1000 Milles De Calais 2004 - Fastnet Rock Changes Fortunes

Wednesday 12 May 2004, The Mike Golding Yacht Racing crew onboard ECOVER have had a frustrating day, but are looking ahead to see where they can make some gains. ECOVER has match raced against Jean Le Cam since the start of the race and gained the lead of the race yesterday evening. ECOVER was the first boat to round the Fastnet Rock at midnight, but with a ridge of high pressure catching the fleet, winds dropped allowing Le Cam to watch ECOVER lose her wind and choose a more offshore route than ECOVER to stay with the breeze.

"It has been a little bit of a frustrating night with not a great deal of wind," said Golding. "We made a good rounding of the rock, made some good speed and then suddenly had no wind. Bonduelle watched us stop and sailed round us and they managed to keep the breeze. It was actually an advantage for them to be in second!

Looking ahead, there is a low pressure system over the south of Ireland with a windless zone to the north of the fleet with variable and weak winds. This could make it difficult for ECOVER to make any gains before the game of chess in the Channel. "We've got just 400 miles remaining to close the distance, but when Bonduelle get to Lands End, there will be some more choices to be made then, so the race is by no means over." The crews still have half the Irish Sea to cross, the Channel to negotiate and cross, so the race is still very much up for grabs. "I think once Bonduelle make Lands End, there should be a little shadow from the land and its possible that we might be able to close some distance," he continued.

Despite a frustrating 24 hours, Golding confirmed that the crew are, "Sleeping well, eating well and enjoying life on board. Life is good generally - there are no problems on the boat and it is functioning well, so we are pretty pleased. It shows we've done a good job in the winter, so all we are looking for now is an opportunity to catch up!"

At the end of the Calais 1,000 Miles race, the IMOCA Open 60 teams will only have one week to turn around before sailing to Plymouth for the single-handed Transat to Boston. It is therefore imperative to look after the boat and not take any unnecessary risks.

It has been a fantastic opportunity to race so close to Le Cam for so long this race, showing Golding and team that in light conditions, ECOVER is just as fast as the newest boats. As often the case in the longer Open 60 races, this can often be difficult to gauge without another boat in sight, so the Calais 1,000 Miles presents many unique opportunities for the boats involved.

Ranking / Skipper / Boat / Distance to Finish / Distance to Leader

1 Jean le Cam, Bonduelle, 409.5

2 Mike Golding, ECOVER, 430.7, 21.3

3 Jean-Pierre Dick, Virbac, 450.2, 40.8

4 Vincent Riou, PRB, 461.1, 51.7

5 Joé Seeten, Arcelor Dunkerque

Retirements:

Roland Jourdain, Sill

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