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All in a day's work From record-setting conditions and
deceptive calms to close encounters with icebergs, the Southern Ocean December 14, 2000 What a wild week in the Southern Ocean! First Yves Parlier broke the 24 hour distance record (419 miles) in strong winds and moderate seas, followed by Dominic Wavre in similar conditions. Race headquarters described it like this: "After checking the
ARGOS positions for his boat, it seems that actually between 1500hrs UT on
Friday 8th November and 1500hrs UT on Saturday 9th, his total run was 432 miles
, at an average speed of 18 knots. Five days after Yves Parlier, Dominique Wavre
has broken Marc Thiercelin's official record from the last Around Alone race of
396.5 miles to just more than 430 miles. Next, Ellen MaArthur aboard Kingfisher nearly collided with a small iceberg that refused to be picked up by her radar. MacArthur describes waking up sensing danger, running out on deck in her waterproof socks and seeing her yacht sailing through the whitewash created by wave refraction off the very berg itself!
Ellen MacArthur had the presence of mind to photograph this potentially deadly berg on December 9 after she nearly ran over the top of it. Her radar failed to pick it up, however sea surface temperatures were low - about 2 degrees C - and indicated that bergs and bits could be lurking over the next wave crest. Shit a brick! Thomas Coville reported a similar encounter as did Josh Hall, who saw two bergs at 48°30' South: "We sailed about 1 mile or so north of the berg and I could clearly see the waves crashing against the high cliffs on the windward side of it. The berg glistened in the sun that was just up it was beautiful and terrifying at the same instant. The thought of one of us running into one of these at 20 knots is unbearable." Interestingly, those sailors reported an alarming drop in sea surface temperatures to 1 degree C in the hours before encountering icebergs. Previously the temperature was up around 8 degrees C. As if acting like a school of fish, the entire fleet turned north and quickly climbed back into warmer water, and away from iceberg habitat. Were these bergs an unusual occurrence? Hardly. Look at any old map of the world and you will see a dotted line marking extreme northern limit of drift ice. That line comes alarmingly close to Cape Town, higher than 35 degrees, with the cold northerly set of the Benguela Current helping to bring these bergs north. A little to the east and the ice berg line drops south to 45 degrees, pushed south by warm Indian Ocean current - notably the Agulhas. While the greatest ice concentrations are north of Marie Byrd Land and the Ross Ice Shelf, these sailors can expect to encounter ice anywhere along their Southern Ocean leg. And it appears that radar will do little when it comes to the crunch. Ouch. They said it wouldn't happen ... Talk to the experts, and they all agree that winning and losing a race in the Southern Ocean is not on the cards. It all happens in the Atlantic, they say, where fluky and changeable winds create holes and opportunities for sailors to make or break their race. Well, this Vendee Globe is so close (after 8700miles the three leaders are just 150 miles apart) that things happen quickly, no matter where the competitors lie. Yves Parlier had led the race since before the fleet rounded Cape Finisterre, and with the exception of a brief lull around the Canaries, held bravely onto that lead all the way down the Atlantic - through some of the trickiest weather these sailors will encounter. But Parlier sailed south - a little too far south - and got caught in what appears to be a high pressure 'dorsal' followed by a weak area of low pressure, which produced light airs, flat seas and ... snow!
Picture courtesy of Virtual Spectator. Look closely and you can se Yves Parlier (the green line) well south of the fleet just as he is about to sail into a region of weak winds on December 10. Unfortunately, the low behind him never travelled fast enough to overtake his speedy Open 60, and Parlier languished here until he clawed his way out to the north. Meanwhile, Michael Desjoyeaux (the red line) and Roland Jourdain the purple line) sailed around him to the north. North pays dividends Meanwhile, the rest of the fleet, a little to the north and remaining in the westerly wind band between 40-50 degrees sailed round Parlier, similar but opposite to what happened to Catherine Chabaud before the fleet rounded the Cape of Good Hope. Michael Desjoyeax (PRB) and Roland Jourdain (Sill) have now taken the lead over Parlier's Aquitaine Innovations, but don't rule him out yet. Parlier will rest, and stalk from behind. Baring major catastrophes - like further encounters with ice - these three leaders will continue to create an historically exciting race. Roland Jourdain is all the more remarkable for sailing second considering that he returned to Les Sables d'Olonne hours after the start to replace a main halyard. He turned around within three hours and never looked back. Speaking of Chabaud, this skipper must be blessed with good fortune, because her decision to sail well north has paid off in recent days as the southerly boats languish in weak low pressure. Chabaud is actually sailing further south now, remaining in a band of west to north west winds ahead of a frontal change, and is gaining ground on the front of the pack. Island mischief As the fleet sails past the Crozets, it is interesting to note how these islands affect local weather. Roland Jourdain actually lost ground to leader Desjoyeax on December 13 when he decided to sail south of these high (1200m), sub-Antarctic islands. The wind fell light and actually backed around to the east, forcing him to sail upwind. Whoops! That's what you call wind-shadow. © weather-wise.com 2000
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