Figaro
2005 - Skandia Celebrates 32d With Cup Of Tea
SKANDIA
has continued to move up leader board and is now
in 3rd, only 17.8nm behind the new race leader
Eric Drouglazet (CREDIT MARITIME-ZEROTWO) who
is just 9.9nm ahead of 2nd place Charles Caudrelier
(BOSTIK), both previous Solitaire winners. SKANDIA
is currently averaging 1.5 knots faster than BOSTIK.
CERCLE VERT moves down to 4th, 14nm behind SKANDIA.
Sam
celebrated her 3rd place with a cup of her favourite
tea, Earl Grey! "It’s satisfying to
show that my strategy paid off and what I decided
to do was the right thing, also it’s good
knowing that I’m not in 3rd place by accident
but because I took myself there."
Click
here to download photo of Sam toasting Skandia
(for all images go to the Gallery on http://www.samdavies.com/skandia)
The
winter training at Port La Forêt training
as part of the Pôle Finistère Course
au Large team, has proved to be advantageous for
those skippers involved, "It has definitely
helped and it seems to be the Finistère
Course au Large lot who are generally slightly
further ahead than the others, so that’s
a good sign for us that we have good boat speed."
SKANDIA
is again one of the southern most boats, 50nm
south of CREDIT MARITIME-ZEROTWO and 100nm south
of BOSTIK. "It seems that my position a little
bit south is still a benefit and I have slightly
more wind than those to the north of me..."
The
conditions over the next few days are forecasted
to turn much less stable. Sam has been trying
to rest as much as possible in preparation for
this, "I think it will be tricky sailing
to negotiate the next weather system, lots of
shifts, changes in windspeed (even rain!) and
I will need to be alert."
SKANDIA
has been spinnaker reaching in the same conditions
for the past 8 days, this is expected to continue
for the next day at least, after which Sam predicts
they will tack as the cold front arrives. The
northern boats will go through this depression
earlier than the boats in the south, which also
means the northern boats will leave it earlier...
With
only 30nm separating the top 4 boats, and 100
miles separating the majority of the fleet, every
mile counts for the 12 skippers. Their objective
- to be the first boat to get past this new weather
system, out the other side and into the trade
winds as quickly as possible.
View
short video clip of Sam, with a french message
from the Atlantic, at the Audio/Video section
of the website.
EMAIL
LOG FROM SAM (0300HRS)
Hello
from halfway between the Azores and the Turks
waypoint!
So,
it is Friday night. For me the Friday nights are
the most difficult, because my body tells me that
I should be in "Le Bidule" drinking
a beer, and not in a little boat in the middle
of an ocean! It is also a way of marking the race:
this is Friday night number 2, hopefully only
one more Friday night to endure until the finish...
So,
instead of celebrating my third position with
a beer, I toasted SKANDIA with my cup of tea (Earl
Grey, of course, with milk). And I can continue
to dream of that first beer at the finish, thanks
to the "Palma Cristal" beer label that
is stuck on my chart table (as motivation - Palma
Cristal is "La preferida de Cuba") -
a present from Estelle and Mumu!
Today
was again, another great sailing day. It seems
that my position a little bit South is still a
benefit and I have slightly more wind than those
to the North of me, so I continued to make gains!
We
have been reaching on port gybe now for 8 days!!
I am going to have one leg longer than the other
soon!! My predictions are that in two days time
we will tack, as the cold front passes over us!
What a relief for my wrist too, which is pretty
painful.
I
am trying to make the most of these last two days
of "stable" conditions to get as much
rest as possible, because I think it will be tricky
sailing to negotiate the next weather system,
lots of shifts, changes in windspeed (even rain!)
and I will need to be alert because it will be
really important to get out the other side and
into the trade winds as fast as possible. But
it isn't really easy to rest now either, because
the wind changes all the time and we are tight
spinnaker reaching...
I
will do my best!
Sam
x
TRANSCRIPT
OF AUDIO WITH SAM
How
does if feel to be in 3rd?
“It’s good, I’m very happy!
It’s satisfying to show that my strategy
paid off and what I decided to do was the right
thing, also it’s good knowing that I’m
not in 3rd place by accident but because I took
myself there. I know sometimes you end up hooning
up the ranking and you’re not entirely sure
why or how it happened. I know why, so I’m
happy about that.”
We’ve
seen you moving up the leader board, do you think
that this can continue up to 2nd and maybe up
to 1st?
“Possibly, but I think I’ve taken
my big gain now and I think now there’s
going to be a bit more luck involved in getting
through the cold front and out the other side
in to the trades winds again. It’s really
difficult to predict. Every new grib file says
a different thing, even looking at the weather
fax map it’s not easy to predict which way
is the best route through. Hopefully I can keep
my 3rd place, I don’t feel too threatened
from Gildas (CERCEL VERT) because I think he’s
too far north and I’ll try and hang on to
BOSTIK & CREDIT MARITIME-ZEROTWO because they
sail really fast and if I hold on to them I hopefully
I should get a good finish."
You’re
surrounded by Solitaire winners – how do
you get yourself to be in that position? Do you
think it’s your winter training with the
Finistère Course au Large team, at Port
La Forêt that has helped you to get the
right speed and right tactics?
My winter training has definitely helped and it
seems to be the Finistère Course au Large
lot who are generally slightly further ahead than
the others. That’s a good sign for us that
we have good boat speed. I think the work I did
with Jean-Yves Bernot (one of the world’s
top weather experts) looking at the weather really
helped. We did one session with Finistère
Course au Large and Jeanne Gregoire (BANQUE POPULAIRE)
and I had one session with just the two of us.
This has given me more confidence in being able
to make the decisions. When I went south I knew
I’d lose miles to start with so you have
to be brave enough to accept that and be confident
in your feelings that you’ll gain those
miles back again. That’s difficult and something
that I’ve only just been able to start doing
- being able to have confidence in myself and
knowing that I do actually know enough and what
I’m thinking is probably going to be right.
I think doing the AG2R last year really helped
aswell, it’s not the same route but it’s
a similar crossing with the same weather scenarios.”
Do
you think CERCLE VERT, being in a different situation,
might benefit from the unstable weather, which
is forecasted?
“Yes I’m sure that’s why he’s
stayed north, and he hasn’t given up and
dived south to follow the rest. He’s got
nothing to lose where he is and quite rightly,
he could do a riser. I have a feeling not but
we’ll see…"
Listen
to the full audio from Sam at Audio/Video section
of website.
Communications
thanks to BT Broadband
LATEST
POSITIONS 1000 BST 16/4/05
(boat name / average boat speed /distance to leader)
1.
CREDIT MARITIME - ZEROTWO / 10.8kts /1808.5nm
to finish
2. BOSTIK / 8.4kts / +9.9nm
3. SKANDIA / 9.9kts / +17.8nm
4. CERCLE VERT / 8.7kts / +32.3nm
5. BANQUE POPULAIRE / 9.5kts / +81.1nm
6. COUTOT ROEHRIG / 10.4kts / +84.2nm
7. AQUARELLE.COM / 8.8kts / +105.3nm
8. GEDIMAT / 7.9kts / +106.1m
9. TOTAL / 8.3kts / +138.0nm
10. ATAO AUDIO SYSTEM / 7.8kts / +174.2nm
11. ENTREPRENDRE AU PAYS DE LORIENT / 7.9kts /
202.9nm
12. LITTLE BLACK SHARK / 6.9kts / +221.5nm
