DAY 29 - Club Med Worried about Beams, Innovation Explorer More Sail Trouble
News - Sunday, 01/28/2001, 6:40 AM GMT

Position	01/28/2001 6:40 AM GMT
1st	Club Med (In rougher seas, avg speed 23.3 knots)
2nd	Innovation Explorer (837 nm from the leader, talk of a pitstop in New Zealand, avg speed 22.4 knots)
3rd	Warta Polpharma (3567 nm from leader. Sailing consistently, avg speed 19.1 knots)
4th	Team Adventure (3857 nm from the leader. Has reached the Roaring Forties, has eyes on Warta Polpharma, avg speed 10.2 knots)
5th	Team Legato (5337 nm from the leader. Finally in the wind, avg speed 8.8 knots)

Innovation Explorer is considering a pit stop in Cook Strait, New Zealand to replenish their sail wardrobe. They would then suffer a 48 hr penalty. No decisions have been finalized as yet. Having spare sails would be a dramatic help to their piece of mind. This team has sailed admirably, being forced to perform more daring tactical moves to make up for their lack of speed, to preserve their existing sails (reacher delamination), and the fact they do not have a medium gennaker. They cannot go downwind as much, so are forced to jibe more frequently, covering more distance than the leader, Club Med. they have been carrying their large gennaker in higher winds than ideal and it is also has now suffered damage with a few tears along the luff. They are pushing further north to get into better conditions.

Club Med is able to sail deeper downwind with a special free-flying storm spinnaker, therefore stay closer on course.

Club Med is experiencing stressful conditions, carefully trying to avoid nose dives and therefore beam damage after seeing what happened to Team Adventure. Dalton, while communicating, was bracing himself below, and shouting over the sounds of the waves slamming into the cross beam.

Dalton: "We are now imbedded in the low pressure we have been staying North of for the last few days. Once again, we have way too much wind. Puffs of over 40 knots at times and a large, following seaway. It is definitely time to throttle back and so we have two reefs in the mainsail and a storm chute set, although it certainly doesn't seem particularly throttled back with the speedo hovering in the high 20's."

"Although our crossbeams are substantially stronger than when originally built I would give a lot right now for 50 kg more carbon where it would make a difference. The beams take such a hammering from the waves, it is unbelievable. The force of the water hitting them at high speed is just brutal. Every now and again there is a huge bang as a wave crashes into either the front beam or the back beam. So far so good, but there is still a long way to go before this is over."

"I'm tired and I worry a lot about the loads involved on board. We have at least another 36 hours of these conditions and it is really hard work. We are still making excellent progress though and by tomorrow we will be in the Great Australian Bight. Conditions on board are horrendous. The limited comfort on board and the few sheltered areas are almost insignificant when faced with high speed sailing in wild and cold conditions."

"Everything onboard is totally saturated. There is no way that a tiny drying heater could ever keep up with the thousands of gallons that constantly come onboard. We had yet another of the hundreds of waves pour over the leeward hull earlier today and completely shatter the perspex windshield clean out from the starboard hatchway. One less refuge of real shelter on board..."

Team Adventure is trecking through the southerlies, when she reaches the Roaring Forties her speed will improve.

Team Adventure's Larry Rosenfeld: "It blew about 35 to 40 with a steep chop right on the nose. We were a little cautious with three reefs and the storm jib to be kind to the boat and the people. Now its's down to 11 knots, but still on the nose."

Warta Polpharma, in 3rd position, covered 506.4 miles in the last 24 hrs - this is her best performance following the alterations to the former Commodore Explorer. Now the Poles have made their own mark with this their finest performance so far aboard a boat that already boasts a proud history.

The team members names are all written on the boat’s forward beam where all the crew can see them, as if to remind these courageous men that the voyage on which they have embarked is much more than just a ‘mere’ race.

Team Legato after hurting for so long when she sailed right into the St. Helena's High, is making some headway - albeit not necessarily in the right directions. The following winds are so light that they have to gybe frequently and sail at very broad angles in order to make any progress south.

It never ends - an area of low pressure appears just ahead. During the night the wind will turn so as to be exactly on Bullimore's nose - due southeast. That means sailing close hauled for at least the next 24 hours.

Map images courtesy of Virtual Spectator, click here to go to The Race site for a free download of the software.

Club Med in blue Innovation Explorer is in green Warta Polpharma is yellow

Team Adventure is in orange Team Legato is in brick-red PlayStation is in orange-red

Map images courtesy of Virtual Spectator, click here to go to The Race site for a free download of the software.

Club Med in blue Innovation Explorer is in green Warta Polpharma is yellow

Team Adventure is in orange Team Legato is in brick-red PlayStation is in orange-red

Safety Issues

Rudders of all boats must be painted orange, in the event of a capsize.

All crews in The Race have to undergo a full survival test in their escape suits before they can qualify to race. This includes a full briefing on the safety equipment including how to use a life raft, then a practical test for each crewmember assisted by divers in the water.

They first have to pass under a submerged sail (to simulate the conditions of coming up under the mainsail after a capsize). They then have to pass under a pontoon and through a circular hatch to simulate escaping from a small safety port. Finally, they have to inflate their lifejackets and swim to a life raft and get in it.

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