BT Challenge news from LG Flatron & Team VERITAS
by Editor 14 May 2001 18:40 BST
TEAM VERITAS ON HOMEWARD STRETCH
Team VERITAS is in fifth place after starting the penultimate leg of the BT Global Challenge yesterday. The yachts left Cape Town in sunny calm conditions and winds of 10-11 knots, and are due to arrive in La Rochelle towards the middle of June. Team VERITAS hope to be rejoined by their
injured crew members, Charlie Smith and Robert Brooke, for the final leg.
In a total contrast to the conditions of the last leg, Team VERITAS crew
members expect warm and sultry conditions combined with a lack of wind as
they head through the doldrums and then brisker, fresher conditions as they
head further north. The biting cold and ferocious winds of the Southern
Ocean are a thing of the past for all the crew.
Will Carnegie, skipper of Team VERITAS, commented on his crew's attitude: "The crew are all really psyched up for this final leg. It's the competitive spirit mixed with excitement and anticipation that they are on the final stretch home.
"We have the added incentive that when we get to La Rochelle, we expect to be reunited with Charlie Smith, our watch leader who was injured in the Bass Straits, and we hope that he will be able to rejoin us for that final short leg to Southampton.
"This leg will be easier in many ways than the last leg which was really tough physically, especially as our heating broke down and it was almost as cold below decks as above. However, we have the benefit of hindsight as we have been through the doldrums once before on our way from Boston to Buenos Aires. We know how frustrating it is to be stuck in no winds for days on
end, and we are prepared for this to be a big test of mental strength. We are also prepared for the hazards associated with the damp, muggy conditions, and have stocked up with plenty of cream to treat 'gunnel bum', the rash you get from sitting on hard decks in damp clothes for hours on
end!"
Welcome back to the LG FLATRON daily updates
Having sailed 22,730 miles, LG FLATRON, overall race leaders in the BT Global Challenge today embarked on the penultimate leg of their circumnavigation of the world. Skippered by Conrad Humphreys, 27, LG FLATRON is heading home from Cape Town after nine months of demanding and
often gruelling sailing.
After a Blessing of the Waves ceremony by Bishop Desmond Tutu, the
atmosphere for race start was electric. In light winds, LG FLATRON took
their place at 1200 on the start line ready to drop spinnaker and begin
their next challenge; the unpredictable leg to La Rochelle.
On this 6,600 mile leg from Cape Town to La Rochelle, France, LG FLATRON
will face completely different weather conditions to that experienced in the
Southern Ocean. Yacht races are won and lost in light winds so with
everything to lose, the crew will be keen to avoid the sudden dead calm
associated with the Doldrums to battle their way up the coast of Africa,
facing King Neptune as they cross the equator to the French port of La
Rochelle.
At time of writing, LG FLATRON is currently in seventh position. 16 miles
behind Quadstone, the leading boat, LG FLATRON have travelled 153 miles in
the last 24 hours at an average speed of 6 knots. With 5582 miles to go,
anything could happen!
LG FLATRON LEG 6 Cape Town to La Rochelle
AUTHOR: Cliff Scott
TITLE: What’s in a name?
What’s in a name? The “Cape of Good Hope”, one of the most famous maritime
landmarks in the world, was once known by the sailors, who used to round it
in the old square-riggers, as the “Cape of Storms”. So explained Archbishop
Desmond Tutu, during the Blessing of the Waves ceremony at the BT Global
Challenge restart from Cape Town. The resonance for the people of the
post-apartheid South Africa was far less meteorological than social,
however. His point was made more graphically, when, following his moving
address to the crews and tens of hundreds of well-wishers gathered at the
Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, the choir of a school from Nyanga, (one of the
townships that are dotted around Cape Town) sung the National Anthem of
South Africa, Even to my ear I could pick out words in English, Afrikaans
and at least one of the languages spoken by the native black population. A
more inclusive lyric for the Rainbow Nation.
And so, as the yachts slipped their moorings, one by one, under the morning
heat on a beautifully sunny day, it was with no little sadness that we all
bid a farewell - temporary, for many, I’m sure - to Cape Town and South
Africa.
We on LG FLATRON were third away, after Veritas and Spirit of Hong Kong, and
for no reason anyone could fathom we left to the Isle of Man national
anthem, rather than our customary, and rather more upbeat, song. Still, very
nice it was too, and we were soon out of the docks and into the harbour,
putting up our sails and trying some practice starts.
The wind was a pleasant surprise. Not so much its direction, but that it had
turned up at all. The air in the yacht basin was practically stationary, and
to find that we had ten-ish knots of wind was a bonus indeed. That being
said, it couldn’t make up its mind as to where it was coming from, and as a
consequence the orientation of the start line altered a couple of times in
the hours leading up to the start gun.
There were certainly plenty of folk out on the water to see us all off.
Every mode of craft from wet-bikes to dinghies to ferries and tugboats were
poised to follow us once we’d crossed the line, and in as great an abundance
as any leg start since Southampton, all those years ago last September.
The atmosphere on board LG FLATRON was relaxed, even bordering on the blasé. We had, after all, done this 5 times before, and never especially brilliantly. But, as usual, when the 10-minute gun went, the focus returned and we went over the line in what looked like a highly unaccustomed first place. By the time we rounded the only mark on the course we were definitely in the lead, and
we had the pleasure of adopting a big chunk of the fleet of following boats to keep us company as we headed off towards Robben Island, in Table Bay.
The light and shifty winds that we were expecting now appeared, and the race
fleet quickly broke up as yachts twisted and turned to find wind. We
surrendered our lead doing just that, and quickly fell several places as we
sailed in and out of what seemed to be our own private wind holes. For some
reason everyone seemed to know where the wind was but us - still, only
5750miles to make it all back again. Overnight (and none too warm either!)
we struggled with finding wind. There seemed to be a bit more out to the
west of us - as evidenced by our duff 11th place on the sched. during the
night - but our game plan was to push north and take our medicine early, and
hope that we could punch through the ridge of high pressure that is moving
down the coast of Africa. The hope is that all those boats who were seduced
into going further offshore will get munched by the high, as it fills and
expands. Time, as usual, will tell. As I write, there is some cause for
hope, as we have risen to 3rd, behind Compaq and Quadstone, just 3 miles
ahead of us. A fairly large tea-towel would still cover the fleet though.
Moving along on a flat boat, spinnaker up, 14 knots of wind, it takes a
vivid imagination to believe that we are anywhere close to a place called
“the Cape of Storms”, and all the “Good Hope” is directed towards finding
the South-East Tradewinds, to speed us on our way. But I’m not complaining.
As I listen to chatting and laughing, and Peder cocking the drinks order up,
on deck, I remember that I’ve done “stormy” already. The Southern Ocean -
been there, done that, didn’t actually buy the tee-shirt because I won’t say
the “never again” that is printed on it, but you catch my drift. For now, a
bit of warmth and a flat, dry boat are just fine by me.
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