Regata Barcelona World RACE BWR Way the south

Barcelona World RACE: Way of the South

After near thirty days of regata, the Open-60 of the BWR approaches the latitudes of the 40 rugientes where the boats will give their maximum. The duel both enters better equipment of the fleet enters a determining phase.

The PRB has been the first boat of the fleet in reaching the parallel South 40º. Vincent Riou and Sébastien Josse stay in head of regata, with an advantage of 30 miles on the Paprec Virbac 2, that also sails already in mythical waters of the Great South.

All the equipment of regata has passed one first stage relatively calm, with a slow exit of the Mediterranean and without great technical problems in no of the boats. In the next days they will cross the first door of security that it will avoid to descend too much to the south to avoid the ice of Antarctica. Regata are three throughout all the. The name of the 40 rugientes comes from the noise that is the windy in that latitude, a wind so hard that it seems that is rugiendo without stopping. 35 knots are considered like something normal, along with a temperature that does not exceed 4º or 5º, the cooling power of the wind causes that the navigator feels a temperature next to -15º.

Classification to date 09/Diciembre/2007

1. Paprec Virbac

2. Veolia Environnement, to 82 miles

3. Hugo Boss, to 124 miles

4. Delta Gilds, to 312 miles

5. Temenos 2, to 647 miles

6. Damm star, to 919 miles

7. Mutual Madrilenian, to 990 miles

8. Education without Borders, to 1,720 miles

The PRB has retired after breaking the mast

The PRB Rompe the wood

8 December 2007: Leader of regata piloted by Vincent Riou and Sébastien Josse, is broken the mast of its Imoca 60 feet to only 630 miles of Cape Town. It sailed with 25 wind knots when it hit a wave median that restrained the boat which caused that superior of the mast was divided to the part from 3 meters of the top. Both navigators were then inside the boat and they did not suffer damages.

“Very we are disappointed, we were amusing much and we have not taken any risk, reason why we do not understand what is past”, a disappointed Vincent Riou by videoconference has explained this morning. There was short sea and itched and they did not have more than 25 knots, nothing exceptional, and went with a put curl. “The wave that has caused the breakage of the mast was not nothing extraordinary, we have passed many already as that one and whether you go to the rudder as if you take the autopilot does not pass anything. We had the sensation to be sailing really very calm, indeed we had made the decision from not following the rate of Paprec-Virbac 2, for that reason we do not understand what is past”, has repeated Riou, one of the favorites of Barcelona World RACE, mainly after its victory in past the Vendée Globe. “We are moving away as rapidly as possible of this zone, because the wind is going to increase much, it will surpass the 40 knots”. Indeed, the depression that approaches quickly by the west is going to flatter to them with winds of more than 40 knots, even gusts of wind of 60, and waves of up to seven meters.

In the seas of the south the airmiss with an ice to the drift is reason for terrible nightmares and preoccupations. When Sébastien Josse remembers what it happened to him in his last Vendée Globe chills arrive to him ..... from fear and not from cold. “I happened to go to 12 knots to be completely unemployed, was very violent. Nothing gave instructionses of which there was ice ahead, and must have been in the cover to see it”. The prow of its IMOCA suffered serious damages, something that caused that it could not hoist the great front candles during the rest of regata… but could have been much worse. To think about an impact to 25 knots with a frozen rock only can make shake of fear.

Frozen islands

In the last years important ice breakage has been observed. In the south from time to time great pieces of ice are broken, as we saw the last year, the current around the Antarctica are very regular and are quite exceptional that the ice raises over South 50º.

In 2006, we had an important little usual incident. In the middle of October in front of Adelia Earth a strong storm broke the joint glacier and like the temperature she was not sufficiently low so that the ice returned to form, brought about the arrival of a iceberg against the coast of the south of New Zealand of immense size.

Months before, in March of 2006, a satellite registered a block of ice, around 30 km in length and 16 of width, that was broken in the Eastern part of the Sea of Weddell.

The continent of Antarctica represents 14 million square kilometers and contains 75% of the fresh water of the planet in the form of ice, reaching a thickness of up to 4 kilometers of height.

To take Open 60 in pair continues being complicated and heroic task when sailing by waters so complicated, but in any case much more bearable that to sail alone they do since it in the Vendeé-Globe. In spite of going in pair the conditions of regata they do not let enjoy the time, which represents an advantage sometimes when there are waves of 15 meters. You do not have to leave mind it is congealed by the fear when seeing these enormous water walls. In these conditions and with strong winds of the great South, to take the boat is like piloting a table of windsurf but of 2.5 million Euros.

The life inside the boat is more bearable thanks to the guard turns and it is able to still take the boat more to the limit when having four hands to carry out settings and changes of candles. The carbon fiber bunks continue being equal of uncomfortable and while it is tried to sleep it seems so that the companion insists on piloting of the hardest form, with of lanzarte against the ceiling or the ground, upwards, downwards and in all directions.

The conditions during regata will vary of the intense and debilitating heat of the tropical, where there is no way to escape of the burning sun, to the miserable and cold Antarctic ocean.

It is necessary to cause that the boat gives the maximum but without cargártelo. Hard commitment. By the nights it is normal to see a fluorescent wake under the milky route and sometimes the satisfaction secures when obtaining a tactical blow that makes you gain miles in front of the other competitors.

To change a candle represents an exhausting work of almost two hours of duro work. And these Open 60 takes eleven different ones, that they weigh more than 70 kg, and correctly must be hoisted, be flooded, be kept or be piled up in the part of the boat where their weight is more advantageous for navigation.

It is sailed at such speed that any water curtain that jumps by the hut is received like a spurt with the force of a hose of firemen.

The interior of opens

All the volume is reserved by and for the candles and anything he is comfortable. The condensation leaks that chorree of the ceiling, when roción is not a fort the one that puts downstairs.

We could raise on board Hugo Boss before the exit. Down, the cabin of 15 ms ² has a gas kitchen, a very rudimentary bunk to sleep, a bucket that for of washbasin and a station of navigation with the computers.

The diesel generator works hours to the day to recharge the batteries and in the tropical it makes raise the temperature of the dark interior near 50º practically making unbearable remain inside.

“Piano” of Hugo Boss. With photos as these its descriptive name is understood. Impressive the number of brakes and ends ordered by categories from which it adjusts and control the candles of the boat.

Between the participants we could compare the very diverse mastings that equip these monsters of the candle. From the impressive games of crosspieces to spectacular woods with profile eave held by means of terchas of 4 or 5 meters to each band. They are famous “outriggers” that extends outside the helmet to increase the pair of tension and to increase the angle of shot of the shrouds. All bond with so of being able to mount more powerful surface of candle and planes.

Outrigger they allow to lighten the pressure of the masting on its base in the helmet, since these long hangers pay attention to the stern helmet of the wood and distribute therefore the pressure to an area greater than the wood with conventional crosspieces. They take being used from 1997, year in which the use of backstays giveave definitively. Present outriggers that they equip the Veolia and the PRB contribute to important advantages in weight and design that assure a better distribution the compression; they take two shrouds, tension stops fix and other low ones whose tension is adjustable by the crew. A good control of the trimming, very necessary is obtained therefore in the woods of wing profile that equip these two boats. In addition, the base of outriggers is articulated, which allows to absorb torsion efforts when the greater candle leans against the rigging when sailing with lifting winds.

The equipments with new crosspieces do not remain either back, with 3 floors of crosspieces and static woods as those of the Damm Star, Temenos II, Hugo Boss and the Education Without Borders. Also there is with revolving crosspieces as the Delta Gilds with revolving wood, or the Mutual Madrilenian, who has a floor of crosspieces and two violins.

Generally, the equipments with crosspieces are lighter and it already knows that to remove weight in height it is very important to be able to also lighten the bulb. A reduction of 1 kg in the top of the wood comes to mean to clear 6 kg in the bulb.

In the image it is appraised the impressive aspect and height of the mast of the Hugo-Boss with Alex in the highest of the wood working in a halliard pulley eve of the exit.

No, they are not in port but in the sea! Impressive “forest” of water boats of Barcelona following the exit.

The exit was full of emotion. The beauty of these impressive Open 60 perfectly trimmings offered everything a spectacle.

IT COMPLETES HOUR

Damm star course to Cape Town after suffering serious damages in the port rudder

To 18h00 GMT Co-skipper Jonathan McKee on board the Damm Star, next to Guillermo Altadill, they contacted with the ground equipment to inform into serious damages in the port rudder. The pair had been problems with the starboard rudder only of before, after colliding with an object in the water, failure that managed to fix. Nevertheless, in this new incident, the damage in the port rudder cannot be fixed on board the boat, and Altadill and McKee have made the decision to go to the Cape Town to carry out the repairs with the attendance of their ground equipment. Damm star approximately is at this moment to 620 miles the Southwest of Cape Town.

Jonathan informed to the ground equipment: “We were sailing to about 20 knots between waves of great size. It passed the same like with the other but, unlike the starboard rudder [damaged the previous day], this time did not rise in the same way so I suppose that it spent more time in the water. The damage is much more serious, the axis around the wick of the rudder is completely broken (it is a tube that surrounds the stock and holds bearings both superior and inferior of the wick of the rudder) and seems to be party horizontally in two.

It is possible to be fixed? We are not safe, would need much work carbon, more del than we could do on board. We have decided to direct to us towards Cape Town and have informed to the Direction of the Regata of Barcelona World RACE. We are to 620 miles of City of Cabo and considered to arrive there in, approximately about 2 day and a half. I believe that Guillermo and I am still a little in shock state and needed to think a little more envelope how to fix this. “

The Delta Gilds loses the wood in the Indian Ocean

To 2h20 Spanish hour of the 11 of December, Jérémie Beyou gave to warning to the direction of regata of the breakage of the wood of its monocoque Imoca 60 Delta Gilds, in the Ïndico ocean, On guard 47ºS and 33,25º E.

Luckyly, as much the landlord as their Co-landlord Sidney Gavignet was in the interior when they listened to a great noise in cover and they are safe and sound. The monocoque sailed with 25 knots with wind of the NOT and ends of 35, with waves of four meters and a curl of major and trinqueta.

Both regatistas they have left and stated the fall the wood immediately on the cover, which has brought about serious problems in roof, but without via of water. Like emergency measurement and to protect the helmet, both men have been themselves forced to throw overboard the wood and the set of the equipment.

At the moment, the Delta Gilds sails North course at a speed of 3 knots and with equipment of fortune.

The equipment looks for solutions next to the direction of regata to soon facilitate the return of both regatistas to earth, without until now they have asked for attendance.

The Delta Gilds is to 175 miles of the archipelago Prince Eduardo, the nearest point in a course This and to 850 miles of Elisabeth Port, in South Africa, in North course.

He was 4º in the fleet, a month after the exit of Barcelona. Barcelona World RACE was the first return to the world of Jérémie Beyou, winner of the Solitaire du Figaro 2005, before embarking in Vendée Globe 2008.

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