Orange is deep in the Southern Ocean and has successfully rounded half of the globe. Australian Nick Moloney describes what it’s like to sail the big cat in the tough conditions at 50 South.
“Wind instruments have gone again, its a bit tough in the dark relying on the luff of the storm spinnaker, when the apparent wind shifts so fast so its great to have a good sea way to lock into for direction.
“Had a monty 2 nights ago when the wind lifted 40 degrees and we were suddenly reaching hard into a seaway….it was a warzone. Explosions of water everywhere and everyone being thrown around on the tramp. You know when you are sieving flour or dirt and the big pieces bounce around on the mesh, thats sort of what it gets like.. It happened so quickly that not many had their harness on. It was pretty full on for a period until we took another reef and jibed…wild times.
“Repair to crack in back beam is finished so we will continue to monitor. Not surprising to see the damage, the water hits that like a sledgehammer and we have taken a few waves over the past 9 days.”
http://www.nickmoloney.com
http://www.maxicatamaranorange.com
Austrian Tornado sailor Johannes Haeupl died during the last day of the Princess Sofia Trophy regatta in Palma de Mallorca, Spain. Skip Whyte, U.S. 470 coach, was there with members of the U.S. Sailing team.
“The conditions were excellent, if you could ignore the rain and cold temperatures. All of the classes were sailing in a compressed area because the committee was justifiably nervous about the forecast. The wind stayed in the mid to high teens, but there was a terrible accident on another course. A young Austrian Tornado sailor was killed after a capsize. Details are sketchy, but it seems that he was trapped under the trampoline. The balance of racing was cancelled after the accident. This tragic loss has shaken everyone.”
An independent international sailing jury has dismissed the protest the Volvo Ocean Race Committee lodged against Team SEB. The Race Committee considered Team SEB to have caused serious damage to their own boat at the collision that occurred during leg five. The jury did not consider the damage serious and dismissed the protest.
“I am very happy about the outcome of the protest. Now we can focus on what we are here for; sailing the very best we can,” said Gurra Krantz. “We will continue the up going trend we had on this leg.”
The jury hearing was held behind closed doors, with representatives from Team SEB, the other racing syndicates in the race, the race committee and the jury.
With the protest dismissed, SEB will not lose any of the points gained on this leg.
http://www.volvooceanrace.com
Those of you that have the Outdoor Life Network as part of your cable or satellite service will want to watch tonight at 8 o’clock Eastern Time for a program about the latest Sydney-Hobart race. The program will also be aired at 11 p.m. eastern and on April 6. http://www.olntv.com
