| At sea. Global Challenge: Can the leaders hold on? |
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; "Vince and David on Kicker/Preventer watch whilst surfing up a wave. SAIC © Challenge Business")
| Sunday, 03 July 2005 | |
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Dan Wedgwood Four yachts placed third to sixth only 3nm apart in terms of distance to finish... Densely packed bunch of four piling the pressure on the leading pair After record speeds and spinnaker dramas in gale-force winds, the fleet is now sailing rather than surfing towards La Rochelle. The wind has started to ease, lead yacht Team Stelmar only has 363nm to go and all eyes are on the effect the high-pressure will have on the leaderboard standings over the line. “We are closing the continental shelf that makes the Bay of Biscay famous for its treacherous seas and stormy conditions," said Dee Caffari, skipper of Imagine It. Done. "Fortunately, there are no storms on the horizon, but the breeze we do have will be slowly dying as we all creep towards La Rochelle.” At present the first yacht looks set to cross the finish line on Monday. Andrew Roberts, Global Challenge Project Director said: “The numbers show that if the current VMG is maintained they would finish at 1300 GMT, whereas if they did 10 knots to the line it would be 0500 GMT, and if they did 8 knots to the line it would be 1700 GMT. “The difference in the average speed between the first and last yachts is only about 0.3 of a knot for the whole leg, which is remarkably close.” As such the last yacht to finish should do so in the early hours of Tuesday. Despite the distance to finish figures rapidly falling in the fast conditions of recent days, the light conditions expected for the finish could be a last-minute chance for teams to make up ground on the leaders. “If the wind goes light and north / northwest(ish) as forecasts are saying,” wrote SAIC La Jolla skipper Eero Lehtinen, “then we might still – at the very end – make some gains. How much more we lose before that and how much we can get back, if any, remains an unanswered question until Monday. We will push the boat like we have stolen it and soon we will able to count the masts in La Rochelle as we drive in to the harbour.” SAIC La Jolla have continued to gradually lose ground - as a result of their position to the south of the fleet they have felt the unwanted effect of the lighter airs first and slipped to ninth. VAIO are clearly not happy with their current position either today, Ylva Johannsson writing, “Our position is nothing that we really want to discuss at the moment. Still hoping for the front boats to get stuck in high pressure so we can catch up.” At the front, Team Stelmar is still in first, holding off second place Imagine It. Done. by 18nm. While Dee Caffari and her team also have some daylight – 9nm – between themselves and Me to You in third, the chasing pack sitting just behind the leading pair are precariously close together in terms of distance to finish. The four yachts placed third to sixth are reporting distances of 27, 28, 29 and 30nm to the leader respectively, so the pressure will be mounting – any mistakes in this situation could cost the unfortunate team not just one or two positions but a slide that takes them up to half the leaderboard the wrong way! All to play for this weekend… Note: Report based on positions at 1342 GMT 2 Jul 2005 15:00 GMT www.globalchallenge2004.com |
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| Last Updated ( Sunday, 03 July 2005 ) |
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