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BT GLOBAL CHALLENGE - 3COM ROUNDS WAYPOINT ALPHA IN FIRST PLACE Southampton (UK), Sunday 6th July 1997 Last night at 17:30 hrs GMT 3Com rounded Waypoint Alpha in first position. The crew of 3Com were overjoyed to have regained the lead and successfully rounded the waypoint first. The fleet had to round Waypoint Alpha leaving it to port, which all the yachts have now done as they head back to Southampton. However just before rounding the waypoint the crew of Toshiba Wave Warrior were experiencing some very tense moments. Crew volunteer Jo Dawson explains: "There were some anxious moments yesterday afternoon as we approached Waypoint Alpha. We were 30 miles to the north and needed to pass it to the south. A significant veering in wind direction had been expected all morning which would allow us to round the waypoint without moving onto an unfavoured tack...but as the hours passed and the waypoint got ever closer, the wind teasingly veered 20 degrees then remained stable. We held our nerve though and with under 2 hours left, suddenly the wind shifted, freeing us up and allowing us to make the waypoint under spinnaker! Relieved and happy faces all round and a chance for the skipper, Simon, to finally get some sleep!" 3Com retained her lead overnight and she was leading this morning at 07:50 hrs GMT. However the fleet is still very tightly packed with only 56 miles separating 3Com and the back runner Time & Tide. This morning worse problems are facing the fleet as they sail in extremely dense and damp, cold fog. Nick Auger, crew volunteer on Commercial Union told us, "We are currently experiencing dense fog off the Grand Bank in iceberg territory. A very eerie situation that reminds us of our time in the Southern Ocean." The winds continue to drive the fleet forward, in complete contrast to the calm weather the yachts were experiencing a few days ago. Richard Gaisford, crew volunteer on Courtaulds International writes, "What a difference a few days can make. Day five was calm and flat, and above all else slow. By day seven.... a heavy swell, more wind and more importantly up to ten knots of speed. We are now running down wind with the swell, not against it." Courtaulds International are also caught in the fog. Richard continues, "The mist has now turned into thick fog, which completely surrounds us as we sail ever onward. It's an eerie feeling, ploughing silently into the unknown." With the increase in wind speed also comes the risk of blown spinnakers. Heath Insured II yesterday blew their medium weight spinnaker, and Nuclear Electric's race spinnaker became the victim of a heavy swell. The sudden movement of the yacht caused a shock load which tore the cloth across the windward clew, then ripped the whole way along the foot and up the starboard tape. Nuclear Electric crew volunteer, Simon Montague today told us that they were unpicking 150 feet of stitching before the repairs could begin! As a result of the damaged spinnaker, the crew of Nuclear Electric are now worried they will loose vital ground. Simon writes, "We have been forced to hoist our smaller, heavy spinnaker, the worry is that our smaller sail area will start to cost us miles. We are very reluctant to use the other larger, 1.5 oz promotional spinnaker in anything like marginal conditions, as the sailcloth is so weakened, that we fear it could easily blow too. After so much time becalmed many of the crews are overjoyed to be ocean racing again, however on Motorola one crew volunteer had some different thoughts. "That's the trouble with sailing," writes a crew volunteer who calls himself the `Ancient Mariner'. "Always fog when you don't need it, too much wind or too little - change the sails - always coming from the wrong direction - change the sails - or the current against us, or you've trashed your kite - change the sails. Who needs it. That's the joy of sailing!" It seems there is no keeping some people happy. For updated information on the BT Global Challenge : Internet site : http//www.btchallenge.com Fax database : 0990 321123 (+44 990 321123 from outside UK) Recorded telephone information line : 0891 505550 (UK only) Public enquiry bureau : 01703 212124 (+44 1703 212124 from outside UK) Ceefax page 388 (UK only) |
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