Despite a two hour setback that halted them in their tracks late last night, Dee Caffari and Anna Corbella aboard GAES Centros Auditivos have moved up the rankings over the last two days and are now in sixth place in the Barcelona World race. Caffari and Corbella chose a route closer to the African coastline which has paid off and resulted in a visible split in the fleet as those who opted for a route along the Spanish coast have suffered very slow boat speeds. However, these gains were in jeopardy last night when at around 1930hrs GAES Centros Auditivos became entangled in fishing nets and the duo spent around two hours in the darkness cutting away the netting that impeded their progress.
After completing the task at hand, Caffari sent this report back:
“We just spent two hours tangled in fishing nets. We had to cut ourselves free with the fishing boat watching. It was tangled around the keel and rudders and in the dark it is very disorientating. We think we are clear but we will see at daylight when we can use the endoscope to see if anything is still attached to us and if I need to go swimming. I think we will tackle the Straits first though. It was disappointing that we were held up for two hours as we were making good progress on those ahead.”
Project Manager for the GAES team, Harry Spedding, added:
“I am really pleased the girls have maintained 6th place overnight but holding this will be quite dependent upon whether they will need to do further work today. I can only imagine how difficult it must have been to cut themselves clear in the dark and it is disappointing news after their tactical decision had allowed them to take three places in 24 hours. The weather in the Gibraltar Straits was very light overnight so they were able to win back any ground lost against their nearest rivals.”
Today there will be a tricky transition for the girls between the weather systems of the Gibraltar Straits and Atlantic, with a high pressure to the east and low pressure up to the north west which will contribute to a very difficult exit through the Gibraltar bottleneck.
The 09H00 ranking showed Caffari and Corbella in 6th position, with GAES Centros Auditivos just 2 miles behind nearest race rivals Boris Herrmann and Ryan Breymaier on Neutrogena. Jean-Pierre Dick and Loick Peyron onboard Virbac- Paprec 3 currently lead the Barcelona World Race.
Aviva has been a longstanding supporter of Dee Caffari and her inspirational record breaking sailing achievements, assisting her to three world records including becoming the first woman to sail solo, non-stop, around the world in both directions. As Founding Partner of Caffari’s sailing campaign, Aviva is pleased to extend this support to Corbella and GAES for the Barcelona World Race.
Pos. Boat Distance from Leader
1. VIRBAC-PAPREC 3 0
2. FONCIA 2.2
3. ESTRELLA DAMM Sailing Team 6.7
4. NEUTROGENA FORMULA NORUEGA 18.9
5. MIRABAUD 32.6
6. GAES CENTROS AUDITIVOS 49.2
7. GROUPE BEL 58.1
8. PRESIDENT 58,9
9. MAPFRE 71
10. WE ARE WATER 103
11. RENAULT Z.E 106.1
12. HUGO BOSS 125.9
13. CENTRAL LECHERA ASTURIANA 129.7
14. FORUM MARITIM CATALA 133.3
The first prize of the Barcelona World RACE 2010-2011 has been won by race title holder Jean-Pierre Dick (FRA), sailing with Loick Peyron (FRA) on Virbac Paprec 3.
The pair have claimed the North to South Mediterranean Trophy by becoming the first team to the reach the longitude of 05 37W, having best overcome the capricious light winds and strong tides faced by the fleet on the 540-mile first leg stage of the non-stop race from Barcelona across the Western Mediterranean.
The 2010 VPLP-Verdier designed IMOCA 60 crossed the gate this evening at 1955hrs (UTC), having set off from Barcelona 3 days, 7 hours and 55 minutes previously – knocking nearly 7 hours off Dick’s own previous record time from the first edition of the Barcelona World RACE, set in November 2007 at 3 days, 14 hours and 25 minutes.
Behind the race leader, Foncia and Estrella Damm were separated by just two miles at this evening’s latest position update, and are expected to cross the Straits in a tight duel.
Squeezed by the pillars of Hercules
Anna Corbella (ESP) on GAES Centros Auditivos and Boris Herrmann (GER) on Neutrogena sounded pretty despondent on this morning’s radio calls. Herrmann said ‘ we might never get out of here, we might be here for ever!” and Corbella: “It might be hours, it might be days!” At least the two had seen each other this morning and realised that they were sharing the same problem.
For the leaders there is the relief, practically and physically, of getting clear of the Mediterranean and the straits. Virbac-Paprec 3 leads by 18 miles still on Foncia, with Mirabaud third at 38 miles behind the leader.
In fact since their visit by Moroccan officials yesterday the Swiss-French duo of Dominique Wavre and Michèle Paret have done well on Mirabaud, escaping to a solid third place making more than 30 miles at least on the Neutrogena duo and very much in touch with the leaders, just 38 miles behind Jean-Pierre Dick (FRA) and Loïck Peyron on Virbac-Paprec 3.
Herrmann said this morning that they reckon they were no more than half an hour away from being able to get free in the same breeze as Wavre and Paret. Corbella recounted how they were stopped yesterday evening when they sailed into fishing nets, slowing them for two hours. The GAES girls still have some remnants of the net round their appendages but while they are in three to four knots of current this is not the place to be trying to free it any further.
“ We just spent two hours tangled in fishing nets.” Reported co-skipper Dee Caffari last night, “ We had to cut ourselves free with the fishing boat watching. It was tangled around the keel and rudders and in the dark it is very disorientating. We think we are clear but we will see at daylight when we can use the endoscope to see if anything is still attached to us and if I need to go swimming. I think we will tackle the Straits first
though. It was disappointing that we were held up for two hours as we were making good progress on those ahead.”
Estrella Damm’s Barcelona duo Alex Pella and Pepe Ribes have not had to search for problems either. They have had to stop and back down three times as they said in their morning mail, and since passing Gibraltar in fourth, they have been in just about every direction but west, and have headed north to try and get some relief from the current.
“ Since the approach to the Straits it has gone very badly for Estrella Damm. We have had to stop three times and go backwards with plastic, a bit of a tree round the keel, and some fishing net. Now we are fighting with the current sailing back towards the Mediterranean at 3 knots, with no wind.” They reported this morning.
Is there a danger the leading trio, Virbac-Paprec 3, Foncia and Mirabaud can increase their lead even more significantly? At present they have a live option to get south and west and escape under the Azores high pressure which will start to reform very rapidly as the low pressure to the NW of the fleet moves away.
But as this zone of light winds spreads itself across the course this same option may not still exist for the likes of Neutrogena, GAES Centros Auditivos and maybe fourth placed Estrella Damm.
For the chasing pack, those who have not been quite as stuck on the no man’s land, with no wind trying to breach the Pillars of Hercules (as the two promontories which squeeze together for form the straits were historically known) and get into the Atlantic, there does look to be some chance to catch up as a favourable easterly breeze, may build from the east around lunch time to 1500hrs.