been. It was approaching 2100 hours - and the sun was begining to set. There was a line of cloud in the distance which seemed to close on us very quickly... I called Meeno for our evening weather update - and incredibly within that one phone call where I was descrbing the new clouds - we were sailing in 25 knots of wind with a really lively sea... Incredible how things can change like that. As Guillermo left his watch to hand over to Neal he looked into the distance seeing the clouds approcah. "Welcome to the gates of hell," he proclaimed and retired below to his bunk....

Information Kingfisher Challenges

SUMMARY : 0700 GMT 13.2.03
– Position : 30 59’ S 33 46’ W (approx 870 east of Brazilian coastline)
– Ahead/Behind the record : 31 hours 26 minutes behind Orange (using WP5)
– Ahead/Behind Geronimo : 77 hours 34 minutes behind Geronimo (using WP5)
– DAY 14 24 hour run (point to point) : Kingfisher2 295 nm, Orange 378 nm, Geronimo 404 nm
– End DAY 14 distance to go (on theoretical course) : KF2 20096 nm, Orange 19593 nm, 18855 Geronimo nm
– Av/Max boat speed in last hour : 16.28 / 20.7 knots Heading : 191
– Av/Max wind speed in last hour : 15.26 / 22.8 knots Wind direction : 85
– Distance to WP4 35 00’S / 24 00’W approach to Southern Ocean : 547 nm
– Distance to WP5 42 00’S / 18 28’W 490nm south Cape Town : 2564 (theorectical shortest distance)

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