News

by Matthew Thomas Unlike the leaders, the ‘Two Pips’ have had a reasonably quick passage through the doldrums. Careful playing of each puff and being a little further to the west has meant they’ve had a little better weather, and looking at their 4 hour average, they’re now exiting this area of very little wind at 8 knots, nearly two knots better than their competitors. This extra speed has allowed them to reel in ‘Groupe Setin’ and pass them, and …

by Matthew Thomas The ‘Two Pips’ are pushing hard and have gained back the 8th place they lost yesterday afternoon. They’re neck and neck with ‘SNBSM Espoir Compétition’ and closing rapidly on both ‘Zetra’ and ‘Groupe Setin’ as they work their way through the Doldrums. Looking at the weather files, they’re just past halfway through and sailing upwind which will give them some more time to work on their spinnaker. As they leave the doldrums, it’ll be close reaching to …

by Matthew Thomas As our duo continue south into the start of the doldrums, they’re sailing hard and pushing to gain back the lost miles from crossing the ridge. Late yesterday, (our time) Phillippa summed up their progress and the conditions onboard with this email: “This is our 3rd monday at sea and we are only just half way to Itajai. I cant believe how slow this race has been. I would have thought that by now we would be …

by Matthew Thomas Well, it’s working…. Holding onto the westerly gybe has positioned the ‘Two Pips’ to the west and the forecast stronger wind is most definitely there and they’re slowly gaining on ‘Groupe Setin’. Spirits onboard are up and they’re now enjoying the sailing as yesterday’s message shows:” “Surfing with the fractional kite up making good speeds. 3rd Monday at sea!! Almost half way … 2774nm to go!” “Le Conservateur’ is still leading, but now with only a 32nm …

by Matthew Thomas Ocean racing is never easy as you’re completely dependent on the weather information you can download and based on it, you have to make decision. Looking at the data, you have to look at both the immediate trends as well as the long term trends, all the while looking outside at your local weather and come up with a game plan that will give you a long term advantage over your competitors. In the short term, this …

by Graeme Willcox Day 2. After a long postponement due to no wind, a light patchy sea breeze filled in from the ESE. The FX’s were up first and only needing one race to finish off the qualification series, the 49ers were sent out shortly after to get our last race in. After a short postponement on the water we started in a dying sea breeze which was switching back a forth. We had a good start, but got squeezed …

By Matthew Thomas Breaking News. French co-skippers François Gabart and Pascal Bidégorry on the new 30m Ultime Trimaran ‘MACIF’ crossed the finish line in Itajaí, Brazil as first Ultime, to take line honours in the 5400 miles Transat Jacques Vabre double handed Transatlantic race. The elapsed time for Gabart, 32, and Bidégorry, 47, is 12 days 17hrs 29min 27sec sailing at an average speed of 17.68 knots for the theoretical course of 5400nm. This new boat, a VPLP design, which …

by Matthew Thomas Bedevilled by the light wind but still fighting, back to 8th. It’s clearly been a slow and frustrating night for the girls on Concise 2! Looking at the weather this morning, it seems that they have finally slipped the clutches of the High Pressure ridge that has dogged them for the last few day. This will most definitely be a huge relief as they can now start to focus on gaining back the miles they’ve lost to …

  News from Graeme Willcox after the first race of the 49er South America Champs (pre-Worlds) was not as encouraging as one may have hoped, but the guys are there, on the water and determined to be the third South African boat in Rio 2016. Graeme Said: “Today was a light day with the sea breeze not quite filling in and with it being so unsettled, there were some big pressure differences and switches. This meant that there were lots …

by Matthew Thomas Still battling in the light stuff, Pips had the following to say: “In the grey ocean beside the boat up pops a dolphin for air. The dolphin takes a breath and ducks down under the water again. You can see them under the water. Spotted dolphins screaming away at you. Yesterday, and this morning at sunrise, they spent several hour’s entertaining us. Some of them had pink bellies, I guess they are pregnant? Lots of little ones …

by Matthew Thomas Still working hard to get through the ridge and back in 7th. It’s clearly been a tough night for the ‘Two Pips’ as they’ve kept pushing as the wind gods have kept them waiting for the better breeze to arrive. Right now it is starting to fill, but it looks like it’s also filling for ‘Groupe Setin’ who is currently 120nm to the east of the ‘Two Pips’. Much further east and close to the African coast, …

by Richard Crockett I do like to see positive sailors who help themselves rather than sit back, bleat and expect everyone else to make it happen for them. Graeme Willcox and Andrew Tarboton are two people who have not sat back and waited, but have rather put their hearts and soles into their campaign to qualify South Africa in the 49ers for Rio 2016. Despite no sponsorship or any significant financial assistance other than their own, these two guys have …

by Matthew Thomas As the first rays of sunlight start to peak above the eastern horizon, out intrepid duo is now ahead of ‘Groupe Setin’ and about 200nm west of the Canary Islands. They’re still sailing in light air as they battle to get across the high pressure ridge. People often think that the light air is a time for rest and recuperation, but it really isn’t. As JJ Provoyeur put it so well after his BOC Challenge. “It’s easy …

By Matthew Thomas It’s always a nerve-racking time waiting for the wind to arrive, especially when you have down loaded weather files and committed to sailing away from your nearest competitor because the data you have suggests you will be better off further to the west. With modern communications and accurate tracking of your competitors available via the internet, you can instantly see that your decision has let your competitor sail past you. Well, this morning it’s clear that their …

by Matthew Thomas Due to communication issues on board we have not been receiving as much info from Phillippa as hoped. This was due to coms problems which now appear to be resolved – so here’s a quick catch-up of news received just a few minutes ago. With a moonbow (rainbow by night) on the beam, rain squalls all around we wallow in the swells. There was very little wind to gain any momentum so the boat bashes from side …