Chieftain into the lead

As HSH Nordbank blue race competitors head out into the North Atlantic

Day three of the HSH Nordbank blue race has Ger O’Rourke's Cookson 50 Chieftain ahead having taken a very northern course. However Outsider is the heels of the Irish boat and closing fast.

After passing Point Charlie (the mandatory ice waypoint), Chieftain sailed further north than the rest of the fleet, and then took a wide swing south. The crew's decision to do so paid off but will it in the long term? We'll find out at Point Alpha (another mandatory ice waypoint). At present the teams are half-way to this point and from here, the yachts change their heading from 080 to 040 in order to round the north of Scotland. But they still have a long way to go...

The crew of Bank von Bremen with 64 year old skipper Rainer Persch , has sneaked just ahead of the biggest yacht of the first group, the Swan 82 Grey Goose of Tobias König (44) from Hamburg. All yachts sailing further north are still fairly close together, with only the American Snow Lion of Lawrence Huntington sailing away on an even more extreme northern course.

The crews are now battling against headwinds of 15-25 knots. "The weather has become a bit uncomfortable," explains German weather expert Meeno Schrader. "We had a classic low passing through with the wind changing to northwest and at times even north. It is now steadying in its general direction of around 330 to 320 degrees. The middle wind is strong with stormy gusts."

Conditions have become rough, but the crews are enjoying the strong wind from astern. "Now it’s just like we thought it would be and how we wanted it to be: Atlantic weather!"
writes Inken Braunschmidt, 32 year old skipper of the all-female crew on KPMG. "We set the storm spinnaker yesterday and sailed our first speed records in the first reef. Today we are sailing in the third reef and with the no4 genoa in 9 to 10 knots. The waves around us are mounting to a height of 4-5 metres. Here in the Gulf Stream, it’s okay temperature-wise, but it’s bound to become less comfortable when we get further north. We’re all doing well and are having a lot of fun."

And Thomas Ebert, skipper and owner of the DK 46 Tutima, too, raves about the race: "The Gulf Stream makes for fantastic sailing conditions, it’s pushing us at up to 3.5 knots. Our top speed was at 17.1 knots above ground. As a mere precaution, we decided to change one of the rudder linkages. Our bowman had to go up the mast twice. First, to check the spinnaker halyard for chafing spots, secondly to reinforce the main with extra patches at the spreaders," writes the 40-year old watch-maker from Frankfurt.

Tilmar Hansen’s Outsider crew has also experienced some ups and downs on their way
back to Europe: "The conditions last night were like we know them from Volvo Ocean Race pictures," reports boat captain, 42 year old Ole Satori. "It was pure fire-hosing with water gushing in from the front like out of a hose. At a boat speed of up to 25 knots, we jumped across and ploughed through the high Atlantic waves. Two lifejackets auto-inflated, and at times the boat was jamming so hard that it sent you flying down the berth when the boat slowed down. That’s why the experienced ones sleep with their feet up front. Spirits are still fine, but most of us are soaking wet since last night. Below deck, it feels like in a dripstone cave. I hope we will soon be able to improve the micro-climate."

The oldest yacht in the fleet, Christoph von Reibnitz’ Peter von Seestermuehe, is doing well. "Last night, we had up to 35 knots of wind (Force 8). A wave that crashed into the cockpit bent the life-belt rail and took our nice brass compass cover with it. It was such a bang that lying in my bunk, I thought the rig was coming down, but above deck, everything was okay. Maybe those on watch were a bit shaken. The crew is doing a proper job. This morning, we took out one reef, and we are still going at top speed. In conditions like these, I feel like we are able to keep up with the rest of the fleet quite well.."

Next Saturday will see the three maxi yachts, the 177ft ketch Parsifal III, Rambler and Bon Bon starting out from Newport, in the race's second start. It remains to be seen whether the racers will be able to catch up with the leaders like Chieftain. At the end of the race, though, the corrected time based on the IRC handicap factor will be deciding on who will win the HSH Nordbank blue race.