Moloney guides Skandia to great finish

by Offshore Challenges on 15 Jun 2004 Nick Moloney guided his Open 60 yacht SKANDIA into Boston today to finish fourth in class in the Transat race.

His solo voyage across the Atlantic from Plymouth, England, ended at 2213 GMT today (Sunday, 13 June); 13 days, 9 hours, 13 minutes and 9 seconds after crossing the Plymouth start line on May 31. SKANDIA'S average speed over the 2,800-mile course was 8.72 knots.

‘It's a tough race and a long way. Most of it felt uphill but right now, looking back, there aren't many moments I didn't enjoy. I've had some pretty amazing experiences out there,’ said Nick. ‘I came to terms with the fact that at the beginning that I wasn't as quick as the front-runners so I said to myself 'I have to get smart and sail better than everyone else'.’

By not juggling too much information and focusing on a few ‘valuable and crucial sources’, Nick was able to make some astute tactical decisions that pulled him back into contention from tenth place in the first week. ‘I've beaten a lot of other boats that are perhaps a lot quicker than me. I feel pretty happy with that,’ he said.

Any issues with boat speed at the beginning took a turn for the better on June 6. ‘One night I was doing 12 knots reaching in 18 knots of breeze. I was racking my brain, saying, 'what's going on?' possibly something was stuck on the rudder.

Suddenly it let go and I started doing 18 knots. ‘I did feel the race started again from there,’ he continued ‘I started to reel boats in.’
The low-point of the race was the severe cold of the second depression (low pressure system).

‘Sailing downwind was dodgy as we had just entered the Labrador Current and the water temperature dropped; the water was freezing cold and the ambient air temperature was bitterly cold. Luckily it didn't last long!’

Waking up from a nap and finding several tons of cold seawater sloshing around in the stern of SKANDIA was perhaps the most nerve racking moment. ‘The aft hatch had washed open, whilst I was below in the Nav seat resting with my ear plugs in. I couldn't believe what I was seeing, and worried that one of the cockpit drains had burst - but opening the aft emergency escape hatch vented much of the water, and after one and a half hours of hand pumping all compartments were dry.

I was very lucky not to loose my Fleet 77 high speed satellite telephone, and more importantly my autopilot system - the main control boxes for these are mounted in that compartment - it could have been race over.’

The Transat also acted as part of Nick's learning process on fatigue and sleep deprivation. The 13 days of racing across the Atlantic is only one-seventh of the time he will spend alone in this November's Vendée Globe. ‘I maybe went further [into a state of fatigue and exhaustion] than I wanted to in this race and had a few stupid thoughts [one was that another solo sailor actually had a full crew with him] but I know my limits and how to recuperate,’ he said.

SKANDIA will now be sailed back to the Offshore Challenges' base in Cowes, England, where the shore team will make minor adjustments prior to the Vendée. ‘We feel we need some more lead in the keel [for righting moment and upwind power] but we going to keep focusing on reliability and sailing well. They'll be our trump cards in the Vendée.

SKANDIA crossed the line 20 hours after class winner ECOVER, skippered by friend Mike Golding. ‘He sailed a really nice race,' said Nick, congratulating the British yachtsman.

‘His position was under threat from Mike Sanderson [PINDAR] and Dominique Wavre [TEMENOS] but he pushed himself hard, made some good calls on the weather, took control, covered well, advanced and closed the deal. It showed he's a talented yachtsman as well as a hard-core tough solo sailor.’

Echoing the thoughts of friends and family, André Oszmann, Skandia's group marketing director said,’ We're really delighted that Nick has completed this immense race safely and in such a good position, after his relatively slow start.

Nick's competitive nature has shone through and he's laid down a strong marker for the Vendee.

‘Congratulations from all at Skandia and our three fund partners Invesco Perpetual, Gartmore Investment Managers and Merrill Lynch Investment Managers.’


IMOCA POSITIONS 1700 GMT 13/06/2004

NAME / SKIPPER / LAT / LONG / DIST

1. ECOVER / Golding / Finished 04:18:08 GMT 13/06/04 (12d 15h 18m 8s taking 2d 43m off the 1992 record)

2. TEMENOS / Wavre / Finished 07:22: 03 GMT 13/06/04 (12d 18h 22m 03s)

3. PINDAR ALPHAGRAPHICS /Sanderson/ Finished at 09:54:33 GMT 13/06/04 (12d 20h 54m 33s)

4. SKANDIA / Moloney / Finished at 22:13:19 GMT 13/06/04 (13d 9h 13m 19s)

5. HELLOMOTO / Humphrey's / 41 51.56' N / 69 20.64' W / 77.3 miles to finish
Did not finish:
AMOR LUX / STAMM
PRB / RIOU
VIRBAC / Dick



PARTNER OF THE DAY : GURNARD PINES
Official Gym Training Facility to Nick and the Offshore Challenges Sailing Team
http://www.nickmoloney.com/gurnardpines


For more information visit http://www.nickmoloney.com