Sea, Sail & Surf newsAround Alone
Leg three start from Cape Town
samedi 14 décembre 2002 –
The boats sailed close-hauled and mostly single-reefed along the coast in a brisk 20 - 22 knot northwesterly wind, ploughing through the chop caused by the NSRI boats and spectator craft. Frenchman Thierry Dubois looked to have the best speed and he passed Emma Richards to open up a small lead on the fleet. However, he was soon being reeled in by Swiss skipper Bernard Stamm on Bobst Group - Armor Lux. Stamm had taken a conservative start but an hour into the race he had passed Dubois and was once again in the lead.
As the fleet sailed into the haze it was Bobst Group - Armor Lux leading Solidaires with Hexagon and Ocean Planet close behind. Emma Richards had started with two reefs in her mainsail, which left her underpowered, but once she threw the reefs out the boat picked up speed and Richards was slowly gaining on the leaders. Only Simone Bianchetti on Tiscali was struggling to keep up. After restarting, Bianchetti got caught close inshore and had to tack to clear a headland.
Latest news - Hexagon has now pushed into the lead of Class 1 - see 14:00GMT positions below.
In Class 2 Hatfield had a comfortable lead over second place Alan Paris on BTC Velocity with Kojiro Shiraishi on Spirit of yukoh and John Dennis bringing up the rear. Current Class 2 leader Brad van Liew was late starting due to some mainsail problems ; it seems that the sailmaker sewed the leechline on his mainsail by mistake, and Van Liew was not able to make adjustments to the back edge of the sail. Within minutes after the start the sailmakers were on board frantically hand sewing the sails, and at 1400 local time van Liew hoisted the mainsail and Tommy Hilfiger Freedom America was back in the race. Only Everest Horizontal remained at the dock, unable to complete vital rigging adjustments in time. American skipper Tim Kent estimates that he will be away before nightfall this evening.
WEATHER FORECAST & ROUTE - by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston Weather supplied by Raymarine
The Around Alone yachts are now heading out into the Roaring Forties of the Southern Ocean. As the boats leave Cape Town the winds are moderate. There is a depression well South to the West of the Cape travelling Eastwards. In 4 days time it will be centered East of the Cape. This will give good Westerly winds to the fleet at 40 degrees South for a while. It will be up to the sailors to decide how far South they go, and therefore how strong they want the winds to be.
Their route from Cape Point is up to them, but they must leave Heard Island, about 53 South, and South of the French islands of Kerguelen, to their South. From there they will trend North towards a wayline along 46 south and between 105 and 120 degrees east. They must, at some point, pass north of this line as it brings them within range of the Australian Search And Resue services. From there they leave Tasmania to their North and then Cape Reinga, the Northern point of New Zealand to their South before turning South to Tauranga on New Zealand’s East coast.
POSITIONS AT 14:00GMT 14TH DECEMBER 2002
Class 1
Boat Time Lat Lon AvgBsp AvgHeading DTF
1. Hexagon 34 21.960 S 18 11.000 E 3.93 kt 203 °T 7224.06 nm
2. Bobst Group - Armor Lux 34 25.020 S 18 08.001 E 4.42 kt 205 °T 7226.04 nm
3. Solidaires 34 24.420 S 18 07.140 E 4.38 kt 206 °T 7226.79 nm
4. Pindar 34 21.180 S 18 05.880 E 4.09 kt 210 °T 7228.35 nm
5. Tiscali 34 17.940 S 18 03.060 E 3.92 kt 217 °T 7231.52 nm
6. Ocean Planet 34 18.960 S 18 02.520 E 4.06 kt 217 °T 7231.62 nm
Class 2
Boat Time Lat Lon AvgBsp AvgHeading DTF
1. Spirit of Canada 34 15.880 S 18 03.560 E 3.68 kt 219 °T 7231.93 nm
2. Spirit of yukoh 34 14.760 S 18 03.520 E 3.59 kt 220 °T 7232.45 nm
3. Bayer Ascensia 34 13.240 S 18 03.080 E 3.47 kt 223 °T 7233.50 nm
4. BTC Velocity 34 13.680 S 18 02.600 E 3.54 kt 223 °T 7233.63 nm
5. Tommy Hilfiger 34 07.380 S 18 12.000 E 2.31 kt 219 °T 7240.70 nm
6. Everest Horizontal 33 53.000 S 18 25.000 E 0.10 kt 270 °T 7241.12 nm
Overall Points, Around Alone 2002-03
Class 1
Boat Name /Total points
1. Bobst Group - Armor Lux / 20
2. Solidaires - 18
3. Pindar - 15
=4. Hexagon - 11
=4. Ocean Planet 11
=4. Tiscali 11
Class 2
Boat Name/ Total points
1. Tommy Hilfiger Freedom America 20
2. Everest Horizontal - 17
3. Spirit of Canada - 17
4. Spirit of yukoh - 13
5. Bayer Ascencia - 13
6. BTC Velocity - 10
Results : Leg Two (Torbay to Cape Town)
Boat Name Elapsed Time / Corrected Time after penalties Pts
1. Bobst Group-Armor Lux 29d 22h 59m 45s / 29d 22h 59m 45s 10
2. Solidaires 30d 08h 42m 55s / 30d 08h 42m 55s 9
3. Pindar 30d 16h 27m 13s / 30d 18h 27m 13s 8
4. Hexagon 31d 15h 54m 12s / 32d 01h 54m 12s 7
5. Ocean Planet 48d 16h 15m 16s / 49d 02h 15m 16s 6
6. Tiscali 61d 04h 58m 59s / 62d 04h 58m 59s 5
Class II
Boat Name Elapsed Time / Corrected Time after penalties Pts
Tommy Hilfiger 46d 02h 48m 13s / 46d 02h 48m 13s 10
Freedom America
Everest Horizontal 50d 04h 37m 35s / 50d 12h 37m 35s 9
Spirit of Canada 50d 15h 25m 40s / 50d 17h 25m 40s 8
Spirit of yukoh 51d 09h 05m 51s / 51d 09h 05m 51s 7
Bayer Ascencia 57d 00h 22m 36s / 57d 02h 22m 36s 6
BTC Velocity 56d 23h 59m 24s / 57d 21h 59m 24s 5
Dans la même rubrique
Around Alone : Single handers ready to leave Cape Town for New Zealand
Around Alone : Last two Class 2 skippers finished in Cape Town
Around Alone : Tim Kent on Everest Horizontal finished the second leg
Route du Rhum : Nick Moloney breaks MacArthur’s ’98 record by nearly two days
