|
Fastnet Update: Light airs and close combat for Open 60 Fleet...
|
|
|
|
| Rolex Fastnet Race - Skandia - Fastnet Update: Light airs and close combat for Open 60 Fleet... |
COWES, UK-(9-8-2005) Since the start of the 2005 Rolex Fastnet Race on Sunday morning, light airs have dictated the slow pace as the Open 60 fleet play the vagaries of sea breeze versus gradient breeze to their advantage or disadvantage! The competition amongst the 12-boat Open fleet [Benoit Parnaudeau's Best Western Chamonix announced their retirment on Sunday evening] is wide open with only 12 miles separating the fleet this morning as they approach the Fastnet Rock off the south coast of Ireland. There has been a fair amount of place changing amongst the front group but Mike Sanderson's Pindar Alphagraphics has kept her position at the front of the fleet since 1500 BST yesterday. This morning sees Jean Pierre Dick's Virbac-Paprec in 2nd and Bernard Stamm's Cheminées Poujoulat in 3rd. Less than half a mile behind Stamm comes Mike Golding's Ecover and Roland Jourdain's Sill et Veolia. Alex Thompson on Hugo Boss is certainly mixing it with the top five but incorrect polling information is putting him at the back of the fleet although visual sightings by the other skippers confirm he is not off the pace. Other Brit, Conrad Humphreys is a couple of miles adrift of SKANDIA after losing out in Mounts Bay yesterday.
Nick Moloney and his crew on board SKANDIA were 6.6 miles behind the leader at the 0918 BST poll and comfortable with their position in the middle of the fleet covering the ground at 8.2 knots in a light westerly breeze. Sometimes reaching, sometimes downwind as the breeze swings around, the crew have had their work cut out for them in these conditions and Moloney reported that not much sleep was had on the first night as the SKANDIA crew worked hard to establish their position. But for Moloney this race is proving to be more pleasure than pain compared to the last time he raced solo in the 2004/2005 Vendée Globe non-stop round the world race [see below].
After rounding the Fastnet, the Open 60 fleet will have 240 miles to go before the winner of this fleet is decided and the outcome is wide open. The weather is unlikely to change significantly as the high pressure system looks set to persist for another couple of days. This will mean that the Open 60 crews will be fighting for every knot of speed, continually searching for the best breeze either inshore or offshore and hoping that the tital gates off the south-west coast of England on the final run into the finish at Plymouth do not cause their downfall. The Open 60 leaders are expected to finish sometime late tomorrow evening - the center of a high pressure system is firmly parked over the Fastnet Rock, meaning the light airs will continue.
FROM NICK ONBOARD SKANDIA AT SUNRISE 09.08.05:
I cannot remember if i have ever seen the irish sea so smooth. if you are not in a hurry to get somewhere, the situation is pretty glorious. This morning 0517 GMT it is a little overcast but the skies have been mostly clear of cloud specially during the evening which commenced last night with a great display of the 'green flash' as the sun sunk below the horizon....awesome! Plenty of shooting stars to entertain the crews throughout the cool evenings. It's a case of wearing everything you have to keep warm throughout the evenings, we are glad its not wet and wild.
We are currently surrounded by boats, 9 miles behind our class leader in 7th position and can see the the fleet from 5th to 10th. The sun is rising and we are awaiting the warmth it generates. Last night was our second at sea in
this race and normally we would be around the rock but still have 50 miles to go. I am not in any hurry, as long as the fleet are still together, I could continue in this enviroment for a long time.
It's fantastic to have a team onboard. This is the first time I have sailed offshore since the Vendée Globe. Then I was very lonely. I love the laughter and the company of the rest of the team and the general hashing over of options and decisions. We are happy with our position and are continually working our way closer towards the front after a tough first night being caught too close to the beach. None of us slept much on the first night but seem to be getting some reasonable rest now. We have e generator problem which is not desperate but a little frustrating.
Till tomorrow...
Nick
OPEN 60 CLASSIFICATION 09.08.05 0918BST:
1 Pindar Alphagraphics / Mike Sanderson / 0.00 / 276.80
2 Virbac-Paprec / Jean Pierre Dick / 0.30 / 277.10
3 Cheminées Poujoulat / Bernard Stamm / 3.80 / 280.60
4 Ecover / Mike Golding / 3.90 / 280.70
5 Sill et Veolia / Roland Jourdain / 5.80 / 282.60
6 Skandia / Nick Moloney / 6.60 / 283.40
7 Hellomoto / Conrad Humphreys / 8.20 / 285.00
8 Galileo / Walter Antunes / 12.70 / 289.50
9 Hugo Boss / Alex Thomson / 80.50 / 357.20 [this information is not correct]
NL Mare Verticale / Joe Seeten
NL Proform / Marc Thiercelin
NL Roxy / Anne Liardet
RET Best Western Chamonix / Benoit Parnaudeau
|
Source: Nick Moloney |
