Groupama först i fältet

2 Comments

1. Team Hoffstedt
   Aug 26, 2010 @ 14:48

   Samtidigt har Sidney Gavignet slagit solo-rekord runt i stort sett samma bana, Round Britain and Ireland Record. Han slog även Playstations rekord för crewed från 2002, se http://www.sailing.org/33885.php.

   Gavignet har snittat strax över 16 knop i snitt under 4.5 dygn och måste ha startat strax före båtarna i Sevenstar?

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2. Peter Gustafsson
   Aug 27, 2010 @ 18:40

   Friday, 27th August 2010, 16:00GMT

   It’s the fifth day of the Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race, and the two Volvo 70s haven’t practically seen each other since the start. Last night (Thursday) they entered a high-pressure zone with calm winds, allowing the two teams to get some rest after four restless days filled with volatile winds and difficulties.

   Neil McDonald, from Telefonica Azul, talks about the feelings onboard when they lost their lead to Groupama on his blog in The Independent: “The low point was having a fitting break at the top of Scotland that prevented us using our heavy weather jib for 10 hours. This allowed Groupama to get from 20 miles behind to 30 miles in front – heart breaking from a racing point of view but the sort of price you pay in these type of racing boats when things break.”

   In addition, the weather conditions were not ideal for recovering from this situation: “When the failure occurred it was pitch black (as it always is when things go wrong!) and blowing 35 knots in a horrific seaway,” he explained. “ To get the sail down we had to go down hill for 20 minutes (rapidly giving away hard earned windward miles) with all hands on deck wrestling the thing down below. It then took about an hour to sort out the mess and get the rather under powered storm jib up and back on our way again.”

   Telefonica Azul, in spite of the disappointment of breaking a fitting, was happy with their earlier performance departing from the Isle of Wight: “The high point so far for me was leaving the Solent in a mass of spray planning like a dinghy at speeds of between 20 and 30 knots- just great sailing – all the more enjoyable as we lead the fleet not just out the Solent but basically all the way to the south of Scotland”, commented McDonald on his blog.

   However, Groupama, who was sailing at no more than 10 knots yesterday, was aware that entering a high pressure zone with light winds would be in advantage to Telefonica Azul, since they knew that these winds favoured the team from the last Volvo Ocean Race. Charles Caudrelier from Groupama explained how they were happy to sail with Telefonica, but that nevertheless, they were still competing in the same division: “This morning, we spotted Telefonica when we had fallen into week winds. We came here to sail side by side, but we haven’t seen each other much since the start. We’re happy to be in front but we still would have liked to sail edge to edge,” he said. “I think it’s part of a skipper’s nature. I couldn’t imagine him waiting on a rival. And besides, we want to beat them the best we can.”

   The crews aboard the two Volvo Open 70s finally had some time last night and this morning to wash up, and get some rest, whilst the waters remained flat. Onboard the Groupama 70, there was even time for bonding within the crewmembers. Charles Caudrelier appreciates the cultural diversity on the team and the spare time to get to know his team members: “After sailing under medium wind, everybody is relaxed and taking the weather to their advantage, getting to know each other. We talk, we joke. We learn to know each other. Everyone has his own humour and way of life. The foreigners are already used to the blend of cultures. They are very comfortable. It’s something that I like very much. I think it’s great to share this adventure”

   Today (Friday), Groupama are still in the lead sailing towards for the Inishkea Islands, off the northwest coast of Ireland, after a close encounter with Telefonica this morning which Groupama was able to escape from successfully thanks to a bit more wind. However, Telefonica is a mere 35 miles behind and their crew is optimistic of catching up with Groupama, since there is still around 600 nm in this race to the finish line. There are complex weather and tidal issues ahead and the navigators on board will be downloading high-resolution weather data to calculate the best route to take. It should prove to be a fascinating fight to the finish over the course of this coming weekend.

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