Hey Mister? can I have your … sure mate.
Another bulb falls off!
It has been confirmed by Roland Jourdain’s team that Veolia Environnement has lost her keel bulb.
The boat is being kept as stable as possible with the ballast in the bow and in the middle of with, the centre of effort of the sailplan kept as low as possible. It is still unknown exactly where the damage begins, as it may be the joint between the bulb and keel or higher on the keel blade.
For the moment it is out of the question to heel the boat over to see as this would risk causing the IMOCA Open 60 to capsize. It is also impossible for Jourdain to risk diving because of the sea state.
The first reaction was to continue to Les Sables d’Olonne, but it is understood that the skipper will not take any undue risk. For the moment he does not need to change course as the Azores are 600 miles ahead on his route. Until then, depending on the weather and sea state, everything will be done to ensure he can continue safely.
Bilou, contacted by his shore team this afternoon:
“ I can’t explain how I didn’t capsize. When I tried to look under the boat, I couldn’t see anything… Normally, I should have seen something, but I shan’t be diving in these conditions, as there is quite a swell. On the other hand, I do know that if I hoist more sail, the boat heels over so there is definitely a problem with the keel. In the coming hours, I’m going to have to keep a close watch on the situation depending on the sea and weather to see how I can safely continue. I’ll do my utmost to get back to Les Sables unless the sea state does not allow me or it is simply too risky. I just need a helping hand from destiny and some normal weather to complete the race.”
Roland Jourdain has slowed to just under seven knots as he nurses Veolia Environnement towards the Azores with his damaged keel. He is now 888.5 miles behind Michel Desjoyeaux (Foncia) who has 855.4 miles to sail to the finish in Les Sables d’Olonne.
Jourdain’s only shred of solace at the moment may be that Armel Le Cléac’h, the Jackal, is slowed by the Azores high pressure ridge. While Jourdain needs to consider his options, he will have been doing the maths, as will The Jackal.
Bilou’s lead at the moment is equivalent to probably less than two average days racing.
meanwhile
Michel Desjoyeaux is making between 15 and 17 knots towards the finish this morning, with just over 700 miles to run at 0330hrs.
He has favourable 25 knots winds and is balancing sailing fast with his desire to stay as careful as possible in terms of his routing.
The leading skipper is expected Sunday morning.
Jourdain is aiming to take his boat to the Azores, before deciding whether he can go all the way to Les Sables d’Olonne. That will depend on the assessment of the likely weather conditions for the final 1200 miles, not least the passage past the notorious Cape Finisterre.
For some of the other competitors, the worries are rather different: Raphaël Dinelli admitted he is beginning to take stock of his food reserves, while Armel Le Cléac’h knows he will need to finish before 6th February, unless he wants to go on a diet.
Le Cléac’h’s course has been simple and direct since the start of the South Atlantic, and the Vendée Globe rookie, like Brian Thompson and Dee Caffari further behind him, has been blessed with generally favourable wind angles all the way north. Now Le Cléac’h is less than 400 miles behind Veolia Environnement and was making a steady 9-10 knots.
Sam Davies has emerged from the Doldrums this morning with a lead of 107 miles over her rival for fourth place Marc Guillemot on Safran. Roxy’s position – to the east and north of Safran, means that Davies should be able to take first bite at the NE’ly trades this morning and so she might expect her lead to grow still more. Guillemot’s strategy is more long term, he considers, and Davies really needs something closer to two days advantage over Safran, considering his redress, to be able to challenge realistically for his place. Davies had a steady night averaging 11 – 11.5 knots on Roxy, while Guillemot has been slightly quicker this morning.
Dee Caffari has taken back over 60 miles on Brian Thompson since the same time early yesterday morning as the pair work through a relatively compact and not very active belt of Doldrums weather. Thompson had a couple of sticking points yesterday afternoon and evening – small slow downs – but Caffari has been generally quicker.
Steve White is now 390 miles SE of Rio de Janeiro and appears to have more favourable 30 knots easterly breezes for a change. He has been unable to make any impact in the lead of Arnaud Boissières who is 850 miles further up the Brasilian coast than him.
Catching it from two different low pressure systems Rich Wilson is having another difficult 36 hours. Sailing under three reefs in the mainsail and storm jib, he has big breaking seas and described the conditions on Great American III as ‘violent outside, violent inside’.
Raphael Dinelli and Norbert Sedlacek, AUT, (Nauticsport Kapsch) now have 800 and 900 miles respectively to Cape Horn, with the Austrian skipper losing some miles to his French rival over the last 24 hours.
Old EPIRB beacon system to be turned off this week
From 1 February 2009 the satellite system that supports old 121.5 MHz and 243 MHz distress beacons (EPIRBs) is being shut down.
This means that it will no longer generate an alert or give your location when your old-style EPIRB is activated. If you need help in an emergency and you try to use an old distress beacon to alert rescue services, the satellites will have no way of hearing you.
Those who use EPIRBs must purchase a 406MHz Distress Beacon and register it by 1 February 2009 in order to be able to signal for help in an emergency.
New champions emerge at P and Starling class nationals
The Whangarei Cruising Club organized a fantastic P Class and Starling Class Nationals at Parua Bay.
The weather provided the fleets with a good range of sailing conditions.
P Class Tanner cup Results:
1st Oscar Rorvik (TYPBC, Bay of Plenty)
2nd Sam Mackay (Napier, Hawkes Bay)
3rd Gareth Moore (Waimakariri Sailing Club, Canterbury)
Tauranga Cup Results:
1st Oscar Rorvik (TYPBC)
2nd Sam Mackay (Napier Sailing Club)
3rd Erica Dawson (Murrays Bay Sailing Club).
The Starling Match Racing was won by Thomas Saunders from Tauranga Yachting and Powerboat Club.
Starling Nationals Results:
1st Thomas Saunders (TYPBC)
2nd Chris Steele (Wakatere)
3rd Josh Edmonds (Queen Charlotte Yacht Club).
For more results, comments and photos go to…
When the yacht ‘Space Station’ hit the Mangawhai Bar late at night in last October’s Coastal Classic yacht race, the crew inflated their life raft only to have it split when the relief valves failed.
The raft was one that they had borrowed at the last minute. While this story had a happy ending because the crew were in shallow water and could wade ashore, in different circumstances the consequences may have been tragic.
We would like to remind you that Regulation 2.1 of the Safety Regulation book, states: The safety of a yacht and her crew is the sole and inescapable responsibility of the skipper who must do his/her best to ensure that the yacht is fully found, thoroughly seaworthy and manned by an experienced crew who are physically fit to face bad weather.
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ONE STEP AT A TIME FOR GREEN DRAGON
With the first three boats safely tied up in Qingdao after finishing earlier today, the only team still at sea is Ian Walker’s Green Dragon.
The damaged Dragon has made it across to mainland China, by just taking it ‘one step at a time’, reminiscent of the way in which ‘80’s rockstar Simon Le Bon’s crew nursed the damaged yacht Drum, when they were limping towards Cape Town in the1985 Whitbread, the forerunner today’s Volvo Race. American skipper, Skip Novak later said that they only made it safely to Cape Town by taking it, ‘one watch at a time’, a phrase which later became the title of Novak’s book on Drum’s adventures in the race.
The Green Dragon team has strengthened their initial repair by gluing and bolting sail battens to the bulkhead, which has worked well. The team has 334 nm to run to the finish and an assured fourth position on this leg and five leg points are waiting for them in China.
Ian Walker is expecting the breeze not to exceed 20 knots to the finish. “It looks pretty favourable – upwind – but favourable,” he explained. He added, “It was a good feeling for us to see the first bit of China this morning. We all got on deck – it was a significant moment for us.”
Meanwhile, in Keelung City, Ericsson 3 (Magnus Olsson/SWE) has been hauled out of the water and inspection has begun on the damage sustained earlier in the week, when water was discovered in the forward, watertight compartment. The boat was leaking through a crack in the hull. Coupled with the great water pressure from slamming into six-metre waves, the outer and inner carbon-fibre skins of the hull became delaminated.
“We are not sure of the cause of the damage and don’t want to speculate on it at this time,” said Richard Brisius, Ericsson Racing Team’ general manager.
“But we are sure that it’s possible to repair. We are considering having a new panel built off site, which will be fitted to the yacht in either Taiwan or China. We don’t know where yet,” Brisius said.
The affected area of damage is on the port, underside of the hull, about 200 millimetres off centreline. There is a delaminated area between three and four metres long, and the affected area is, at the most, about one and a half metres wide. The shore crew has taken samples from other areas of the bow to inspect for further delamination.
A replacement panel is planned to be built in Italy. Pieces of Nomex foam core, left over from the original build of the Ericsson yachts, are being sent from the team’s boatyard in Kista, Sweden.
“Once we have the boat prepared to receive the new panel and the new panel is there, scarfing and bonding the panel in place is the easiest part of project,” said Juan Kouyoumdjian, the yacht’s designer.
The team is looking at options of carrying out the repair work in Taiwan, possibly shipping to the boat Qingdao – the leg finish port in China, or making a temporary repair and sailing the boat to Qingdao.
“We’re starting to understand what we have to accomplish, now we need to determine where and how we will accomplish it best,” said Brisius.
Two other boats have either retired (Telefónica Black/Fernando Echávarri/ESP) or suspended racing (Delta Lloyd/Roberto Bérmudez/ESP).
I thought I was a sailor
An old sailor sat down at the Starbucks and ordered a cup of coffee. As he sat sipping his coffee, a young woman sat down next to him.
She turned to the yachtie and asked, ‘Are you a real sailor?’
He replied, ‘Well, I’ve spent my whole life on the water, working on boats, going to regattas, competing against some the finest competitors , sailing both dinghies and offshore boats, so yes, I guess I am a sailor.’
She said, ‘I’m a lesbian. I spend my whole day thinking about women. As soon as I get up in the morning, I think about women. When I shower, I think about women. When I watch TV, I think about women. I even think about women when I eat. It seems that everything makes me think of women.’
The two sat sipping in silence.
A little while later, a man sat down on the other side of the old sailor and asked, ‘Are you a real sailor?’
He replied, ‘I always thought I was, but I just found out that I’m a lesbian.’
UNBELIEVABLE EFFORT
AS PUMA FINISH FINISHES SECOND ON LEG FOUR
Kenny Read/USA, guided PUMA through the finish of Volvo Ocean Race leg four in Qingdao, China today at 0817 GMT (1617 local time) to claim second place after an unbelievable effort, which saw the team break their boom and drop anchor in the Philippines order to make repairs.
On arrival in Qingdao, PUMA’s skipper, Kenny Read said:
“Our crew really became a team on this leg. We have really found our legs. After our problems we came back with an unbelievable effort. We came together.
“There were many times when I was sat behind the computer, looking for safe havens. It was always at the back of my mind, if we needed to go to a safe place quickly.
“All of us have used storm sails, but none of us has had to do it three separate times on one leg. Even with that, we almost had too much sail area, but last night was the best night of sailing we had on the leg.”
PUMA’s navigator, Andrew Cape/AUS, a veteran of three Whitbread/Volvo Races, added:
“It was a not very pleasant course, but we had to do it. We threw the lead to survive and we came second in the end. It was nasty with lots of wind and big seas and there seemed to always be a rock in the way. It was the most difficult leg I have ever done. “
Torben Grael brought Ericsson 4 alongside just under an hour later, to claim six points for third place. Grael said:
“This leg has been very hard on the boats, but our boat has taken it well and at least we got here, but you are never sure. The crew has been perfect.
“The weather has been better than expected, and the temperature only dropped in the last few hours, when it became very cold, so we had good wind all the way in.
“I think we all want to win, but we all wanted to get here in one piece. We had lots of trouble with fishing boats and nets, we had to back down three times and there were so many boats out there. But it is the way it goes, you win some you lose some. I feel bad for the other boats. I was in that position last race and I know how it feels. It is hard for the sailors.”
Green Dragon (Ian Walker/GBR) is still racing, with 347 miles to go, and is anticipated to finish in fourth position on 31 January.
Three other boats have either retired (Telefónica Black/Fernando Echávarri/ESP) or suspended racing (Delta Lloyd/Roberto Bérmudez/ESP), Ericsson 3 (Magnus Olsson/SWE).
Michel Desjoyeaux has his bow pointed at Les Sables d’Olonne and will soon have just three figures registering on his ‘distance to go’.
But the Foncia skipper has a testing few hours ahead as winds strengthen and a front passes over him this morning which could assault him with 45-50 knots gusts and squalls.
Yesterday evening, Desjoyeaux made his way straight through the middle of the Azores Islands; sailing downwind 13 miles from the coast of the main island of Sao Miguel, which he left to starboard.
A night of high averages, between 15 and 17 knots leaves him 791 miles ahead of Veolia Environnement although this morning Mich Desj has slightly eased off. The strong winds are set to stay with him throughout the day, although will ease off slightly this afternoon. Clocking up daily distances of over 300 miles, he is now expected to finish on Saturday evening or Sunday morning.
Daily course information will be available on the team’s website and on Bsport sailing 103FM.
Dalton dubs regatta the ‘friendly games’
4:00AM Thursday Jan 29, 2009
By Dana Johannsen
Emirates Team New Zealand boss Grant Dalton. Photo / Brett Phibbs
Emirates Team New Zealand boss Grant Dalton.
Photo / Brett Phibbs
The 10 international teams assembled in Auckland for the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series could be forgiven if they felt as though it was a bit of a novelty being back on the water this week.
With the America’s Cup still in limbo after 18 months of bitter feuding between holders Alinghi and Larry Ellison’s BMWOracle Racing, it certainly feels that way for the weary public.
Tomorrow, they’ll really be entering Twilight Zone territory when the first day of racing begins in the Louis Vuitton regatta.
That’s right, America’s Cup teams. Out on the water. Racing. How could this be, one may ask, when the America’s Cup is in such turmoil?
From the beginning, organisers of the Louis Vuitton series set out to create a very different environment to that of the secretive and tetchy atmosphere of an America’s Cup regatta.
With a high level of co-operation required among all the teams to ensure the success of the inaugural Louis Vuitton series, the mood at the regatta village is friendly and open, and Emirates Team New Zealand boss Grant Dalton couldn’t be more thrilled.
“It’s just great the way it’s all come together – we’ve dubbed it the friendly games,” he said.
“I hope it stays that way. Everyone knows the undercurrent that exists in the sport at the moment at this level.”
Dalton, who along with former French America’s Cup skipper Bruno Trouble is in a large part responsible for getting the regatta going, said the series has brought a new sense of purpose to the high and dry syndicates itching to sail again.
He hopes having all the players in one place will help calm the troubled waters in the America’s Cup.
“I hope it has some sort of healing process for the America’s Cup,” he said.
“There was a moment on the very first day when we started training against Russell [Coutts], and I looked across and it was just cool to be on the water again sailing and I was just thinking ‘why did it need to get to this?’ If we let the sailors sort it out it wouldn’t have.”
Dalton also hopes the regatta will help reignite public interest in Team New Zealand and the sport, proving sailing isn’t just about bickering billionaires.
“One of the advantages of having this sort of regatta on our doorstep is that it re-engages the New Zealand public with this team and with the sport, because there is absolutely no doubt that it is damaged.”
Team New Zealand skipper Dean Barker knows winning the event would go a long way towards “re-engaging the New Zealand public”.
The last time Kiwis watched Team New Zealand sail America’s Cup boats in Auckland it wasn’t a happy experience, and Barker sees the series as an opportunity to regain credibility.
“We didn’t enter this event to come second, we’d definitely like to win, but we’re not kidding ourselves about how high the standard is.”
Virtual live TV for regatta
Wednesday, 28 January 2009
Veye2A world first in live television coverage of a major sporting event is about to happen in Auckland.
It will all be done with Virtual Eye animation, one camera on land, video clips and a live commentary from Viaduct Harbour.
This live coverage of the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series will be vastly different from the Virtual Eye that television viewers have come to know – the clever animation software that provides accurate data and graphics for traditional yacht racing broadcasts.
Ian Taylor, CEO of Animation Research Ltd promises that when racing starts on Friday the company will be broadcasting a virtual, tack by tack and gybe by gybe coverage of every race.
Taylor’s company has developed the Virtual Eye sailing software over the past 15 years. The software is now a well-respected and essential part of TV coverage of sailing, golf, cricket and motor racing.
Virtual Eye will bring the regatta live to the world on the web. In New Zealand it will also be shown on Freeview.
The cost of setting up to shoot the series live for television was prohibitive in the current economic climate. TVNZ will shoot the regatta on the water and produce a 30-minute highlights package every race day.
Taylor and his team heard about the lack of live TV coverage just before Christmas. They felt they had to try something. “We were already set up to create the 3D graphics for the highlights package so why not use those graphics to create live coverage all day? If there were doubts that it would work on TV, we’d see if we could deliver it over the internet.”
In the days that followed they started the process of going live. First stop was New Zealand on Air and TVNZ. The response was enthusiastic.
NZ On Air TV Manager Glenn Usmar says: “The Internet is increasingly being seen as a legitimate platform for sharing New Zealand stories.
Veye3 “To be part of a project as ambitious as this – it runs for almost as many days as the Olympics – means that we are able to take advantage of a truly unique opportunity to see what the future might look like.”
With funding approved for coverage from a land-based studio using just graphics, Taylor and his team did some more thinking.
“What about putting microphones on tacticians and navigators on the race boats? And what about footage from on board the yachts that could be cut in to the broadcasts to provide atmosphere and drama?
And what about linking to the live commentary and interviews coming off the water on the dedicated regatta radio station Bsport sailing 103FM? TVNZ is also providing a live video feed from its fixed camera on North Head.
Tiny GPS transmitters provide the raw data for the software to generate the images which will be seen on television screens.
Funding has also come from Tourism Auckland, Auckland City Council and Auckland Plus. Data provided at no cost by Terralink International has allowed the Virtual Eye team to create a stunning 3-D model of Auckland – flying viewers across the city, seeing the Sky Tower, heading out to the Waitemata Harbour and down to the racing.
On Friday, the technology, that started to change the coverage of yacht racing in San Diego in 1992, goes live in its own show for the first time.
The Battle Lines are Drawn at the LVPS
2009-01-27 Released
Auckland, NZ (January 27) – Draw! There may be a cold chill in Valencia, but the stage is set for some fiery clashes in the heat of the Auckland summer. Afterguard representatives from each of the 10 teams in the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series drew their order of battle for the round robin portion of a match racing series to determine who sails off against Dean Barker and Emirates Team New Zealand in the final round of the inaugural LVPS.
Racing starts in two days, on Friday, January 30th. The first fray pits the 2008 World Match Racing Tour Champion, Ian Williams and China Team against this year’s runner-up on the tour, Sebastian Col and Portaugas K-Challenge at the mouth of Auckland’s Harbour between North Head and Rangitoto Island. Next up, something new and different, Ben Ainslie and Team Origin faceoff against Peter Holmberg and Luna Rossa. The home team, Emirates Team New Zealand meets Vasco Vascotto’s newly formed Damiani Italia Challenge. In the final race of the day, America’s Cup holder Alinghi will flex its muscles against Gavin Brady and Greek Challenge.
PRO, Peter Reggio, is shooting for 45-minute races in close quarters and within view of lots of spectators on all shores and spectator boats. The legs are short. Depending on the wind direction and strength, the committee will run 1.2 to 1.8 mile legs and two or three windward-leeward laps. The short courses place a premium on “defending the right side of the course and playing the shifts,” said Shosholoza helmsman, Paolo Cian.
Following four races per day for five days, the top three teams from each pool will race in the Gold and Silver fleet round robins. The winner of the Gold automatically competes in the Challenger Final. The remaining five teams in the Gold fleet and the winner of the Silver fleet move on to the third round of racing. The sail off in the third round will determine the other team in the Challenger Final. The winner of the Challenger Final will face a well-rested Emirates Team New Zealand in the Louis Vuitton Pacific Cup Final, a final like no other since July 2007.
The Master of Ceremonies and mastermind of this historic event, Bruno Trouble, has made everything seem so simple so far, but special legislation has been granted to set the racing area so close to shore in a heavily trafficked area and all of the competitors were asked to take special precautions to finish this ten-team regatta with all four boats intact. The words from Peter Reggio, the PRO, “Let’s have fun.”
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