Frostad in first

Slow going continues even for the 60ft trimarans in the Eurocard Gotland Runt, reports Bob Fisher (updated report)

Knut Frostad and his Team Academy were the first to pass the lighthouse at Faro, at the north-east tip of the island of Gotland. The 60ft trimaran that won the race in record time last year was 55 minutes clear of the next boat in the Eurocard Gotland Runt.

It had taken Academy almost 18½ hours to sail the first 106.7 miles of this 432 mile race, which is the eighth race of the Nokia Oops Cup, the Scandinavian Multihull Grand Prix circuit. When she passed the lighthouse, Academy was sailing on port tack in six knots of south-easterly breeze. The wind was forecast to remain in this quadrant but back into the east as she progressed down the Gotland east coast.

Klabbe Nylof in HiQ was the next to the lighthouse, at 0836, just four minutes ahead of Magnus Olsson and Loick Peyron in Nokia. They, in turn, were 12 minutes clear of Bruno Peyron in Stena Sovcomflot, with Thomas Johanson in Tietoenator 17 minutes further back.

Update:

The first of the monohulls passed the Faro lighthouse before noon.

They were:

Ericsson – Volvo Ocean 60 – Neal McDonald – GBR 11:26
Royal Blue – ORC Grand Prix – Peter Olsson – SWE 11:35
Fram XV – IMS European Championship – Farr 53 – HM. King Harald – NOR 11:40

Update 2:

By mid-afternoon today, five of the six 60 foot trimarans had rounded the lighthouse at Hoburgen and had 246 miles to go to finish the Eurocard Gotland Runt, the eighth race of this year’s Nokia Oops Cup series. It appeared to be the mixture as before with last year’s winner, Knut Frostad in Academy leading the fleet by almost an hour.

After a painfully slow start, Team Academy began to pick up speed in the easterly 7-8 knot breeze down the east side of Gotland and averaged 10 knots from the Faro lighthouse to Hoburgen. Maintaining this speed would see Frostad finishing early on Tuesday evening, but well outside his record pace of last year.

Magnus Olsson with Nokia leads the pursuers, 54 minutes behind the leader at Hoburgen, but ahead of Stena Sovcomflot. This is a sibling rivalry with Loick Peyron teamed with Olsson, taking on his brother Bruno. The two French multihull champions 12 minutes apart at the Faro lighthouse have only a five minute gap between them.

There is a similar time difference to Klabbe Nylof in HiQ and also to Thomas Johansson in Tietoenator, as they headed off towards the Knolls Grund buoy on a run, prior to the beat towards Visby.

Update 3:

Einar Sissener’s Al Capone III was third on corrected time of the IMS European Championship yachts to pass the Faro lighthouse, 106.7 miles into the 362 mile Eurocard Gotland Runt that is the concluding race of the championship. If she can retain this position, Al Capone III will easily win the Championship, as her nearest rival, King Harald of Norway’s Fram XV, although a long way ahead on the water, was only fifth on corrected time.

The leader at Faro was Seppo Ajanko’s IMX-40 Birgitta, the 26th boat on the water past the lighthouse, ten minutes astern of Stephan Kyleback’s First 44 Ernst & Young that dropped to eighth on corrected time. Eskil Degsell’s Grand Soleil 42R, a hull sister of Al Capone III, four minutes ahead of Ernst & Young, was third on handicap at this stage.

Horst Mann’s Judel/Vrolijk 42 Hagstromer + Qviberg, a minute astern of Al Capone III at the lighthouse, corrected out at fourth, one place ahead of King Harald’s Fram XV, with Marin Sohell’s Grand Soleil 44, Scandanavia Arena Race, winner of the Gotland Runt last year, when call Holmatro, sixth ahead of Jani Lehti’s Vrolijk 42 Alfa Romeo.

Fram XV was the first monohull, and seventh behind the six Open 60 trimarans to pass across the latitude of 57.30N at 15:12.