Please select your home edition
Edition
Haven Knox-Johnston Commercial

Kingfisher closing on Vendee leader

by Ellen MacArthur on 5 Feb 2001
After 4 days of relatively steady sailing upwind in the Trades, PRB has
started to feel the effects of the high pressure system that blocks the
route of the leaders. At 0600, Mich's speed had dipped below 10 knots for
the first time in almost a week, and his lead down to 54 miles in terms of
distance to go to the finish. Positioned 90 miles to his south and 40 miles
to his east, KINGFISHER was holding on still to the stronger breeze. The
game will be to get to the other side of the high pressure first, so the
distance to go is less relevant than how close to the wind on the other side
can each boat is.

* The high pressure 'barrier' and its associated light winds will create an
accordion effect once more, KINGFISHER should gain more miles before
touching the same winds and slowing up. Ellen's hope will be by at least not
following the same track, even if only 40 miles to the east, that she can
pick up a different breeze to gain some miles on the leader. On the other
side of the barrier there are strong West and NW winds, attached to the
North Atlantic depressions, to carry the skippers back to the Bay of Biscay
and the finish, now less than 2000 miles away.
http://www.kingfisher-challenges.com/position/2.shtml

* Marc Thiercelin (ACTIVEWEAR) continues to slip back, now at 523 miles -
he's had difficulty holding height with his older generation Finot design.
He commented yesterday that he had to sail a lot without the daggerboard due
to a balance problem - the effect is obvious - slip to leeward. He certainly
hasn't give up hope of a podium finish though, on this, his 3rd round the
world solo race.

* During the night Thomas Coville (SODEBO) crossed the Equator back in to
the northern hemisphere. Both him and Dom Wavre (UBP) have been plagued by
the calms for several days now, but seem to have finally touched some new
breeze and are sailing at 7 knots.

* Meanwhile in the Battle of the Brits, Josh Hall has once again taken the
advantage with a 21 mile lead, his more westerly position for the time being
paying off as Golding hits the calms - boat speed 2.7 knots...


-------

EMAIL UPDATE FROM ELLEN THIS MORNING
Communications sponsored by British Telecom http://www.btopenworld.com
No Audio today

I had the weirdest experience yesterday evening - a sand storm! Suddenly it
was raining sand, the whole deck was brown. It was on the sails, the ropes,
everything. Africa feels a long way away, but I guess this came from
Morocco.

I have been working quite hard on a long jobs list, making sure everything
is done before we attack the area of light winds ahead. I've re-spliced the
spinnaker sheets, re-stitched a few strops and even cleaned the deck. I wish
I could get the black marks out though, I hate it when she's not looking
perfect.

Had the best night's sleep for a long time last night. Lots of 70 minute
naps, with a few 20 minutes ones as well. Fantastic! The wind was quite
steady, on a clear night, with stars everywhere.

This next 48 hours is going to be decisive, its the last chance for anyone
to pass I think. We seem to have been keeping our distance on Bilou although
he's been climbing slightly on both of us [meaning he has been sailing
higher and therefore gaining ground to east], but thats probably due to a
better wind angle out to the west. I've worked to get a bit of separation
from Mich by sailing a bit closer to the wind and accepting some speed loss,
so at least I'm not just following his tracks. We'll see whether it makes
any difference - this shouldn't be as bad as the Doldrums, but in every
unstable wind mass there are always chances to pick up a ride from a
friendly cloud...

Wind is now down to 13 knots and quite steady, time for a sail change to the
genoa I think. Grind in the smaller 'solent' sail and roll out the big'n.
We're going in to the CALM ZONE...it just remains to be seen how long we are
there. The routing software says we should be out by tomorrow, but I don't
really trust that computer programme!

Got to go, down 12 knots of wind...

Related Articles

British Moths at Desborough
The Thames at Shepperton is an almost perfect location for these quirky boats Saturday 20th September saw the British Moth fleet gather for their last open meeting of the season at Desborough Sailing Club on the Thames at Shepperton in what is an almost perfect location for these quirky boats.
Posted today at 3:51 pm
Notts County Junior and Youth open
The improvement in standard since last year was noticeable The Notts County Youth and Junior Open had a good entry from sailors aged 8 to 14. Most were in Toppers, but RS Teras, a Laser and 420 entered.
Posted today at 2:24 pm
Comets at Merthyr Tydfil
Come along one day and experience the "downwind effects" of Pen-y-Fan After a week of near relentless heavy rain and showers we were very pleased to have a forecast of brighter weather with a fair wind from the north.
Posted today at 12:06 pm
The RYA 150 Podcast - Episode 1
Keith Musto OBE, Rod Carr CBE and Stephen ‘Sparky' Park CBE Episode 1 - The legacy that shaped British Olympic sailing reflects on the passion, setbacks and turning points that shaped British achievement on the water over the decades.
Posted today at 11:00 am
The latest in fleet monitoring and tracking
Join us on October 22nd for an in-depth exploration of the latest in tracking technology Fleet monitoring and tracking are essential for efficiency, safety, and compliance with real-time visibility into fleet movements critical.
Posted today at 9:30 am
RS400 fleet at Poole Week
The highlight of the regatta calendar for many sailors This Annual event held between 24-28th August at Parkstone Yacht Club attracted 365 sailors in 197 dinghies from 26 different clubs and is the highlight of the regatta calendar for many sailors.
Posted today at 8:06 am
Allen Solo class Midland Series at Chase SC
A glorious forecast of sunshine and a steady breeze On Saturday 20th September, Chase Sailing Club rolled out the red carpet for the Allen Solo Midland Series, and what a day it was. With a glorious forecast of sunshine and a steady breeze of 10-15 knots, conditions couldn't have been better.
Posted today at 6:16 am
2025 Six Metre World Championship Day 2
Eau Vive and Jill claim first victories in Oyster Bay After the disappointment of a wind and raceless day one, the 2025 International Six Metre World Championships at the Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club finally got under way in warm sunshine and a south-westerly of around 6-8 knots.
Posted today at 3:23 am
46th Cannes Royal Regatta day 2
A dream day! If we had to give a score for the entry of the "classic " and 5.5 m on Tuesday 23 September, we would hesitate between an 18 and 19/20... knowing that you never put a 20/20!
Posted on 23 Sep
Snipes at Budworth
Home of one of the UK's most active Snipe fleets For the final Snipe Class UK Open meeting this year the travelling boats made their annual visit to Budworth Sailing Club. Home of one of the UK's most active Snipe fleets.
Posted on 23 Sep