Australia's Nick Moloney leads Route du Rhum Class 2

by Kingfisher Media on 11 Nov 2002 After a busy first night avoiding shipping and pushing Ashfield Heathcare to her full potential, Nick Moloney leads the class 2 monohulls in the Route du Rhum solo transAtlantic race.

And Moloney's relentless pace is paying other dividends as he has passed seven faster IMOCA Open 60 yachts since yesterday.

'I don't think I have slept since the start of the race,' said Moloney in a communication to Offshore Challenges on Sunday afternoon. 'I think I rested for a bit and now I'm starting to feel tired.

'The breeze is so fickle I've got to stay on it and keep monitoring everything.'

The speed difference and gains between trimming his 50 foot yacht for the changing conditions and easing back while resting is up to two knots, or 24 miles a day in the 10 - 18 knot westerly headwinds that Moloney is experiencing in the English Channel.

'I'm fully canvassed [with full sail area] so every time I get the breeze it's a bit of a handful and the change between the Solent [headsail] and staysail [small headsail] is a real handful,' added Moloney.

These two are flown from the same headstay - one has to come down before the other can go up.

The threat of shipping has also deprived Moloney of some valuable sleep. 'Last night was pretty busy but there were two of us together [Elie Canivenc's Open 60 LEASECOM] but we both had our strobe lights and active echo beacons on so everyone gave us a pretty wide berth.'

Yannick Besthaven on REPUBLIQUE DOMINICIAINE - one of Moloney's main competitors for class 2 line honours into Guadeloupe - rejoined the race at 1800hrs on Saturday and climbed back up to third in conditions that suit his new Open 50.

Besthaven was forced to return to Saint-Malo port before the start with mainsail problems.

He re-started some five hours after the fleet, but overnight charged back in to contention. He now lies 16 miles astern of ASHFIELD HEALTHCARE, although Moloney did pull away from the young Frenchman earlier this afternoon after the gap had narrowed to nine miles at 1100hrs GMT.

At the time of speaking to Offshore Challenges, Moloney was alongside another Open 60 entry 60éme SUD, sailed by Didier Munduteguy. 'He must be asleep as I'm passing him,' continued Moloney as he slipped ahead of another faster 60 foot yacht.

POSITIONS OF CLASS 2 FLEET: Sunday, 11 November 1500hrs GMT
1, Nick Moloney - ASHFIELD HEALTHCARE - 3,408 miles to Guadeloupe
2, Luc Coquelin - FLORYS - plus 12 miles to finish
3, Yannick Besthaven - REPUBLIQUE DOMINICAINE - plus 16 miles to finish
4, Bob Escoffier - ADECCO ETOILE HORIZON - plus 16 miles to finish
5, Hervé Vachée - MILLE VISAGES - plus 18 miles to finish

Full results at http://www.RouteduRhum.com