Sea, Sail & Surf newsAround Alone
Single handers ready to leave Cape Town for New Zealand
vendredi 13 décembre 2002 –
All the skippers were in fine spirits one day before setting out for the ’serious leg’ as phrased by American skipper Tim Kent on Everest Horizontal. Overall current leader with 20 points, Swiss skipper Bernard Stamm on Bobst Group-Armor Lux, explained how he saw this next Southern Ocean leg : "The only time I have been in this ocean is on a cargo ship so this time it will be quite different ! First I will sail safely, as the biggest danger of all is myself - to know the limits of the boat is not a simple task, these boats are complicated machines. I’ve changed the mainsail so I can take 4 reefs in instead of three, and we’ve added a cuddy in the cockpit so that I can shelter a little from the weather. As for my competition, well, we are great friends, but out there it’s war, and if the race is not for winning, then what ?!"
French circumnavigator, Thierry Dubois on Solidaires, currently 2nd in the overall rankings just two points behind Stamm, added : "I am looking forward to strong winds - and I mean above 40 knots ! The weather in the South was kind when I raced in the Vendée Globe, so the fact that I have already been around the bottom of world is not really significant here."
British skipper Emma Richards on Open 60 Pindar, lying third overall in Class 1 with 15 points, has a great deal of experience of the Southern Ocean most recently when she competed in the Volvo Ocean Race, and reminded everyone of the pleasures of sailing in the South : "I love it - well except for the ice and isolation ! There is the most fantastic sailing ahead of us, it is so beautiful down there, and I hope all of us will enjoy the strong winds and big waves."
One skipper racing into his home port of course is New Zealander Graham Dalton on Hexagon : "The aim is always to get to the finish in the quickest time possible, especially as I know that the people of Tauranga will come out in their thousands to welcome the boats in. I did my first sail training in these waters and the boat is really sorted now, so I’m going all out to beat the others in to port."
Class 2 leader Brad Van Liew on Tommy Hilfiger Freedom America, the only Around Alone veteran, has tasted the South before, unlike his fellow competitors. This time round he is a father, which inevitably adds to the emotion of leaving family and friends for a month long stretch of racing in the harshest seas on this planet : "Of course I don’t like to leave my wife Meaghan and little girl Tate, but part of me will be driven to get to the next port quickest so I can see them again."
The oldest competitor in the fleet, diabetic Canadian skipper John Dennis on Bayer Ascensia, has his boat all set and is looking forward to the experience ahead : "Brad is a smart guy and knows where he is going, and Tim Kent on the other 50 footer is now called ’scooter’, as he has tendancies to scoot from one side of the course to the other ! I’m going to be keeping a close eye on these two and if I can keep a straight line between them, I’m hoping to get to the finish line a bit quicker than I did in this last leg." All of John’s closest competitors are taking John’s medication for his diabetes on board in case he ever needs to be rescued by a fellow skipper during the leg.
Japanese skipper Kojiro Shiraishi on Spirit of yukoh is the other skipper in ’Eastern’ waters, which he knows better. His aim : "To take pictures of icebergs and remain in good humour ! My Finot designed boat will go much faster I hope, it is made for the South."
The course for leg 3 may actually avoid going through ice territory, as it takes the fleet round Cape Point towards the first mark of the course, Heard Island, which they keep to Starboard. In accordance with the Australian SAR they must pass North of Latitude 46 degrees South at some point between Logitude 105 - 120 degrees East. Leaving Tasmania to Port, they must lastly leave Cape Reinga to Starboard and then cross the finish line in Tauranga, New Zealand. ETA for the first boats is the 11th January 2003.
Dans la même rubrique
Around Alone : Last two Class 2 skippers finished in Cape Town
Around Alone : Tim Kent on Everest Horizontal finished the second leg
Route du Rhum : Nick Moloney breaks MacArthur’s ’98 record by nearly two days
Around Alone : Brad Van Liew wins leg two in Cape Town
