It's been another cold, difficult day for the race leaders in the Barcelona World Race as they battle the elements deep in the southern ocean. Race leading skipper Jean-Pierre Dick on board Paprec-Virbac 2 has confirmed that he and co-skipper Damian Foxall are taking turns on the wheel during the day, with shifts of up to four hours on deck.
"It's very difficult to be out there for so long - you have to have all the gear because it's so cold," Jean-Pierre said. "It's freezing.the sky is very grey and the waves quite chaotic, seas coming from everywhere."
The reason they are pushing so hard is to stay ahead of Veolia Environnement and Hugo Boss, both of whom are keeping the race leaders honest by pushing along at a relentless pace.
Further back, both Temenos II and Mutua Madrilena have found some good breeze over the past 24 hours, and are averaging speeds near 15 knots. And Mutua Madrilena crossed through the fourth scoring gate today. But event at this improved pace, they are dropping miles to the leaders. And today, Educacion sin Fronteras escaped the clutches of a high pressure system. On the 16:00 poll, they were the second fastest boat in the fleet.
The Delta Dore shore team has dispatched a motor vessel to rendezvous with the race boat. The boats should meet in about 48-hours and Delta Dore will either take on more fuel, or if the conditions are suitable, be towed back to South Africa.
* Having arrived in Cape Town last night (2140 GMT), Estrella Damm skippers Guillermo Altadill and co-skipper Jonathan McKee were welcomed back on dry land after 32 days at sea by their shore crew, before getting onboard to quickly begin the preliminary work of repairing the rudder system and sorting the other work that the team will also try to fix during this pit-stop. The have removed the two rudder cassettes off the boat so they can be worked on independently.
This morning the skippers and the shore team met again to discuss the time-line involved of making the repairs and getting back into the race, the team will continue to assess this time-line and as soon as feasible make a decision as to whether to continue in the Barcelona World Race or not. Every minute that passes sees the remainder of the fleet sail further and further into the distance, as does the possibility of Estrella Damm reaching the podium which is one of their main objectives.
Day 33 - December 13, 16:00 GMT - Position report with distance to leader
1. Paprec-Virbac ! 2 - Jean Pierre Dick / Damian Foxall - 0
2. Veolia Environnement - Roland Jourdain / Jean Luc Nelias - 136
3. Hugo Boss - Alex Thomson / Andrew Cape - 221
4. Temenos 2 - Dominique Wavre / Michele Paret- 1011
5. Mutua Madrilena - Javier Sanso / Pachi Rivero - 1730
6. Estrella Damm - Guillermo Altadill / Jonathan Mckee - 2400
7. Educacion Sin Fronteras - Servane Escoffier / Albert Bargues - 2494
Abandoned - PRB - Vincent Riou / Sebastien Josse
Abandoned - Delta Dore - Jeremie Beyou / Sidney Gavignet
www.barcelonaworldrace.com
