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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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False start for Club Med
Light wind and low speed make for a very dull crossing July 31, 2000 Late last week Club Med sacrificed a duel with Playstation to maintain its busy summer training regime. With four trans-Atlantic crossings scheduled before The Race, skipper Grant Dalton and crew slipped out of New York Harbour in eight knots of wind and a dim prospect of breaking the coveted New York to Lizard crossing in under record time.
Serious slow mode But the attempt was short lived. Less than 48 hours out of port, with top speed never above five knots, the world's fastest maxi-Catamaran turned around and headed back for another go. The false start illustrates one downside of cats, as opposed to trimarans or monohulls: In extremely light conditions, the extra wetted surface of that large second hull causes enough drag to keep the boat in slow mode. Give the big boat enough breeze to lift a hull - perhaps 15 to 18 knots - and watch it fly. Playstation, meanwhile, plans to stand at the ready until conditions improve and a crack at the record again presents itself. Now that Club Med has returned to New York, another opportunity for a duel may present itself. Synoptic situation in the North Atlantic on July 31 at 00gmt. Lots of lazy isobars indicate little wind over a lot of ocean. The only bright spot for sailors aboard Club Med and Playstation is the moderately strong low pressure cell east of Sable Island and Nova Scotia. image © Intellicast. Where's the wind? July is normally a good time to break the trans-Atlantic record, but this year has posed problems for weather routers. Throughout early summer and until med July, a persistent trough line off the east coast of the US was the main feature in the North Atlantic. While the trough kept winds light and changeable near the eastern seaboard, the sub-tropical high- the Azores High - to the south-east remained strong and large. In fact, it typically stretched right across the North Atlantic and would have provided enough puff for these latest-generation multihulls to crack the long-standing record. Just lately, however, conditions have deteriorated with the high pressure cell losing strength and uniformity. The trough line has also lost definition. Weak and low pressure cells and frontal systems are intruding south into an area normally dominated by south-west trade winds. The result is loose and wobbly isobars marking large areas of light winds right across 'The Pond'. Certainly the synoptic situation remains unstable and both Bob Rice and Roger Badham will be looking forward to fresh conditions before their respective teams head for England. Promising low pressure cell A developing low pressure cell east of Sable Island may provide some relief for these sailors, provided this depression sweeps eastwards with enough strength to influence winds well to its west. Keep an eye on the weather and let's find out! Facts and figures
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