New York Barcelona - Estrella Damm sets the bar high

7:10 AM Wed 21 Apr 2010 GMT

'Estrella Damm arrives to Barcelona - New York Barcelona 2010' Nico Mart?nez / FNOB Click Here to view large photo

Twelve days, six hours, three minutes and 48 seconds, is the mark for the sailing record books. Estrella Damm, the IMOCA Open 60, and the crew of Alex Pella (ESP), Pepe Ribes (ESP) and Stan Schreyer (USA) set the first record for the 3670 (orthodromic) miles passage under sail from New York to Barcelona very early this Wednesday morning when they crossed the finish line in front of the Catalan capital's 26 story iconic glass W Hotel, at 00:37:06hrs UTC/ 02:37:06 local time Barcelona. They sailed an average speed of 12.48 knots.

From the top storey of the avant garde new landmark, the blinking navigation lights of Estrella Damm could finally, be slowly seen becoming more distinct through an otherwise foggy evening and night. As the trio crossed the finish line, set effectively by the transit of the peak of the sail-shaped hotel and the historic Tibidabo church, they finally brought to an end a passage which comprised two stages which contrasted sharply: a very fast crossing of the Atlantic and an almost painfully slow, exacting climb up the Mediterranean in capricious spring breezes, ending with a crawl to the finish line.

And as the upbeat, relieved Estrella Damm team stepped ashore close to the hotel which was built last year, one of the chains, which bears the name of their New York to Barcelona record rivals, the eponymous IMOCA Open 60 with Pachi Rivero, To?o Piris and Peter Becker on board, was still making very slow progress, some 50 or so miles further out to sea.

While the Estrella Damm crew were pleased to have got home first there was considerable disappointment for the W Hotels team who put up a close fight all of the way across the Atlantic, mostly within 20 miles of their rivals until they were struck two successive body blows last Thursday and Friday.

First their port rudder mechanism was damaged by a wave, when they were in big winds to the north of Madeira, on the edge of a malicious low pressure system. Then, while they were repairing it, they were knocked over by a big wave as W Hotels broached.

As a result they lost more than 130 miles to be 168.5 miles behind on the 1700hrs GMT position report last Friday (16th). But the tenacious Piris, Rivero and Becker fought back on the approach to and into the Mediterranean, closing the gap again to 53.9 miles on by last Sunday lunchtime (18th).

But they were never able to get back on terms with Estrella Damm which had lead across the start line at Ambrose Light, and for the final one third of the route, they were always on the back foot.

Two boats, two seas, one record.
One of the targets of the New York - Barcelona Transoceanic Sailing Record challenge was to join the two cities by establishing a record route. The weather patterns which characterize both seas have proven a worthy challenge, and the record which has been established sets the bar at a high level.

In the Atlantic Estrella Damm and W Hotels enjoyed fast hand-to-hand combat, matching each other closely, high speed reaching only a few miles apart, pacing each other to high mileages. At first they rode the front of a low pressure system in classic style, in SW'ly winds before having a simple, slow but brief respite transiting a high pressure ridge, then moving to benefit from the boisterous conditions generated by a cut-off low pressure system situated between Madeira and the Iberian peninsula.

The duo left Ambrose Light led by Estrella Damm at 1833hrs UTC/(1433 NY Time) on Thursday April 8th in conditions more reminiscent of summer, light winds and sunshine as they departed New York but were soon fast reaching out into the Atlantic in 18-25 knot winds. The first few days allowed high averages, regularly in the realms of 20 knots, and between the ninth and 11th April they surpassed 400 miles in 24 hours reaching 462 miles on the first Saturday, only 38.7 miles off the 24 hours world record set by Alex Thomson and Andrew Cape during the 2007 Barcelona World Race.

It was the ability to cross the high pressure ridge in a single day as much as the speed on the depressions which contributed to their very high speed to Gibraltar. The average of more than 15 knots was set for the passage to Gibraltar, crossing the Atlantic in a time which compared favorably with 2925 miles Ambrose Light to the Lizard passage 60 footers record, held at seven days and 23 hours by Bernard Stamm (SUI). They were around a day quicker for the same mileage and surpassed Stamm's 13.79 knots average considerably. That was until the Mediterranean slow down.

While the best run was in excess of 460 miles in 24 hours, by comparison it took about three days and 10 hours to cover the 528 miles to from Gibraltar to Barcelona. But a new record has been set, a new chapter in sailing history opened with the New York - Barcelona Transoceanic Sailing Record, and both cities have contributed to an exciting new ocean racing benchmark which could prove hard to beat.

Quotes:

Pepe Ribes (ESP) co-skipper Estrella Damm (ESP): "It is all good. We are very happy to be finished. I think we are pleased with the boat, it was very quick reaching and we did not break too many things and so the reliability is improved. We learned a lot about to sail the boat in reaching conditions. To have W Hotels by your side during days and days just puts your level up. It is like a great nine days of hard testing. So we learn a lot about how to sail our boat, the modes of how to sail the boat. That is about the sails, the cross-overs, the way to sail the boat, the heel angles, the fastest reaching angles, we learned in all areas, and how we want our sails for the Barcelona World Race."

"I think we develop well as a partnership. Our plan to have the same responsibilities, to work together in the weather, and together in all areas on board is a different way of thinking to the French, where it normally is really a skipper and a guy helping the skipper, but for us I think this works very well for us."

"Stan developed really well. To step on to one of these boats for the first time, to cross the Atlantic is very hard in a big boat like an IMOCA, and the first three days were pretty hard. But he is a good sailor. He soon understood the settings on the boat, trimming the boat, and he was always part of the watch system. He was not on standby, he stood his watches. There were three equals on the boat and everyone had one watch. He was on deck by himself as an equal watch. I think he enjoyed it."

"We are happy with the record. I thought it would be slower at this time of the year. I thought with the help of Jean Yves Bernot we chose a good day and we were able to keep the pace, and then we were lucky that the second low pressure moved away out of the entrance to the Strait, because at the beginning it was blocking the route. The last two days it started to move and we were just pointing to the middle of the low and we just missed it by the south.
"We lost the bow pulpit and a couple of stanchions, just in the first few days. It was very bumpy and just jumping off waves at 20 knots, we hit a wave, I don't know, it just ripped off. but really, just normal stuff."

"I feel good. Today we had a hard day because this light weather was a bit tough, we did something like 30 sail changes in the last 24 hours. A lot of sail changes.A2, Code Zero, A3, A2 Code Zero, A3, all the time, all the time. And then it was really stressful because it was really foggy."

Stan Schreyer (USA) co-skipper Estrella Damm: "I am not feeling too bad. We were pretty diligent with our watch system, so we all got a lot of rest while we were on board. It was a very interesting trip because we saw so many different conditions, windy with small waves when we started out, then we ran through some light winds, then strong winds and big waves. So actually, it took us 12 days, nine days to cross the ocean and four days up the Med, tells the story."

"It would have been nice to go faster in the Med because we had made such good time across the Atlantic. It was disappointing to take so long there, but that is sailboat racing."

"One thing I noticed about them, and this was obvious before we started, is that they both just love sailing and life on the boat. They were born to do what they are doing. I could see when we left the dock in New York that we got out of New York Harbour and we were preparing to start the record run by Ambrose Light, they were kind of giddy. They were so excited. This is what they love to do. And they are both very, very hard workers, they work very well together, and I think they will be very well prepared for the Barcelona World Race, because they have a very good dynamic between the two of them. They are good friends from away back, they work well together."

"There was no difference between when I started and when I finished. I had done enough sailing with them before the race that I was not new to it. My relationship with them was not brand new before we started this race. And it was easy to fit in with them because they work so well together."

Stats:
Estrella Damm arrival time 00:37:06 UTC
Elapsed time 12d 06h 3m 48s
Average speed on orthodromic 12,48kn
3670 miles orthodromic course

by NY-BCN Transoceanic Sailing Record Media Centre