Atlantic Cup - Clash of the Class 40's

[TheAtlanticCup]

The Atlantic Cup Expert Previews the Weather for Leg 1


[SIZE=12.222222328186035px]As previously posted, the first leg has the potential to be pretty exciting. In really basic terms, I think it can be stated as follows:[/SIZE]
First 24 hours = the reason we race boats (aka fantastic!)

Next 48 hours = um, I dunno…

The weather is fairly straightforward for the exit out of Charleston at this point, but once the boats hit the Hatteras area, there is potential for a major shakeup and if some of the forecasts hold true, potential “uncomfortable” conditions.

For example

Sunday

Winds shifting to N to NW 20 to 30 kt. W of 75w…seas 3 to 6 ft. E of 75w…seas 5 to 9 ft.

Monday

N winds 15 to 25 kt. Seas 5 to 8 ft.

Might make for tough going for boats trying to get to NYC. On the other hand, it’s most likely going to change in the next 12 hours, so stay tuned as things evolve before the start.

The Atlantic Cup Expert weighs in throughout the race to provide commentary and insight into what’s happening on the course. You can ask the Expert your questions once racing is underway by submitting a question online at www.AtlanticCup.org. Who is this Expert? Well we can’t really say…s/he is a bit like the Stig, nobody knows…

 

[TheAtlanticCup]

Tracking link for the first leg of the race will be here: http://yb.tl/ac2013

 

[Rail Meat]

Very flukey conditions at the start. Wind shifting across 40 degrees and any where from 5 to 15 knots

 

[Nigel Texas]

Tracking link for the first leg of the race will be here: http://yb.tl/ac2013

There is also a banner link now on the Atlantic Cup website at http://atlanticcup.org/race-day/leg-one-tracking/

 

[Rail Meat]

2036 hours

SOG 10 to 14 knots

TWD 215

TWA 144

TWS 15 to 18 knots

Well, the boats have made their bets. Bo Dream and Le Coq are following the trail blazed by me in 2012 and went almost due east in an effort to get to the stream quickly. 40 degrees and Amhas are roughly on the same line, and also sacrificing distance in an effort to get to the stream but not nearly as agressively as the other two boats. Then just north of that is Gryphon Solo, with Dragon about 1 mile north. This spread of boats clearly think the front will be moving through before we get past Hatarras and are gambling on the stream to give them the needed boost to get there before the light northerlies follow. Meanwhile, Icarus is making the straight shot run and quickly disappeared to the west as the rest of us headed east.

It will be interesting to see how it plays out. In the mean time, we are getting a bit of surfing in, and slidingn along nicely. The boat is in good shape, and it is time or my nap.

 

[Sailbydate]

Any video coverage of the start? Links? Can't make much sense out of the official web site. Tracker is good though.

 

[TheAtlanticCup]

In response to Sailbydate: No videos from the start this year. However, we will have on board footage to share once the teams arrive in New York.

Photos are currently on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/TheAtlanticCup and will be added to the home page within the next few hours.

Most current news updates, on board updates and sat phone calls are posted in News and will also be noted in the headlines section of the homepage of the website and shared on both Facebook and Twitter.

As an FYI - Joe Harris from Gryphon Solo2's latest update is here: http://atlanticcup.org/news/

Hope this helps.

 

[Rail Meat]

Foredeck Follies

So you ask "hey, mister... how do you swap out your kites in the middle of the night, with 20+ knots of true wind and only two of you on board". Well, Johnny, let me tell you how it is done.

Picture a messy, quartering sea in the stream that allows for a little bit of surfing, but mostly just limits your use of the pilot. Imagine winds in the mid-twenties. Envision the big ass A2 kite up, doing perhaps a bit too much work for the conditions. And progosticate that a front will be coming through in about two hours with rain, more wind, and lightning. Now do this all with your eyes closed, since with no moon or even stars it is as dark as dark can be.

This is how it works:

1. One of you sits on the helm, A2 cross sheeted to you.
2. The other suits up, clips in and stumbles / slides to the foredeck with the new sail (really looking forward to the refit this summer and new non-skid!)
3. Clip the bag for the new sail to the life lines
4. Open the forward spin tack clutch
5. Sort your halyard tail which has been washed into a tangled mess.
6. Sort out your haul down line for your sock. Curse your head lamp whose over taxed bulb won't illuminate what you really want to see up top.
7. Call for ease (and poke the boat down) from the helm.
8. Haul down the sock
9. Helm blows the aft clutch on the spin tack line, puts the boat on pilot, clips in, then stumbles / slides forward to feed you the halyard.
10. Haul down the sock to the deck and frantically try to collect the foot.
11. Open up the hatch and dump the whole mess into the sail locker.
12. Helm stumbles back to the cockpit
13. Hook up all the bits of string to the A5 kite, trying not to trap anything in the dark
14. Question what circumstances in your life led you to pursue this relaxing past time.
15. Tie down the haul down line, cuz if you don't it will sky as you hoist the sock, your partially hoisted kite will pop open and you will have a really crappy morning.
16. scream back to the helm to sheet on and go deep
17. Pull on the tack line.
18. Wrap one arm around the sock to keep control over it and then hoist with the other, whilst attempting to stay on your feet.
19. Curse as the sock flips over the forestay, then flop around trying to get it sorted
20. The sock finally gets somewhere near the top. You "confirm" with the helm that he has sheet ready, and you haul up the sock.
21. Your kite made, you then toss the bag into the forepeak and hopefully remember to dog the hatch or unhappiness ensues.
22. Grind on the last bit of halyard.
23. Sort your tail, knowing that despite your efforts it will be a tangled mess when the clew of the A5 rips off three hours later and you need to do a quick douse.
24. Stumble back to the cockpit, wish you had a beer, and then go on watch.

See, Johnny. Simple.

I will say this... flying too much canvas, while fiscally irresponsible, seems to have paid dividends.

 

[Rail Meat]

It is a bit spooky sailing over the waters where the Bounty went down last fall. Tip of the foulie hood to those lost.

 

[24_Racer]

I will say this... flying too much canvas, while fiscally irresponsible, seems to have paid dividends.

Keep it up, looking forward to seeing you guys in NYC

 

[TheAtlanticCup]

Rail Meat checked in with Race director Hugh Piggin this morning.

You can hear what he had to say here:

 

[Sailbydate]

In response to Sailbydate: No videos from the start this year. However, we will have on board footage to share once the teams arrive in New York.

Photos are currently on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/TheAtlanticCup and will be added to the home page within the next few hours.

Most current news updates, on board updates and sat phone calls are posted in News and will also be noted in the headlines section of the homepage of the website and shared on both Facebook and Twitter.

As an FYI - Joe Harris from Gryphon Solo2's latest update is here: http://atlanticcup.org/news/

Hope this helps.

Many thanks.

 

[Sailbydate]

Foredeck Follies

So you ask "hey, mister... how do you swap out your kites in the middle of the night, with 20+ knots of true wind and only two of you on board". Well, Johnny, let me tell you how it is done.

Picture a messy, quartering sea in the stream that allows for a little bit of surfing, but mostly just limits your use of the pilot. Imagine winds in the mid-twenties. Envision the big ass A2 kite up, doing perhaps a bit too much work for the conditions. And progosticate that a front will be coming through in about two hours with rain, more wind, and lightning. Now do this all with your eyes closed, since with no moon or even stars it is as dark as dark can be.

This is how it works:

1. One of you sits on the helm, A2 cross sheeted to you.
2. The other suits up, clips in and stumbles / slides to the foredeck with the new sail (really looking forward to the refit this summer and new non-skid!)
3. Clip the bag for the new sail to the life lines
4. Open the forward spin tack clutch
5. Sort your halyard tail which has been washed into a tangled mess.
6. Sort out your haul down line for your sock. Curse your head lamp whose over taxed bulb won't illuminate what you really want to see up top.
7. Call for ease (and poke the boat down) from the helm.
8. Haul down the sock
9. Helm blows the aft clutch on the spin tack line, puts the boat on pilot, clips in, then stumbles / slides forward to feed you the halyard.
10. Haul down the sock to the deck and frantically try to collect the foot.
11. Open up the hatch and dump the whole mess into the sail locker.
12. Helm stumbles back to the cockpit
13. Hook up all the bits of string to the A5 kite, trying not to trap anything in the dark
14. Question what circumstances in your life led you to pursue this relaxing past time.
15. Tie down the haul down line, cuz if you don't it will sky as you hoist the sock, your partially hoisted kite will pop open and you will have a really crappy morning.
16. scream back to the helm to sheet on and go deep
17. Pull on the tack line.
18. Wrap one arm around the sock to keep control over it and then hoist with the other, whilst attempting to stay on your feet.
19. Curse as the sock flips over the forestay, then flop around trying to get it sorted
20. The sock finally gets somewhere near the top. You "confirm" with the helm that he has sheet ready, and you haul up the sock.
21. Your kite made, you then toss the bag into the forepeak and hopefully remember to dog the hatch or unhappiness ensues.
22. Grind on the last bit of halyard.
23. Sort your tail, knowing that despite your efforts it will be a tangled mess when the clew of the A5 rips off three hours later and you need to do a quick douse.
24. Stumble back to the cockpit, wish you had a beer, and then go on watch.

See, Johnny. Simple.

I will say this... flying too much canvas, while fiscally irresponsible, seems to have paid dividends.

Nice work, RM. Now try that again in 30 knots! :blink:

 

[TheAtlanticCup]

The Atlantic Cup Expert Weighs in with the the First 24 Hours Report

It seems like the first night of the 2013 Atlantic Cup was pretty wild for all the teams. The position reports showed speeds in excess of 15kts for all the boats as they raged along in the nighttime conditions.

After an exciting start out of the Charleston harbor, which saw multiple lead changes between #116 Icarus and #118 Bodacious Dream, the bulk of the fleet headed on ENE track to get out towards the Gulf Stream. Throughout the night, the teams experienced multiple squalls and wind speeds spiked close to 40 kts. Coupled with a moonless night it had to make for tense moments. The team that seemed to push the hardest and make the most of the conditions was #54 Dragon who did a nice job of balancing getting in the Stream, but still maintaining northerly progress.

At the time of this writing Dragon seems to have a slim lead on #116 Icarus almost directly astern and #90 40 Degrees, who struggled out of the harbor but has established themselves as the most westerly boat. On the far eastern side of the track, #121 Lecoq Cuisine and #118 Bodacious Dream have set themselves up to take advantage of potentially greater push from the stream and I would expect these two boats to close some distance on Dragon as the day progresses. The trailing duo of #39 Pleaid Racing and #106 Gryphon Solo are slightly East of the leading pair and also might gain some leverage as the day progresses. Perhaps the most impressive part of the early going is how close the boatspeed between the boats seems to be and how well all the teams are sailing. I really don’t see anybody as the favorite at this point and the fight to NYC will be close the entire way.

Ultimately the first big shakeup will be later this evening as the SW flow shifts, potentially radically, to the WNW. This may favor the western boats in terms of positioning but the breeze may lighten more closer to shore and the additionally current the eastern boats have may be the deciding factor as the group rounds Hatteras. Stay tuned this evening and see who makes the most of the changing weather.

 

[Rail Meat]

Meh. This is some tricky routing. Wind has clocked, but not all the way yet. It has also died, but not so much that you need (or can hold) the Code 0. Everytime we get a left shot, I think it is time to flop over and head west, but then it comes back. This is still the favored board, barely. Plus it has a 2 knot boost while we are still in the stream. But when you see two of your competitors head west in sight of you, it is tempting to cover.

Decisions, decisions.

 

[Nigel Texas]

Shout out to Dave and Matt on Bodacious Dream - great job guys! Looks like the wind clocked about 12 hours ahead of the forecast. Nice job protecting the gulf stream side of the course. Hope you can consolidate before it backs again! Go BD!

 

[TheAtlanticCup]

If you haven't taken a look at the tracker lately, scroll back to approximately 8:10p and watch the extremely close (for ocean racing) crossing between Dragon & Lecoq Cuisine - by our calculations it was just under 1,000 feet. http://atlanticcup.org/race-day/leg-one-tracking/

 

[Nigel Texas]

Two other useful features on the tracker.

Click the terrain/ map button in the top right corner of the map to show the underwater terrain. Then watch what happens to boat speed when a boat sails into shallow water. Less current = not fast.

Slide the wind prediction slider under the main toolbar to see grib data forecast for the next 7 days. You have to toggle on the "show weather" button to see this info.

 

[Sailbydate]

If you haven't taken a look at the tracker lately, scroll back to approximately 8:10p and watch the extremely close (for ocean racing) crossing between Dragon & Lecoq Cuisine - by our calculations it was just under 1,000 feet. http://atlanticcup.org/race-day/leg-one-tracking/

Dragon will have to be right on her game to hold Conrad and Eric in their Verdier rocket ship. This Kiwi/French combo is FAST.

 

[TheAtlanticCup]

Report From The "Expert", 8 am Monday.

2013 Atlantic Cup Leg 1 Day 2

After 36 hours of sailing, the teams are not going to hear this, but I believe the race is just starting. The breeze has shifted from the fast reaching/running conditions the boats were enjoying to lighter upwind angles and as such the strategies are starting to change. As Sunday progressed it seemed like the eastern duo of #118 Bodacious Dream and #121 LeCoq Cuisine had closed the gap on earlier leader #54 Dragon. In fact Dragon tacked east in an attempt to cover but unfortunately lost distance, probably due to more current, and relinquished the top spot. The western pair of #112 Icarus and #90 40 Degrees immediately headed inshore and have actually been able to maintain their position relative to race leader Bodacious Dream. All the boats seem to be on starboard tack heading towards Kitty Hawk and at this time the Bodacious Dream still has a slim lead over Icarus and 40 Degrees, followed by Lecoq Cuisine and Dragon, who after a close cross last night are virtually tied. The trailing pair of #106 Gryphon Solo and #39 Pleiad Racing have closed. Pleaid Racing might be making the most interesting move. During the course of the evening, they have positioned themselves furthest east and seem to have more speed than the lead group. Also, the weather has evolved (yet again) and I expect there to be more breeze further offshore. Could we see a situation similar to last year where the inside boats parked on the Parkway?

The teams are going to have a tough 24 hours as temperatures are expected to drop later this evening and there is expected to be a complete shutdown in the breeze that I don’t think can be avoided. With 250+ miles yet to sail, I still expect the offshore route to pay but the reality is, I dunno…..