Editorial- Force 10 hits solo fleet!!
by nzeditor@sail-world.com on 25 Oct 2006
Alex Thompson runs for a safe port in the Velux 5 Oceans race onEdition
http://www.onEdition.com
Welcome to the midweek edition of Sail-World.com/nz newsletter
Overnight the news came through that the Velux 5 Oceans fleet had been hit by winds of over 70 knots, but from the descriptions and photos it would seem to be a Force 10 on the Beaufort scale.
All this just over a day out from the start of a singlehanded round the world race with just two stops.
Latest news is that two of the six starters are still racing, or rather surviving, and that a further storm is due. We have full reports from the boats and race organisers plus some very spectacular shots taken after a photographer flew over the boats yesterday.
The shots are a good demonstration of Sail-World’s widescreen technology – and certainly this scribe started feeling a little queasy, viewing the downloads last night, on a large screen.
Two sailors did not make the start line, and are still attempting to start the race within the next week. Four others are either in port, or sailing to port to effect repairs, and will be required to stop for a minimum of 48 hours.
The situation replays the opening stanzas of the 2005/06 Volvo Ocean race, which also started from Spain and encountered horrendous conditions for the first three days – which ultimately affected the outcome of the race, and the ability of many competitors to race hard for the remainder of the VOR.
The storm which hit the Velux 5 Oceans fleet appears to have been underestimated by both race organisers and advisers associated with the competitors. Keep watching www.sail-world.com for the latest updates as this situation unfolds.
There is some new video on www.sailcam.tv along with the coverage posted after the start of the HSBC Coastal Classic. We are also concluding our coverage of the Coastal Classic with three galleries of photos taken at the start and opening miles of what proved to be a long and excruciating experience for many smaller competitors.
On the topic of video we were sent the URL of a great piece of 470 action/carnage from Youtube.com www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDToL593cmU&eurl it was sent to us by a former 470 Olympian now resident in UK. Very entertaining!
Good sailing!
Richard Gladwell
NZ Editor
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