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Ocean sailing revolves around reading the weather to survive Ocean racing relies on routing to win! Incredible detail October 2002: Weather engineers work overtime to keep their America's Cup syndicate's in the lead An incredible 24-hours June 2002: Modern multihulls a whisper away from the 700 mile day as crew of Maiden 2 smashes the one-day distance record Winds from every direction challenge skippers April 4: Emerging surface low plays tricks on Brisbane to Gladstone fleet Getting personal with the East Australian Current March 29:Ridge of high pressure and opposing current create tactical nightmare for Sydney to Mooloolaba race Maxi multihulls attempt Jules Verne record March 19: Atlantic descent a test of patience for Orange March 1: Maxi trimaran Geronimo returns to Brest after steering proves faulty March 1: Two Frenchmen sail around the world as fast as the weather allows in a bid to break a coveted record. We review some routing notes prior to the record attempt
2001-2002 Volvo 'round the world race From September 23, the ultimate proving ground for professional sailors is the Volvo, with nine gruelling legs, and 32,700 miles of in-your-face sailing. We preview the race route, with some expert help from Ken Batt - severe weather forecaster and navigator. We offer an early forecast and updates We also review the 2000 race that broke a hundred hearts as persistent head winds wore the fleet down. Trans-Atlantic Jacques Vabres, November 2001 November 24: Home and hosed in Bahia November 14: Trimarans through the doldrums November 7: Hectic reaching down the Portuguese coast before light airs engulf the fleet as they approach the Canary Islands. November 3: Light air start as ridge of high pressure expected to shadow leading trimarans past Cape Finisterre. October 26 preview: Exciting line-up for this year's new-look race as a synoptic smorgasbord promises plenty of tactical routing! Trans-Atlantic record crossings October 10, 2001: Maxi-Cat Playstation smashes the coveted Atlantic record Atlantic record attempts. February 6, 2001: Bernard Stamm smashes the New York to Lizard record in his Open 60 monohull after riding one powerful storm system. EDS Atlantic Challenge August 8: Open 60 Atlantic crossing illustrates the great north-south routing divide: Should racing skippers head south and fly with the trades, or turn north and bash to windward? Transpac 2001 July: Light wind tactics and squall chasing
dominate as
this year's June 24: Maxi sleds celebrate the
North
Pacific High with a slide Pyewacket navigator Stan Honey talks Transpac tactics Challenge Mondial Assistance May 31: The Challenge Mondial Assistance certainly lived up to its title, as unusual spring weather kept skippers and their navigators on their toes. May 9: The French multihull circuit kicks off their Atlantic season with a synoptic challenge - the Challenge Mondial Assistance. Vendee Globe Vendee Globe 2000: Follow the heroic adventures of 24 solo skippers in the most extreme ocean yacht race ... ever! The Race With almost unlimited design scope (Yachts must be crewed, and no power-assisted winches are allowed), a formidable line-up of Millenium multihull craft sail the Great Circle Route in a no holds, no stops, 'round the world race from December 31, 2000. Quebec to St Malo, 2000 Quebec to St Malo, August 2000: A battle of the best, as many in the 'Transat' make the return journey to Europe. This race started with record calm, and finished with record 24 hour runs by the leading Open 60 trimarans. Great stuff! Solo trans-Atlantic, 2000 Solo trans-Atlantic yacht race, June 2000: The testing ground for many Vendee Globe sailors, this oldest of modern trans-oceanic races pits tough boats and their tougher skippers against the wildest of Atlantic windward conditions. This race was no exception, with the first storm clobbering the fleet within days. Several more followed and throughout the journey it was upwind, upwind, all the way. Whitbread 1996-'97 Whitbread 1996/97: We speak to navigator Andrew Cape aboard Toshiba as he and his team negotiate the Southern Ocean between Cape Town and Fremantle. © weather-wise.com 2000-2002 |