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TOUGH CALLS WITH GALES FORECAST AT CAPE HORN

21 FEBRUARY, 2012 | by Oliver Dewar

For the two frontrunners in the double-handed, Class40 Global Ocean Race (GOR) there has been a tactical dilemma over the past 24 hours as an intense low pressure system rumbles towards Drake Passage and Cape Horn. By Tuesday afternoon, both Cessna Citation and Financial Crisis had committed to their individual options and the next 24 hours will be the hardest sailing of the circumnavigation for the two teams.

Three options were available: Should Cessna Citation and Financial Crisis sail as hard as they can and attempt to outrun a gale that threatens Force 8-9 and pass through the shallow and treacherous passage ahead of the system? Should they battle on into Drake Passage towards a hostile coast with notoriously unpredictable conditions and hope their boats can withstand the punishment? Or should they slow down, judge the system’s track and – in theory – ride through the Felipe Cubillos Cape Horn Gate in the churning water behind the low pressure.

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CESSNA CITATION IS BACK IN THE LEAD AS CAPE HORN APPROACHES

At 18:00 GMT on Sunday, Conrad Colman and Adrian Kuttel re-took the lead in Leg 3 of the Global Ocean Race (GOR) with Cessna Citation as Marco Nannini and Hugo Ramon climbed north with Financial Crisis, dropping back to second place as the new leaders built on their lead overnight. In third place with Phesheya-Racing, the South African duo of Nick Leggatt and Phillippa Hutton-Squire have reached 56S – the same latitude as Cape Horn 1,200 miles to the east – and have passed the area of iceberg sightings reported by Cessna Citation last Wednesday.

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VISUAL CONFIRMATION OF ICEBERGS AT 56S FOR THE GOR LEADERS

16 FEBRUARY, 2012 | by Oliver Dewar
Late on Wednesday night GMT, as Phesheya-Racing crossed the bluQube Scoring Gate in the mid-Pacific, down in the ocean’s south-eastern section at 56S and 1,300 miles due west of Cape Horn, the first visual confirmation of icebergs was logged by Conrad Colman and Adrian Kuttel on the leading Global Ocean Race (GOR) Class40, Cessna Citation.

While Cessna Citation continued close combat with Marco Nannini and Hugo Ramon on Financial Crisis, a brief email from Conrad Colman sent to the GOR Race Organisation and the Kiwi-South African team’s two adversaries still racing in Leg 3 warned of ‘two largish icebergs’ at 55.47S/106.12W just before nightfall in the Southern Ocean. The visual confirmation of ice is a stark reminder to remain vigilant as the fleet pass beyond a known area of ice identified by the GOR Race Committee before the start of Leg 3 in Wellington 18 days ago and indicates the continued eastwards drift of the Southern Ocean bergs below the Leg 3 scoring gate.

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© Financial Crisis
El español Hugo Ramón

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CLASS40 FINANCIAL CRISIS CLOSES IN FOR THE KILL

14 FEBRUARY, 2012 | by Oliver Dewar
After 16 days and over 3,000 miles of racing in Leg 3 of the Global Ocean Race (GOR), the recent pain continues for Conrad Colman and Adrian Kuttel as Cessna Citation remains glued to the sea in dead calm conditions at 55S with Marco Nannini and Hugo Ramon charging in from behind with Financial Crisis and getting ready for a close battle to the Felipe Cubillos Cape Horn Gate at the southern tip of South America. As the fleet leaders battle with light airs, Nick Leggatt and Phillippa Hutton-Squire have been heavily-reefed and hitting big speeds west of the bluQube Scoring Gate with Phesheya-Racing.

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SELF-ADMINISTERED SURGERY FOR ADRIAN KUTTEL ON CESSNA CITATION

13 FEBRUARY, 2012 | by Oliver Dewar
On Sunday afternoon GMT, Conrad Colman and Adrian Kuttel on Cessna Citation, leading the Global Ocean Race Class40s through the Southern Ocean, ran straight into a band of light wind stretching across the Pacific’s high latitudes with speed averages plummeting to below three knots. Further north-west, Marco Nannini and Hugo Ramon in second on Financial Crisis have held the breeze as they approach 54S, taking a massive 117 miles from Colman and Kuttel in 24 hours. West of the bluQube Scoring Gate, Nick Leggatt and Phillippa Hutton-Squire have made solid progress dropping south through the Roaring Forties in remarkable conditions with Phesheya-Racing.

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CESSNA CITATION SHOOTS THROUGH THE BLUQUBE SCORING GATE

10 FEBRUARY, 2012 | by Oliver Dewar
At around 04:30 GMT on Friday, Conrad Colman and Adrian Kuttel were the first Global Ocean Race (GOR) Class40 to cross the extended Leg 3 bluQube Scoring Gate, grabbing the maximum six points with Cessna Citation and immediately dropping deeper into the Pacific with 2,000 miles in the Furious Fifties ahead of the Kiwi-South African team until they reach the Felipe Cubillos Cape Horn Gate and exit the Southern Ocean.

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THE GOR’S BLUQUBE SCORING GATE IS MOVED TO PRESERVE SAFETY

09 FEBRUARY, 2012 | by Oliver Dewar

As the Global Ocean Race (GOR) fleet leaders approach the bluQube Scoring Gate in the middle of the Pacific, Conrad Colman and Adrian Kuttel have been pushing hard on their Akilaria RC2, Cessna Citation, sustaining averages of over 14 knots and pulling away from Marco Nannini and Hugo Ramon in second on Financial Crisis.

Furthest north, in third place, the South Africans on Phesheya-Racing are timing their route to hook into the favourable breeze as Cyclone Cyril rumbles south-east into the Roaring Forties, while over 2,000 miles to the west, both Buckley Systems and Campagne de France have made landfall in New Zealand.

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© GOR

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TEXT BOOK BOAT PRESERVATION IN THE SOUTHERN OCEAN

06 FEBRUARY, 2012 | by Oliver Dewar

Throughout Sunday, thoughts of competitive racing were temporarily suspended for one of the Class40s in the Southern Ocean as the South African team on Phesheya-Racing was forced to heave-to in strong headwinds and confused seas. Furthest south at 48 degrees leading the trio, Conrad Colman and Adrian Kuttel missed the worst of the gale with Cessna Citation while Marco Nannini and Hugo Ramon were barrelling south-east away from the storm on Financial Crisis as Phesheya-Racing rode out ferocious conditions and successfully preserved their boat.

By 22:00 GMT on Sunday, Nick Leggatt and Phillippa Hutton-Squire were in the teeth of the gale with Phesheya-Racing at 44S: “The wind is not too bad but the risk of hull or rig damage is significant if we attempt to keep to any reasonable course in these seas,” reported Leggatt as the team’s track on the GOR Race Viewer became sporadic and tripped alarm bells at GOR HQ. “So we figured it is simply more prudent to stop right here and ride it out.” On Sunday evening, Phesheya-Racing was battered by around 30 knots and short, very step seas churning and boiling due to the rapid wind shift from south-easterly to north-easterly and the future prospects looked increasingly grim. “The wind is currently near gale force, but the forecast from New Zealand is for gale force soon and the GRIB files are showing even more wind,” continued Leggatt.

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MORE STRONG UPWIND CONDITIONS FOR THE GOR TRIO

05 FEBRUARY, 2012 | by Oliver Dewar
The first week of Global Ocean Race (GOR) Leg 3 has been the most demanding of the entire circumnavigation so far with strong conditions for the five double handed Class40s from within hours of the start in Wellington, New Zealand, on Sunday 29 January.

Conrad Colman and Adrian Kuttel led the fleet in to Cook Strait from the shelter of Wellington Harbour with Cessna Citation right into 30-knot headwinds and big seas forcing the fleet to reef for the first night at sea. As light faded, Halvard Mabire and Miranda Merron took pole position with Campagne de France as Marco Nannini and Hugo Ramon split from the fleet and took Financial Crisis on a flyer south parallel to the coast of South Island.

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Two GOR Class40s head back to New Zealand

03 February, 2012 | by Oliver Dewar

There has been intense drama in Leg 3 of the double-handed Global Ocean Race (GOR) as two of the Class40s, Buckley Systems and Campagne de France, have turned west and are currently heading for Auckland, New Zealand, while the three remaining boats, Cessna Citation, Financial Crisis and Phesheya-Racing continue into strong, Pacific Ocean headwinds in the Roaring Forties.

On Thursday evening at 48S, Ross and Campbell Field – leading the fleet on Buckley Systems – and Halvard Mabire and Miranda Merron on the Franco-British entry, Campagne de France in second place, trailing the Fields by 20 miles, abruptly turned north. Initially this was thought to be a move to avoid 40-50-knot headwinds, but injury and gear damage on Buckley Systems had forced the Fields to head for port with Mabire and Merron making the same call.

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© GOR

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DEEPER SOUTH FOR THE GOR CLASS40S

01 FEBRUARY, 2012 | by Oliver Dewar
Speeds in the Global Ocean Race (GOR) fleet rose dramatically throughout Tuesday as the double-handed Class40s dropped south below Chatham Island with the five boats reaching into the high latitudes on port in 25-30 knots of northerly wind. Having taken the lead early on Tuesday morning, Ross and Campbell Field hit the highest speed averages on their Tyker 40, Buckley Systems, polling 14 knots, while the chasing Class40s, Campagne de France with Halvard Mabire and Miranda Merron and Cessna Citation with Conrad Colman and Adrian Kuttel consistently delivering 13+ knots.

The first generation Akilaria Phesheya-Racing pushing hard in fourth place also averaged over 13 knots on Tuesday – a GOR speed record for the South African team of Nick Leggatt and Phillippa Hutton-Squire – but dropped back to fifth place as Marco Nannini and Hugo Ramon’s southern option taken shortly after the start of Leg 3 with Financial Crisis began to pay as the Italian-Spanish duo converged with the main pack and closed in on the leaders.

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© GOR

© GOR

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THE GOR CLASS40S ARE OFF INTO THE SOUTHERN OCEAN AGAIN

29 JANUARY, 2012 | by Oliver Dewar
At 15:00 local time (02:00 GMT) on Sunday, the double-handed Global Ocean Race (GOR) fleet started Leg 3 from Wellington, New Zealand, to Punta del Este, Uruguay, with a 6,200-mile course through the Pacific Ocean, around Cape Horn and through the South Atlantic ahead of the five Class40s.

Shortly after 13:00 local time, the Class40s motored out of Queens Wharf – the fleet’s base for almost one month – and into Lambton Harbour followed by a spectator armada of motorboats, sailing yachts and dinghies. While the fleet milled in Lambton Harbour around the start line under the watchful eyes of the Royal Port Nicholson Yacht Club team on the Committee boat, the five teams self-sealed their engines with instructions to email a time-stamped image of the yellow, plastic tie-wrap in place to Co-Race Director, Sylvie Viant within five hours of the start gun.

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© Hugo Ramón

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Código rojo…. Empieza la cuenta atrás. Estamos a menos de 12 horas de la salida de la tercera etapa de la Vuelta al mundo en doble, la Global Ocean Race, que nos hará recorrer el Océano Pacífico desde Wellington (NZL) hasta Punta del Este (URU).

Hemos estado trabajando duro, pero lo hemos pasado mal con los presupuestos y las facturas. Como en esta edición no tenemos equipo de tierra, nos las tenemos que ingeniar solos. Es impresionante ver a Marco arreglándolo todo con un martillo, incluso la pantalla del ordenador. Yo, que soy más delicado e ordenado con las reparaciones, aprendo a pasar un buen momento con “la herramienta española” en la mano. ¡Una buena experiencia! Más triste ha sido cuando hemos reciclado cabos viejos o cabos de otros barcos para poder “renovar” lo que había sufrido en el índico Sur. ¡Creo que he hecho milagros!

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© GOR

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SOUTH AFRICAN SKIPPER ADRIAN KUTTEL ARRIVES IN NEW ZEALAND READY FOR GOR LEG 3

24 JANUARY, 2012 | by Oliver Dewar
With four days remaining to the start of double-handed, Class40 Global Ocean Race (GOR) Leg 3 in Wellington on Sunday 29 January, South African sailor, Adrian Kuttel, has arrived in New Zealand to join Kiwi skipper, Conrad Colman, for the 6,300-mile course through the Pacific Ocean, around Cape Horn and through the South Atlantic to Punta del Este, Uruguay, on the Akilaria RC2 Class40, Cessna Citation.

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GOR LEG 3 BLUQUBE SOUTHERN OCEAN SCORING GATE CONFIRMED

22 JANUARY, 2012 | by Oliver Dewar

At 02:00 GMT (15:00 local) on Sunday 29 January, the five double-handed, Global Ocean Race (GOR) Class40s will cross the Leg 3 start line in Lambton Harbour off the city of Wellington, New Zealand, for the 6,200-mile course through the Pacific Ocean, around Cape Horn and through the South Atlantic to the finish line in Punta del Este, Uruguay.

Leg 3 will take the GOR Class40s through the Pacific’s high-latitudes on the classic round-the-world race route and in addition to intense low pressure systems spinning off Antarctica and sweeping east across the fleet, there is the increasing frequency of icebergs drifting north from Antarctica’s ice shelves. Consequently, over the past few months, the GOR Race Committee has been monitoring the presence of ice in the Pacific Ocean.

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© GOR
El nuevo Class 40 ‘Bodacious Dream’

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MARCO NANNINI LINKS HIS GOR CAMPAIGN TO MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS

20 JANUARY, 2012 | by Oliver Dewar

Despite the lack of a title sponsor, Marco Nannini’s Akilaria Class40, Financial Crisis, is the most heavily-branded entry in the double-handed, round-the-world, Global Ocean Race (GOR). The Italian sailor and his Spanish co-skipper, Hugo Ramon, have completed two legs of the GOR and reached the halfway point in Wellington, New Zealand, running the racing campaign on personal funding and donations collected while the duo are at sea and in-port.

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The South African team take fifth place in GOR Leg 2

05 January, 2012 | by Oliver Dewar

At 15:14:30 GMT (04:14:30 local) on Wednesday 4 January, the South African double-handed team of Nick Leggatt and Phillippa Hutton-Squire took fifth place in Leg 2 of the Global Ocean Race with Class40 Phesheya-Racing, completing the 7,000 mile course from Cape Town to Wellington, New Zealand, in 36 days 05 hours 14 minutes and 30 seconds.

On New Year’s Day, the South African duo of Nick Leggatt and Phillippa Hutton-Squire and Class40 Phesheya-Racing began sailing parallel to the coast of South Island, New Zealand, for the final 600 miles to the double-handed Global Ocean Race (GOR) Leg 2 finish line in Wellington. South-westerly breeze of between 25-30 knots pushed the fifth-placed GOR Class40 along the coast making the South African’s best speeds of the entire 7,000-mile voyage across the Indian Ocean with a 24-hour run of 273 miles.

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© GOR

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FOURTH PLACE FOR MARCO NANNINI AND HUGO RAMON WITH CLASS40 FINANCIAL CRISIS

02 JANUARY, 2012 | by Oliver Dewar
At 06:13:45 GMT on Monday 2 December (19:13 local), the Italian-Spanish double-handed team of Marco Nannini and Hugo Ramon crossed the Leg 2 finish line of the Global Ocean Race (GOR) in Wellington, New Zealand, with their Class40 Financial Crisis taking fourth place after 33 days 20 hours 13 minutes and 45 seconds and 7,000 miles of racing from Cape Town, South Africa.

The 33 year-old Italian sailor, Marco Nannini, and his 26 year-old co-skipper, Hugo Ramon, have encountered some of the worst, Indian Ocean weather in the GOR fleet since leaving Cape Town and conditions were typically robust as the duo logged the final miles of Leg 2 through Cook Strait with 20-25 knots and a big sea off North Island’s southern coast with Financial Crisis carrying two reefs and staysail.

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Mabire and Merron complete the GOR podium in Wellington

02 January, 2012 | by Oliver Dewar

At 09:49 on Monday local time (20:40 GMT 01/01/12), Halvard Mabire and Miranda Merron crossed the double-handed Global Ocean Race (GOR) Leg 2 finish line in Wellington, New Zealand, in third place with Class40 Campagne de France after 33 days 10 hours 40 minutes and 15 seconds of racing through the Indian Ocean from Cape Town. Mabire and Merron’s hard-won podium place keeps them in second place on points behind Ross and Campbell Field on BSL and two points ahead of Leg 2 winner, Conrad Colman and Sam Goodchild with Cessna Citation.

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© GOR

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ROSS AND CAMPBELL FIELD TAKE SECOND IN NEW ZEALAND WITH CLASS40 BSL

01 JANUARY, 2012 | by Oliver Dewar
At 10:38 on New Year’s Day in New Zealand (21:38 GMT 31 December), The Kiwi father-and-son team of Ross and Campbell Field took second place in Leg 2 of the double-handed Global Ocean Race (GOR) with their Class40 BSL, crossing the finish line in Wellington harbour after 32 days 11 hours 38 minutes and 40 seconds and 7,000 miles of racing from Cape Town South Africa – just over one and-a-half days behind Leg 2 winners, Conrad Colman and Sam Goodchild on Cessna Citation.

GOR Leg 2 has been a relentless battle for the New Zealand duo, balancing intense competition with preserving their Verdier-designed Class40 and both the boat and the crew bare scars from 32 days of Indian Ocean combat. However, the final stage of the 7,000-mile leg through Cook Strait was a tough finale for the duo. The Fields rounded Cape Farewell at midday GMT on Friday – in the middle of the New Zealand night – and ran straight into the south-easterly Force 7-8 howling through Cook Strait. BSL tacked briefly onto port towards Golden Bay lying behind the 15-mile long Farewell Spit jutting east into the strait from the cape, with slow and painful progress.

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BODY ARMOUR REQUIRED ON BSL IN COOK STRAIT

31 DECEMBER, 2011 | by Oliver Dewar

With the Leg 2 Global Ocean Race (GOR) winning Class40, Cessna Citation, safely secured by a network of lines and springs at Queens Wharf in Wellington Harbour, the strong winds still persist in and around Cook Strait. As Conrad Colman and Sam Goodchild crossed the finish line late on Friday evening (local), thundering into Wellington Harbour under bright orange storm jib and reefed main, the second-placed Class40 (watch a video of the arrival here), BSL of the New Zealand father-and-son duo, Ross and Campbell Field, was approaching Cape Farewell, 110 miles north-west of Wellington, preparing to turn right, into the teeth of the gale for a beat through Cook Strait.

The Fields rounded Cape Farewell at midday GMT on Friday – in the middle of the New Zealand night – and ran straight into the south-easterly Force 7-8 howling through Cook Strait. BSL tacked briefly onto port towards Golden Bay lying behind the 15-mile long Farewell Spit jutting east into the strait from the cape, with slow and painful progress: “We’re getting the **** kicked out of us,” confirmed Ross Field as BSL slammed into the massive seas. “Just before the wind instruments got blown off the rig, it was 38 knots and then it got windier,” he continued. “Now we estimate a solid 30 knots gusting 40 with breaking seas.”

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CESSNA CITATION CLOSES IN ON COOK STRAIT

29 DECEMBER, 2011 | by Oliver Dewar

After 29 days and 7,000 miles of racing through the high-latitudes of the Indian Ocean, the five, double-handed Global Ocean Race (GOR) Class40s are being severely tested as they approach the Leg 2 finish line in Wellington, New Zealand. At the head of the fleet, on race leader Cessna Citation, Kiwi yachtsman, Conrad Colman, and his British co-skipper, Sam Goodchild, escaped an area of light airs off the west coast of South Island on Wednesday evening GMT, only to run into strong headwinds and punishing seas along the continental shelf with under 200 miles to the finish. The second Kiwi team, Ross and Campbell Field on BSL, came to within 70 miles of Cessna Citation at 03:00 GMT on Thursday as they chase Colman and Goodchild along the coast.

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© Pelsheya Racing

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A MIXED CHRISTMAS DAY FOR THE GOR FLEET

26 DECEMBER, 2011 | by Oliver Dewar
While the leading trio of double-handed Global Ocean Race (GOR) Class40s struggled with fickle and frustrating light airs south and south-east of Tasmania, the two boats further west had a Christmas Day pasting in 47 knots of wind, but delivered impressive speeds.

Over Christmas Day the zone of minimal breeze ballooned and stretched to an area covering 350 miles south of Tasmania and the GOR fleet leaders, Conrad Colman and Sam Goodchild on Cessna Citation and Ross and Campbell Field on BSL in second place were snared early on Christmas Day with the speeds dropping to below five knots as the two Class40s struggled east towards South Island, New Zealand.

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Les Sables d’Olonne confirmed as GOR 2011-12 finish port

The Global Ocean Race 2011-12 (GOR) can confirm that the finish port for the 30,000-mile, double-handed, Class40 circumnavigation will be Les Sables d’Olonne in the Vendée region of France.

The town of Les Sables d’Olonne on the North Atlantic’s Bay of Biscay coast is synonymous with solo and short-handed offshore sailing as the start and finish port of the Vendée Globe and the Les Sables-Horta-Les Sables Race and is also the home and Head Quarters of the Class40 Association. Currently mid-Indian Ocean on Leg 2 of the GOR from Cape Town, South Africa, to Wellington, New Zealand, the GOR fleet will finish their nine-month circumnavigation in Les Sables d’Olonne at the end of May next year following Leg 5 from Charleston, USA.

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© Cessna Citation

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A RELENTLESS BATTLE FOR THE SOUTHERN OCEAN CLASS40S

20 DECEMBER, 2011 | by Oliver Dewar

Complex and extremely tough weather conditions in the Southern Ocean continue to roll across the double-handed Global Ocean Race (GOR) Class40s in quick succession. Furthest west, the South African team in fifth place with Phesheya-Racing has been dodging gales 160 miles above the Australian Ice Limit while the Italian-Spanish duo on Financial Crisis in fourth took the full force of a low pressure system on Tuesday morning and was knocked flat in a 58-knot gust. Beyond the eastern extremity of the ice limit, the Franco-British team on Campagne de France in third have remained in the north at 42S in big seas but lighter airs as the low pressure systems rumble passed to the south.

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