There has been a lot of carnage out on the race course; fortunately none of it has been among the Open 50 fleet. The leading 60 foot monohull, Virbac, sailed by the French sailor Jean Pierre Dick was dismasted after the boat rolled 360 degrees after a massive wave upended it. It was in the early evening and Dick was below when he heard the sound of a roaring wave. Unable to do anything other than hold on tight, the skipper braced himself below and rolled with the boat. The sight that greeted Jean Pierre when Virbac came upright was one of utter chaos. The boom was broken in a number of places, the mast was gone and the cabin top had a hole in it. Fortunately the skipper was safe. "I really feel for him," Joe said after hearing about the dismasting. "It's fairly dangerous out here and I can see how something like that could happen, especially to the big boats that have been sailing in more wind than we have had." The larger monohulls have been experiencing gale force winds of around 55 to 60 knots. The Open 50 fleet have not experienced more than 30 knots.
At the front of the Open 60 multihull fleet Sodebo, sailed by Tomas Coville, struck what the skipper believes was a small whale. The boat was sailing at full speed when it hit the whale and the skipper was thrown forward. He was immediately knocked unconscious and remained that way for a few minutes before regaining conscience. By the time he came to the boat was back sailing at speed fortunately under autopilot. Those few seconds when the boat was left unattended could have been disastrous, but fortunately the news was good.
These conditions are typical of The Transat. It's not known as one of the toughest solo races for nothing. The relentless pounding wears both boat and sailor down. "I am really tired and I have to say a little scared at times," Joe said. "It's almost unreal being on the deck at night trying to handle the sails. The boat is leaping from wave to wave while I move slowly along the deck clipping my life harness on as I go. The motion is unbelievable. Sometimes I am literally knocked off my feet." It's a wise man that knows fear: it's when you are unafraid that problems can occur.
Meanwhile Wells Fargo - American Pioneer and Artforms remain locked in their own private battle. Kip Stone on Artforms tacked to the south early Saturday morning, but soon changed course to parallel that of Wells Fargo - American Pioneer. The move allowed Joe to close the gap between the boats, but it also gave Stone a slight tactical advantage. Artforms will enjoy being to the south and west of Wells Fargo - American Pioneer, especially if the new wind comes from that direction. With 1,800 miles to sail, the 50 mile gap between the boats is not a lot. Let's hope that the wind gods allow all skippers to have a pleasant Sunday.
- Brian Hancock (great.circle@verizon.net)
