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Image © Steve Fossett Plenty of wind and smooth running. Discounting the hectic wind chop, a product of a gale of wind blowing 30 knots plus, conditions like these experienced by Playstation are as perfect as they ever get for record-breaking maxi-multihulls. This photo was taken during an autumn 2000 trans-Atlantic record run and Steve Fossett's catamaran is seen here soon after leaving New York for the Lizard, riding blustery south-west winds ahead of an approaching cold front. Since then 20 feet of bow have been glued to the boat, making her even more able to sail hard downwind. The perfect front Playstation sets a new
trans-Atlantic record October, 2001 One of yachting's great holy grails, the trans-Atlantic crossing, between New York and the Lizard, fell in grand style on October 10 after Steve Fossett's 125 foot catamaran Playstation blitzed the 11 year record by an astounding 44 hours. Playstation averaged 25.78 knots for the entire 2925 nautical mile voyage, setting the record at four days, 17hours, 28minutes and six seconds. For one 24 hour period the yacht clocked up 687.17nm - breaking Club Med's 24 hour record of 655.13nm set deep in the South Pacific last February during The Race. Serge Madec and crew aboard Jet Services V set the multihull trans-Atlantic record in June 1990. Eleven years is a long time to hold a modern record and when the latest generation of maxi-Cats were launched prior to The Race, all the pundits reckoned it was only a matter of time before this bench mark was raised. But Madec and Jet Services V, a 90 foot cat renamed Warta Polpharma for The Race, had a lucky crossing - a frontal movement described in weatherman's terms as 'progressive'. Despite her shorter length, the weather was just perfect. Successive attempts last year by the big Cats Playstation and Club Med failed because the frontal systems they rode across 'the pond' failed to take them all the way to the Lizard. Choosing the right system The North Atlantic, like any ocean, moves through phases in its personality. Picking the right personality is the key to success when setting a record crossing. The latest generation of multihull - the big maxi-cats and trimerans - are more capable than ever of sailing as fast, or faster, than the movement of weather. So the key to setting records is to ride a system like a surfer rides a wave and take it as far as possible. Cold fronts are the ideal system to ride, because they often sweep into virgin ocean: Smooth seas that offer little resistance to the narrow hulls of racing multihulls. If a yacht can be positioned east of a cold front, riding winds preceding the change - northerlies in the southern hemisphere, southerlies in the northern hemisphere - a fast sail is the result. Grant Dalton’s Club Med did exactly this in the South Pacific during The Race to set a 24 hour distance record. Yvan Bourgnon’s 60 foot tri Bayer En France did it in the North Atlantic during the Quebec to St Malo to very nearly better Club Med’s previous 24 hour distance record. Open 60 monohulls have done the same, with Roland Jourdain’s Sill grabbing the title just days before the finish of the Vendee Globe, beating similar records set by Yves Parlier and Dominic Wavre. All of these sailors rode fresh cold fronts, pushing into virgin ocean. Get it wrong, however, and failure is almost certain. Playstation’s navigator Stan Honey notes that staying ahead of the front is the key. Once a yacht becomes enveloped in the squall clouds associated with the front - typically extending 100 miles east of the cold front proper - there is smooth sailing no more. Gusty winds veering and backing with each cloud mean the boat can’t be sailed at 100 per cent. A boat sails best at certain headings and multihulls are particularly prone to coming off the boil if the wind isn’t out of the right quarter. Once a front passes overhead winds veer to north-west in the northern hemisphere, or back to south-west in the southern hemisphere, after which winds typically go light. The party is over and a disappointed crew wallows in confused seas, lights airs and disappointment. "It is critical to measure the distance between a front and the boat ahead of it," says navigator Honey. "That’s where we, aboard Playstation, screwed up on a previous trans-Atlantic attempt last year. This time we absolutely had to sail aggressively enough to stay ahead of the front." Of course, choosing the right front is every bit as critical as sailing ahead of it. Weather systems can move too quickly, and no yacht - no matter how fast - will keep up. A straight-line jet stream, or ‘zonal flow’ will typically produce low pressure systems that move too quickly. Conversely a system may stall half way across, dumping a yacht in the ridge, or 'dorsal', of high pressure preceding it. High pressure means no wind. No wind means no record. Look at a jet stream chart and if you see the stream curving into an 'omega' shape, this indicates a blocked pattern. This kink in the stream is very stable. Winds underneath the kink, or blocked high pressure, are light and will remain so for some time. Central Atlantic animated
infra-red Image courtesy of Intellicast. This animated infra-red image shows Playstation's record-breaking cold front sweeping across the eastern United States and out into the Atlantic on its way to Europe.The first image in the sequence was taken on Octo 5, 1200 gmt - seven hours before Playstation left Ambrose Light on her record run. The last image, taken at October 8, 1800gmt saw Playstation 2000 miles into her journey, with winds beginning to diminish from 30-32 knots to 22-24 knots. During this time she broke the 24 hour distance record. During that time the cold front was at its widest and most intense. Remember, gradations of cold cloud in this image are shown as deeper shades of red. Cold cloud means taller cloud - a sign of heavy rainfall and deeper low pressure. Comparing models Perfect fronts are associated with moderate low pressure systems that remain ‘progressive’ right across the distance being covered. In the case of Playstation, Tom Mattus and George Caras of Commanders Weather picked the record-breaking pattern after three computer models - the European, MRF and NoGaps models - agreed unanimously that this front had the potential to carry Playstation at least half-way to the Lizard, at an average pace of 25 knots - the yacht’s potential sailing pace. "It is very difficult to get a system to go all the way across," Mattus says. Very often a frontal system will take a boat into the mid-Atlantic somewhere between 20 and 30 degrees west (900-1500 nautical miles west of the Lizard) and then the pattern will break down." The models showed the front breaking down about mid-Atlantic, with south-west to westerly winds easing. However, the models did not indicate any easterly winds - horrible headwinds that would stop a record crossing in its tracks. "It looked like a such a good system that we said to Steve Fossett and crew, ‘this is a go’," recalled Mattus. "And as we progressed towards the departure date, and especially the day after the start, the pattern looked like it had the potential to set a record." It is interesting to note that the three models Mattus used did in fact disagree as the cold front moved towards Europe. Mattus recalls that east of 20 degrees west, the MRF (a medium range forecast, based on the US Aviation Model data) indicated the front would dissipate and easterly winds would replace the south-west to westerly flow preceding the cold front. However, the other two models - the European and NoGaps models, disagreed saying south-west to westerly winds would prevail all the way to the Lizard. "We tended to discount the MRF in the end," said Mattus. "It was basically outvoted by the other two, and besides we had seen the MRF wrongly indicate the same thing several times this autumn." On the whole, however, the computer simulations worked very well. "We have to give credit to these models," says Mattus. "They worked consistently." Eastern Atlantic surface pressure Image courtesy of Ocean Weather This three-frame animation shows, in the first frame, a clearly-defined 'dorsal' of high pressure east of Newfoundland. Under this triangular ridge of high pressure lies virgin seas - flat water with potential for record-setting speed. Playstation rode south-west winds flowing clock-wise over the top of this ridge. Because these winds pushed into virgin territory, there were no turbulent cross seas to slow her down. You can see how the dorsal is created by the high pressure being squeezed between tow low pressure cells. In the second frame this ridge has moved to the English Channel. In the last frame the low which created Playstation's front has lopped the top off the ridge and instead gradient wind from the west drives the maxi-cat to a new trans-Atlantic record. Going for a record At 8am on Friday, October 5, the world’s largest racing catamaran left her berth at Chelsea Piers in New York harbour and drifted out of the Hudson River, through the Verrazano Narrows towards Ambrose light - the official starting position. Winds were light and the yacht floated around waiting for things to improve. Navigator Stan Honey said everyone knew what to expect: The cold front, attached to a low pressure cell north of Labrador, was sweeping swiftly across the Appalachian mountains and heading for the coast, compressing the isobars between high pressure over Bermuda and the leading edge of the cold front. As the high pressure out in the Atlantic felt the squeeze of the approaching cold front, it changed shape - pushing a narrow, triangular ridge towards the north-east. Winds flowing clockwise around the high became compressed between the ridge and the cold front, delivering 25-30 knot winds from the S-SW. These winds would drive Playstation to a new record. On deck, Playstation’s experienced crew felt that warm sou’wester tickle their faces and watched with baited breath as white caps began to dot the sea surface. Stan Honey, meanwhile, hunkered down in the nav station and monitored buoy reports out to sea. Already they were recording significantly stronger winds. Come midday, with 15 to 18 knots of breeze building, Playstation headed for the English channel almost 3000 miles to the north-east. Out to sea winds were building to 30-35 knots and very soon Playstation would be in amongst it, sailing very hard on her optimum polars, traveling as fast as the wind. Despite the initial thrill, there was some anxiety aboard the maxi-cat. "We knew that with a tropical wrinkle to our south the depression to our north would intensify quickly," recalled Honey. "As it turned out, during those first couple of days the front was moving about 10 knots faster than we could sail and was slowly catching us up." Honey says this was a critical moment. A time when everyone aboard Playstation worked very hard to maintain the pace. If the cold front caught up with them, the smooth sailing would end along with the record attempt. Even Tom Mattus, and George Caras, back at Commanders Weather office in New Hampshire emphasised the need for conservative sailing. "After that first day we just kept telling them, ‘hold the boat together, be alert for anything in the water that might cause damage’," recalled Mattus, "because this weather pattern was looking more and more like it would bring them home real fast." Looking for anything in the water was difficult, however. Strong gradient wind from the south-west is warm and humid, while water in the Labrador current is cold - often no more than 15 degrees C. Playstation would run into fog east of Maine and she remained in pea soup until she passed the Flemish Cap at the eastern end of Newfoundland’s Grand Banks. Reaching at speeds up to 30 knots in fog so thick it leaves dew drops on your polar fleece is like sailing at night - except it’s gray. Day and night in these conditions are defined only by a subtle difference in contrast. It’s an anxious buzz that will leave you breathless and panic-stricken unless you keep your cool. In fact, Playstation did hit something early on the second day with the starboard daggerboard but the crew could not find any damage when they looked through an underwater scope. Everyone aboard let out a collective sigh and carried on, business as usual. Reaching past Sable Island off the Nova Scotian coast, winds at mast height built to 32 knots, coming from 190-195 degrees while the big cat remained on a heading of 60-70 degrees - a perfect sailing angle for speed. She surfed past two oil rigs at 30 knots, well on her way to setting a new 24 hour distance record. Those on the drilling rigs warned the crew of impending 50 knot nor-westers behind the front. "They were surprised to hear that we were out there precisely because of the incoming gale, although we did not plan to stick around to see the centre of it," said Honey. Despite the blustery S-SW winds, there was no swell. The sea state was only as rough as a strong seabreeze at the beach in high summer. For a 125 foot cat, this was as smooth a run as you can imagine. Former crew Nick Maloney has written about his experience aboard Playstation, about surfing at 30 plus knots in the black of night - an experience that left him cold. About how the cat’s leeward hull accelerates so fast when the windward hull starts to fly that those sleeping in their bunks are thrown backwards - their heads slamming into the bulkhead behind them. For this trans-Atlantic crossing there were no flying hulls, no rapid acceleration. It really was smooth sailing, and as the yacht left the fog-bound Grand Banks and saw a three-quarters moon for the first time, it became serene sailing. "If crossing the Atlantic were always this pleasant there would be hundreds of boats out here," wrote Honey to race headquarters at the time. However, the navigator now notes that the 20 foot extensions to Playstation’s bows, added after an unsuccessful trans-Atlantic attempt one year ago, might have made all the difference to success this time around. It is critical to stay ahead of the front and to do so means pushing the boat to her limit. "I’m not certain we could have stayed in front if not for the longer bows," he says. As well as keeping an eye on the cold front looming up from behind, Honey monitored the ridge of high pressure to the east. Playstation was sailing the boundary between windless high pressure and windless low pressure. Staying in this gradient wind was critical and Honey made sure Playstation got no closer to the centre of high pressure than 1012 mb.
Coming home As the maxi-cat reached 51 degrees north Playstation had to head due east - 90 degrees by the compass - if she was to stay on the shortest route to the Lizard - the great circle route. As luck would have it, the low to the north pushed into the ridge of high pressure ahead of the yacht, ‘cutting its top off’ and winds veered right from 190 to 230 degrees. Again, the shift was perfect. Playstation remained on her optimum polars, while sticking to the great circle route, avoiding high pressure ahead and rough seas behind. A new trans-Atlantic record never looked so easy. Winds did eventually ease as Playstation approached the English Channel, but the high pressure ridge now to the south of the yacht created enough gradient pressure to maintain south-west winds at 22-24 knots. The slight backing of wind, and other synoptic factors created a building sea state, but despite the less than perfect conditions Playstation traveled fast enough in these conditions to cross the ‘line’ offshore of the lizard four days, 17hours, 28minutes and six seconds after leaving Ambose light. Will the record stand?" "Certainly there are a lot of boats out there able to beat the record," notes Honey. "But maybe not by 44 hours. It will certainly be hard to improve the record by as much as we did, and be as lucky as we were." © Jamie Brown/weather-wise.com 2001 Another look at the weather Atlantic surface winds Image courtesy of NOAA. Another view of Playstation's cold front sweeping across the Atlantic, compressing high pressure to its east against low pressure over Ireland and the UK. Note the triangular shaped ridge of high pressure in the middle and the light winds within this region. Atlantic infra-red And another view of the cold front prior to Playstation leaving New York. The yellow band of cloud stretching from the mid-west to beyond Newfoundland is the cold front itself. High pressure to the east of the US is seen as a patch of deep blue. Image courtesy of Intellicast. Atlantic records Charlie Barr set the first trans-Atlantic record in the schooner Atlantic in 1905. This record lasted until Eric Taberly beat it in 1981. The previous outright Atlantic record by crewed multihull was set by Serge Madec on the catamaran Jet Services V in June 1990 : 6 days, 13 hours, 3 minutes and 32 seconds. This same catamaran was renamed Commodore Explorer, operated by Bruno Peyron, and is now Warta Polpharma - a Polish entrant in The Race. Bernard Stamm's Open 60 smashed Mari Cha's record in February 2001. Mari Cha III sailed from New York to the Lizard in eight days, 23 hours, 59 minutes and 17 seconds after leaving New York on October 15. The record to beat in monohulls prior to Mari Cha's 1998 record was held by the Swede Ludde Ingvall on the Grand Mistral (24 metres –78.75 ft) Nicorette since April 1997, in 11 days, 13 hours, 22 minutes and 5 seconds. The Atlantic crossing record for monohulls with assisted sail handling (hydraulic and electric winches) is held by Phocéa since July 1988 stands in 8 days, 3 hours and 29 minutes - but Stamm and crew smashed that record too!
More great reading: Find out more about Mari Cha's 1998 record. Catch up on all the past action of the Vendee Globe in our race archive. Follow the action between the world's fastest multihulls in The Race Re-live the Sydney to Hobart yacht race! Break ice in the Ross Sea! |
