Rolex Middle Sea Race - Day 5
by Rolex Media Centre 25 Oct 2006 13:39 PDT
LIGHT WINDS CONSPIRE IN MORNING GLORY'S FAVOUR AS ABN AMRO ONE DRIFTS IN
It was ABN AMRO ONE's turn to drift across the finish line of the Rolex Middle Sea Race this afternoon, almost 24 hours after the trio of SuperMaxis finished yesterday.
Mike Sanderson always knew that it was going to be a big challenge bringing a rough, tough ocean racing boat like a Volvo Open 70 into the predominantly light airs of the South Mediterranean, and so it proved. "It was a very light air race to take four and a half days to do 600 miles in a Volvo Open 70, that's very slow," said Sanderson, smiling as he stepped ashore. "It was the same for everyone, of course, just not ideal VO70 conditions.
"We had a really good first day and first night, at one point we were right next to Alfa Romeo, so 20 hours into it we were in good shape, but then we got dropped. While we drifting around doing 1 or 2 knots, they must have been doing 10. Then we got parked near Stromboli for six or seven hours and then the whole fleet moved up to us. Eventually we stretched away but the damage was done by then."
Although the gaps to the rest of the fleet are large, if new breeze arrives in the next day it could bring the smaller boats within striking distance of handicap victory. However Hasso Plattner's 86-foot canting keel Maxi, Morning Glory, is tightening her grip on the race lead under the IRC corrected time system, and the number of yachts that can threaten her position at the top of the leaderboard is dwindling by the hour.
Jim Swartz's impeccably sailed Swan 601 Moneypenny is well placed on the water having passed Lampedusa this afternoon. The professional crew from America have been focused 24 hours a day for the past five days on taking every small gain available. Moneypenny finds herself in a breakaway group of three near Lampedusa, along with last year's winner, the 70-foot Atalanta II from Italy, and the Russian TP52 Rusal Synergy.
The Swan 601's navigator Mark Rudiger was pleased with progress; "A lot could happen yet. Every corner of every island presents a challenge, but we're finding that if we can get really close into the beach then we find some local breeze to play with. Rusal Synergy are going even further into the beach which is probably what has kept them in the game."
The islands can prove a help or hindrance depending on how close you dare pass to them. "Whenever we get near to these islands, there's a local weather pattern," explained Rudiger, a former round-the-world-race winner. "We think you've got to get in close to take advantage of any drainage [of breeze] off the land. If you try to stay clear of the islands it's a long way around the outside because the effect of the islands extends a long way out, maybe 20 miles."
The food on board Moneypenny was high quality for the first few days, but slow progress has forced Swartz's crew to break open the dreaded sachets of freeze-dried food. Not only that, but they are starting to ration the portions for fear of running out of food altogether. The irony of circumnavigating an island such as Sicily, famed for its plentiful produce and beautiful cuisine, is not lost on Rudiger. "We were looking up the rules of the race to see if we were permitted to motor back to Pantelleria and buy some food," he laughed. "We even thought about going to Africa."
However, the competitive spirit prevailed and they are knuckling down to the task of racing. The rationing has not gone down well, however, although a man of Rudiger's vast experience has little sympathy. He knows what it's like to ration for whole ocean legs of the Volvo Ocean Race. "When they start complaining I tell them they haven't tried making 27 days of rations last for 32 days! But it's a fun group. The guys are really focused on trimming the sails and keeping the boat moving. This is what ocean racing is all about. You take your little victories when you can."
The Irish Cookson 50 Chieftain really needs breeze to make her move, and for a brief time yesterday afternoon the fleet was charging along in 20 knots of breeze. It didn't last long enough for Chieftain's skipper's liking, however. Gerard O'Rourke commented: "We are parked again with no wind, not far from Pantelleria. At this rate our crew flights may have to be rescheduled. But the crew are all well, and we're looking forward to a few pints in Malta sometime."
Damiani Our Dream, the Italian Maxi skippered by Australian/Dutch Olympic medallist Mitch Booth, has retired from the race today and is making straight for Malta. Perhaps their wine rations had expired. As Booth explained before the race: "The crew work on the basis that each of us consumes half a bottle a day, and we packed 50 bottles of red wine, enough to keep us going for five days." Now the five days is up, and the Italians are on their way back, presumably in search of a Maltese wine bar.
One crew that was always ready for a long, slow race - indeed who even relished the prospect - was the double-handed entry Slingshot, a J/105 from Great Britain. Ric Searle called in to say: "We've been pretty busy trying to stay out of the holes in the wind. Just been briefly parked up at Pantelleria, but 14 knots of breeze has just filled in and we're off again. It's a bit of a contrast to 24 hours ago when we were under double-reefed main and our No. 4! We seemed to spend the day getting soaked, just about drying off before the next big wave came over. Nice to be warm though - beats sailing in England at the moment. Even saw Shaun [Murphy] on the foredeck for one sail change. How many owners can do that without getting a nosebleed?"
Close to the back of the fleet is the Swan 44 Selene, whose skipper Mark Jephcott is concerned about reaching the finish line before the 8am cut-off this Saturday morning. "As a tail-end Charlie we are now racing against the time limit. Swans need wind and don't drift very fast. We are praying for wind."
With four boats finished and three retired, 61 yachts are still racing.
Robert McNeill's Zephyrus IV remains the current Course Record holder with a time of 64 hours 49 minutes and 57 seconds established in 2000.
The Rolex Middle Sea Race final prize giving is at noon on 28th October in La Vallette Hall at the Mediterranean Conference Centre.
For more information about the Rolex Middle Sea Race 2006 including the entry list, position reports and results please visit www.rolexmiddlesearace.com