Document of slowness within the doldrums!
The Ocean Race: Document of slowness within the doldrums!
by Staff HOLCIM – PRB 30 Jan 08:49 PST
30 January 2023
Holcim-PRB – The Ocean Race © Georgia Schofield | PolaRYSE | Holcim-PRB
It’s the 4th day at sea of the Leg 2 of The Ocean Race, between Mindelo in Cape Verde and Cape City in South Africa. And time is passing slowly, too slowly for Holcim-PRB on this around the world race. Kevin Escoffier, Sam Goodchild, Tom Laperche, Susann Beucke and Georgia Schofield (OBR) are having a tough time on this lengthy crossing of the Doldrums…
“It will likely be one of many longest time within the doldrums that I’ve ever skilled. In addition to for the crew, even when for a few of them it is their first time. It is off to begin ! ” commented Kevin Escoffier. In 24 hours, Holcim-PRB has solely coated 74 miles (between 8am yesterday morning and 8am this Monday), which is a really small portion of the route! The environment tonight in the course of the Atlantic was like a Turner portray with out gentle. The panorama was excellent even when it’s a bit scary when you’re racing. Not a breath of air, an oily sea, intense black colours, a couple of clouds within the distance that had been troublesome to identify and a small disagreeable swell that made the sails flap… They needed to await the primary solar rays to get a greater thought of the circumstances supplied by the Doldrums the sailors of Holcim-PRB should cope with all through the day and possibly a part of the approaching evening.
On this space the place the air lots of the northern hemisphere and people of the southern hemisphere conflict, Kevin Escoffier and his crew haven’t any selection… If they’re often the masters of anticipation and planning, they must put apart their strategies right here and overlook for a couple of hours the fun of high-speed crusing. Attempting to get the very best place, exploiting the slightest wind, imagining the best way to get out of this significantly thick zone by which they’ve already been crusing for greater than 24 hours… On this context, instinct overtakes rationality typically.
And Holcim-PRB is doing fairly properly. Kevin Escoffier and his crew are third this afternoon. The gaps have melted and the inexperienced and blue boat is crusing 32,7 miles (at 3:00 pm UTC) from Guyot Environnement, the brand new chief. On the east, the Franco-German crew is progressing nearer to the direct route. However the problem is to be essentially the most southerly of the fleet to hope to be the primary to hurry up once more. That is the case for Holcim-PRB, which is making good progress near Biotherm, even when the speedometers of the 2 monohulls appear to be out of whack… Paul Meilhat’s common velocity over 24 hours is 2.5 knots, Holcim-PRB’s 2.7 knots. Speeds that one would by no means wish to attain aboard these high-tech monohulls.
“You have to be affected person. We have now to maintain the boat transferring south. The purpose is to be as far south as potential to catch wind, the commerce winds of the southern hemisphere. At present, I hope that we are going to be out of right here in about twenty hours, between 50 and 75 miles. All the pieces goes properly on board. It additionally permits us to relaxation, to do a couple of issues, to dry the boat, to optimize the load. All the load is on the bow, everybody sleeps on the entrance of the boat. These are circumstances that we do not actually like. It makes the sails endure, as they flap so much, however that is how it’s. We’re involved with eleventh Hour Racing Staff, with Biotherm and likewise Guyot who has taken a really jap possibility. And Staff Malizia took a westerly possibility as a result of they had been a bit behind, in order that they needed to attempt one thing. It is an fascinating race.” stated the skipper of the GO CIRCULAR challenge.
The environment aboard the Swiss monohull is utilized to not miss any alternative to get out of this windless zone. The fleet is tightly packed and it’s prone to begin once more in a gaggle. Every mile gained on the opponent is due to this fact significantly valuable. The start of this week appears a bit unnatural for the sailors who’re continually searching for velocity. However it is just as soon as they hit the SE’ly commerce winds that they’ll choose up the tempo for a protracted tack, initially in direction of the Brazilian coast.
