Competitors buck winds and current in the single handed trans-atlantic race for 2000

Against the wind (and current!)
Single Handed Trans-Atlantic race as much a test for sailors as weather routers

For the next two weeks the world's finest ocean racers will buck wind and current to be the first to win this year's Europe 1 New Man Single-handed Transatlantic Race.

It all started in 1960 after a half-crown bet between Blondie Hasler and circumnavigation pioneer Francis Chichester, was quickly sponsored by the Observer newspaper and for years was called the OSTAR. What makes this race great is the fact that competitors must sail solo, from Plymouth Sound in the UK to Newport Rhode Island, against the prevailing Gulf stream and westerly winds.

The 2000 Single-handed Transatlantic Race began in 1960 after a bet between Blondie Hasler (on the right) and Francis Chichester caught the attention of the yachting public. Hasler took the northern route, while Chichester stuck to the rhumb line and won the race.

Image courtesy of
Europe 1 New Man Star.

Routes across the Atlantic are divided into four broad categories:

The rhumb line (a 'straight' line as drawn on a chart), about 2,920 nautical miles. This way avoids the worst of the Gulf Stream, although competitors are advised to sail south towards the end of the race in order to cross the Gulf Stream at right angles.

The great circle route (a direct line across the globe, and therefore the shortest), about 2810 miles. Dangers here include some ice and plenty of fog off Newfoundland, and the strong possibility of encountering a low pressure cell as it tracks to the north east.

The northern route (benefits from helpful westward flowing current from the Denmark Strait between Iceland and east Greenland and the Labrador Current flowing out of the Davis Strait. Sailors are also more likely to ease the sheets, as prevailing winds circle counter-clockwise over the top of a band of low pressure to the south. Dangers include plenty of ice in the western Atlantic and fog on the Grand Banks. Distance: About 3,130 miles.

The Azores, or southern route (benefits include more favourable winds. Downside is that the winds are often light. Distance: About 3,530 miles.

With the exception of the most northerly route, one thing is guaranteed: The wind will be on the nose. Whether it is light and from the southwest along the Azores route, or generally westerly along the rhumb line.

Despite favourable currents and winds along the northerly route, no one has ever won this race going that way. The vast majority of winners sail between the rhumb line and the southerly route.

Of course, weather patterns at the start - where the jet stream is flowing, where the band of low pressure resides and what the Azores High is doing - all factor into the route equation.

History

The 1968 race was notable in that it was the first time weather routing was used. Here is an extract on this history from Allen Charles' TeamWoodbase web site. Check it out for more on the history of the race:

"The 1968 race was notable in several areas: the use of computer routing by (race winner) Geoffrey Williams, Williams' shortcut through the Nantucket shoals, and the heavy weather encountered by competitors.
Williams had enlisted the help of computer boffins at English Electric, who programmed their KDF9 machine with performance tables of William's 57 foot Robert Clarke monohull, the Sir Thomas Lipton. The computer experts wrote programs to cross these with weather forecasts from the Meteorological Office. During the race a 48 hour forecast map was produced by the KDF9 at Met Office, Bracknell each day at 0530. This was fed into the English Electric KDF9 in Queensway. At 0800 Williams would radio David Thorpe of the Daily Telegraph with the boat's current position, course and speed. Thorpe would relay this to Queensway. The computer calculated speed over all the possible routes Williams might take, then the three best courses were radioed back to Williams at 1100. The system worked well throughout, apart from one fairly major calculation bug that was found when 6 days out. Nowadays it is fairly routine for competitors to carry portable computers which can perform this kind of sophisticated computer assisted routing far faster and more conveniently than the system described. Private routing advice or weather information is not permitted to competitors under the 2000 rules."

Giovanni Soldini, aboard Fila (pictured left) is a favourite for first in the monohull class. Soldini has already proved himself in solo round the world races as well as other transatlantic events.

Links

www.europe1newmanstar.com (the official site).

http://www.offshorechallenges.com (updates on the STAR and challengers).

www.kingfisherchallenges.com (Ellen MacArthur, the youngest Open 60 competitor with the newest boat!)


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