Boneshaker

As Transat Ecover BtoB close reach north in 30+ knot conditions

Thursday December 6th 2007, Author: James Boyd, Location: Transoceanic
Images courtesy of Expedition Navigation Systems
 
 
Pos
Boat Skipper
Lat
Long
Spd
Crs
DTF
DTL
1
Gitana Eighty Peyron Loick
17 37.64' N
29 12.08' W
14.8
355
2195.60
0.00
2
Safran Guillemot Marc
17 38.12' N
29 38.04' W
14.6
357
2207.40
11.80
3
Generali Elies Yann
17 12.32' N
29 27.36' W
15.1
355
2224.90
29.20
4
Groupe Bel Kito de Pavant
16 55.44' N
29 10.96' W
14.9
355
2232.00
36.40
5
Foncia Desjoyeaux Michel
15 47.44' N
28 22.80' W
15.3
352
2270.60
75.00
6
Ecover Golding Mike
15 32.76' N
29 12.48' W
15.0
3
2305.60
110.00
7
Cheminées Poujoulat Stamm Bernard
14 35.40' N
29 22.00' W
16.1
342
2360.70
165.10
8
Maisonneuve Dejeanty Jean-Baptiste
13 12.52' N
29 27.56' W
9.4
329
2437.20
241.50
9
Roxy Davies Samantha
13 26.44' N
30 09.44' W
14.2
349
2443.10
247.50
10
Cervin EnR Bestaven Yannick
13 10.20' N
30 03.36' W
13.8
351
2443.60
248.00
11
Akena Vérandas Boissières Arnaud
12 45.48' N
29 20.88' W
12.5
356
2458.60
262.90
12
Aviva Caffari Dee
10 56.92' N
29 45.72' W
11.1
3
2567.00
371.40
13
Spirit of Canada Hatfield Derek
11 04.24' N
31 02.80' W
12.1
5
2583.40
387.80
14
Great American III Wilson Rich
10 56.32' N
31 32.52' W
11.4
4
2613.70
418.10
-
Brit'Air Le Cleach Armel
-
-
-
-
-
-
 
Yuck! The northeasterly trades have kicked in with a vengeance blowing at more than 30 knots for the front runners in the Transat Ecover BtoB. Close reaching on Open 60s sail is fast but wet and uncomfortable.

The skippers appear to have 'got lucky' with the weather ahead. While they are aiming bang at the centre of the Azores high, at present located over the Azores some 1200 miles away, the forecast indicates that by Sunday the high will have been knocked east by a substantial depression approaching from the west. If the Open 60s get their skates on then they will be able to key into the favourable southwesterlies on the southeastern edge of this and head towards Brittany at a rate of knots.

At present Loick Peyron on Gitana Eighty continues to lead but those astern have been catching. Peyron had a 40 mile advantage coming out of the Doldrums, but now Marc Guillemot's Safran, with her curved daggerboards, has closed to 11.8, holding a more westerly position with Generali and Safran's sistership Groupe Bel close behind.

In the meantime the skippers will have to put up with two to three days of jarring rollercoaster ride as they hammer north. As MichDes on board Foncia put it: "“We’ve already been on the same tack for three days and it’s likely to stay that way for the next two days at least! Conditions are still just as complicated. The winds have dropped off a bit but the seas are quite big. Overnight the wind was coming from every direction. Now conditions are a bit more organised but I'm staying below. We're sailing quite close on the wind but the automatic pilot is doing fine. I’m making about 17/18 knots of boatspeed and the boat is slamming into the waves."

Conditions are similar throughout the fleet as Marc Guillemot indicated: "I’m being bounced around like a shaker! We are more geared towards preserving the material than performance but we're still managing to make headway of between 14 and 16 knots... Of course I’m happy to have clawed back 20 miles on Loïck but I had a slight issue last night: I got hit in the eye by a jib sheet and I couldn't see anything for quarter of an hour..."

While on Groupe Bel Kito de Pavant commented: "“Conditions are impressive and we’re flying along. The boat vibrates as it pierces through the waves. It slams and echoes through the hull. It's not comfortable. We've got 25 knots of wind and I'm making 17 knots of instantaneous speed, averaging 14/18 knots of boatspeed. We're likely to have another couple of days of these conditions and then I'm hoping things will become more ordered with an arrival in Brittany in around 7 days. Conditions are great for validating the boat that's for sure!

"We’re going fast, too fast even and it's not very comfortable. I don’t know how I’m going to be able to slow the boat down because we’ve got more than 25 knots at the moment. I’ve hoisted the ORC and the reduced the mainsail to two reefs... It whistles, it vibrates, it slams... I don’t know which sail I should hoist when there is 35 knots! Already I’m making 17 knots... We’ve got two days of this before it calms down a bit before the Canaries, but the end of the course promises to be brisk: with an arrival in a week’s time!

Similarly towards the back of pack Derek Hatfield on Spirit of Canada reported: "I have had some problems with the computers at the start and the weather systems haven’t worked through the way I wanted until a couple of days ago. I’ve got some automatic pilot problems too. It’s quite a drastic day today too. The wind is blowing at 26 degrees true and I've got 34/35 knots over the deck. It's very bumpy with messy seas and conditions are difficult because the boat's slamming a lot."

Mike Golding reports from Ecover :

"It is very bumpy conditions, very wet on deck and quite wet down below. There is quite a big sea running. It is very uncomfortable and hard to move around. We have a problem with the ballast system. There is so much water on the boat that the forward ballast is filling and so every two hours or so I am ending up with a full tank of ballast on the leeward side forward. The only way to clear it is to bear off downwind and drop the scoop, so that is not very quick.

"Otherwise at the moment it is pretty bumpy, pretty jerky and very difficult to get some sleep.

"I think we have another two days of this, which would be fine, certainly the boat is going fast enough and is quick enough in these conditions, it is just not quick having to slow and empty the ballast which is not doing us any good."


Sam Davies reports from on board Roxy :

Finally yesterday morning, I escaped the clutches of the Doldrums!! Since then, the wind has been building, right now there are 25 knots. Roxy is close reaching and we are on the express train to the Azores! There is a bit of a chop, and as we are sailing at speeds between 13 and 16 knots, the motion is pretty bumpy to say the least. It is like living permanently on a fairground ride, and even the smallest job is pretty much impossible! I won't bother with a clean T-shirt today because I am sure that I will be wearing some of my lunch! And I think I will need full oilskins to open my bottle of Coca Cola! As well as being funny; this motion is also dangerous and I have to be really careful moving about as it is easy to get bumped and bruised. The cockpit is like a washing machine, so the clothing call for outside is full drysuit and ski-mask! Unless going for a shower, when all I will have to do is step outside naked and wait! Roxy has two reefs and staysail. The smallest sail combination since we left Brazil. We will be like this for three more days, as we charge up towards the Azores. The objective is to get to the westerly winds that are rolling across the Atlantic on the bottom of the winter depressions, as quickly as possible. Then we will be able to turn right and head for home! I have been studying the weather forecast and predicted route, and it looks like will sail through the islands of the Azores.

Dee Caffari reports from on board Aviva :

“I’m struggling to maintain ‘me’ in these conditions. I know I should eat but I don’t really want to eat anything and I know I should drink but I can’t be bothered to make anything. When you don’t sleep and you’re tired, it all compounds in conditions like these. But it’s all useful practice that I can use next time.
 
“It makes me laugh that I spent 178 days at sea on the Aviva Challenge and 70 per cent of it was upwind but it was pure luxury compared to this. The boat is so different and, when she is crashing to windward, it is a really uncomfortable environment to be in. It feels as though it is falling apart, the windows are leaking and it’s miserable.
 
“We are taking a lot of water over the top of the boat. Everything feels wet and filthy. Even the flying fish are confused – they don’t know whether to fly or get carried in the waves. Life is pretty uncomfortable.
 
“I have worked really hard to get past Spirit of Canada and Great American III and now we are all going upwind, they are going to go a lot faster and I cannot get my boat to go any faster so I am going to lose all those miles which is a bit demoralising.
 
“There is still a lot of scope in this race but at the moment it is all a bit depressing. If I was going the other way it would be brilliant. Blue skies, strong breeze and good surf but crashing into it is miserable.
 
“The whole process this week has been really good because I have learned so much. Knowing what I struggle with and finding out what I want the new boat to do and how different it should be has been really worthwhile. The new Aviva is due in the water on the 14 December and that is an added incentive to keep going in the right direction.
 
“I have discovered that in my reading of the weather I am still lacking in confidence and am easily swayed. I find it hard to stick to what I think and why I think it even though I have done ok so far. I just need to do more of it. I am also finding it difficult to predict where I will be in a few days compared with everyone else in the fleet but hopefully that will also become easier as I get more solo miles under my belt.”

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