EDS Atlantic Challenge - Record setting pace on Leg 5

The EDS Atlantic Challenge yachts are sailing at high speed, surfing with strong tailwinds and setting a cracking pace for France. Fila leads

It’s exciting racing for all of the yachts participating in Leg 5 of the EDS Atlantic Challenge. “Pretty wild actually,” is how both Nick Moloney (Kingfisher) and Mike Golding (Ecover) described the sailing for the last 24 hours. The fleet is now sandwiched between dominant high pressure in the North Atlantic, and a strong low pressure system moving down across Newfoundland, and with the isobars close together the wind is up and so are the speeds. All of the boats have been recording averages in the high teens with bursts into the high 20s. Gartmore (Josh Hall) clocked a top speed of 29 knots, but the sailing has not been easy.

“The seas are very steep and close together,” said Nick Moloney, skipper of Kingfisher. “It’s hard to stay ahead of the waves behind. We pull away from them and then get into a big nose dive into the wave ahead.” The conditions are just as wild for the new leg leader Fila, sailing to the south of the pack. “There is lots of water on the deck at all times. It is very wet,” said Stefano Pelizza. “We have been sailing at the limit since yesterday afternoon and at times had 40 knots of wind.” Early this morning Fila took the lead from Kingfisher. By sailing a more direct course for St. Malo, they have 20 fewer miles to sail. “We are staying to the south looking for a little help from the Gulf Stream,” Pelizza said. “The wind is forecast to drop some today and we would like to have current with us.” The forecast is for the wind to move into the west for all the boats, and to moderate during the day Friday. The next big system will greet the fleet sometime Sunday with a promise of steady tailwinds all the way to France.

The wild conditions brought their fair share of difficult sailing. Mike Golding described a close call aboard Ecover. “Three of us were on the foredeck wrestling to get the gennaker down,” he said. “Unfortunately when it’s blowing really hard the sail does not furl properly so we were having a tough time. Then we ran into a big wave and one of the guys was swept back along the deck. He was not clipped on so it was a close call, but he managed to grab onto the lifelines.” If the yachts keep their record setting pace, and their crews intact, the leaders could finish as early as August 24. The EDS Atlantic Challenge website www.edsatlanticchallenge.com is an innovative and interactive resource for rankings and breaking news.

Boat Positions:

At 10:40 GMT, on a distance to finish (DTF) reading, the positions were as follows:

Radio Interview Extracts:

Nick Moloney, Kingfisher. “We actually asked the race committee to poll the boats more often because we thought we might go for a record, but just as soon as we had made the request, the wind started to drop.”

Stefano Pelizza, Fila. “The seas have built up a little and allowed us to sail fast. We are very happy to be in the lead and will try and hang onto the position all the way to the finish.”

Josh Hall, Gartmore. “We got into a power groove with the boat speed rarely under 20 knots. At one point we thought we might go for the record and even sailed high to keep the pressure on, but then the wind started to ease up.”

Mike Golding, Ecover. “It was quite disorientating during the night sailing at high speed with everything so black. Now it’s light and we are very pleased with our progress and our position.”

More Information:

• YachtsandYachting.com EDS Atlantic Challenge Page