Polish cat inside record time for Cadiz - San Salvador
by The Race Media Centre 15 Feb 2000 19:56 GMT
Polpharma-Warta inside the record time at the Canary Islands waypoint
On rounding the southernmost tip of the island of Gran Canaria (Canary Islands) at 14:35 UTC today (Tuesday, Feb. 15), the Polish catamaran Polpharma-Warta (85 ft) is well inside the time to qualify for The Race on the Cadiz (Spain) / San Salvador (Bahamas) course.
Having covered about 710 miles (1315 km) since their start in Cadiz on Sunday Feb. 13 at 08:11 UTC, Roman Paszke and his 6 fellow crew members checked in off Puerto Posito Blanco (Island of Gran Canaria) with a 16-minute lead over Jet Services V, holder of the East-West Atlantic record since 1988.
"All is well on board", the Polish mariners reported as they were charging along under full sail (full main and genoa) in a force-6 wind. Their mood was positive indeed, because by "sticking" to Jet Services' time they are putting all chances on their side to win the right to take the start of The Race on Dec. 31, 2000. To achieve this, they must reach San Salvador before Feb. 28 at 23:42:53 UTC - a deadline calculated by adding a 25-percent margin to Jet's record (12 days 12h 25mn 26s).
Polpharma took out a distinct advantage during the first 24 hours of the passage, averaging 13.6 knots (25.31 kph) against 8.70 knots (16.12 kph) for Jet Services. But they were subsequently slowed down with winds from astern, which forced Roman Paszke to sail a "zigzag" course. The Poles still have about 3178 miles (5886 km) to cover, out of 3885 miles (7195 km) in total.
Weather
Forecast until Thursday, Feb. 17 : winds from the NE, force 6 falling to force 4, wave heights 2 m.
Positions
Day of race: D+2, Feb. 15, 8:11 UTC
Latitude: 028.53,043 N
Longitude: 014.43,77 W
Day's run: 302 miles (559,30 km)
Day's average: 12.58 knots (23,30 kph)
Advantage over Jet Services V: 10 miles (18.52 km)
Day of race: D+1, Feb. 14, 8:11 UTC
Latitude: 032.58,300 N
Longitude: 011.15,77 W
Day's run: 328 miles (607,46 kph)
Day's average: 13.66 knots (25.31 km/h)
Day of race: Start, Feb. 13, 8:11 UTC
Latitude: 036.34,638 N
Longitude: 006.15,244 W
More information and photos: http://www.therace.org/english/actualite/indexrecord_discovery.htm