Klara för Fastnet

16 Comments

1. Stefan Peterson
   Aug 13, 2015 @ 07:51

   Kick asses får svårt att följa er då vi är på adriatiska havet men skall försöka.

   Reply

2. Hannu
   Aug 13, 2015 @ 13:11

   Japp, här hemma på kontoret är man avis……..

   Reply

3. Peter
   Aug 13, 2015 @ 13:26

   Lycka till nu.

   Vilken pange upplevelse Ni kommer att komma hem med.

   / PG Skallkroken

   Reply

4. Urban
   Aug 13, 2015 @ 16:41

   Lycka till. Jag önskar er en bra tur. Urban

   Reply

5. Peter Gustafsson
   Aug 13, 2015 @ 20:29

   Tack alla!

   Idag hade vi ytterligare en träningssession i spöregn, åska och 4-5 m/s från NO. Nu har vi bra koll på strömmarna ut från starten och kan börja fokusera på vädret.

   Vi har ju valt att segla med ordinarie besättning utan “local knowledge” ombord. Det ställer så klart lite högre krav på oss, men är också grymt utvecklande. Så har vi kört Spi Oest, Kerteminde, ÅFOR och andra exotiska race med bra resultat.

   Vi har dock hjälp av Aksel Magdahl för väderanalys. Han är här med SCA och vi kommer att gå igemnom olika väderscenarios före start. Ser ut att bli spännande…

   Reply

6. Skoglund
   Aug 13, 2015 @ 22:28

   Kul och lycka till!
   Har du två 3di storar? I reklamen låter det ju som de har oändlig livslängd.

   Reply

7. F424
   Aug 13, 2015 @ 22:32

   Det är ju sjukt kul och imponerande att ni är med på startlinjen, hatten av för seriös och målmedveten planering! På hemmaplan får man nöja sig med två varv runt sin ö i helgen. Inte så illa det heller :-)
   Lycka till, sail safe!

   Reply

8. Pelle Fälth
   Aug 13, 2015 @ 23:27

   Imponerande, som vanligt! Skall bli kul att följa racet. Vilken startgrupp är ni i?

   Reply

   • Peter Gustafsson
     Aug 14, 2015 @ 00:13

     Vi är i IRC1 som startar 1320 på söndag.

     Reply

9. Mikael Vesala
   Aug 13, 2015 @ 23:50

   Ja, ert metodiska arbete är imponerande. Hoppas det ger lön för mödan, lycka till !!

   Reply

10. Sture Smith
    Aug 14, 2015 @ 10:16

    Planering och genomförande så långt verkar vara enligt skolboken vilket naturligtvis är basen för att lyckas.
    Sedan kanske oerfarenheten av denna typ av race i dessa mkt. utmanande vatten gör sig påmind under resan.
    Ödmjukhet, Prestigelöshet, Alternativen, Beslut, Gör om Gör rätt, Följ upp. Ger en snabb inlärningskurva. Och för h-e GE ALDRIG UPP.
    Håller grejorna så kommer det gå bra tror vi här hemma.

    Reply

11. Pelle Fälth
    Aug 14, 2015 @ 17:52

    48st J-båtar skall vara med, varav 4 J111. Ni verkar få tuff konkurrens :
    While only four J/111s are racing, the astonishing fact is that each boat has either won major one-design J/111 events or simply killed it an a major offshore event over the past two years. Alex Nicaise’s ALPHALINK/ XTREME YACHTING has done well in regional offshore events in France; Peter Gustafsson’s BLUR has won just about everything offshore and double-handed in Scandinavia; the British Army’s BRITISH SOLDIER took 2nd in the extremely tough (often brutal) conditions (gales, etc) in last year’s RORC Round Britain & Ireland Race (truly the world’s longest “round island race”); and perhaps the most decorated J/111 of all- John van der Starre & Robin Verhoef’s XCENTRIC RIPPER (the Netherlands Offshore Double-handed Champions in 2015 and 2x Fastnet Race veterans).

    Reply

12. Pelle Fälth
    Aug 15, 2015 @ 11:03

    Här är lite intressanta tankar kring väder och vägval: http://www.bandgblog.com/bg-blog-rolex-fastnet-race-2015-preview-with-mark-chisnell/

    Reply

13. Micke
    Aug 15, 2015 @ 13:28

    Lycka till!

    Reply

14. Dan
    Aug 15, 2015 @ 17:08

    Lycka till, skall bli kul att följa!

    Reply

15. Peter Gustafsson
    Aug 15, 2015 @ 20:13

    Dieting and anchor cable

    Light winds are forecast for the 46th edition of the Rolex Fastnet Race which sets off tomorrow from Cowes, Isle of Wight Credit: Rolex/Kurt Arrigo

    A forecast of profoundly light winds is forcing crews to take drastic action before setting off tomorrow on the Royal Ocean Racing Club’s Rolex Fastnet Race.

    With high pressure mid-Atlantic and over Norway, little gradient wind is forecast for the 600 mile race course from Cowes to the Fastnet Rock and back to Plymouth before a front passes through on Wednesday. As a result chandlers are doing a roaring trade in anchor line, as competitors ensure they can kedge, to prevent themselves drifting backward on the tide, in deep water. Similarly anything not bolted down -in some cases including crew – is being left on the dock in the interest of shedding speed-sapping weight.

    “It is going to be very pleasant!” quips Stan Honey, the eminent American navigator, former Jules Verne Trophy record holder and Volvo Ocean Race winner, from Jim Clark and Kristy Hinze Clark’s 100ft Comanche. “It might be one of the nicest weekends of the year in southern England, but it is pretty rotten for sailing – really light, right on through until the morning of Wednesday the 19th.”

    This forecast for the 90th anniversary Rolex Fastnet Race firmly favours the small boats which will be able to make the most of the wind when it does fill in later in the week. The mighty Comanche for example, recently confirmed as the world’s fastest offshore racing monohull, is likely to take somewhere around three days to complete the course, twice as long as expected. Honey predicts: “We will get some breeze tomorrow afternoon, but once that glasses off tomorrow night, we will struggle in extremely light air.” While Comanche may finish before the breeze properly fills in, the smaller boats could spend more than 50% of their race in good conditions.

    With the first three days set to be stop-start with the tide turns, the race will come down to who can sail smartest, finding what wind there is, who can kedge most effectively, etc. For example it should be possible to make progress by playing the thermal breezes – the onshore ‘sea breeze’ in the afternoon and the ‘land breeze’ during the night. But there are risks, as Honey puts it: “You can make gains by going offshore at night, but then you can often get pasted in the morning when there is a big light spot. It is a very uncertain situation.”

    These thermal breezes rely on the temperature differential between the sea and land, which are more significant if it is sunny. However Campbell Field, navigator on Peter Harrison’s TP52 Sorcha warns that cloud cover might prevent this. “I am not seeing huge temperature gradients, so you might be dubious about whether there will be much sea breeze. There is an argument for getting offshore, but it is basically undecided. I think I will make that decision about 3pm tomorrow afternoon as we get flushed out past the Needles!”

    The most significant moment will be when a front crosses the Celtic Sea on Wednesday – the boats that pass Land’s End late Tuesday in the building southerly and then reach the Fastnet Rock as the breeze veers into the west on Wednesday should do well.

    Making tidal gates will also be a part of the tactical plan. While the boats leave the Solent on the ebb, the top part of the fleet would normally expect to get past Portland by the time the tide turns foul. “I am wondering whether we’ll make it,” says Field. “We’ll have to keep our eyes out of the boat and see what’s happening over land. If we can get a little nudge, then we can sail with some speed towards Portland. I think there is a going to be some skilled anchoring happening during the race. We are wondering how deep it is in the Celtic Sea and if we have enough rope with us!”

    Given the present forecast, Field is anticipating that Sorcha will finish sometime on Thursday. “But you only have to have a subtle change in wind speed and the angle for that all to change.”

    So what would be the ideal boat given this forecast? Stan Honey reckons a small boat that sails well in light air or a medium-small boat “because in light air there is always a bit of an advantage to a taller rig.” Campbell Field: “A Folkboat! Or a JPK – any of those smaller light boats that can trickle along and sail well to their rating.”

    The smallest boat in the fleet is exactly this: the Cabo 30 Santana, being raced two handed by Ashley Perrin and her yacht designer partner Merfyn Owen. The Cabo is a design from the US west coast, with a hull shape that Owen says slips along in light winds. The boat has also been modified to compete on the Lakes with a larger rig. More recently it has had a new keel fitted, a bowsprit and some new sails such as a Code 0, and an asymmetric kite to go with her symmetric kites.

    “It is looking like a glamour thing for the smaller boats,” Owen agrees. “I ran the model and at Start Point the Class40s were only 12 miles ahead of us. But it is light airs, so anything can happen.”

    The latest routing has Santana reaching Plymouth on Friday lunchtime.

    Reply

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