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13 February 2003Jules Verne Challenge Update: Day 15Click here for previous update | Click here for next update
Ellen and Crew in Kingfisher 2www.ellenmacarthur.com
Day 15 from start: Racing to Heaven or HellAt last Kingfisher 2 is out of the dolrums and making good speed south. They have a lot of catching up to do, having slipped to 31 hrs 26 mins behind the record achieved by Orange last year. Remember they were ahead of Orange’s record at the equator, before they hit the dolrums.
The aim now is to try and hook into one of the depressions that circle the bottom of the globe and then join the Southern Ocean sleigh ride. It has been a dramatic change from the sun and the frustratingly leisurely pace during the past few days. Now heavy weather gear is the order of the day.
Without any land masses to hinder them, the weather of in the Southern Ocean is driven by a series of low pressure systems that circle the bottom of the globe around Antarctica. The winds and wave heights can build to severe storms, and are particularly unstable. It will be necessary to keep a close eye on the strain gauges around the boat, and especially the mast and its rigging.
The wind in the southern hemisphere rotates clockwise around the systems (the inverse of the northern hemisphere), so being on the northern side of them gives favourable downwind conditions as they travel east. However, the further south you go the shorter the distance you sail. Finding the compromise is the key decision to make, as well as trying to stay with the same system for as long as possible. As you fall of the back of a depression, there can be period of light winds while you wait for the next to catch you up. This is why the role of the Router, Meeno Schrader in Keil, Germany, is so important with his satellite access to global weather systems. |
