4:32 PM Tue 20 Apr 2010 GMT
For the crew of leaders Estrella Damm, Alex Pella, Pepe Ribes and Stan Schreyer the end of the New York Barcelona Transoceanic Record Sailing Challenge was a race against time as they chased down the finish line this afternoon on the strength of a useful thermal breeze, which they were worried would drop with the sun.
If they do not get finished before the sun disappears then there remains a chance of a slow, late finish.
But, with less than 40 miles left of the 3750 miles course from New York, and the real prospect of breaking 12 days for the total passage, their prospects were looking significantly better than those of their adversaries W Hotels' To?o Piris, Pachi Rivero and Peter Becker.
While the leaders were under a powerful Code Zero making towards the line at around 8 knots at 1500hrs (UTC), W Hotels were more than 70 miles behind and struggling to muster of boat speed of two to three knots.
Estrella Damm's co-skipper Ribes looked red eyed with tiredness when he spoke on the afternoon videoconference but joked that he would like to be in on time for dinner at home. That would be a nice bonus, but breaking the finish line in front of the iconic waterfront W Hotel, before 2033hrs local Barcelona Time (1833hrs UTC/1433 NY Time) would keep them inside the 12 days mark which would set the bar quite high for future record attempts.
Quotes:
Alex Pella (ESP) co-skipper Estrella Damm (ESP):
"It is taking a lot of time to get finished. I hope that we can make it before the night because if we don't then there'll be no wind. Until Gibraltar it was fast. So we are happy with our time. The main difficulties we had were making a good pace all the time and ensuring the boat stood up to it. We managed the little breakages that we did have. The difference right now is the Mediterranean; there is so very little wind that we have been struggling a lot. Nine days to Gibraltar is a good time. What has been taking a longer time than it should has been the Med."
To?o Piris (ESP) co-skipper W Hotels (ESP):
"We are not so lucky, we are just doing two knots for a while now, and we are getting a bit tired of waiting for the breeze. We are happy that at least someone has wind, because we have next to nothing and our situation is very frustrating. We hope we get some wind soon."
Guillermo Altadill (ESP) FNOB advisor:
"If you had asked me three weeks ago how many days it would take, I would have said between 13 and 14 days, and now 12 will be a really good time, especially considering the conditions in the Mediterranean were not perfect. The time to be waiting in New York for a good window was not very long, so 12 days is a very good time."
"The key to break this record, there are two sections. Let us say you can wait in New York it is easy to get a good window to go as fast as possible from Ambrose Light to Gibraltar, but the hard part is the last part. The best thing then is to have better luck in the Med. I think in the Atlantic you might be able to make 5-10% faster, you push the boat harder, but in the Med you could be 100% faster over that section because they have taken two and a half days, almost three days to sail the distance they sailed in around 24 hours in the Atlantic. The key is to have good conditions in the Med."
"The gains will have been threefold: The first has been in testing the boats in ocean racing conditions. The second is being able to be with another boat and so you are learning about different speeds and angles with a boat which is the same. The third is that any training like this is always good, especially over long distances."
"But it is about opening a record that other people will come and challenge. You break it in an Open 60, in multihulls. It is a tricky record to set to sail across the Atlantic and up the Mediterranean. Let's say it is easier to go from Ambrose Light to the Lizard, you need a good fast boat and the right weather system. To go from New York to Barcelona you need a fast boat, a good system and luck as well in the Med."
"I think, for me personally, this is a good course for a race, a very good race. There are not many transatlantic races from New York to Europe. That would be the perfect scenario for a big race. You have the Atlantic and you have the Mediterranean. You have the sense of going from New York to Europe; you have all the ingredients of a classic race."
Standings at 1500hrs GMT Tuesday
1. Estrella Damm (ESP), Ribes, Pella, Schreyer: 36.6 miles to finish
2. W Hotels (ESP), Rivero, Piris, Becker: 115.9 miles to finish (+ 79.3 miles to leader)
by NY-BCN Transoceanic Sailing Record
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