DAY 15 - The Leaders Play cat and Mouse, PlayStation Rips Mainsail, Beacon detected from Team Phillips
News - Sunday, 01/14/2001, 4:39 AM GMT

Position	01/14/2001 4:39 AM GMT
1st	Club Med (Moving west to cover, avg speed 14.8 knots)
2nd	Team Adventure (61 nm from the leader. Edging further west, avg speed 15.5 knots)
3rd	Innovation Explorer (179 nm from the leader. Gaining fast on leaders, avg speed 19.5 knots)
4th	PlayStation (1190 nm from the leader. Rips mainsail, this slows progress, avg speed 8.8 knots)
5th	Warta Polpharma (1675 nm from leader. Across the Equator, moving slow, avg speed 6.9 knots)
6th	Team Legato (2540 nm from the leader. Passing east of Cape Verdes, avg speed 15.0 knots)

Club Med took the lead from Team Adventure, then in the space of writing this article, Team Adventure took it back. The game of cat and mouse continues. Club Med lost the lead due to a damaged main sail traveller which cost her ten miles.

The high pressure system of St. Helene is impacting, as the Ollier ships have all dropped in speed. This windless zone is effectively barring their way. The growing high pressure zone is heading south. The three Ollier-designed giant catamarans are forced to follow the air mass south, slowing their progress still further, because there is nothing but light airs to the east of them all the way to the African coast. Light winds from the south east are at force 3 to 4 which will then clock to the north east and lighten further until Sunday night.

These light air times will also be good to catch up on sleep. « The conditions of life aboard are actually easier, explains Grant. There are no more waves, so the team is taking a good rest and relaxation after these last few days that have been so hard and stressful. It is also a great opportunity to do some work on the boat and to one more time check everything over».

all 3 leading boats seem to be opting for a similar course, as straight south as possible. Whoever breaks out into the Westerlies first will fly off at full speed leaving the rest far behind.

Innovation Explorer is gaining good ground.

Cam Lewis: 'During the first hour of my 1000 to 1400 watch we swapped the staysail for the Solent when the wind dropped below 15 knots and stayed there. Since then it has been more of the fast reaching we really revel in'.

PlayStation is moving again after two really slow days in the doldrums. They are between the Doldrums and the high pressure system of St. Helene, and are experiencing good winds. Note the about turn that they made, as seen in the NOW live tracker image. This is caused by PlayStation turning into the wind to drop the mainsail.

PlayStations Steve Fossett announced that their spectra mainsail had torn at the first reefing point. In the absence of any other solution, the crew lowered the mainsail so that Nick Moloney, the sailmaker on board, could get to work on repairs. The tear is about three feet long, there is another six feet where the stitching is broken or suspect.

From the NOW live tracker, www.now.com

Innovation Explorer is in turqoise Club Med in yellow Team Adventure is green

PlayStation is in red Warta is orange Team Legato is blue

Warta-Polpharma has left the Doldrums behind her and has now crossed the equator. The Polish challenger has picked up speed (her speed listed above should increase now).

From the NOW live tracker, www.now.com

Team Legato has reached the Cape Verde Islands - yet is still 2,540 miles behind the leaders. She is experiencing 15 knots of wind from the north east.

A signal has been received from Team Philips' beacon, picked up by satellite at 0010, Saturday 13th January 2001, and confirmed at regular intervals. This was the beacon that was left by Pete Goss and the crew of Team Philips in an inactivated state on board when they were forced to abandon ship in mid Atlantic in December 2000.

Goss Challenges were contacted by Falmouth Coastguard with the news that the beacon has become active and are working with Falmouth Coastguard to assist in any way that they can.

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