Builder:
Designer: Philippe Briand
More: DYNAMIQUE 63 Specifications
News:
Volvo Ocean Race Leg 1 - illbruck covers the pack
Update from Ian Moore on illbruck
Stuck In Second Gear
It's the middle of the night and its very quiet aboard illbruck. The only sound that breaks the silence is Jamie's rhythmic snoring and Crusty's occasional blaspheming as the wind shifts through 50 degrees again. You can feel the trades trying to fill in. Each time we get a shot of breeze
from the NE the temperature increases several degrees as the warm African wind touches down to the surface for a few minutes. Then just as suddenly the breeze flicks back to the north and the temperature drops again.
It's quite frustrating trying to sail in so little pressure. It's a bit like driving your Porsche down the motorway stuck in second gear. We have a boat that can easily top 20 knots and here we are pootling along at 6. We are all hoping that soon we will have an opportunity to gun it and show
you what we can really do.
The main excitement of the day was that Crusty managed to accidentally swing the Volvo medical team into full action. He dropped them a mail asking for a bit of advice because he had sore ribs and suddenly we had doctors from all over the world calling us to give assistance. It's comforting to know that if we are in a situation when we really need them that they are there for us.
All is well
Update from Jon Gunderson on News Corp
Bart's Up To No Good
It's getting to be a bit like the movie Groundhog Day out here. 1800 miles to go to the first island and we are experiencing Transpac (Pacific ocean) type weather - same gybe, same sail, same wind strength and same forecast for tomorrow!
Bart is becoming a little restless, over the last watch or two we have come to realise that this is probably not the best environment for a hyperactive 7 year-old! He has been trying to play games on the Nav Computer, messing with the off watch crew as they sleep, getting in the way on deck and just being a general pest.
Also there is a little matter of the ever decreasing meals, every meal seems to be getting a little smaller than the last and Bart's' gut is beginning to take on Homer (Simpson)-like proportions, the rest of the crew are beginning to eye him with suspicion.
I would say that things will probably come to a head some time in the next day or two and if Bart isn't careful he might just find himself voted off the island! Adrift on his skateboard I don't rate his chances of ever making it to Cape Town in time for the next leg.
The time has probably come for the young punk to lay low around here!
Otherwise all is well on board, spirits are high and we are optimistic that the next week or so will find us heading for the doldrums in good shape. The race is turning out to be as close as predicted - this is going to be a great nine months of racing!
PS - does anyone know who won the Australian NRL Grand Final??
Update from Gurra Krantz on SEB
What The Hell Are We Doing Here?
What can I say? Everybody is asking what the hell we are doing out here. To be totally honest, so are we at times.
We have been chasing our own tail for days now. I do not know what the information says to the rest of the fleet, but in a position such as ours, the best escape is to catch the wind that should be in the south and east of us. There simply is no door open for us to go more west, and take my word for it, we have been looking for one.
It seems like the reality of the weather is a little bit early all the time compared with the forecasts. We are running to the station to catch the train with a standby ticket, but the train has already left, some 30 seconds early.
What we then do not know is whether our watch or the conductor's watch is wrong, or the train driver simply could not care less and took off.
We go back to the table, looking at the situation again, finding that the next train leaves not much later. All looks good, we are at the station early, jumping on the train and, with high expectation, unpacking our delicate lunch awaiting the departure. What happens then? The train does
not leave at all. The main power switch is down. We cannot move one millimetre.
What is actually happening on the water is not much different. Going west, wind shifts to the right and drops, gybing back, almost on course, wind picks up, lifts and drops back to nothing again. We are going back and forth in a weak gradient or nowhere at all, when there is a wind hole.
At the moment we do not have to worry so much about whose sail testing program or designer has been the best, we have to get a break and get back in the race. Crew moral is high despite the short-lived positive position reports.
We are catered for a long leg and everybody onboard is racing the boat hard, it is just one factor-missing, breeze to get back in the race.
More Information:
- YachtsandYachting.com Volvo Ocean Race Information Page
- www.VolvoOceanRace.org
See also: DYNAMIQUE 62 for sale
