KINGFISHER2 LOOKING FOR TICKET OUT OF SOUTH ATLANTIC...
SUMMARY:
0700 GMT 12.2.03
Position: 26 05' S 34 02' W (Rio de Janeiro 539nm
NW / Cape Town 2750nm E)
Ahead/Behind
the record: 18 hours 52 minutes behind Orange
(using WP4) Ahead/Behind Geronimo: 64 hours 43
minutes behind Geronimo (using WP5) DAY 13 24
hour run (point to point) : Kingfisher2 229 nm,
Orange 305 nm, Geronimo 277 nm End DAY 13 distance
to go (on theoretical course) : KF2 20293 nm,
Orange 19991 nm, Geronimo 19258nm Click on POSITIONS
link at http://www.teamkingfisher.com to see graphic
images comparing the tracks of these 3 challengers
at 4 hourly intervals.
Av/Max
boat speed in last hour: 9.03 / 16.4 knots Heading:
232
Av/Max wind speed in last hour: 6.6 / 13.0 knots
Wind direction: 98
Distance to WP4 35 00'S / 24 00'W approach to
Southern Ocean : 745 nm Distance to WP5 42 00'S
/ 18 28'W 490nm south Cape Town: 2734 (theorectical
shortest distance)
IN BRIEF:
*
LIGHT AIRS CONTINUE AS KINGFISHER2 TRIES TO CROSS
THE 'RIDGE' as the blocking high pressure bubbles
continue to hold back the giant catamaran. On
the same day both Orange and Geronimo had slow
days (305nm, 277nm). The Southern Ocean is not
so far away, but right now, a little too far...
*
Ellen commenting this morning..."WE HAVEN'T
HAD MUCH LUCK ON THE WEATHER FRONT so far on this
Jules Verne, we are not that far behind Peyron's
record, just a few hundred miles...and anything
can still happen, we’ve 20,000 miles to
go, thats the equivalent of 8 transatlantics..."
*
THE RECORD OF PEYRON IS VERY MUCH IN REACH, the
pace of GERONIMO is somewhat faster, but definitely
attainable..."We are around 1000 miles behind
de Kersauson which equates to over 2 days but
we keep reminding ourselves that these cats did
a time in The Race 2000 for the first Southern
Ocean leg [Cape of Good Hope - Cape Leeuwin] nearly
2 days faster than GERONIMO has just done - so
we are a long way from giving up hope on this.
Although he is over halfway round the world, we've
only does a quarter of this trip, still got three-quarters
to go and anything can still happen."
*
TEMPERATURES REMAIN VERY HOT AND UNCOMFORTABLE
onboard....in just a few days time though the
crew hope to be packing away the shorts and piling
on the thermals, as the cold, and the wind they
most desperately seek arrive. Check it all out
on the webcam at http://www.teamkingfisher.com
*
KINGFISHER2's HIGH SPEED DATA SATELLITE LINK,
damaged by the North Atlantic storms in the first
48 hours of the record bid, has been fully repaired.
On the first night of the Jules Verne, a massive
wave crashed on the aft section of the boat, ripping
off the port dome completely and severly damaging
the starboard back-up system. But with shore-side
support from Thrane & Thrane, crew members
Andrew Preece and Jason Carrington have doggedly
worked on the system for the last week and yesterday
the first on-board pictures from KINGFISHER2 arrived
back. The Thrane & Thrane Capsat Fleet77 terminal
provides high speed data and voice connections
allowing KINGFISHER2 to go on-line at speed to
gather weather information, transmit data and
media content. See http://www.teamkingfisher.com
to read the full story...
*
GERONIMO on day 32 has headed back south into
the 50s in their part of the Pacific section of
the Southern Ocean, after holding further north
to avoid bad seas in the Indian Ocean. http://www.grandsrecords.com
*
CREW MEMBER FOCUS: Anthony Merrington, but known
to everyone as Youngster, excelled in the Laser
class at home in Australia and on the world circuit,
before moving on to big boats. He raced on board
the monohull Kingfisher in 2001 and now he is
on KINGFISHER2 as trimmer...
Listen to Ellen's latest audio this morning...
Visit http://www.teamkingfisher.com and click
on the 'Audio' icon on the menu bar or download
from http://www.ocftp.com/audio/em120203a_uk.mp3
Kingfisher operating company of the day DARTY:
Darty is France's leading electrical retailer
with 186* stores. (*Figures as at 2.2.2002) http://www.darty.fr
ELLEN
LATEST LOG: (communications by BT [broadband users
check out video and other high speed content at
http://kingfisher.sportal.com]
As
I sit here typing there is a reflection shining
through the nav station hatch on the dark water
outisde... The moon seems as if it's blazing out
- lighting up the sky and our still silent world...
There's a funny feeling on a boat like KINGFISHER2,
a feeling of complete silence when you're sailing
slowly. You get used to the rush of water powering
past the hulls. It's normally quite hard to hear
what is going on, I suppose like having a conversation
at the base of the Niagara Falls. Tonight though
- tonight the sound is more akin to the noise
of a bubbling burn than a giant waterfall as we
trickle through the water... sittting outisde
I look up in wonder and frustration at the sky.
The weather has not been on our side. It has chosen
to test us, to push us hard - though this time
so far not with gales and storms, but with nothing.
I remember my own words - which right now ring
out loud in my head: "What is hard about
a record attempt is that it's completely dependant
on the weather - unlike a race where you are in
the same weather as your competitors..."
And I was right - there is no way we could have
matched other record attempts at this stage when
we have had so little wind. Life on board is becoming
more regular as I spend half an hour to an hour
on deck at each watch change. I encouraged myself
to do that, and it's important. I feel happier
chatting to the guys, and its uplifting to be
around their fantastic humour. Despite the days
of heat and frustration they are driving hard,
and for the most part, smiling about it. There
is nothing we could have done about this weather
situation, there is little we could have predicted.
Each change in the weather, and however microscopic,
seems to be have been for the worse... It must
be nigh on time for our luck to change... I've
just been studying a satellite picture, and it
shows some tiny cloud bands depictig the outer
limits of our windless hole. It's a tiny fragment
of information - but real information and not
a prediction. The wind has risen to 9 kno here?
ex
JULES VERNE USHANT (START) TO CAPE OF GOOD HOPE
TIMES:
1993 Commodore Explorer (Peyron) 21 days 12 hours
48 minutes 1994 ENZA (Blake/Knox-Johnston) 19
days 17 hours 53 minutes 1997 Sport Elec (de Kersauson)
21 days 18 hours 17 minutes 2002 Orange (Peyron)
18 days 18 hours 40 minutes 2003 Geronimo (de
Kersauson) 16 days 14 hours 35 minutes 21 seconds
OMEGA
official timekeeper of KINGFISHER2'S Jules Verne
record attempt
CREW MEMBER FOCUS: Anthony Merrington, aka Youngster,
(AUS) - Trimmer Younster is an accomplished Laser
sailor - between 1997-1999 he mounted an Olympic
Laser campaign, came 1st in the Silver Fleet at
the 1998 Sydney International Regatta, 22nd at
the 1999 World Championship and 2nd at the 1999
Australian National Championship - but in 1999
he switched to big boats working on illbruck's
Volvo Ocean Race campaign as boat captain. The
offshore life got the better of him. He competed
in the Sydney-Hobart Race on board Ausmaid and
in the Newport-Bermuda Race on board Farr 52 Loco.
In 2001 he came to the UK and joined the crew
of Kingfisher to race in the Open 60 Grand Prix
circuit. Youngster was one of just two crew to
race the entire 5 legs - including two trans-Atlantics
- of the EDS Atlantic Challenge finishing first
overall. He went back to the Volvo Ocean Race
in 2002 joining Team SEB at Leg 4 (Auckland) for
the duration of the race. But Youngster wanted
to go "non-stop" and KINGFISHER2 happened:
"The big challenge for me is non-stop - to
go 60 days flat-out will be awesome." Email
Youngster direct on board KINGFISHER2 at youngsterrace@kingfisherchallenges.com
PERFORMANCE PARTNER OF THE DAY - BUSHNELL: Bushnell
provide protective eyewear to Team Kingfisher
including Bollé and H2Optix sunglasses,
goggles and night vision eyewear. http://www.teamkingfisher.com/h2optix
