Sailing Magazine
By Richard Crockett
This is turning out to be a very slow race as light winds have plagued the fleet for several days now. It’s never pleasant being becalmed mid-ocean as all one thinks about is the time wasted, distance not travelled, and how that ice cold beer at the finish appears to be even more than an eternity away!
No, the top yachts don’t carry beer as it’s additional weight which will slow them down. Some skippers also forbid the crew dropping a fishing line over the side as that too can slow the boat and cost a few places over the line or on handicap.
The big question, which is yet to be answered, is whether they all have sufficient supplies aboard, especially water? The rationing of food and water may become a reality should the light conditions prevail.
I picked up from the tracker that ‘Translated 9′ was doing less that 1 knot of boat speed at the 06h00 YB Tracker update this morning. How painful indeed!
There are massive changes on the leader board again today, showing just how variable the winds are. Little has changed in terms of the line honours positions, but it’s the IRC handicap positions which have changed dramatically.
The “Angels”aboard ‘AlexForbes Archangel’ now wear the leader’s crown as they top the leader board. ‘Ray of Light’ follows them, and both did 98nm in the past 24 hours. ‘Audaz II’ is in third.
The biggest surprise on the IRC leader board was that ‘Atalanta’ dropped from wearing the crown yesterday to 10th this morning. That’s a massive swing, and one which may improve as they day progresses.
It’s slow, tough and rather pedestrian out there. Here’s looking forward to some breeze and some action.
As always there are interesting snippets from days of yore on this race. Follow them below.
1973. Good Wind Forecast for Start of Race. READ IT HERE: 1973 01 12 – S&A – stitched – 000153-1_Redacted
1976. El Yacht First Race Casualty. READ IT HERE: 1976 01 12 – 1976 Rio – S&A – 000667_Redacted
1976. Pen Duick and Ondine in Relentless Lead Duel. READ IT HERE: 1976 01 12 – 1976 Rio – S&A – 002045 – OCR
1985. Can ‘Apple’ Do It? READ IT HERE: 1985 01 12 – S&A – 000036
1985. Instead of Carrying His Bride Across the Threshold. READ IT HERE: 1985 01 12 – S&A – 000037 2
1985. Dismasting A Bitter Blow. READ IT HERE: 1985 01 12 – S&A – 000037 copy
1985. 35 Set Sail Today for Uruguay. READ IT HERE: 1985 01 12 – S&A – 000071
1985. Maxis in Dash for Uruguay. READ IT HERE: 1985 01 12 – S&A – stitched – 000019-1
1993. Martin Keen to Re-enter Race. READ IT HERE: 1993 01 12 – S&A – 002422 – OCR_Redacted – OCR
1993. Lorna Chases Glory. READ IT HERE: 1993 01 12 – S&A – 002457 – OCR_Redacted
1996. Bold Nankin Takes Warrior on Warpath. READ IT HERE: 1996 01 12 – S&A – 084_Redacted
2000. Maxi Smashes 24-hour Speed Sailing Record. READ IT HERE: 2000 01 12 – S&A – 768_Redacted
