Day 5 of calms - How much longer for Team Legato?

by Team Legato on 2 Mar 2001 15:00 GMT TEAM LEGATO WARTA POLPHARMA
Position: 46 34S; 140 29'W 55 40S; 66 37'W
Speed at time of satellite poll: 1.0knots 4.2 knots
Average speed for last 4 hours: 6.3 knots 9.6 knots
Course: 78 Degrees 8 Degrees
Distance covered over 24 hours: 152 miles 230 miles
Distance between the two: +2,708 miles


Day 5 of calms - How much longer?

As Grant Dalton and his crew on Club Med approach the finish line at
Marseilles, Tony Bullimore and his crew are caught on the horns of a dilemma
in mid Pacific. Sitting in the middle of the supposedly Roaring Forties in
almost flat calm for the 5th day running, they are desperate for any remedy
to their frustrations.
Either they hold true to the advice from their weather routers - to keep
heading East, even if they have to beat for a while in order to break into
the Nor'westerly winds 400 miles ahead of them - or follow their gut
instincts to head south towards supposedly stronger conditions in the
Screaming Fifty latitudes

Now out of satellite phone range, they are unable to pull down the weather
pictures that would show them the traps that await them in that direction
too. So in effect they are sailing blind, relying on the text messages to
guide them coming from the St James's Yachting weather team at regular
intervals via their Satcom C set.

Over the past 24 hours, the crew covered a paltry 152 miles - which even
when set against the 230 set by their Polish rivals on Warta Polpharma as
they negotiate Cape Horn, is not good. Can things get any worse?

Yesterday saw a waiver in course when TEAM LEGATO suddenly started heading
140 Degrees, suggesting that they crew may have decided that the Southern
option could not offer anything worse than they are enduring now. But today,
her course has been fluctuating between 75-90 degrees once more.

'Going south looks fine for 24 hours but they will just end up sailing into
another hole which will develop down there.' Advises Richard Price at the St
James's routing office. 'The weather options could not have been more
difficult, but the plan to keep pressing to the East remains the most
logical in the long term, despite the continued short term pain.'

Leading positions at 15:00 GMT today
1. Club Med 539 miles to finish - Rounded Cape Horn 11.02.01
2. Innovation Explorer +1,002 miles - Cape Horn 12.02.01
3. Team Adventure 5,952 miles - Cape Horn 28.02.01
4. Warta Polpharma 6,499 miles - Cape Horn 02.03.01
5. Team Legato 9,207 miles - Left Wellington 21. 02. 01
6. PlayStation - RETIRED 14.01.01

For further details, pictures and audio feed from TEAM LEGATO, contact Barry
Pickthall at the Team Legato Race office
Mobile Phone: +44 (0) 7768 395719
Office +44 (0) 1243 555561 Fax: +44 (0)1243 555562
E.mail: ppl@mistral.co.uk Web site: www.teamlegato.com