| Route du Rhum: Kip Stone and Artforms lead vanishing |
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| Tuesday, 14 November 2006 | |
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Caroline Kurrus: Less than 400 miles to go in the Route du Rhum and Kip is struggling in soft conditions: "I haven't been getting much sleep in the last days as I've been watching my lead over Servane Escoffier vanish like an ice cube in the Caribbean sun." At the latest poll, Artforms leads Vedettes de Bréhat Cap Marine by 62 miles. Read Kip's latest account and learn how to follow the race below Skipper's Log: Lead Vanishing; Struggling in soft conditions I haven't been getting much sleep in the last two days as I've been watching my lead over Servane Escoffier vanish like an ice cube in the Caribbean sun. Since the start of the race, Servane has not been afraid to go for the corners which makes her hard to cover and, in the last 24 hours, created the opportunity to cut my lead by over 100 nautical miles. Like one of those bad dreams where your legs are like rubber, I've been struggling in soft conditions to work my way to the west while she's descended towards Guadeloupe on a conveyor belt of stable breeze. Finally, at about 1400 this afternoon, I broke through one more squirrelly band of breeze into the wind she's been enjoying - just in the nick of time. Fabulous racing! The pressure is not off yet as there are soft conditions ahead for the next day or so until we finally break through to some light but steady easterly breeze to the south. In those kinds of conditions, anything can happen so now, it's back to keeping the boat moving along and squeezing in some sleep where I'm able. Less than 400 miles left in this race. In a very short time, I'll be back in the land of palm trees and Pina Coladas. Kip Stone Track Kip's position on the internet To track Kip across the Atlantic, visit www.routedurhum.org. Click on 'charts' or 'cartographie' and then select 'monocoques classe 2'. Zoom out to see the whole course. If you want to see the location of all the boats, select 'toutés des categories.' Want to see what the wind is doing? Click 'La Météo' and check the box 'Afficher les vents actuel' for current conditions. About Kip and the Route du Rhum Kip Stone is the sole American entry in the Route du Rhum La Banque Postale, a 3,500 nautical mile solo transatlantic race that starts October 29 from St. Malo, France, to Pointe-a-Pitre, Guadeloupe. Current record for the Open 50 Monohull division: 18 days, 16 hours, 23 minutes. www.ksopen50.com Route du Rhum photos |
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| Last Updated ( Tuesday, 14 November 2006 ) |
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