Sea, Sail & Surf newsJules Verne Record
Kingfisher2 still victim of light airs
mercredi 12 février 2003 –
THE RECORD Record #sailingrecord OF PEYRON IS VERY MUCH IN REACH, the pace of GERONIMO is somewhat faster, but definitely attainable..."We are around 1000 miles behind de Kersauson which equates to over 2 days but we keep reminding ourselves that these cats did a time in The Race 2000 for the first Southern Ocean leg [Cape of Good Hope - Cape Leeuwin] nearly 2 days faster than GERONIMO has just done - so we are a long way from giving up hope on this. Although he is over halfway round the world, we’ve only does a quarter of this trip, still got three-quarters to go and anything can still happen."
* GERONIMO on day 32 has headed back south into the 50s in their part of the Pacific section of the Southern Ocean, after holding further north to avoid bad seas in the Indian Ocean. http://www.grandsrecords.com
ELLEN LATEST LOG :
As I sit here typing there is a reflection shining through the nav station hatch on the dark water outisde... The moon seems as if it’s blazing out - lighting up the sky and our still silent world... There’s a funny feeling on a boat like KINGFISHER2, a feeling of complete silence when you’re sailing slowly. You get used to the rush of water powering past the hulls. It’s normally quite hard to hear what is going on, I suppose like having a conversation at the base of the Niagara Falls.
Tonight though - tonight the sound is more akin to the noise of a bubbling burn than a giant waterfall as we trickle through the water... sittting outisde I look up in wonder and frustration at the sky. The weather has not been on our side. It has chosen to test us, to push us hard - though this time so far not with gales and storms, but with nothing. I remember my own words - which right now ring out loud in my head : "What is hard about a record Record #sailingrecord attempt is that it’s completely dependant on the weather - unlike a race where you are in the same weather as your competitors..."
And I was right - there is no way we could have matched other record attempts at this stage when we have had so little wind. Life on board is becoming more regular as I spend half an hour to an hour on deck at each watch change. I encouraged myself to do that, and it’s important. I feel happier chatting to the guys, and its uplifting to be around their fantastic humour.
Despite the days of heat and frustration they are driving hard, and for the most part, smiling about it. There is nothing we could have done about this weather situation, there is little we could have predicted. Each change in the weather, and however microscopic, seems to be have been for the worse... It must be nigh on time for our luck to change... I’ve just been studying a satellite picture, and it shows some tiny cloud bands depictig the outer limits of our windless hole. It’s a tiny fragment of information - but real information and not a prediction. The wind has risen to 9 knots.
SUMMARY : 0700 GMT 12.2.03
Position : 26 05’ S 34 02’ W (Rio de Janeiro 539nm NW / Cape Town 2750nm E)
Ahead/Behind the record : 18 hours 52 minutes behind Orange (using WP4)
Ahead/Behind Geronimo : 64 hours 43 minutes behind Geronimo (using WP5)
DAY 13 24 hour run (point to point) : Kingfisher2 229 nm, Orange 305 nm, Geronimo 277 nm
End DAY 13 distance to go (on theoretical course) : KF2 20293 nm, Orange 19991 nm, Geronimo 19258nm
Av/Max boat speed in last hour : 9.03 / 16.4 knots Heading : 232
Av/Max wind speed in last hour : 6.6 / 13.0 knots Wind direction : 98
Distance to WP4 35 00’S / 24 00’W approach to Southern Ocean : 745 nm
Distance to WP5 42 00’S / 18 28’W 490nm south Cape Town : 2734 (theorectical shortest distance)Dans la même rubrique
Jules Verne Record : KINGFISHER2 has to deal with a periods of very light winds
Jules Verne Record : Kingfisher 2 finally crossed the Equator... 31 hours behind Geronimo
Jules Verne Record : Kingfisher2 becalmed before Equator when Geronimo sets record to Cape Leuwin
Jules Verne Record : MacArthur’s cat under 350 miles to go to the Equator
