Builder:
Designer: John B. Sharp
More: ELAN 700 Specifications
News:
Transat Jacques Vabre - Kingfisher-Foncia rounds Ascension
* Speed & Heading are instantaneous
* Positions are polled every two hours daily between 0430hrs - 2030hrs and
can be viewed online at: http://www.jacques-vabre.com - click on 'rankings'
Radio Chat & Quotes:
Franck Cammas (Groupama): "We tried to go on the attack last night but I wasn't happy with our move. It took us a while to actually make it round the mark, but it's the only time where we have lost out, and 35 miles or so when you have 1500 to do is nothing! The experience we have together on this boat and her preparation could make all the difference. We're going to make them
sweat!"
Alain Gautier (Kingfisher-Foncia): "The approach to the Ascension Islands was hard work. The wind left us for a while, we lost some valuable time, but then looking at the rankings we weren't the only ones! We're now trucking downwind under gennaker. Our strategy for the end of the race? Right now it's steering a straight road in the Trade winds. But if there is any situation we need to control, it will be on the run up to Bahia."
Marcus Hutchinson (Ecover): "For the last 24 hours we've been stuck to Casto-Darty-BUT, and for the last 12 we've been sailing side by side, separated by half a mile. In these variable conditions, it's quite extraordinary to have a boat so nearby. In the last squall we lost them but I know they're not far away!"
Emma Richards (Pindar Systems): "A frustrating day in the Doldrums, but I believe we came out quite quickly and haven't lost all the miles that we had gained on the boats before us. We will find out in the next day or so how our Easterly option has worked, everything here is changing very quickly. We are still just 5degrees North and the wind is steadier in strength, but not direction yet."
Richard Tolkien (This Time): "This is the most competitive race I've been in, if you'd asked me before the start if I thought we'd be a day's sailing behind the leader at this stage I would have said no, definitely. It's frustrating to have missed the trick to pass to the West, and we lost out on UUDS there, but I hope we'll gain an advantage in the East when we pick up the SE winds, especially if there is more Southing in them."
More Information:
- Transat Jacques Vabre Website
See also: ELAN 45 for sale
