BMW Round Ireland Yacht Race - Day 2
by Event media 3 Jul 2006 05:17 EST
Konica Minolta Zana passed Inistearacht at 23.29 last night and as a result extending her lead on the rest of the fleet. According to our calculations she should be checking in shortly at Slyne Head to keep in contention for breaking the record. No other yacht has passed Inistreacht yet, however, we do expect the leading Super Zeros to be checking in shortly.
The New Zealand yacht, Konica Minolta Zana’a closest rival on the
water is Solune and is closely followed by Lyons Solicitors after the
Fastnet. The remainder of the Super Zeros and Class Ones checked in
between 01.00 and 03.00 this morning. However, only Irelands West and
defending title holder, Teng Tools, former Calyx Voice & Data, have
reported in from Class One and Two.
When Teng Tools checked in early this morning at 03.20, they had a
nice breeze of 10 knots of the Fastnet. However, there are not great
winds to be had for their 70 mile sprint to Inistearacht this morning.
According to our Provisional Results, Irelands West is leading the
fleet on corrected time, with Teng Tools only minutes behind and
favourites, Jeronimo lying at third. Minnie the Moocher and Whitetiger
follow suit at fourth and fifth. Konica Minolta Zana is lying in at
seventh. However, with only fifteen boats checked in to date these
results could change dramatically in the following hours.
Follow the action all the way and logon to our website for GPS Tracking of all the yachts. For more information about the race and to see the full list positions go to www.roundirelandyachtrace.ie
Update from Minnie the Moocher: by Anthony Richards
Position: 10 miles south of Inishtearaght Light, west coast of Ireland
Wind N 20 knots
Conditions are brutal. We are beating into a very lumpy sea causing lots of crashes off waves and water over the deck.
Our initial strategy appears to have worked, but not enough to give us an overwhelming advantage. Yesterday we were pleased when we discovered we were in the company of Super Zero boats like Solune and Chieftain. However we later identified Jeronimo ahead of us, another class zero boat (our class).
We rounded the Fastnet Rock around 0200 last night, after managing to overtake Jeronimo in the early evening when the wind went light and we had a good angle for our Code 0 Asym. However, in the dark we failed to spot a hole in the wind off Mizzen head and Jeronimo sailed around us, extending her lead on the following reach. After turning the last corner we have been hard on the wind and have recaught Jeronimo, however, we have to do a lot more than that because we give her time.
At the Fastnet we were lying fourth in the fleet, second in Class 0 and first in IRM. Jeronimo stands between us and a double first with an overall podium finish.
This has been incredibly difficult to type with the violent movement of the boat so I will reserve the rest for later. Conditions should ease this evening.