THE SOUTHERN OCEAN RETURNS
19th February 2003

The Southern Ocean is beginning to roar. After a moderate start to Leg 4, the weather has turned more typical and there are reports of gale force winds and big, uneven seas. "This is the Southern Ocean I remember," wrote Emma Richards on Pindar. "The seas are mountainous and from varying directions so there is no gentle swell; just masses of fast moving peaks. They keep breaking so everything is white, in fact the water is so aerated I am sure that the boat is sitting lower in the water than usual." Pindar was sailing battened-down under triple-reefed mainsail and staysail, but the conditions were proving more than the skipper could handle. With gusts touching 50 knots Emma decided it was time to drop the staysail, but with the conditions so hairy it was no easy task. "I saw the wind drop to 30 knots once and just went for it," Emma continued. "I am sure the wind was back up to 40 by the time I reached the foredeck as the boat was screaming along at top speed. I just blew the halyard and then spent about half an hour trying to control the mass of flapping sail on the foredeck and eventually lash it down. It’s amazing how big that little staysail can seem when there is 40 knots of wind filling it." With the sail lashed and the boat under control, the weary skipper retired to the cabin to warm up and enjoy a cup of tea, all in a day’s work for an Around Alone sailor.

Further back Brad Van Liew on Tommy Hilfiger Freedom America was experiencing some of the same conditions. Van Liew has a healthy lead over the rest of his class, but despite his lead Brad was pushing hard and sailing fast until it all came unglued. "In the middle of the night I was screaming along at 20 knots or so, sailing on the edge," he wrote. "It was dark and the squalls were rolling over Tommy Hilfiger Freedom America and me with great determination when suddenly a major squall hit me, bringing the wind forward from the south. The boat, being set-up for a different wind angle, laid flat on her side. The winds topped out at 50 knots and the sails and lines were slapping around like wild banshees. The sheets were flogging so badly that they tied themselves in a huge knot. It was absolutely freezing and my hands became numb. As I tried to control the situation a wave hit the side of the boat in perfect form, coming up over the deck and drenching me from head to toe. This is cold water at 50 South! My boots were filled with a chilly pool of salt water. It took me about 2 hours to wrangle the mess of lines out of their complex knot. I rolled the Solent so quickly that I hope it is not damaged from the intense flogging. I put a 3rd reef in the mainsail and set the smaller staysail. This whole experience was exhausting, not to mention cold and wet."

These stories are typical of the emails being sent back from all the boats. If it’s not a knockdown, it’s problems on board with equipment. There is very little downtime and that more than anything else is what makes this race so difficult. If you are sailing with a crew there is at least some time when you can crawl in your bunk and get a few hours sleep; when you are alone you can never let your guard down weather you are Derek Hatfield on Spirit of Canada sailing at the back of the fleet, or Bernard Stamm on Bobst Group Armor lux at the front. Despite the cracking pace that Bernard is setting his journey has not been without problems. "Yesterday the block on the gennaker car track broke off at the deck," he wrote. "So the sheet then suddenly led directly onto the winch and broke the steel guardrail along that side of the boat. After six hours on the freezing cold deck changing the gennaker sheet and fixing everything, a mainsail batten broke and so a further three hours on deck was spent bringing down the main, changing the batten and then re-hoisting hundreds of kilos of heavy, wet sail."

These tough conditions will last for a few more days while a low pressure brings 30-40 knots from the west. By the time the wind dies the leaders should be near Cape Horn. There are a number of Cape Horn veterans among the skippers, among them are Brad, Emma, Thierry, Simone and Kojiro. Class 1 leader Bernard Stamm has yet to round that famous landmark.

--- Brian Hancock great.circle@verizon.net

Source: Around Alone Official Site