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Roger
Badham of team Re-live Club Med's record Atlantic crossing Re-live the agony and ecstasy of the solo trans-Atlantic race Sail downwind in the Southern Ocean aboard a Volvo 60
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Battle of the really big giants
The great Atlantic crossing is as much a battle of boats, as it is a contest of weather-tactics July 23, 2000 Any day now, the two largest catamarans in the world will contest the coveted west-east crossing of the Atlantic - from New York to the Lizard - and communicating with them all the way will be their weather routers, Roger Badham and Bob Rice. For this kind of event, it is as much a battle of modern sailcraft as it is a contest between extreme-adventure weathermen.
Legend weathermen among sailors Both Badham and Rice are legend among racing sailors who rely on their weather skill to help win in everything from America's cup 'round the buoys events to the giant downwind slides of the Whitbread 'round the world race. At the America's Cup regatta in Auckland earlier this year, Rice and Badham figured prominently - the latter advising Paul Cayard and AmericaOne, with Rice on the side of Team New Zealand. Cayard never made it past the Louis Vuitton finals, failing to qualify for the America's Cup. The Italian-backed Prada eventually contested the Kiwis, but it was clear who had the better tactics. Cayard's team were able to pick the very subtle wind shifts on the Hauraki Gulf before their opponents almost every time. As far as Team New Zealand, well ... Rice is regarded as God by Coutts, Butterworth and all the crew of that now infamous sailing squad.
Fickle winds Both maxi cats in this Atlantic contest will be looking for a clear start, devoid of trough lines and fickle winds. The quicker a yacht can get into the east-west wind flow on the northern side of the Azores High, the faster it will sail to the other side of 'the pond'. However, once clear of the high pressure cell, there is a region of difficult-to-predict airs off the European coast. While not as fickle as the east coast of the US, this corner of the ocean has its moments. Many a record crossing has been thwarted at the end, waiting for wind to fill the sails. The North Atlantic on July 21,
2000: Note the trough line in the west and the massive subtropical high smack
dab in the middle. To the east of the high a low is trying to form off the
coast of Portugal. The North Atlantic on July 23, 2000. The trough line, a dominant feature all summer, has weakened along with the Azores high, while the Portugal low has failed to produce much wind. Not good record-breaking weather on this day, but all eyes will be on what the weather gods have in store during the days to come. Images © Intellicast.com Storms of old When Charlie Barr skippered the Atlantic on her record crossing in 1905, the determined sailor and his three-masted schooner were chasing low pressure cells, developing off the east coast of North America and barreling eastwards towards northern Europe. His route took him over the Grand Banks and out to sea just south of Newfoundland. A string of lows, one after the other, pushed Barr and the Atlantic across 'the pond' in a little over 12 days. Barr's time remained unbroken for 75 years. Nowadays, things are different. No longer do racing yachts need a string of lows and their associated fronts to break a record. In fact, they can be a hindrance. These maxi-cats actually sail faster than the weather systems driving them and when a storm system stalls, so do the yachts. This happened on Playstation's record attempt in May. Less wind and more speed A record will be broken if the maxi-cats stay on a steady speed of more than 30 knots and all they need for that is 18 knots of true wind. Chances are, routers and navigators will be looking for steady trade winds without the complicating effects of storms. So heading north towards Newfoundland from the start is not necessarily the ideal plan. Persistent trough line The weather pattern in the western north Atlantic has been relatively stable for most of the summer. The major feature has been a line of cloud - a low pressure trough - sitting just off the coast and running south west to north east. If that trough line is present at the start, expect Club Med and Playstation to head south. They will cross the trough line, with its light and fickle winds, and the Gulf Stream early on. East of that trough line, the yachts will begin to feel the effects of the Azores High with steady winds from the east-south-east. once in the trades, it will be a matter of maintaining boat speed and avoiding extreme light airs at the centre of the sub-tropical high and stormy cross seas to the north. Frontal frustration West of Portugal, the winds revolving clockwise around the Azores take a sharp turn to the south towards the Canary Islands. At this point the cats will have to negotiate changeable conditions. Low pressure cells develop here as surface air divides - some of it traveling south and some of it to the north. Frontal systems sweep south into this corner of the ocean as low pressure cells south of Iceland deepen on their journey to the east. In between the fronts are ridges of high pressure and light airs. It will be an interesting contest to watch from land. Too bad we can't join the crew on board! Facts and figures
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