Wednesday, March 23, 2011

COUNTESS 44

Boat: COUNTESS 44

Builder: Pearson Yachts

Designer: John G. Alden

More: COUNTESS 44 Specifications

News:

The Race - Team Adventure confronted by high pressure


Author: Mireille Vatine

The final days of a race round the world are often tainted with nostalgia, the sailors have mixed feelings between the wish to finish and the desire to continue. This doesn't seem to be the case with the 3 boats still in The Race. All the crews are longing to get it over with and reach the Vieux Port where the other two giants await them. For Team Legato, it's a real race against time to finish before the deadline, or 30 days after the finish of the first boat, for the two others the current preoccupation is getting out of the grips of a powerful anticyclone as quickly as possible.

Tony Bullimore is still hoping to make it before the latest deadline (April 2nd 2001), otherwise they will be considered off-race. It is not going to be easy but it's a tremendous motivation for driving the boat and getting the most out of the wind conditions. All is well on board and as it is his wont, Tony cannot praise his crew enough. "They are driving the boat as best as they can. We're lucky with the weather at the moment, we could be having light airs, but on the contrary we are enjoying strong winds. As soon as we pick up the trades we hope to be able to cross the Equator and the Doldrums rapidly. We are very motivated to finish this race on time."

On board Warta-Polpharma, morale is high. The weather pattern remains complex but would appear to be better than before and Roman is a little more optimistic. "We have a little more confidence in the weather conditions today. Of course we won't pass through in conditions as good as Club Med or Innovation Explorer, but the situation is looking better than we feared these last few days. We are looking for the best possible crossing point for the Doldrums, at around longitude 30°. We just have a few problems with the sails to cope with".

Team Adventure is confronted with a barrier of high pressure right ahead of their bows. Beating to windward for several days now, Cam and his crew are going to have to negotiate this tricky passage and make some northing where salvation can be found in the shape of a low whose winds could carry them as far as the Straits of Gibraltar. During today's noon radio chat session Cam was still expecting to finish around March 23rd, next Friday.

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More Information:

  • YachtsandYachting.com The Race Information Page

See also: COUNTESS 37 for sale