Safe and Sound - The BT Global Challenge fleet has passed Hurricane Michael unscathed.

by Liz Addis Writer, Quokka Sports on 20 Oct 2000 Despite fears yesterday that some of the yachts would sail fairly close to the centre of the storm, all have now passed the hurricane safely.

Norwich Union was the closest boat to the eye of the storm but fortunately was on the right side of it (the west side) so it didn’t cause them any problems.
Olympic Group and Save the Children, who at one point looked as if they were heading straight for the worst of the weather, veered east at the last minute and came out smiling.

They managed to skirt the storm, coming no closer than 150 miles. Once it had passed they enjoyed fast downwind sailing and are now holding the lead.

Olympic skipper Manley Hopkinson explained their tactics. He said, “The plan was to sail into her until the wind veered to the south as expected, or the winds become unworkable, then to tack out and make good towards the rhumb line and follow the veer round as it goes westward.”

As the wind reached 26 knots gusting 30 and a couple of big waves hit the foredeck, he decided the time had come to change direction.

“There comes a point when you have to bear away to protect the crew, but you know that to do so will cost you many hard earned miles. Not an easy decision, though crew safety always takes priority. Now was that time.

“Our position is good, as only Save the Children is south of us, so we will not lose out going east. In fact it should work very well. It is all part of the overall scheme.”

They suffered only one minor setback during the incident: crew volunteer Annee de Mamiel received a suspected fractured finger when a wave swept her along the deck into the guard rail.

The rest of the fleet was even further east when the storm passed and were well away from the worst of the weather.

Meteorologist and skipper in the BT Global Challenge 1996/97, Chris Tibbs, said, “For the more easterly boats the maximum winds may have stayed relatively light, not reaching more than a Force 6 or 7 overnight.”

TeamSpirIT reported a lightning strike to their mast from an electrical storm during the evening but the steel boats are built to withstand such common occurrences. Skipper John Read said the crew were all fine but feeling ‘energised’.

The hurricane is believed to have peaked around midday GMT with wind speeds of 65 knots and gusts reaching about 80 knots, so by the time the fleet passed it by the storm was already starting to diminish.

Tibbs said, “Although unpleasant, the entire fleet should have avoided the hurricane force winds that were predicted last night to extend only 30 miles or so from the centre.

“The nearest yacht was Norwich Union to the west, but as she was on the safer side should not have had more than a Force 8 or 9 from the north. To the east, the closest yachts should have had similar strength wind but from the south with bigger more confused seas. On top of the average wind speed there would be strong gusts and squalls to contend with.”

However Norwich Union’s hoped-for advantage from downwind sailing failed to materialise and the boat is now even further behind the leg leaders, losing another 121 miles in the last 24 hours.

Before the storm Norwich Union crew volunteer Dan Thorne explained the team’s tactics. He said, “We are in the best position to make the most of its winds whilst it gives the rest of the fleet a beating.

“We should be able to run down the western side of it as we are the western most boat. The rest of the fleet will have to take their chances with the dangerous sector of the storm on the eastern side.

“With any luck this will slingshot us out in favourable winds to the south east and into the front.”

Colleague Sue Willmer added, “We are hoping to reach the most the westerly edge in time before it hits us, which should then propel us round and help us catch up with the rest of the fleet.”

But unfortunately the move did not pay off as well as they had expected.

Race Headquarters manager John Keating said, “Their only chance of catching up was as the storm went through but they didn’t make any ground.

“Norwich Union is currently sailing one knot slower than the two leading boats. The deficit is likely to get worse. Their only hope is if the rest of the fleet sits in still water for at least 36 hours.”

Tibbs says things should now begin to get a bit calmer for the crews. He said, “The wind should now drop off quickly. There will be some squalls and possibly some thunder today which should die out later as the sun reappears.

“The worst thing will be the waves. Due to the spinning motion of the hurricane and its movement the waves become very large and confused.

“Tomorrow the fleet will be plagued by light variable winds, made worse by the still-confused sea. Longer term the fleet looks like having light mainly easterly winds over the weekend as the trade winds re-establish themselves.”