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View the race from your computer Weather router Jean-Yves Bernot talks tactics Which way to go in the TRANSAT? Ellen MacArthur and Kingfisher learn the ropes Roger
Badham of team Sail downwind in the Southern Ocean
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Oh the agony! Winds fail to materialise as Ellen MacArthur and Kingfisher crawl to the finish line at Newport June 19, day 15. It's official! The youngest competitor with the most guts and determination has won the highly competitive Open 60 monohull division of the solo Trans-Atlantic race. Crossing the line at Newport, Rhode Island in 14 days, 23 hours and 11 minutes, Kingfisher failed by seventeen hours to break the race record, set by Yves Parlier in 1992, but only because of a severely stalled weather pattern that continues to keep competitors becalmed. With the jet stream now returning to its normal sine wave pattern, the west to east flow of high and low pressure cells may once again begin their march. But for the moment, things remain very, very light right across the Atlantic. That cold front which crossed the US East coast yesterday completely failed to generate winds in its wake and it has now diminished. A cloud band remains over the US eastern seaboard, held in place as a result of stalled conditions further to the west. And it is being fed plenty of warm, moist air from tropical disturbances in the Gulf of Mexico. With no low pressure cells rolling over the top of the Bermuda and Azores High, that system seems to have lost all motivation. Isobars surrounding this now massive pressure cell are now wide apart. Lethargy has set in. Of course, the modern Open 60s sail nicely in light winds, but the pressure remains on those skippers fighting for podium places behind MacArthur, and on sailors in Class Two to think clearly and play local wind shifts to their advantage. This is ocean racing with 'round-the-buoys tactics. What happened to that cold front which crossed the US east coast yesterday? In the north there is very little wind from longitude 40 all the way to the New England seaboard. And take a look at the isobars surrounding the massive high pressure cell over Bermuda and the Azors! It is hard to believe so much ocean can be affected by so much calm weather! Image courtesy of Intellicast. Notice how the jet stream, depicted as a pink line, no longer has that outrageous kink in its flow. The stream has indeed returned to a more normal sine wave and weather systems should start to move from west to east. As a result of all this stalled activity for the past 48 hours, much of the North Atlantic has gone glassy. Image courtesy of the Aviation Weather Centre Race history: We have a full archive of daily weather notes for the Europe 1 New Man single-handed trans-Atlantic race, beginning June 4, 2000, from Plymouth, England. Marine forecast for New England Waters 1030 AM EDT MON 19 JUN 2000 NEW ENGLAND CONTINENTAL SHELF AND SLOPE WATERS FROM 25 NM OFFSHORE TO THE HAGUE LINE...EXCEPT TO ONE THOUSAND FATHOMS S OF NEW ENGLAND. .SYNOPSIS... A COLD FRONT JUST S OF THE SOUTHERN WATERS EARLY THIS MORNING WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE S OF THE AREA...AS LOW PRES MOVES E OF GEORGES BANK. A HIGH PRES RIDGE WILL BUILD IN FROM THE W TONIGHT AND TUE. GULF OF MAINE TO THE HAGUE LINE . THIS AFTERNOON... N TO NE WINDS 10 TO 15 KT BECOMING N TO NW 5 TO 10 KT LATE. SEAS 2 TO 3 FT. SCATTERED SHOWERS AND TSTMS SE PORTION ENDING. . TONIGHT... W TO NW 10 TO 15 KT. SEAS 2 TO 3 FT. .TUE...WINDS BECOMING W 10 TO 15 KT. SEAS 2 TO 3 FT. GEORGES BANK...FROM THE NORTHEAST CHANNEL TO THE GREAT SOUTH CHANNEL INCLUDING THE WATERS EAST OF CAPE COD...TO THE HAGUE LINE . THIS AFTERNOON... S TO SW WINDS 10 TO 15 KT BECOMING N TO NW 10 KT. SEAS 3 TO 5 FT. SCATTERED SHOWERS AND TSTMS ENDING LATE. TONIGHT... NW WINDS 10 TO 15 KT. SEAS 3 TO 5 FT. .TUE...WINDS BECOMING W TO NW 10 KT. SEAS 3 TO 4 FT. SOUTH OF NEW ENGLAND...FROM THE GREAT SOUTH CHANNEL TO HUDSON CANYON INCLUDING THE WATERS SOUTH OF MARTHAS VINEYARD AND NANTUCKET ISLAND...OUT TO ONE THOUSAND FATHOMS . THIS AFTERNOON... VARIABLE WINDS 10 KT OR LESS BECOMING NE. SEAS 3 TO 5 FT... HIGHEST E. SHOWERS AND TSTMS ENDING THIS MORNING. . TONIGHT... WINDS BECOMING N TO NW 5 TO 10 KT. SEAS 2 TO 4 FT. .TUE...WINDS BECOMING W 5 TO 10 KT. SEAS SUBSIDING TO 1 TO 2 FT. MARINE EXTENDED OUTLOOK .TUE NIGHT THROUGH FRI... THE HIGH PRES RIDGE WILL MOVE OFFSHORE AND PASS E OF THE WATERS BY WED NIGHT WITH LIGHT WINDS. A WARM FRONT WILL LIFT NE ACROSS THE WATERS THU WITH LIGHT TO MODERATE WINDS. LIGHT TO MODERATE WINDS WILL THEN CONTINUE THROUGH FRI AS A COLD FRONT APPROACHES FROM THE W THU NIGHT AND MOVES OFFSHORE FRI. WINDS LEGEND. LIGHT...20 KT OR LESS. MODERATE...21 TO 33 KT. GALE...34 TO 47 KT. STORM...48 KT OR MORE. Team Kingfisher and Ellen MacArthur report: Ellen MacArthur breaks record in Europe 1 New Man STAR victory More information at:
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