Email update from Kingfisher

by Nick Moloney on 17 Aug 2001 Time GMT : 9:35:48

Position 41° 23N 65 38W

Heading/speed 140 4

Wind from 70 at 4 knots

Sail configuration is Full main Genoa
Percentage performance


As I sit here at the nav station discussing the results of the last poll
with Adrienne. Ant (youngster) is cooking dinner telling me about his
eventful watch: 7 Pilot whales and a beach ball. Brian has just called from
on deck. Hey, there's a sunfish next to us. Sounds like were just in time for
the big game 'flip off'.

There has bee quite a lot of sea life already this trip. Yesterday we had two
sharks alongside but its a little hard to take it all in when the goal right
now is to punch through this front and into the SW flow ASAP. This is
emphasised through Adrienne's response to all the talk about sea life 'that's
nice darlings, 70-80 TWA please.'

Our last poll has revealed that the whole fleet has gained a little over the
last 3 hours. These boats will scat along in hardly any air at all....but,
of course, you do need some. 5-10 kts of boat speed can be achieved easily in
less than 10 kts of wind. Potentially right now our opposition could be
gaining at a rate of 10 miles and hour. Not a comfortable feeling.

While we wait for wind, we may as well eat. Herve is shovelling through our
day food bag, 'Hey guys, were definitely not going to starve' He proceeds to
lay out Biscuits noodles candy, energy bars.... we could have our own
market!'

The fog has gone for now. The barometer is rising steadily, all signs that
we are making progress through this weather transition. AS the afternoon
light begins to fade I look over the sea through the windows in our
coach house roof. I can see a small amount of wind on the water to the south
of us. How far does this extend? Far enough to push along our opponents?
Will it reach us or simply evaporate?

c'mon Kingfisher
nick & team

Oh my god...I have just received the fright of my life. Brian has appeared
behind me wearing his thermal underwear and a rather large floppy sun hat.
Time to issue a ticket from the fashion police.

Position updated at :
http://www.edsatlanticchallenge.com/en/default.asp?pg=/en/viewer/raceviewer.htm
For further information on the race visit http://www.edsatlanticchallenge.com

POSITIONS : 16th August 2001, 10:53 GMT

1 Kingfisher , Ellen MacArthur / Nick Moloney, 2635 miles from the Finish

3 Sill Plein Fruit, Roland Jourdain / Gael Le'Cleach, 12 miles behind leader.

3 Ecover, Mike Golding, 14 miles behind leader.

4 FILA, Andrea Scarabelli, 19 miles behind leader.

5 Gartmore, Josh Hall, 31 miles behind the leader

6 Alpha Graphics, Helena Darvelid, 48 miles behind leader.

Not Racing: La Rage de Vivre, Loic Pochet / Patrick Tabarly

Learning and understanding : Weather forecasting and IT on board
In all ocean races, like the EDS Atlantic Challenge, information technology or IT has become an essential tactical tool for optimising navigation. On board, the navigator entrusts the computer with the treatment of weather data for greater rapidity and more efficiency of analysis. A software package like 'Maxsea', processes the weather forecasts downloaded from the Internet and navigational data like the speed or position of the boat. In this way, the route to take is visualised on marine charts of the given area. Thanks to all these answers, the navigator has the possibility of choosing his route and forming his strategy. This 'routing' software is only an aid for decision making because the shortest route retained by the computer is not necessarily the fastest in the long termŠ Each participant must anticipate forecasts and trends, which the computer cannot yet do.

Regular updates at http://www.kingfisherchallenges.com
Official race site http://www.edsatlanticchallenge.com

Sailing towards the English Channel.
In the UK Kingfisher plc are represented by

Comet http://www.comet.co.uk for Electrical

B&Q http://www.bandq.co.uk for DIY

Kingfisher Plc - One of Europe's leading Retailers

After the demerger of it's UK general merchandise businesses, the Group will employ 80,000 working in more than 1,350 stores both in Europe and in countries as diverse as China, Brazil, Canada and Turkey.

Kingfisher's activities are focused in two main retail sectors - home improvement and electrical & furniture - with an overall vision to help people enjoy their homes and lifestyle. The goal is pursued through some of Europe's best known retail brands, including B&Q, Castorama, Darty, Comet & BUT. We are also exploring the opportunities of e-commerce seeking to offer customers the best service, value and choice wherever and whenever they want.