Yachting News February Part 2
Latest yachting news February part 1
1000 miles with no keel
Marc Guillemot (Safran) crossed the Les Sables d’Olonne finish line at 01h 21 36s (GMT) this morning (Sunday) to clinch a hard won third place in this epic sixth edition of the Vendée Globe solo non stop around the world race.
To complete his first Vendée Globe the skipper has had to sail for the final 1000 miles, since he was just to the NE of the Azores, with no keel. His keel dropped out of his boat on Monday 9th February and since then the skipper from La Trinité has had to sail prudently but still managed to wrest third from Sam Davies, GBR, (Roxy) who finished yesterday. Guillemot received a time compensation of 82 hours for diverting from his course to assist in the evacuation of injured Yann Eliès 800 miles south of Australia in the Southern Ocean.
Accompanied by a fleet of media and spectator boats Guillemot crossed the finish line on a chilly, dark night, ending his epic race having taken a net 95 days 3 hours 19 minutes and 36 seconds to complete the course. His margin over Sam Davies, GBR, (Roxy) who gets fourth is 1h 19mins 25s.
Guillemot said : « It is an incredible moment, there have been many great moments on this course, especially the time I spend close to Yann. »
« All these emotions, all the image, everything stops when you cross the line. I have a head which is overflowing with images and emotions, it is amazing.
18ft Skiffs
Giltinan Championship – Race 3
(sponsored by Winning Appliances and SLAM)
(today’s race sponsored by De Longhi)
Tuesday, 17 February 2009
Sydney Harbour
Seve Jarvin, Sam Newton and Tom Clout had to use all their skills to master a shifty South East wind in bringing Gotta Love It 7 home the winner of Race 3 of the Giltinan International Championship today.
The win has moved Gotta Love It 7 into equal second place with Rag & Famish Hotel (John Harris) on 10 points, behind Race 2 winner Active Air-2UE (Matthew Searle, Dan Wilsdon and Archie Massey) on 8.
Gotta Love It 7’s margin today was 27s from Rag & Famish, with Britiah team Project Racing (Andy Budgen, Matt Mc Govern and James Barker).
Once again, an overcast sky and light wind greeted the fleet on Sydney Harbour. There was an immediate drama when a Manly Ferry appeared just after the start and the starter was forced to recall the fleet. After the restart the fleet split into two groups as it has done so often in the regatta. This time, the teams which elected to go to the RHS of the course won out as Thurlow Fisher (Bruce Savage) led from Gotta Love It 7 and Active Air-2UE at the windward mark. Project Racing was next, followed by Quantum Sails NZ (Chris Skinner) and Me (Ian Henderson).
At the bottom mark near Robertson Point, Gotta Love It 7 led narrowly from Project Racing with Thurlow Fisher third and Me fourth. From that point the race became a merry-go-round for the leading group as the positions were changing constantly in the difficult conditions. Thurlow Fisher grabbed the lead at Clarke Island, then Rag & Famish took over at Chowder Head.
Gotta Love It 7 then took a 4s lead from Rag & Famish Hotel at the Taylors Bay mark, and despite serious challenges, was able to retain the lead to the finish. At the final windward mark 7’s lead was just a couple of boat lengths from Project Racing with Rag & Famish Hotel and Active Air-2UE close behind. The four teams sailed tack for tack up the final beat but Gotta Love It 7 was in control and thoroughly deserved her victory.
Race 4 of the championship will be sailed tomorrow, followed by further races on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. Today’s result sheet and competitor listing is attached, along with three low res images from today’s race. Further photos will be published on www.18footers.com.au and video can be seen on www.sailcam.tv.
Frank Quealey
Australian 18 Footers League
BMW Auckland Regatta Media Release
Quality fleet signs on for Auckland’s premier regatta
One week out from the first gun we preview the diverse sailing fleet racing in the BMW Auckland Regatta starting Friday 20 February on the Hauraki Gulf.
The biggest boats in the fleet, including the Cookson 50 Pussy Galore, the Brett Bakewell-White 52 Wired and the Transpac 52 V5, use high-end design and technology to gain an edge on their rivals. Fitted with swing keels and other gadgetry, these boats are designed primarily for ocean sailing and courses with long reaching legs, meaning that the BMW Auckland Regatta’s selection of short, upwind-downwind courses and Gulf races will test crew to the maximum as each turn of the corner is an exercise in crew-work and logistics.
Pussy Galore and Wired are both returned from a season in Australia, where their fleet racing skills were honed by the Queensland regattas of last winter, but V5 is dominating line honours results in summer’s Wednesday night racing racing. Also in their division is Higher Ground, a very well sailed Murray Ross design that can put on a great show and achieve results results that go far beyond its 35 foot of waterline, particularly if conditions don’t favour its bigger, swing keeled rivals.
Favourites for line honours in the forty foot division are the Farr 40s Psycho Circus and Bobby’s Girl. Bobby’s Girl is tipped to have had a very good summer season, and will face off against the Z-39 BMW Yachtsport, which has recently been fitted with a new keel for a significant improvement in boatspeed, and Andy Anderson’s 12m Elliott sloop Sure Thing. Bullrush, based at Bucklands Beach Yacht Club, will be the unknown in the fleet which is otherwise resident in Auckland’s inner city, but impressed on the Auckland to Fiji race last year and is known as a consistently well-sailed performer.
In terms of close racing that is going to demand exceptional sailing performance to win, the event may well be dominated by the IRC division.
The BMW Auckland Regatta is the third and final event in the national IRC championship series. 2007’s IRC National Champions Georgia ONE goes into the series with a win at Bay of Islands Sailing Week, while Hard Labour is second and Powerplay third.
The 10.2m Farr designed Hard Labour is the smallest of the championship contenders and will be pitted against bigger, more modern rivals in Georgia ONE and Powerplay, hoping that good sailing will be enough to give them the national title for 2009. The IRC boats will be joined by members of the Platu 25 fleet, including Chris Brodie’s SLAM. The Platu 25s arrived in New Zealand late last year and are still unproven against other Auckland boats. They are nearly ten feet shorter than the next smallest boat but the IRC rating attempts to equalise boats of different speeds, and the final results could be determined by seconds.
Multihulls have embraced the BMW Auckland Regatta and consider it one of the premier events of the year for the fleet, which has recently made the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron its headquarters. Favourites are Taeping, Predictwind.com and Dirty Deeds.
Boats to watch within B division are the Elliot 9m Overload which sports a canting keel and has proved very quick in summer racing to date. But Whatever, and Mark and Kevin Mulcare’s Fun’n’Games is a modern, powerful design with a versatile sail wardrobe that is very fast in the right conditions, and other competition, including Wild Blue, Future Feedback and Pacific Sundance, will push them every step of the way.
The remaining divisions, based on the PHRF handicapping system, are represented by a selection of smaller cruiser racers, including Fantail, Hysteria, Cool Change, Stratocaster, Private Dancer, RnB, FX, Rattle n Rum, and Gladiator.
Other notable entrants are the little 6m class boat Scout, which is believed to be the world’s oldest member of its class and has swapped its carbon fibre rig for a wooden one in preparation for the 6m World Championships in Newport Rhode Island later in the year, and a strong Young 88 division, readying itself for the intensely competitive national championships event later in the season.
The race course will centre on the western side of Browns Island. Two windward leeward and a harbour course will be sailed on Friday and Sunday, and four windward leeward courses will be sailed on Saturday.
The BMW Auckland Regatta is organised by the Auckland Regatta Trust, a joint initiative between the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron and the Bucklands Beach Yacht Club, in order to foster and promote amateur sailing in the region.
“Sailing focuses on our beautiful harbours and coastal features,” says Auckland City’s Mayor John Banks. “There is no doubt that the region offers world-class facilities for sailors, and the BMW Auckland Regatta makes the most of these great assets.”
The event is sponsored by BMW, KPMG, Auckland City Council and Manukau City Council, and is further supported by North Sails, SeaSpray, BSP Design, Mount Gay Rum, Yanmar, OKI and Fullers. More information, including a Notice of Race and latest news, can be found at www.rnzys.org.nz or www.bbyc.org.nz.
Hi
Sorry for the delay again, still recovering!
The final 2 races were completed in the Line7 Regatta on Sunday in a building northerly and sunshine. Numerous boats had already experienced damage during the regatta with the hard luck story once again going to Colin Parkin in the Thompson 30 Drinks Trolley. They did not compete in Day 3 after breaking a prod on Day 2, to match the rig they broke in last years Line7.
Race 6 General Handicap was won by Flying Circus (Young 11) in Division A and After Midnight(Ross 8.3m) in Division B. IRC wins again went to Flying Boat (Division A) and Flying Fish (Division B), with ClearVision winning Division A PHRF and Erazer (Elliott 7.8) winning PHFR in Division B.
After the short sprint race, the boats completed a long harbour course for Race 7. Division A finished as the breeze increased over 20 knots and provided onlookers with some spectacular broaches on the finish line… Shame no cameras at hand!
Results for Race 7 mixed things up a little with the visiting Beneteau 36.7 Global winning Div A General Handicap, with ClearVision winning on both PHRF and IRC. After Midnight won General Handicap for Div b, giving them their 4th win in a row for the regatta. Mark Water’s Illusions (C&C 34) won on PHRF, with Gucci (Warwick 10.5) winning IRC.
So the final series results are:
Div A General Handicap ClearVision (Tony Wells)
PHRF The Guarantee (Murray Bridge)
IRC Flying Boat (Mike Calkoen)
Div B General Handicap After Midnight (John Floyd)
PHRF Blue Magic (Andrew Morrison)
IRC Flying Fish (Ken Papps)
For full results, photos and video go to www.rpnyc.org.nz
Thank you to:
- the race management team who did a superbly professional job on the water to get all races away in often trying conditions
- the major sponsor Line7 for once again supporting the club’s regatta
- the visiting boats that came up from the South Island to join in our fun.
Cheers
Deb
Brian Thompson, GBR, (Bahrain Team Pindar) crossed the Vendée Globe finish line of Les Sables d’Olonne this morning at 08h31″55′ hrs GMT to secure a very creditable fifth place in the solo non stop around the world race which started on Sunday November 9th.
Thompson, who fought to contain a keel problem through the final hours of his race, completed his first solo ocean race on IMOCA Open 60 in a time of 98 days, 20h, 29m,55s, holding off the ongoing attack of his compatriot Dee Caffari (AVIVA) who is due to finish later this morning.
After more than three months at sea Thompson was first and foremost looking forward forward to being re-united with his family, wife Natalie and his young daughter Genevive, 3 ½ and Tristan 1 ½.
Thompson’s result is a triumph over a catalogue of mechanical and technical problems with a radical IMOCA Open 60 which was completely un-tested before the start of the race which has been one of the toughest in the history of this race, with 19 of 30 starters having to abandon their race.
Owner of a number of round the world records, including skippering a winning crew in the 2005 Oryx Quest race on a maxi multihull in 2005, Thompson has no shortage of monohull experience and had two Transat Jacques Vabre double handed races on IMOCA Open 60s on his extensive CV, but his first solo IMOCA Open 60 experience of any note was when he sailed his 2000 miles Vendée Globe qualifier in June last year.
The radical, beamy Juan Kouyoumdjian designed Bahrain Team Pindar is considered to be the most powerful in the fleet with the tallest rig.
The boat fell badly off schedule when it was dismasted twice in three and a half months, the second time just before Thompson was due to start the Transat Jacques Vabre in October 2007.
Thompson’s seamanship and his boat repair skills were tested to the full on his race. Racing against time to make repairs before one of the biggest storms of his race, the Cowes based skipper spent more than 48 hours in the front sections of his boat making a complex laminate repair to cracks in the longitudinal supports forming the forward ballast tanks. He also subsequently had to make further repairs to the forward structure as well as the transom of a boat which was never designed specifically with this race in mind.
In the Southern Ocean he sailed prudently, managing the risks to himself and the boat, sailing a considered route, aware that he did not really know the limits of the boat. Latterly in the Big South he consistently affirmed that his objective had become simply to finish the race. His skills in realizing that primary objective have been the passport to his fifth place, sandwiched between fourth placed Sam Davies and Dee Caffari as an unprecedented three British skippers finish in the top six of this sixth edition of the race.
During the final stages of his race, Thompson said he had lost count how many times he had faced ‘show-stoppers’ – problems which he thought might have ended his race prematurely, but he dealt with them all successfully and was rewarded with a quick passage up the South Atlantic where his time from Cape Horn to the Equator was second only to that of Michel Desjoyeaux. But it was a battle to the end for his well deserved fifth place.
Dear Speed Sailors,
it was a special tough task to set up a calendar this year, taking into account the world wide crisis, which is also hitting us now through missing sponsorship moneys.
All the more we are happy to announce the ISWC tour schedule today, and we hope to be able to publish the dates for the Kitespeed as well in the next days.
The full calendar can be found here: http://www.speedworldcup.com/events-2009.html
Four major events are scheduled up till now, which will be either open worlds, production worlds or continentals. In addition, nine national events will count towards the world ranking 2009, with some more still in the pipeline, making 2009 to the biggest speed schedule ever.
Please remember: several events and details for 2009 are still to be confirmed, and status may change on short notice. Do NOT book any flights before the Notice of Race has been published and your starting slot has been confirmed.
See you on the water !
Markus Schwendtner
Tour Manager
Good to be back in the Bay!
Submitted by Paul on Tue, 02/10/2009 – 13:29.
Well this one comes to you direct from the hot-seat in the container at the Walvis Bay Yacht Club. We managed to duck through the snow storms in the UK and arrived safe and sound in the sunshine and heat of Namibia. There has been very little wind to date… but it shows signs of picking up.
One by one we start the process of ‘spinning plates’ again. There is a lot to organise.
Here is just a short one to let you know what we are up to and what the plan is.
For those of you who are not fully up to speed, On the 3rd of December, 2008, VESTAS SAILROCKET began collecting records by setting a new ‘B’ class world record of 47.36 knots over the 500 meter course. This gave her the unofficial title of the worlds fastest boat… but still 3.21 knots short of the Outright world record currently held by the kitesurfers. The team took VESTAS SAILROCKET back to the top of the course with a view to the Outright record. On the following run the craft lost ‘pitch stability’. The nose lifted up at near on 60 mph and the shooting match performed a spectacular semi-loop. No-one was injured and VESTAS SAILROCKET was back in action around two weeks later. Un fortunately the good winds required for a record attempt had gone and the team decided to pack up and return when conditions would be more favourable (hopefully now). Around 16 days after their success, the Australian Macquarie Innovations team took the un-official fastest boat title by averaging 48.11 knots. The objective of the VESTAS SAILROCKET project is to get the outright world speed sailing record so they have returned to Walvis Bay, Namibia in 2009 to do this. Every record we get on the way official or un-official is a bonus and enjoyed in the appropriate manner:)
Helena and I arrived back in Namibia four days ago and have been arranging things for our next record attempt with VESTAS SAILROCKET.
We have booked our second WSSRC ratified record attempt to begin on the 20th of February. It will go for 28 days. we have put aside three months in total for the whole session.
Back by popular demand
Hey guys and girls the dates for the Pied Piper nationals have been set as the 2nd and 3rd of May, the weekend after anzac weekend. The link to the notice of race is below. Cheers.
40 knots under gennaker
Après un peu plus de 18 heures en mer, Le Maxi Banque Populaire V parti hier matin de Lorient, a déjà parcouru de nombreux milles! Passé au large du Cap Finisterre cette nuit, il ne lui reste plus que 762 milles à parcourir pour rejoindre Cadix, port de départ du record de la Route de la Découverte.
« 40 nœuds sous gennaker», c’est la pointe de vitesse du Maxi Banque Populaire V que nous annonçait Pascal Bidégorry lors de la vacation ce matin. « Nous avons des conditions où ça va très vite, le vent est monté crescendo et cette nuit pendant une demie heure nous allions entre 37 et 38 nœuds, c’était impressionnant. Depuis je limite quand même le bateau à 35 nœuds !
Avec l’équipage, nous sommes super contents de passer du temps sur l’eau. Nous sommes très satisfaits du bateau et nous avons pu nous exercer dans les manœuvres avec déjà 3 empannages. L’ambiance est sympa à bord, c’est Yvan Ravussin qui nous a préparé le repas et nous avons même mangé un saucisson du pays basque à l’apéro ! ».
After a little more than 18 hours in sea, Maxi Banque Populaire V left yesterday morning Lorient, has already gone through of numerous milles! Crossed off the Cape Finisterre this night, it does not remain him more that 762 milles to go through to join Cadix, harbour of departure of the record of the Road of Discovery.
” 40 knots under gennaker “, it is the top of speed of Maxi Banque Populaire V that announced us Easter Bidégorry during the temporary work this morning. ” We have conditions where this goes very quickly, v
Saturday, 14th February, 2009
Emirates Team New Zealand Wins
Louis Vuitton Pacific Series
Auckland – Emirates Team New Zealand today laid claim to the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series, convincingly beating the Swiss team Alinghi with three consecutive wins on a grey, rainy and windy day on the Waitemata Harbour.
The home team’s come-from-behind 3-1 victory marked the end of a 15-day match racing regatta in modified America’s Cup boats that drew praise for its format and its originality from all of the nine international teams that took part.
Ship’s sirens and boat horns drowned out the cheering as the Emirates boat docked alongside the Swiss team for the last time. Emirates skipper Dean Barker accepted the silver and crystal Louis Vuitton Pacific Series trophy for his team in a Moët et Chandon, champagne-soaked ceremony watched by hundreds of spectators at the regatta village in Auckland’s Viaduct Harbour.
Today’s win reversed a losing streak that saw the New Zealand team lose four out of its previous five starts. In all, the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron as the organiser and host club succeeded in starting and finish 53 races for the competitors.
Brad Butterworth the Kiwi skipper and tactician for Alinghi had high praise for the event. “Its been three weeks of very good sailing here, although obviously we don’t sail very well in the rain,” Butterworth said.
“But it has been fantastic. I can’t say that enough. Today was a great day. It was a little hairy for both crews. You really saw how good the crews are. We couldn’t quite close it out today but the sailing and the competition was at a really top level and that’s what we love and that’s what we want to see more of.”
Yves Carcelle, president and CEO of Louis Vuitton Malletier refused to be drawn on whether his company would run a similar event in the future. “We don’t know for the moment what the future will be but I would like to concentrate on the last two weeks,” Carcelle said. “I think we’ve seen here a fantastic sports series. The teams respected one another in an amazing way. The level of the competition was extraordinary.”
Racing today, the Kiwi team was on fire after its loss yesterday. Barker and his tactician Ray Davies made the right calls in the first prestart, allowing them to convert an even start into the thin end of a winning wedge. Emirates beat Alinghi by 29 seconds after leading the helmsman Ed Baird and the Swiss team around the course to make the series 1-1. The defining moment came when a small left shift in the early part of the first leg gave Emirates the leverage to make a close, heart-stopping port tack cross, barely in front of the right-of-way Swiss boat. From there they covered Alinghi and worked the shifts to sail steadily away.
The breeze was at 20 knots and gusting higher at the start of the second race when Barker/Davies helm/tactician duo shut Alinghi out before the gun while laying a penalty on the hapless Swiss and then starting clear ahead. With the penalty hanging over his head, Baird worked hard stay in touch and bring the race back to the Kiwis but without success. That made the score in the best-of-five series 2-1 for Emirates.The New Zealand team was just one win away from the series victory.
Alinghi had early control of the third start but broke off to make a start near the pin, leaving the Kiwi boat to start at speed in the middle as the breeze got up to 25 knots. The Swiss enjoyed a small early advantage, getting out 23 metres in front of the New Zealanders. However when Ed Baird tacked Alinghi back on port, Emirates was there on starboard and pushed them back to the left side. Alinghi made tack after tack in their attempt to break through but were quickly on the port tack layline and had to follow Emirates into the mark, rounding 29 seconds astern. New Zealand had the upper hand and cruised to a 20-second victory.
The event web site http://www.louisvuitton-pacificseries.com has content in English French and Italian that includes race reports, press reports, features and photographs.
The Louis Vuitton Pacific Series was organised in association with the New Zealand Government, Emirates Team New Zealand, the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, Auckland City and SKYCITY Entertainment Group.
The Finish
Day 2 of Line 7 saw the boats completing the 3 races scheduled – 2 sprint races and 1 longer harbour race. Conditions were still windy with a southerly constantly blowing 20 gusting 30 knots with quite a wind chill factor.
Series results after 5 races – leading Division A on IRC is Flying Boat (Young 11) with another Young 11 Clear Vision winning General Handicap (is this the BooBoo factor?) and The Guarantee (Ross 10.66) leading on PHRF.
For Division B the results are very close for General Handicap with Flying Machine (Young 88 from Naval Point Yacht Club) one point ahead of Splash Palace (Ross 930) and Whistler III (Young 88 helmed by Mike West) just a further 2 points behind. IRC is still with Flying Fish (Farr 1020) four points ahead of Blue Magic (Davidson 35.) Blue Magic is leading the PHRF series.
The social side of the regatta tonight saw BooBoo starting the sumo wrestling challenges with other highlights being Commodore versus Commodore (RPNYC vs Waikawa Boating Club) and a protest between 2 Ross 930s Testarossa and Airship sorted out in the suits.
Alinghi Fly Red Flag after the last race. Unconfirmed reports suggest issues with swiss flag wraping around backstay.
YachtYakkaTV Coming Soon
Finish February 14. 2009
95 days 4 hours 39 mins 01 sec WITH redress: Roxy crossed the finish in the midst of a dark February night, in the small hours of St Valentine’s day, having sailed 27 470 actual miles on the water at an average speed of 12.02 knots
© Mark Lloyd / DPPI / Vendée Globe
Sam’s first words after finishing her Vendee Globe:
“I have just sailed around the world. It is amazing.”
“ It was an incredible finish, pretty full on. I managed to make the most of a nice sunset with 20 knots of wind and on the helm with my I-pod on singing out loud, then some fast reaching and then I was taken by surprise because the boats came out to meet me so early and stayed with me for about an hour. And so it was a bit full on because there was a lot more wind than I anticipated and so I had to do a bit of sail changing and so lots of action right up to the end of the race.”
On what it felt like to cross the line:
“It was kind of almost disbelief when I crossed, it really does just seem like yesterday when I was leaving, and I can’t believe I have sailed all the way around the world, so it is really a weird feeling and I think it is going to take a couple of days to sink in what I have done.”
“It does not feel like 97 days, it went really, really quickly. It is only when I think things like when I left here it was 2008 and now it is 2009 and things like that, that has been a bit of time.”
On her finishing third, way beyond her expectations:
“I never ever thought I might finish in third place, not at all, not at all, I could not even imagine being able to finish in fifth in the top five, I was kind of hoping to make the top 10, this really is a dream finish.”
On here abundant energy and good humour, even in the face of adversity:
“It really was all such fun. Maybe as well that is just my way of getting through the hard moments, trying to find the positive side of everything and use that energy to battle through the tough times, but, no I enjoyed every single day of this race, and I surprised myself even, I knew I would enjoy it, but I did not realise I would enjoy it this much and it is an amazing way to do the race.”
“ It was brilliant to see everyone at the finish. They have done such a good job, supporting me, and sending me messages every day, and answering the phone whenever I called, and so it is really nice to see them, but because we have been so close and they have been supporting me, then it does not feel like we have been apart throughout the whole race. And it is nice, nice to see their faces. My mum and dad look really proud.”
And anticipating the welcome when she goes down the canal at around 0900hrs local time:
“ I am quite glad I finished at low tide, giving me a little bit of peace to think about the welcome, and to think about the race I have done, instead of just going straight on land and having tons of people around me, so it is nice.”
Samantha Davies, GBR, (Roxy) crossed the finishing line at 00hrs 41mins 01 secs as the third competitor to complete this epic sixth edition of the Vendée Globe solo non stop around the world race and return to Les Sables d’Olonne.
Ironically Davies will have to wait two days and two hours (50 hours) to see whether she hang on to third place in this sixth Vendée Globe as the final result will depend on Marc Guillemot’s finishing time.
Guillemot was given a time compensation for standing by the badly injured skipper Yann Elies who was rescued from his Open 60 Generali on 20th December.
95 days 4 hours 39 mins 01 sec WITH redress: Roxy crossed the finish in the midst of a dark February night, in the small hours of St Valentine’s day, having sailed 27 470 actual miles on the water at an average speed of 12.02 knots.
Davies is the first British competitor to complete this edition of the race, which began off Les Sables d’Olonne back on 9th November 2008, and leads home Brian Thompson, GBR (Bahrain Team Pindar) and Dee Caffari, GBR, (Aviva) who are on course to finish in fifth and sixth places respectively. They are likely to finish late Sunday or Monday.
If she is not displaced from third place (if Marc Guillemot does not finish before Monday morning), she will become only the second woman on the podium in the history of the race and the third British sailor after Ellen MacArthur in 2000-2001 and Mike Golding in 2004-2005.
Regardless if it proves to be third or fourth, it is an exceptional result for the 34-year-old, who with her Roxy team prepared Finot Conq designed boat which won the previous two races and is now nine years old.
Davies’ sparky enthusiasm has been one of the constants of this remarkable race. Her effervescent moods, no matter the weather or her situation, belie a steely determination and a very accomplished attack around the race course. While se modulated her pace showing prudence when required, she equally proved capable of ‘sending it’ - keeping up high average speeds for long periods and she was also one of the few sailors in the race to cover more than 400 miles in one day (making 414 miles in 24 hours).
From the starting gun, Sam managed to keep the pace, staying with many of the newer designs simply by sailing smart and making astute routing decisions. Up to the Equator she occupied between tenth and fifteenth place.
Ater the Doldrums, as she crossed into the Southern Hemisphere, Samantha Davies was in fourteenth place 235 miles from the leader, Loïck Peyron. The voyage down with the SE’ly trade winds proved more difficult for the polka dot pink Roxy, which does not have the same power as the newer boats.
The British soloist proved she has stamina in all weather, in spite of an unfavourable stretch around the St. Helena high: she lost more than 300 miles in four days stuck in light airs, while the frontrunners made their getaway into the Roaring Forties and those chasing after were able to take a short cut across.
Davies on Roxy surfed along on the Southern Ocean swell and crossed the longitude of the Cape of Good Hope still in fourteenth place, 560 miles behind Jean-Pierre Dick, who led the at that point.
Apart from her race performance, it is has been her ebullient, outgoing nature and her ability to convey her feelings that have gained her a huge following from all ages and both sexes, and immense respect and admiration from her fellow racers: nothing seemed to change her mood at sea in spite of finding herself up against such exceptional sailors.
The preparation of the pink Open 60 was a key factor, as she did not suffer any major damage. She chose to change as little possible from the proven features which had worked so well for Michel Desjoyeaux in 2000-1 and Vincent Riou in 2004-5 on this boat.
She sailed close to her first iceberg before reaching the Kerguelens. This stretch of the race was to see the downfall of many of her rivals, so that by Cape Leeuwin, Samantha Davies was tenth, 1035 miles behind Michel Desjoyeaux.
When Yann Eliès was in difficulty 800 miles south of Perth, Australia with a fractured femur she suspended her race to sail at full speed to offer assistance alongside Marc Guillemot.
She got to within a few hours of the area just as the Australian Navy vessel had taken off Yann Eliès, and restarted the race with Marc Guillemot in conditions that were far from favourable: light winds and a heavy swell.
Already very much alone between the Kerguelens and Australia, Davies found herself totally alone, while Marc Guillemot carried out a pit stop off Auckland Island. Heading back up to the Pacific Ice gate was particularly tough with a series of very active low-pressure areas, which put an end to the race for a few more of her fellow competitors. By the Antipodes, the British sailor was up to eighth place.
But there was a whole ocean to still to climb. After a little under 63 days at sea, she rounded Cape Horn in fourth place in the rankings. Marc Guillemot was right behind her, in reality on corrected time ahead of her with his extra 50 hours redress. And there were still 7000 miles to go to les Sables d’Olonne.
Once again, Sam found herself alone, as Marc Guillemot stopped again in the Falklands to carry out more repairs to his mast track.
She was really to suffer during the climb back up the South Atlantic: once she had reached the latitude of Uruguay, she was taken prisoner by a thundery system and found herself stuck in the calms, which allowed Guillemot to get around her via the west by sailing close to the Brazilian coast, less than 30 miles at times.
The duel between the two competitors reached its high point in this stretch with positions changing several times. Davies had the advantage in this duel at the Equator and was in fourth place in the rankings.
She chose a rather risky route to get by the Azores high to the east and once again fell victim to the calms, while Marc Guillemot managed to find his way around the west: the battle continued until Safran lost her keel. Third place was now within her grasp!
Samantha Davies’s times
Crossing the Equator: 13d 01h 51′
Passing the Cape of Good Hope: 28d 05h 28′
Passing Cape Leeuwin : 40d 00h 48′
Crossing the International Date Line: 48d 11h 43′
Rounding Cape Horn: 62d 21h 18′
Passing Equator 81d 2hrs 28m
Finish in Les Sables d’Olonne : 95 days 4 hours 39 mins 01 sec WITH redress
Finished!
She said again today that she has not been even looking at the course, the speeds, and the weather that her pursuer Marc Guillemot has been making, so intense has her focus been on reaching Les Sables d’Olonne as quick as possible, but Sam Davies will have 50 hours to fill as best she can, waiting to see if Marc Guillemot can save his time on her and wrest third place on the Vendée Globe podium from the British skipper.
One thing is for sure, at least until the arrival of her compatriots Brian Thompson and Dee Caffari on Monday, the Vendée Globe start and finish destination of Les Sables d’Olonne will be Sam’s Town.
Davies had just 116 miles to sail this afternoon and was making a profitable 10 knots boat speed, which should bring her and her pink, polka dotted Roxy across the finish line around 0200hrs GMT (0300hrs local time), to complete her remarkable race. Overnight and this morning she was parked, hardly moving some 130 miles off the bay of Port La Foret where the British skipper did so much of her training, first in the Figaro in which she raced and trained for four years, and then latterly with the Open 60 which has already won the Vendée Globe twice in succession. If she can hold on to third place it will be a remarkable record for British skippers with Ellen MacArthur taking second in 2000-01 and Mike Golding third in 2004-5. She is assured of being only the fourth woman to finish the course, and the second quickest to MacArthur. She is leading her two British compatriots home, seeming set to land three of the top six places in this most grueling and demanding edition which has seen 19 of the 30 starters retire.
Her rival Guillemot sounded more upbeat and cheerful today, having had some rest last night and pulled back over 80 miles on the young British skipper. He was still saying that third place on the Vendée Globe podium is not his priority but his chances seem to have improved over the last 24 hours, and so far he has not had the slow down or indeed the park up that Davies had at the same time yesterday. He was making 6.9 knots this afternoon on Safran but will be sailing mainly on the wind with no keel and he had not yet tried port tack on his smaller daggerboard.
If Samantha Davies no longer needs to worry, she can happily look in her mirror and see her two fellow Brits, finishing neck and neck. Brian Thompson (Bahrain Team Pindar) and Dee Caffari (Aviva) were still speeding towards the Bay of Biscay, which is exceptionally quiet for the season. They too will have to tack upwind to the finish, but can look forward to crossing the line on Monday… Early in the morning for the « giant »and ten hours or so later for Dee. The arrival of three boats in the same day is a first for the Vendée Globe. As is seeing three Brits in the first six…Especially as behind there is another one: Steve White (Toe in the water), who is unlikely to overtake Arnaud Boissières (Akéna Vérandas), but this is the closest he has been for many weeks. The French sailor is finding it difficult to get away from the ridge of high pressure and his stop-and-go movement is not allowing him to pick up the SW’ly airstream, which can be found a few hundred miles ahead. While the Weymouth based sailor is still in the trade winds on his way around the high pressure system via the west…
Briefing LEG 5
Briefing 12 February 2009
Fifth LEG – Volvo Ocean Race Game
Qingdao to Rio de Janeiro
Departing Qindgao on 14 February 2009 at 13:00 local time or 06:00 GMT+1, the fleet will leave New Zealand to starboard side before heading to the roaring forties. No exclusion zone applied to the virtual race, however New Zealand and two gates will be have to be left to starboard meanwhile Cape Horn will be left to port before racing to the finish line in Rio de Janeiro. 12,300 nautical miles long, this LEG should take about five weeks. It is the most difficult LEG of the Volvo Ocean race.
* Saturday, 14 February 2009, Starting Signal 13:00 local time or 06:00 GMT+1
THE COURSE – Length approx. 12,300 miles
Start in Qingdao – Finish in Rio de Janeiro.
Un mois après le début du stand-by pour le premier record de sa campagne, La Route de la Découverte, le Maxi Banque Populaire V s’apprête à quitter son port d’attache. Samedi 14 février, à 10h, Pascal Bidégorry et ses douze hommes d’équipage largueront en effet les amarres à Lorient, pour mettre le cap sur Cadix. Le Team Banque Populaire ralliera ainsi la cité espagnole au terme d’une première navigation au format « grand large », l’occasion pour chacun des marins d’entrer définitivement en mode record. Si pour l’heure, aucune fenêtre de départ vers San Salvador ne se profile, le skipper basque et ses comparses ont des fourmis dans les jambes et n’ont qu’une idée en tête : passer du temps sur l’eau !
translation…
A month after the beginning of the stand-by for the first record of its campaign, The Road of Discovery, Maxi Banque Populaire V gets ready to leave its harbour of clamp. On Saturday, February 14th, at 10 h, Pascal Bidégorry and his twelve men of crew will drop hawsers in effect in Lorient, to head for Cadix. Popular Team Banque will rally the Spanish city so at the end of a first navigation in format ” big open sea “, opportunity for each of the sailors to enter mode definitely.
Line 7 Regatta Wellington, Pictures to follow later.
The sailmakers have plenty of work to do tonight after 30 boats completed 2 windward leeward sprint races in a 25 -35 knot southerly for the Line 7 Regatta. Just a typical Wellington southerly as the 5 boats visiting from the mainland found out.
With 10 boats competing in Division A, The Guarantee (Ross1066) with Murray Bridge on the helm are leading on General Club Handicap and PHRF, with the hot Young 11 Flying Boat (Mike Calkoen) winning a closely fought IRC battle, with Andrew Taylor’s Andiamo (Davidson 55) a point behind in second.
Division B has 20 boats fighting it out with Esprit (Beale 9000) leading on General Handicap, PHRF as well as cleaning up both races on Line. Geoff Herd’s Splash Palace (Ross 930) is close behind on Club and PHRF and leading the fleet of 4 Ross 930s on line. IRC for Division B has the Farr 1020 Flying Fish (Ken Papps) a point ahead of Blue Magic (Andrew Morrison’s Davidson 35).
Carnage for the day included the Warrick 10.5 Gucci losing a crew member over the side in a gybe in Race 1, and 4 boats unable to complete Race 2 due to gear damage. With 3 more races programmed for Saturday and 2 for Sunday, the weather forecast is looking a little more promising.
With 313 miles to go at 0400hrs GMT this morning, showing no immediate signs of slowing down, and with a lead of about 220 miles, this morning could be crucial for Sam Davies, GBR, (Roxy) as she strives to land third place in the Vendée Globe. In effect with a slow finish predicted every mile gained in breeze could be worth twice that in a very light conditions.
She has been working hard to keep her Open 60 in the best breeze and, while her rival Marc Guillemot on Safran has struggled with the lighter breezes he has been dealt by the developing high pressure system, averaging seven knots to Davies’ 13. Davies had spells reaching 12-14 knots during the night whilst Safran dropped to two knots at one stage.
Her strategy appears to be little different to what she alluded almost jokingly yesterday when she would head north until level with her house in South Brittany, above the latitude of Les Sables d’Olonne and this morning she was already between Lorient and Concarneau. She was still reaping the benefits of 10-12 knots NW’lies this morning, some 200 miles from the centre of this dominant anticyclone, which lies just to the NWW os C|ape Finisterre, while at something like 80 miles from the middle Marc Guillemot on the keel-less Safran looks to have closer to 8 knots and is still trying to make north.
The weather models suggest Davies may even hang to the breeze until around midday.
Meantime Les Sables d’Olonne awakes this morning to sunshine and very light breeze.
“ I have just been in the cockpit having another karaoke moment – making the most of one of my last nights out here on my own! Leaning on the coachroof looking backwards at Roxys wake, lit up by the moon and streaming out for as far as I could see. Singing out at the top of my voice! I wish I could stay out there all night, but I must rest, ready
for a tough 24 hours of light wind sailing to get through the high “bubble” that is going to block our progress tomorrow night.” Said Davies yesterday evening.
Brian Thompson is now around 280 miles behind Marc Guillemot and he and Dee Caffari have been in fast reaching mode all night. Caffari is just passing the latitude of Cape Finisterre and has been slightly quicker than Thompson this morning, but Bahrain Team Pindar is 120 miles ahead. They look to be well matched for speed and will continue to work to the NW to try and stay away from the worst effects of the anticyclone for as long as possible, more or less following the track taken by Guillemot and Davies for the moment. They will continue to gain on Safran, meaning that after a wait of more than five days for the second boat to finish, and what looks like nearly a week for the third, then we might see three boats finish in comparatively short order from Saturday.
Winds continue to be inconsistent and frustrating for Arnaud Boissières who is level with the Canary Islands now. He is making closer to nine knots early this morning, but his speeds through the night on Akena Véranda were erratic, while Steve White, GBR, (Toe in the Water) still looks to have about 200 miles of trade winds sailing left to continue to catch the French skipper. He is still 481 miles behind.
Rich Wilson has also been frustrated by the conditions he is being given some 150 miles off the Brasilian coast, almost Doldrums like at times with clouds which suck away the light trades he should have, and cause big wind shifts. “What is going on here?” he asked rhetorically last night. He has been making between seven and nine knots.
Raphael Dinelli (Fondation Océan Vital) and Norbert Sedlacek, AUT, (Nauticsport-Kapsch) are in headwinds with the Austrian skipper making about two knots quicker.
Dee Caffari, GBR, Aviva: “The sailing should be enjoyable. We have 30 to 35 knots of wind and a blue sky with white fluffy clouds. The boat speeds are fast down the waves and we are closing the miles to the finish. However on Aviva the stress levels are high.
“40 knots last night through the mainsail didn’t go down too well and another section of fibres parted. I am now holding my breath as we surf along for another 24 hours before the wind eases. Once we reach the light airs I can hoist the mainsail and hopefully leave it. Maybe the high pressure is a blessing in disguise as I am not sure another depression would be any good for the mainsail or my anxiety levels.
“Unfortunately, to avoid any further damage with the fibres getting caught, I am going to have to wait until much lighter winds before hoisting so I may lose some more miles to Pindar but we all have to float through the high pressure to the finish, so all is not lost.”
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