Bulletin: 7th June 2007

TEMENOS II still fighting 

One day follows on from another and all are becoming much of a muchness in this Calais Round Britain Racing 2007, which is seemingly a little too much for the skippers questioned by Press HQ this morning, a hint of irritation in their voices. The crews will have to bide their time though as the weather forecasts don't show any let up for the next two days.

With no more than 50 metres of visibility, the crews only just able to see their mastheads and the boat enveloped in a cold air saturated with moisture….the menu for tonight and the early hours of tomorrow morning is rather indigestible. Zigzagging in a light breeze of no more than 10 knots, the fleet is slowly making headway towards the Shetland Islands. The deficits remain stable, and even though the positions are regularly redistributed in the chasing pack, it's with a lead of nearly fifty miles that we discover PRB, VM Matériaux and TEMENOS II.

At the 1600 hour ranking, TEMENOS II was 6 miles behind the leader PRB. Positioned 10 miles away in the early hours, the monohull has managed to regain a few small but nonetheless precious miles on the leading duo.

"We lost a few miles on a tack we made in the latter part of the afternoon yesterday, whilst our little playmates remained on the other tack visibly benefiting from a better wind. It’s a very fine line either way sometimes. Since then TEMENOS II has made up a bit of ground, which is always welcome. Everyone is on the same course, there's no option to be had. It's a straight drag race pure and simple. You have to plug away hour by hour to gain a few tenths of a knot", explained Dominique when contacted by his shore crew mid-afternoon.

Pim from Netherland

As we understand it the objective is common amongst the whole of the fleet. To climb up against the wind off Scotland’s West coast and combine heading and speed. Over the course of the coming hours the visibility will improve progressively.

"The fog is lifting nicely and we’re sailing close to the wind with everything hoisted. We’re going to have to put a bit more Easting into our course but for the time being the direction of the wind isn‘t enabling us to do that. The wind is oscillating between 7 and 10 knots, which is enough to allow us to make some fine variations in speed. Our boats are very sensitive and their speed can be increased by up to a third just with 2 or 3 knots of extra wind in the sails."

Two or three extra knots of wind are not something that can be relied on further up the racetrack by all accounts; with each weather report, Calais seeming ever more distant.

"We have more of the same kind of conditions for at least the next two days and for the time being the descent from Calais promises to be calm. However the weather models aren’t very reliable in these types of conditions. The organisation of onboard watches is working perfectly. Everyone is managing to rest well and it's important to remain fresh. The level of concentration required in the light winds can lead to severe nervous exhaustion.

All the crew are very happy to be sailing aboard TEMENOS II and is understanding more and more about the way the boat reacts and its potential. We are adapting faster and faster to the changes in conditions, even the quick ones, and we are taking less and less time to find the right trim. With time, I think we are going to go some way to achieving the boat’s true speed potential."

One thing for sure, the boats engaged in this Calais Round Britain Race will no longer be a secret to their skipper… particularly in the light conditions!

Pim from the Netherlands