Figaro
2005 - Skandia 4th As Steady Conditions Continue
SKANDIA
remains in 4th and as the fastest boat in the
fleet since 0400hrs, has continued to make up
miles on leader BOSTIK who is now only 24.8nm
in front. Sam is currently 17nm from 3rd place
Eric Drouglazet (CREDIT MARITIME-ZEROTWO) and
sailing 4 knots faster, “I figured it would
happen, it went a bit light last night as the
sun set, the new winds are coming from the south
so seeing as though I’m at the south, I’m
going to get it first – so that’s
cool.”
Sam
has witnessed her first flying fish which is a
true sign of the changing latitudes, "I need
to get my flying fish bag out. Last year I had
a ziplock especially assigned to putting on my
hands to rescue flying fish with – they
absolutely stink. If you pick one up with your
bare hands, no matter how many baby wipes you
use, you can’t get rid of the fish smell
from your hands!"
Conditions
are really changing onboard, the fleet were experiencing
lighter winds yesterday and t-shirt weather for
the first time since the start! This is allowing
the fleet to dry their clothes, tidy their boats
and carry out boat checks. The wind has has returned
this morning and the warm temparatures are here
to stay, “The temp inside the boat is 22degrees,
and baring in mind the sun has just risen, it’s
going to be a warm one today (as the weather forecasters
say in America say)! Today the wind’s come
back and it’s blowing 20 knots!"
Sam
has spent some time looking at the long range
forecasts and playing with the Maxsea routing
software, to try and predict what may happen in
the fleet as they approach the Bahamas passage.
"I ran a routing simulation on my computer
to see who has the advantageous position, because
I believe it is me and also I want to see how
Gildas (CERCLE VERT) will manage to get back South!
I did a routing run for all the boats in the front
row, BOSTIK, CERCLE VERT and GEDIMATto compare
the differences in latitudes. It ran the movie
with all 4 boats sailing in the weather we will
are forecast to receive in the next few days.
SKANDIA won the race by about 6 hours to BOSTIK!"
Although
the majority of the fleet are now in the trade
winds, it was important for the fleet to remain
in the curve of the high pressure for as long
as possible to benefit from the best gradient
which Sam has managed to do. If you are too far
north like Antonio Da La Cruz (LITTLE BLACK SHARK)
the wind could be south or south west - leaving
the skipper unable to sail the course with a spinnaker,
if you are too far south the wind turns to the
east which Dominic Vittet (ATAO AUDIO SYSTEM)
is experiencing - this leaves you a little too
deep and means you have to keep gybeing to avoid
getting too far south.
While
the weather over the next 2 days appears to be
stable, Sam makes predictions for later on, "Today
and the beginning of tomorrow is fine but then
it turns in to a lottery. I think it’s just
going to about accepting where you are and getting
through it as quickly as possible. Luckily the
low pressure seems to be moving quite fast, hopefully
the new high pressure that comes in behind will
make the trade winds establish and we’ll
be able to get down the Turks quite quick after
that."
EMAIL LOG FROM SAM
Hello!
The
drying out process on board Skandia is really
getting somewhere now! I even managed to take
off my oilskin trousers and get down to a T-shirt
for the first time. Suncream is out!
Part
of this is also "recovery" process from
the physical first week. Some of my aches and
pains are disappearing now, but also I have the
wear and tear showing up. In particular, my hands
are agony! Little cuts are slightly infected,
the palms are red and sore from pulling ropes,
my fingertips (just under the end of each nail)
feel bruised (even typing hurts!) and my right
wrist is aching from steering too much! Poor me!
I
also saw my first flying fish today, which is
a good sign of getting into warmer climes! We
had less wind too, today, which was a little disappointing,
but as I write this the wind is back and we are
doing 9-10 knots again.
Today,
I ran a routing simulation on my computer to see
who has the advantageous position (because I believe
it is me and also I want to see how Gildas will
manage to get back South!) I put CERCLE VERT,
BOSTIK, SKANDIA and GEDIMAT and ran a simulation
race (to the Turks passage) with the latest grib
(weather) file that I had downloaded from Chopper,
and our polar file (boatspeed)
I
created it into a "movie" and watched
it! The charting software Maxsea that we have
on board is incredible in its ability to do such
things as this. Being able to receive weather
and work on it to make tactical decisions is incredible,
I am really enjoying this part of the race too.
Anyway, SKANDIA won my little simulated race (yippee!)
BOSTIK second, GEDIMAT 3rd and CERCLE VERT very
last! Perhaps I was being optimistic by not putting
Droug (CREDIT MARITIME-ZEROTWO) into my race!
So,
my work confirms that I am happy with my position
in the fleet, that Gildas will have a tough time
in the next week, and also now I have the detailed
breakdown of the optimum route to the Turks passage.
This work takes not very long (30 min), and I
do this every time a new weather file is available
(four times per day). I am careful to use it only
as a guide, because it is a weather forecast (and
we know that sometimes the forecasters don't get
it exactly right) especially once I am looking
beyond 3-4 days ahead. I also compare the forecast
from Chopper (our permitted source for grib files)
to the weather maps that I am continuously receiving
on the weather fax. The charts from Boston are
the ones I am finding the most useful.
So,
now I just need to sail SKANDIA as fast as Charles
is sailing BOSTIK to make sure I can make the
most of my advantageous position!
See
you soon
Sam
x
TRANSCRIPT
OF AUDIO WITH SAM
How
has your morning gone?
“The sun has just risen - a really, really
nice one where you can see it coming right through
the horizon. The temp inside the boat is 22degrees,
and baring in mind the sun has just risen, it’s
going to be a warm one today (as the weather forecasters
in America say)! Today the wind’s come back
and it’s blowing 20 knots! We’re still
reaching with the asymmetric spinnaker. I was
talking to Lionel Pean (Race director) last night
about the asymmetric because it’s 1.2; it’s
quite heavy cloth so that you can use it in just
about anything. When it was new it was really
hard, so when it collapsed and refilled it BANGED
really hard and I didn’t like it on the
rig. That was the reason why I changed down to
the small spinnaker before, refilling the asymmetric
was too powerful and the small spinnaker was not
new so the cloth was more stretchy, but now when
the asymmetric when it collapses and refills,
it’s like an elastic band! It’ll probably
come down in about a day and a half…”
So
tell us about the Maxsea routing computer game
you’ve been playing with the other boats,
in a race to the Bahamas?
“It’s really clever and such a powerful
tool. I’ve used all the time and used last
year in the AG2R but this race is the first time
I’ve got in to doing it really regularly.
It’s quick and easy for me to do. (Obviously
relying on the accuracy on the forecasting we
can read with the software.) Last night I was
looking at all of the boats in the front row,
so to speak, of the race across and we’re
so far spread from north to south. There’s
quite a strange situation coming across –
a low pressure which seems to develop in to 3
low pressures and all go off into 3 directions.
So I wanted to see who was in the best position
for getting to the passage at the Turks. So I
put my navigation on to do the reckoning so I
can move my little boat on the chart. I did a
routing run for each of us – me, BOSTIK,
CERCLE VERT and GEDIMAT - to compare the differences
in latitudes. You do each routing separately and
then you click on them all and create a movie.
It will run the movie with all 4 boats sailing
in the weather we will be receiving in the next
few days. It’s really interesting and my
little SKANDIA won the race by about 6 hours to
BOSTIK! The trouble is, the situation that’s
coming is really unstable and really unpredictable.
Each forecast we get is completely different and
this low pressure off the Bahamas is doing strange
things so I don’t think you can read anything
from my little race I did last night - but it
was quite fun. It was satisfying for me to know
that at the time with the information I had I
put SKANDIA in the right place for the approach
to the Bahamas so I was happy with that!”
What
would you be thinking at the moment if you were
Gildas Morvan on CERCLE VERT (boat 2nd furthest
north)?
“I’d be a bit apprehensive about having
to go upwind for a while but I think he’s
probably doing the right thing compared to what
TOTAL did. If he heads south now then he basically
quits and gives in and as I said, with this low-pressure
thing which is really uncertain at the moment,
anything could happen. He could get away with
it, come over the top and get back down in the
new trade winds, which will be formed by the high
pressure which follows the low so he might well
be ok. I think he’s doing the right thing
– sailing as fast as possible. He’s
got nothing to lose."
What
do you think will happen over the next few days?
Today is fine and beginning of tomorrow is fine
but then it turns in to a lottery. I think it’s
just going to about accepting where you are and
get through it as quickly as possible. Luckily
the low pressure seems to be moving quite fast,
hopefully the new high pressure that comes in
behind will make the trade winds establish and
we’ll be able to get down the Turks quite
quick after that.
At
the 1000hrs positions, you are 24.8nm from BOSTIK
and sailing at 9.3 knots compared to his 8.1 knots,
so you’re just over 1 knot quicker…
“I figured it would happen, it went a bit
light last night as the sun set, the new winds
are coming from the south so seeing as though
I’m at the south, I’m going to get
it first – so that’s cool.”
How
have you been eating over the past few days?
“Much better. In the last few days to start
with after the Azores I was just tired. Then once
I had recovered a bit, I was really hungry and
I think I’ve eaten a bit more than I had
before the Azores and now I’m back to normal
- except there’s less nice things on board!
I wish I had more interesting things to eat but
it’s probably a good thing for the shape
of me when I arrive in Cuba that there’s
isn’t so much crisp and chocolate. It’s
good – I’ve still got lots of oranges
left which is a real luxury. Last night I have
to confine my cheese from my airtight container
into the gas locker in the cockpit because the
cheese is now so ripe that it’s capable
of climbing out of the airtight container on it’s
own. I’m not sure how long it’s going
to stay onboard but it’s tastes great. It
just absolutely stinks! I’ve still got some
cherry tomatoes aswell. It’s incredible
the difference when you eat a cherry tomato one
day after the start, and now when I eat one the
taste is incredible! I always drink a tea just
before sunset when I’m steering –
that’s one of my little routines I have
on long ocean races. I love to steer just before
sunset with a cup of tea! It’s a habit and
it’s keeping me happy!"
Have
you found any flying fish victims onboard?
“No kamikaze fish yet – but normally
there are plenty but I try and rescue them as
well. I need to get my flying fish bag out. Last
year I had a ziplock especially assigned to putting
on my hands to rescue flying fish with –
they absolutely stink. If you pick one up with
your bare hands, no matter how many baby wipes
you use, you can’t get rid of the fish smell
from your hands. So you have to put your hand
in to a ziplock before you try and catch the slippery,
slimy, wriggly thing and put it back in the ocean!”
Listen
to the full audio from Sam at Audio/Video section
of website
Communications thanks to BT Broadband
LATEST POSITIONS 1000 BST 15/4/05
(boat name / average boat speed /distance to leader)
1.
BOSTIK / 8.1kts / 2034.2nm to finish
2. CERCLE VERT / 7.6kts / +5.7nm
3. CREDIT MARITIME - ZEROTWO / 8.9kts / +7.5nm
4. SKANDIA / 9.3kts / +24.8nm
5. BANQUE POPULAIRE / 8.5kts / +70.4nm
6. AQUARELLE.COM / 8.1kts / +85.6nm
7. COUTOT ROEHRIG / 9.1kts / +87.3nm
8. TOTAL / 7.2kts / +95.3nm
9. GEDIMAT / 8.1kts / +97.9m
10. ATAO AUDIO SYSTEM / 9.0kts / +148.7nm
11. ENTREPRENDRE AU PAYS DE LORIENT / 7.8kts /
179.2nm
12. LITTLE BLACK SHARK / 8.7kts / +195.0nm
Click
here for full positions report
Official
race website: http://www.trophee-bpe2005.com (French
only)
2005 FIGARO PROGRAMME
3 April: Trophée BPE 2005 (St.Nazaire –
Cienfuegos, Cuba)
6-25 June: La Generali Solo 2005
1-28 August: La Solitaire Afflelou Le Figaro 2005
PARTNER
OF THE DAY : UKSA
Official Watersports Training Facility for Sam
and the Offshore Challenges Sailing Team
http://www.samdavies.com/uksa
Email
powered by Active 24
For
more information visit http://www.samdavies.com/skandia
or contact :
Josie
Robinson (English)
josie@offshorechallenges.com
T: +44(0) 870 063 0210
Caroline
Muller (Francais)
bienvenue@welcomeonboard.fr
T: +33 (0)6 80 40 00 24
Other
information sources online:
Finistère Course au Large
Classe Figaro Bénéteau
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please go to http://www.samdavies.com/updates
NOTES TO EDITORS
*
Skandia Set Sail aims to offer people more opportunities
to participate in the sport on a broader level.
Its objectives are to make sailing more accessible,
grow the sport’s reach and enrich peoples’
lives through the sport.
*
Skandia's Set Sail portfolio is divided into three
groups: events; teams and athletes.
*
Events include: the title sponsorships of Skandia
Cowes Week, the world’s oldest and largest
regatta on the Isle of Wight, UK (title sponsors
for 10 years in 2004); Skandia Geelong Week in
Victoria, Australia – now twinned with Skandia
Cowes Week; the Skandia Brown Cup (the Scottish
Schools Sailing Championship) and Skandia Cowes
Youth Week, a leading international match racing
championship.
*
Teams include: the Skandia Maxi, Australia’s
biggest ocean racing yacht and line-honours winner
of the 2003 Sydney-Hobart Race.
*
Athletes include: Star class yachtsmen Iain Percy
and Steve Mitchell and Sam Davies, the up and
coming single-handed yachtswoman and her Figaro
campaign.
*
Sail 4 Cancer is the official charity of the Skandia
Set Sail programme www.sail4cancer.org
*
For further information contact www.skandiasetsail.com
*
Skandia in the UK launched in 1979 and is now
one of the UK’s leading financial services
groups providing pensions, investment and protection
products through intermediaries in the UK and
overseas. Creators of the multimanager approach,
Skandia has teamed up with the world’s top
fund managers to create a range of funds tailored
for investors’ individual needs.
*
Parent company, Skandia Insurance Company Limited,
is one of Europe’s oldest insurance companies.
It has developed and evolved constantly over the
years to reach its present position as one of
the world's leading long-term saving companies
with operations in over 20 countries and assets
under management exceeding £56 billion (as
at 31.12.04). For more information on Skandia
Insurance Company Limited visit www.skandia.com
