* Virbac-Paprec 3 lead by 78 miles
* We Are Water knocked nearly flat in Tasman
* Renault ZE Sailing Team take up the challenge for third
Forum Maritim Catala in Cook Strait. Image copyright Chris Cameron/DPPI/Barcelona World Race.
by Barcelona World Race media
From the leading duo counting down their final 750 or 800 miles to Cape Horn to those nearly 5000 miles behind fighting to make it across the Tasman to the Cook Strait, the vast majority of the Barcelona World Race fleet today are either racing in strong winds, or expecting them imminently.
Virbac-Paprec 3 and MAPFRE, some 78 miles apart this afternoon, are trying to outrun the approach of a fast moving low pressure system, the regenerated, reinvigorated Atu (Atu v2.0?) and escape around Cape Horn into the Atlantic. But it is the fleet’s tailgunners on We Are Water which has struggled the most today after being temporarily knocked flat by a big wave, taking water inside the boat.
Jaume Mumbrú and Cali Sanmarti reported that they are both fine, but unable to gybe due to a broken lazyjack and other sundry problems the duo were making slow SE’ly course during the early afternoon, before heaving while they baled water out of the boat and try to sort out their electronics problems. The impact of the wave ripped apart plastic spray curtains which protect part of the cockpit,. Part of the electrical equipment is not working at the moment.
And Dee Caffari and Anna Corbella last night (day time local for them) suffered a series of involuntary tacks when GAES Centros Auditivos’ autopilot hiccupped twice. With two sails partly in the water, the duo had their hands full, choosing to run north and take some pressure off themselves and the boat. The robust hard reaching conditions, with the wind slightly forward of the beam in difficult seas, made their choice of sacrificing some miles to Hugo Boss a difficult one, but a necessary one at the time.
“Things are horrible. We are upwind in 35 knots of wind and it is pretty wet and miserable. We had an ‘everything’ problem, the good thing about it all was that it was daylight when it happened. It was a catalogue of disasters and it took us quite a lot to get through it. And I just had a very brief time in the bean bag and I said to her that I feel like I have been beaten up. I feel quite exhausted by it. We are really wanting this wind to drop now.
We have come back on course now. We decided that we cant run away to the north for ever because it does just make the course worse afterwards. We are back where we should be after having a bit of rest and recovery. We are now just upwind and it is 30-35kts.” Said Caffari on this morning’s Visio-Conference.
“It was a bit emotional at the time but we did manage to giggle about it, we found the funny side of it, the fact that we were so ridiculously wet. But everything is still working, the boat is OK. We got the sails back on board, so of all the things that did go wrong we dealt with it all well.”
The duel at the front of the fleet between Virbac-Paprec 3 and MAPFRE now sees the French duo taking a clear advantage with their more northerly tracking. Individually both sets of co-skippers reported that they were struggling with the very changeable and unstable winds – requiring many sail changes and constant vigilance – in the brisk, but variable breezes sent by the low pressure centre which was just to the south east of them today, slightly closer for the Spanish duo.
Despite the intensity of the battle with the Virbac-Paprec 3, the evident chagrin at losing miles to the French pair, not to mention the extreme cold – 4 deg C and the fact that it was in the middle if a dark, dirty night - it was again an inspiration today to see the pleasure that Fernandez, Spain’s three times 49er world champion, double Olympic medalist and twice Volvo round the world veteran, takes in answering questions put to him by the young local Barcelona schoolchildren.
The duel with Dick and Peyron is dismissed for a few stolen moments Fernandez’s smile breaks his lips, the twinkle in his eyes lights up the gloomy fug inside MAPFRE as he takes time and pleasure to answer each question fully. One of this race’s unique and pure pleasures, one which perhaps will inspire a new generation of round the world racers?
And the duel for third evens out again this afternoon as Renault Z.E’s Toño Piris and Pachi Rivero fight back, 19 miles ahead of Neutrogena this afternoon both sailing at even speeds.
A special Visio-Conference in the early afternoon linked up guests and representative of sponsors Mirabaud with Dominique Wavre and Michèle Paret.
Forum Maritim Catala in Wellington. Image copyright Chris Cameron/DPPI/Barcelona World Race.
Rankings at 1400hrs Tuesday 1st March 2011
1 VIRBAC-PAPREC 3 at 7642 miles to finish
2 MAPFRE 79 miles from the leader
3 RENAULT Z.E at 1411 miles
4 NEUTROGENA at 1430 miles
5 MIRABAUD at 1597 miles
6 GROUPE BEL at 1887 miles
7 ESTRELLA DAMM Sailing Team at 1957miles
8 HUGO BOSS at 2308 miles
9 GAES CENTROS AUDITIVOS at 2444miles
10 FORUM MARITIM CATALA at 3907 miles
11 CENTRAL LECHERA ASTURIANA at 4236 miles
12 WE ARE WATER at 4859 miles
RTD FONCIA
RTD PRESIDENT
Dee Caffari (GBR) GAES Centros Auditivos:“Things are horrible. We are upwind in 35 knots of wind and it is pretty wet and miserable. We had an ‘everything’ problem, the good thing about it all was that it was daylight when it happened. It was a catalogue of disasters and it took us quite a lot to get through it. And I just had a very brief time in the bean bag and I said to her that I feel like I have been beaten up. I feel quite exhausted by it. We are really wanting this wind to drop now.
We have come back on course now. We decided that we cant run away to the north for ever because it does just make the course worse afterwards. We are back where we should be after having a bit of rest and recovery. We are now just upwind and it is 30-35kts.
According to the forecast by 1800hrs this evening it should start to ease and then we go through our daylight hours upwind.
It was a bit emotional at the time but we did manage to giggle about it, we found the funny side of it, the fact that we were so ridiculously wet. But everything is still working, the boat is OK. We got the sails back on board, so of all the things that did go wrong we dealt with it all well.
It was really good, because I just jump on deck and get on with then I think that she gets a lot of confidence in that, so she drove while I got the sails back on board, and she drove while I sorted the pilots, so she got a bit of a battering each day. We both warmed up and put some dry clothes on and since then we have recovered. It is really good to see her confidence grow so much and in the boat. And we looked after each other, she just said to me that the only thing she wanted was that I not go in the water. I said I was not planning on it!
It is really nice to see Anna progressing, most of confidence and she says that comes from me which I am surprised about, but now she is confident in what the boat can do and making choices like what sails to put up and I am pleased about that, because it makes my life easier. So it is working for both of us.
And she asks questions about, like this is not what you said the Southern Ocean would be like, and I say it is different for me too. It is nice to hear her talking to other skippers in the fleet and sounding more knowledgeable and confident.
The sun appears astern of Groupe Bel; a welcome sight. Image copyright Groupe Bel.
Xabi Fernandez (ESP) MAPFRE: “The situation is a little more complicated than the last few days. We have spent the last 24 hours with a lot of showers, one after the other and so we have had no rest. And an area of light winds has really struck us and so we have been losing some miles, little by little.
There are some clouds with showers which bring you squalls and more wind which give you a good push but not in the direction you want. For example we are on a course yesterday of 100-110 degrees and suddenly you get a 50 degrees shift, that is you pointing 50 degrees off your course. On the other hand there are another kind which tyou get which suddenly see the breeze drop from 20 knots to five or six knots, totally quiet and you can do nothing. It pours with rain. And in these hours you are given to wondering how the other boat is going. You kind of assume that it is the same for us both, but the truth is that we had another bad cloud and a spell with zero wind.
I think they are going a bit better than us, we are fighting to stay with them. Although we have got a little bit back I think we can see some compression into Cape Horn. To pass Cape Horn first? ...Well it is a big enough achievement at all to pass Cape Horn, but first would be better.
The target is just to go as fast as possible we need to simply get there as quick as possible. If we are slowed or delayed it would be difficult. There is always acceleration of the wind there, and so aside from Virbac-Paprec 3, we just want to be there before the storm gets us.”
Dominique Wavre (SUI) Mirabaud: “We will do all that we can to attack third place, but it is a bit difficult at the moment because tomorrow we have a big depression coming and that will put us in conservation mode not to break anything. And so it is a bit of a difficult position. We are expecting two storms between now and Cape Horn and so it will be difficult but we will be doing all we can to get at third place.”
Michèle Paret (FRA) Mirabaud:“We mostly have enough food to get us to the finish. We have cut back on our consumption. We will have a bit less food for the last week but we don’t have any great concerns. And it is not normal to have to stop to take on food.
At the end of the South Atlantic before the south I felt a bit weak and so we spoke with the doctor and he said I was a bit anemia. And what we had in the boat’s pharmacy would not be enough until the end of the race. And the treatment is long term. So the preference was to get a supply from New Zealand and as soon as I started to take the iron I have been feeling better. And so I continue to take it to make sure I don’t risk a new weakness.”
Dominique Wavre: “Mirabaud is in good shape. We have no big concerns. Yesterday there was a problem with a wind indicator but we use the spare which is a bit less precise but it is a little les precise. The boat feels a little tired, but everything is intact. We have been surfing at 22-23 knots. The wind is lifting and so we go a little north again to wait for the shift and then to return to the south on the back of a major depression heading in the direction of Cape Horn.”
In French:
Hostilités Pacifique
- Virbac-Paprec 3 à 760 milles du cap Horn
- ETA au cap Horn : jeudi en milieu de matinée
- 19 milles entre Renault ZE et Neutrogena à la lutte pour la 3è place
- Forum Maritim Catala en escale à Wellington jusqu’à jeudi 9h35
Forum Maritim Catala in Cook Strait. Image copyright Chris Cameron/DPPI/Barcelona World Race.
Changement de rythme, nouveau décor sur les eaux du Pacifique Sud qui montrent leur plus mauvais visage au passage d’un train de dépressions. Confrontée à des conditions musclées, la flotte de la Barcelona World Race goûte, en ce 60è jour de course, aux difficultés de la navigation dans des conditions extrêmes. En tête, Virbac-Paprec 3, pointé à 760 milles du rocher mythique au dernier classement, affiche une avance de 79 milles sur MAPFRE. Derrière, dans des vents de 25-30 nœuds établis, Neutrogena et Renault ZE livrent toujours une lutte d’une haute intensité pour la 3è place. En mer de Tasmanie aussi, après les calmes d’hier, les latitudes australes se montrent fidèles à leur réputation, et soudain de bien tempétueuse humeur...
Des dépressions, en veux-tu, en voilà ! Un coup de baston en mer de Tasmanie où progresse la queue de flotte, une belle accélération pour le petit groupe du milieu de flotte, ou encore un slalom entre deux virulents systèmes en tête : le moins que l’on puisse dire, c’est que le Pacifique Sud ne fait pas dans la demi-mesure. Il se plaît, aujourd’hui, à montrer de quels vents il se chauffe quand il se met en colère.
Atu... le retour !
Au chapitre de la météo, il faut en effet comprendre que le petit groupe lancé aux trousses des leaders évolue aujourd’hui sur la bordure nord d’une dépression très creuse qui répond au petit nom… d’Atu ! Difficile d’oublier la vigueur de cette dépression d’origine tropicale, qui a déjà fortement malmené le week-end dernier Groupe Bel, Estrella Damm, Hugo Boss et Gaes Centros Auditivos. Après avoir déserté la place, et s’être régénéré au passage sous les latitudes froides du continent Antarctique, ce système très actif est de retour sur le devant de la scène Pacifique. Il profite notamment de l’affaissement de l’anticyclone, qui constituait au milieu du Pacifique une solide structure de blocage, pour réapparaître et monter dans le train de dépressions en marche dans les Cinquantièmes.
Casques et tenues de combat
Voilà pour le décor de ce 60è jour de course marqué sous le signe et le sceau des vents soutenus d’ouest-nord-ouest, des claques et des rafales à 40 nœuds et plus. À bord de Gaes Centros Auditivos, Groupe Bel, les casques et les tenues de combat sont de sortie ce mardi pour tirer le meilleur de ces conditions extrêmes et gagner sur la route qui mène au Horn. Sous la grisaille persistante de ces latitudes hostiles, les speedos n’en reprennent donc pas moins des couleurs, comme en témoignent les plus de 400 milles parcourus sur les dernières 24 heures par Groupe Bel, Estrella Damm ou encore Neutrogena.
Un Horn certifié conforme
En tête et par 54° Sud, ce mardi après-midi, Vibac-Paprec 3, après avoir avalé les milles au passage d’une dépression, progresse dans des vents d’ouest d’une vingtaine de nœuds. Avec un retard de 79 milles, la paire espagnole de MAPFRE, qui a connu son lot de difficultés sur une route légèrement décalée au sud avec son cortège de grains et de vents instables, met désormais de l’est dans sa trajectoire. Il s’agit en effet de se recaler avant l’arrivée annoncée de la dépression Atu qui poursuit, dans les prochaines 36 heures, sa marche en direction du cap Horn. Une course-poursuite est engagée avec ce système très musclé. De quoi augurer un passage aux abords du garde-frontière entre les eaux du Pacifique et l’Atlantique dans des conditions qui en font toute sa légende. Le Horn sera certifié conforme.
En mer de Tasmanie aussi
En queue de flotte, Gerard Marin et Ludovic Aglaor, à bord de Forum Maritim Catala, ont rejoint Wellington à 9h35 ce matin. C’est parti pour une escale technique de 48 heures dans le port de la capitale néo-zélandaises. Dans l’ouest de l’île du Sud, les conditions se sont aussi très nettement détériorées depuis hier. Après les calmes, place à la tempête avec 30 bons nœuds établis. Décidément, aujourd’hui mardi, dans les contrées pacifiques, les dépressions sont de sortie !
Forum Maritim Catala in Cook Strait. Image copyright Chris Cameron/DPPI/Barcelona World Race.
Classement du 1er Mars à 15 heures (TU+1) :
1 VIRBAC-PAPREC 3 à 7642,7 milles de l’arrivée
2 MAPFRE à 77,8 milles du leader
3 RENAULT ZE à 1411,2 milles
4 NEUTROGENA à 1430,1milles
5 MIRABAUD à 1596,6 milles
6 GROUPE BEL à 1887,3 milles
7 ESTELLA DAMM à 1957,1 milles
8 HUGO BOSS à 2308,1 milles
9 GAES CENTROS AUDITIVOS à 2444,3 milles
10 FORUM MARITIM CATALA à 3907,7 milles
11 CENTRAL LECHERA ASTURIANA à 4236,1 milles
12 WE ARE WATER à 4859,5 milles
ABD FONCIA
ABD PRESIDENT
Ils ont dit:
Xabi Fernandez (ESP), MAPFRE : « Ces dernières 24 heures sont un peu compliquées avec beaucoup de rafales, les unes derrière les autres. Il était impossible de se reposer. Au final, nous avons trouvé une zone avec moins de vent que prévu et nous perdons des milles. C’est ainsi. La stratégie est d’aller le plus vite possible. Je pense que moi et Iker l’avons déjà dit dans quelques occasions. Nous devons sortir d’ici. Nous avons eu un Pacifique sensationnel avec du vent de face et de travers. Nous avons littéralement volé sur l’eau. Avec Iker, nous nous entendons très bien. Nous naviguons ensemble depuis l’âge de 11 ans même si nous avons eu des hauts et des bas. Avant de partir nous avons beaucoup parlé. Nous n’avons rencontré aucun problème en deux mois. »
Jean-Pierre Dick, Virbac-Paprec 3 : « Nous naviguons au grand portant avec beaucoup de voiles. C'est chaud, car le vent est très instable en force. Il y a toujours un de nous deux sur le pont malgré le froid. Ca pique ! Nous portons 3 couches de polaires et une combinaison sèche en permanence. Nous avons bien navigué ces dernières 48h, nous avons eu plus de vent et avons creusé avec MAPFRE. C'est une bonne chose ! »
Dominique Wavre, Mirabaud :« On attend pour demain une grosse dépression, et nous allons devoir nous mettre en mode conservatif pour ne pas casser de matériel. Nous attendons une ou deux tempêtes entre maintenant et le cap Horn et cela va être délicat à négocier mais on va tout faire pour attaquer le podium. On vient de faire un surf à 22 -23 nœuds. On est de nuit, le vent est en train d’adonner, nous remontons vers le nord pour attendre une bascule de vent et replonger vers le sud dans l’arrière d’une dépression importante en direction du cap Horn. C’est un moment tactique »
The ping pong ball after the washing machine, aka Kito de Pavant, on board Groupe Bel. Image copyright Groupe Bel.
Pepe Ribes (ESP), Estrella Damm :« Nous venons de passer la porte des glaces Ouest. Nous avons navigué au portant toute la journée dans un vent compris entre 25 et 30 nœuds et, en ce moment, il se calme. Nous espérons qu’il change dans les prochaines heures pour nous permettre d’aller directement à la porte suivante. Nous sommes dans le bon tempo par rapport à Groupe Bel qui est maintenant notre bateau de référence avec, pour objectif, de reprendre les milles qu’ils nous ont mis. »
Barcelona World Race
