Rolex Fastnet Race 2013 - Day 4
by Peta Stuart-Hunt 14 Aug 2013 15:14 BST
14 August 2013
Maxi-monohull match races play out
Like the animals in Noah's Ark, the biggest monohulls have spent the last days travelling two by two around the Rolex Fastnet Race course.
Between the pair of 100ft long Maxis - Esimit Europa 2 and Mike Slade's ICAP Leopard - it was the more nimble European maxi that led around the course to claim monohull line honours, finishing at 02:17:49 BST, with an elapsed time of 2 days 12 hours 27 minutes and 49 seconds.
Weighing in at a svelte 27 tonnes, compared to ICAP Leopard's 50, Esimit Europa 2 was the pre-race favourite for monohull line honours win and, after being forced to retire from the 2007 Rolex Fastnet Race in her previous incarnation as Neville Crichton's Alfa Romeo, this time she didn't disappoint. According to her skipper, multiple Olympic medallist Jochen Schümann, the Esimit Europa 2 crew was concerned sailing down the Channel, because the moderate to strong upwind conditions favoured ICAP Leopard. In fact the closest ICAP Leopard got to them was around a mile.
Then, Schümann recounted: "At the Scillies we made a big gain and at the restricted area next to the Fastnet, we split - we went to the west, and then reached around the Rock, while they went east and there they lost quite a bit. We were 15 miles ahead at the Fastnet Rock. From then, it was like a bungie - we stopped, they stopped, etc."
The race was relatively simple in terms of crew work - there was only one jib change outbound to the Rock on board Esimit Europa 2, and downwind on the way back the conditions never exceeded 12 knots. But after all the hard work around the course, the outcome was only decided in the last moments when, like so many night time arrivals, Esimit Europa 2, was becalmed on the approach to the finish, as the boats behind approached, bringing the wind in with them.
"It would have been very easy to stop and let some other people come with momentum and pass you, but we passed the headlands in the right place and stayed in some breeze. It was much more difficult than I remember in the past," said Schümann.
Esimit Europa 2's owner, Slovenian businessman Igor Simčič, commented: "The Rolex Fastnet Race is a very important race, a very long race - it is a test of many things, not only a boat and crew. I am very happy to have such a boat and such a crew that know how to manage this potential."
"At the beginning I was expecting to have more wind, because the Fastnet is known for very strong wind, but even in this case it wasn't so easy. I also very much appreciate the effort of all the other boats - the smaller ones who will be spending four or five days at sea to complete the race."
Frustrating park-up
If Esimit Europa 2 suffered a slow down approaching the finish line, it was far worse for ICAP Leopard, as Mike Slade's line honours winner from 2007 and 2009 was becalmed off the finish for the best part of two hours, as boats closed in from behind.
Much to the chagrin of the ICAP Leopard crew, they were once again beaten by the Ian Walker-skippered team on the Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing VO70, which pipped them to the post crossing the line at 07:25:03, just four and a half minutes ahead of them.
"There was no wind as is often the case," explained Walker, the double Olympic silver medallist. "There was a bit of land breeze in the harbour and Leopard was completely marooned. We came in with the new wind from behind. The same could have happened to us, but fortunately we managed to get ourselves into a position where we went around the outside, away from the cliff."
Of greater consequence for the Abu Dhabi team is that they successfully fought back from being more than five miles behind the women's team on Team SCA at the Fastnet Rock, to regain the lead just coming into Bishop Rock.
Team SCA navigator Sam Davies admitted that returning from the Fastnet Rock they had made a mistake in heading too far east in light winds allowing Abu Dhabi to make a big gain. "Then once we were near each other it was pretty clear that we were missing a spinnaker. They have an inshore free-flying spinnaker, which we did not - so they were sailing lower and faster all the way down there."
Ian Walker agreed that the speed difference came down to this sail, but it also represented the 39 point difference in IRC rating which ensured Team SCA beat Abu Dhabi on handicap and yesterday afternoon Team SCA not only led the IRC Canting Keel class, but the Rolex Fastnet Race in its entirety. However this morning, with the smaller boats returning from the Fastnet Rock, the overall lead has now shifted back to the 40 footers, while in IRC Canting Keel, the leader is the Baltic 78, Lupa of London, although one more boat in this class is still to finish.
The match race between the two Judel Vrolijk 72 Mini Maxis took a dramatic turn further back up the course. American Hap Fauth's newer and more powerful Bella Mente had led and extended over Niklas Zennström's 2009 and 2011 overall Rolex Fastnet Race winner, Rán 2, on the way to the Fastnet Rock.
"We were very happy with our beat, possibly because we are a bit more powerful, but we orientated the boat to beat them to the Rock," explained Bella Mente helmsman and former Volvo Ocean Race winning skipper, Mike Sanderson of their race with Rán 2. "We all know that if you can lead to the Rock, you are normally in pretty good shape." For example, this included taking 18 crew compared to the 12 they sailed with in the Giraglia Rolex Cup or the 16 for the RORC Caribbean 600.
After looking to be in good shape, Bella Mente suffered late yesterday afternoon when they fell into a patch of light wind short of the Bishop Rock. "The others were bringing breeze down - MACIF was doing 16 knots, Rán was doing 14 knots and we were doing 12 knots," explained Sanderson. This caused the fleet to compress and from holding a comfortable 8 mile advantage over Rán and leading IRC Zero, Bella Mente's lead reduced to 3.5 miles.
"We had a good race, it's just a bit of a shame we couldn't finish it off - the wind gods just weren't on our side," concluded Sanderson.
While Rán 2 succeeded in beating Bella Mente under IRC, she has been knocked into second place in IRC Zero by Johnny Vincent's TP52, Pace. Overall she holds third place under IRC and sadly is no longer in with a chance of entering the history books by securing her third consecutive overall win in the Rolex Fastnet Race.
With the smaller boats returning from the Fastnet Rock in better conditions, they are becoming increasingly favoured for the overall win of the Rolex Fastnet Race under IRC. Andrew Pearce's Ker 40, Magnum 3, was ahead first thing this morning, but has since been overtaken by Inis Mor, the Ker 39 of Frenchman Laurent Gouy. It could be at least another 48 hours before a winner of the Rolex Fastnet Race 2013 is finally decided.
fastnet.rorc.org
Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing's Fastnet record remains intact (from Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing)
Crew hopefuls shine as battle for Volvo Ocean Race 2014-15 spots heats up
Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing's Rolex Fastnet Race monohull record remains intact as the largest fleet in the event's history this week couldn't match the blistering pace of the Volvo Ocean Race-contesting team's Azzam yacht performance of 2011.
Igor Simcic's Esimit Europa 2 took monohull line honours in the iconic 611 nautical mile race in the UK this week, finishing just shy of 18 hours slower than Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing's 2011 time of 42 hours, 39 minutes, set by the Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi)-backed outfit on its competitive debut.
Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing was the second monohull to cross the line this time around, unable to catch the imperious 100ft Esimit Europa 2.
Azzam itself was back in the Fastnet Race this year with Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing skipper, Ian Walker, using the event to test out crew hopefuls that are vying for a place with the Arab flagged entry in the 2014-15 Volvo Ocean Race campaign.
"It's nice that Azzam keeps her record for another two years, it was always going to be tough to break as the weather conditions were less favourable than they were in 2011. Yet our core focus remains the same whatever the result, it's about getting back out on the water and putting together the best team we can, as early as possible, to put us in the strongest position for the next Volvo Ocean Race. With the guys we had onboard this week, we've definitely taken a big step to achieving that," said Southampton-born Walker, a double Olympic medal winner and two-time Volvo Ocean Race veteran.
Young guns Tom Johnson and Jeremy Wilmot from Australia, Phillip Carlson from Sweden and Jack Boutell of UK were the under 30s trying out for a spot to join Emirati Olympian Adil Khalid onboard Azzam for the next Volvo Ocean Race, whilst the UK's Simon Fisher, who crewed with Abu Dhabi in the 2011/2012 Volvo Ocean Race campaign, as well as Antipodean veterans Phil Harmer, Tony Mutter and Cameron Dunn were all onboard to ensure the juniors were put through their paces.
And Walker, who picks up the reigns with Abu Dhabi for his third round-the-world stint, which sees the race return to Abu Dhabi for a Christmas and New Year 2014-15 stopover, believes the team will benefit from being early in the crew selection process.
"Being here now, more than a year to the race start, and having a very strong idea about who we want, is a good place for us to be. We want to bring in some of the guys we sailed with last time, and pick some new sailors that can bring fresh ideas and their own experience to create the strongest rounded team we can. With everyone having the same boats in the next Volvo Ocean Race crew selection and management is absolutely critical so we need to get it spot on," added Walker.
Much of this week's Fastnet racing focus was on the duel between the two 2014-15 Volvo Ocean Race outfits, Abu Dhabi and TEAM SCA, contesting the IRC CK (Canting Keel) class.
After a strong start from Abu Dhabi on day one, TEAM SCA - which will field an all-female crew in the upcoming Volvo Ocean Race, starting in Alicante, Spain next October – slipped past Walker's team through the night, as Abu Dhabi stalled in a wind hole off the coast and was further hindered by snagging a large fish on its rudder that proved challenging to clear.
A sturdy performance from TEAM SCA – which entered a mixed sex crew for the Fastnet led by Volvo Ocean Race veteran Brad Jackson – meant Azzam needed to grind away the lead. At the Fastnet Rock rounding off the south coast of Ireland, which lends its name to the iconic race, TEAM SCA held a five mile lead, which Walker chipped away with the unfurling of Azzam's spinnaker to close the gap to one mile with 100 to go.
On the final night, mile by mile, Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing overturned TEAM SCA to cross the line with a time of 65h35m03s – 11 and a half minutes ahead in real time and 2h13m* behind with corrected handicaps imposed.
With the summer racing behind it, Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing's focus is to now select its full crew line-up by early next year, when it will also receive its new one-design Volvo 65 race yacht.
Abu Dhabi city, capital of the United Arab Emirates, will host the third 2014-15 Volvo Ocean Race stopover from mid-December 2014 until 3rd January 2015.TCA Abu Dhabi, which is behind the emirate's race campaign as well as the stopover, is pushing forward a package-strong and tourism-driven event, including a fan-friendly Destination Village on the stunning Abu Dhabi Corniche breakwater as well as a compelling entertainment programme to leverage the highly sought-after Christmas and New Year dates.
The Abu Dhabi Etihad Airways In-Port Race, which was won by home favourites Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing in the last edition, will take place on January 2nd 2015, with the fleet departing for Sanya, China the following day. The fleet is expected to arrive middle of December 2014.
TCA Abu Dhabi is once again working closely with a number of government bodies to successfully deliver the stopover, including Abu Dhabi Sailing & Yacht Club - the Official Host Yacht Club and key partner in the roll-out of the stopover and junior sailing initiatives; the Abu Dhabi International Marine Sports Club - Technical Headquarters, which will be home to the team areas and international television broadcast compound, and the Event Security Committee, Ministry of Interior, Critical Infrastructure & Coastal Protection Authority, Department of Transport, SEHA, Abu Dhabi Customs, Abu Dhabi Municipality and Abu Dhabi Airports Company.
* at time of writing
Team SCA proves its worth in Rolex Fastnet Race (from Team SCA)
Team SCA crossed the finish line of the Rolex Fastnet Race off Plymouth breakwater just after 0730h this morning. The mostly all-female crew of Team SCA led their class around the iconic Fastnet Rock late on Monday night and finished the race ahead of Volvo Ocean Race competitor Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing on corrected time.
For the majority of the 600-mile race Team SCA's major competitor was their future round the world race rival and after overtaking them at Start Point late on Sunday afternoon they were able to hold the experienced Volvo Ocean Race crew at bay until earlier this morning.
Dutch crew member Carolijn Brouwer commented on the dock: "We did well on the first half of the race until the Rock and I think that tactically we played the shift well and on the way down it turned around a little bit. Abu Dhabi came with pressure from behind and they had a bigger sail so they closed the gap and found the moment where they could pass us. But we beat them on corrected time!"
For Sam Davies (GBR) who navigated the magenta boat around the course it was a game of snakes and ladders: "Abu Dhabi got some snakes and we got some ladders. We had a good ladder at Start Point on the way out and then we had a snake on the way back from the Rock. So overall, we are even!
All in all it was really good and we are happy that we have done this. It is a great confidence booster and shows that we can do it. It is setting us up for the lead up to the Volvo Ocean Race."
The Fastnet Race was the first major goal in the team's campaign for the Volvo Ocean Race and the objective was to do it well and do it cleanly. It was an intense race all the way around with a number of challenges and several tricky tactical calls and a vast amount of maneuvers all the while being pressed by Abu Dhabi. For the team it provided an unparalleled opportunity for training and benchmarking.
"The debrief starts already and tomorrow we leave for Lanzarote. For sure a few learnings have been made, but the big the learning is how to race on one of these boats and how intense the competition is. After three days racing you can still see your competitors, it will be like this during the Volvo Race, but for 20 days!" commented Richard Brisius, the Team's Managing Director.