received 15.12.08 1951 GMT
It was a tough day on the Delta Lloyd. We spent eight hours trying to get around the western corner of the exclusion zone. With only a breath of wind, we could not make headway south in the opposing two knot current. Mean while the rest of the fleet rounded the corner, and was travelling east towards an area of greater wind. Frustrating.
We are now sailing upwind with our J1, weaving in and out of rain clouds as we flirt with the exclusion zone boundary to our north. We have made six to eight miles gains on the rest of the fleet over the past two position reports so we are climbing back towards the fleet slowly. Yet we have a way to go to repair the damage that was caused last night and this morning to our positioning on the leader board.
Right now I am watching a large rain cell that has situated itself directly between us and where we want to go; east. The cell is 180 miles in diameter so sailing around it looks like a near impossibility. We would prefer to be to the north of it but it looks like we will have to find a path through its centre. This single cell will certainly shake up the standings in the fleet by the time we all emerge from it.
Matthew Gregory - navigator
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Sailing : ERICSSON 4 LEG THREE DAY 4 QFB
received 16.12.08 0857 GMT
It has been a pretty slow going trip so far. We might as well have left all our moderate to heavy sails on the beach for this leg!
The last 36 hours has been especially painful trying to get around the exclusion zone south of Sri Lanka. The current has been against us for a long time, up to 3.5 knots at times. When you are only doing four knots of boatspeed anyway, it makes for painfully slow progress. We have been trying to work out ETAs and it can be quite scary!
Food has already been rationed as we are expecting to take a few days longer. Spirits are good onboard. We are still having a bit of a laugh when it's appropriate. Ryan has been copping a serious bagging over his little rash situation. There have been many Ericsson 4 laws broken while he struggles with the rash. Nudity down below has featured more than once! Poor little b****r probably just wants us to leave him alone so he can deal with the problem quietly on his own.
It hasn't been too hot yet. The guys are still running their bunkside fans red hot though. It can be very tough when they break down. Diesel and water are getting used up very quickly. The diesel because of all the keel movements in the light air, and the water trying to keep everyone hydrated. You just can't drink enough in these conditions. If you need a drink, it's too late, you're already dehydrated.
Since writing this message, the breeze has built and we are on course again at 10 knots. Thank God for that. It will be interesting to see how long the puff hangs in for this time!
Phil 'Blood' Jameson
It has been a pretty slow going trip so far. We might as well have left all our moderate to heavy sails on the beach for this leg!
The last 36 hours has been especially painful trying to get around the exclusion zone south of Sri Lanka. The current has been against us for a long time, up to 3.5 knots at times. When you are only doing four knots of boatspeed anyway, it makes for painfully slow progress. We have been trying to work out ETAs and it can be quite scary!
Food has already been rationed as we are expecting to take a few days longer. Spirits are good onboard. We are still having a bit of a laugh when it's appropriate. Ryan has been copping a serious bagging over his little rash situation. There have been many Ericsson 4 laws broken while he struggles with the rash. Nudity down below has featured more than once! Poor little b****r probably just wants us to leave him alone so he can deal with the problem quietly on his own.
It hasn't been too hot yet. The guys are still running their bunkside fans red hot though. It can be very tough when they break down. Diesel and water are getting used up very quickly. The diesel because of all the keel movements in the light air, and the water trying to keep everyone hydrated. You just can't drink enough in these conditions. If you need a drink, it's too late, you're already dehydrated.
Since writing this message, the breeze has built and we are on course again at 10 knots. Thank God for that. It will be interesting to see how long the puff hangs in for this time!
Phil 'Blood' Jameson
Sailing : ERICSSON 4 LEG THREE DAY 3 QFB
received 15.12.08 1500 GMT
A rather quiet and uneventful day today. We are experiencing very light breezes as we slowly sail across the southern coast of Sri Lanka. At the moment, we are sitting in first place with both Telefónica Blue and Puma only a couple of miles to leeward. While we have generally been able to maintain a reasonable boatspeed though the water, adverse currents of up to 3 knots are really putting a halt to the distance we are covering over the ground.
Life onboard is back to the usual routine. Temperatures are warm and humid. Unfortunately, for me, these factors are combining perfectly to create a nice, sweaty rash (trench crutch) in a region I would rather prefer it wasn't! Everyone is in high spirits and pleased to be pushing in the front pack of the fleet.
Hopefully wind conditions will improve so as to ensure that we won’t be celebrating Christmas day aboard the good ship Ericsson 4.
That’s it for now,
Ryan Godfrey
A rather quiet and uneventful day today. We are experiencing very light breezes as we slowly sail across the southern coast of Sri Lanka. At the moment, we are sitting in first place with both Telefónica Blue and Puma only a couple of miles to leeward. While we have generally been able to maintain a reasonable boatspeed though the water, adverse currents of up to 3 knots are really putting a halt to the distance we are covering over the ground.
Life onboard is back to the usual routine. Temperatures are warm and humid. Unfortunately, for me, these factors are combining perfectly to create a nice, sweaty rash (trench crutch) in a region I would rather prefer it wasn't! Everyone is in high spirits and pleased to be pushing in the front pack of the fleet.
Hopefully wind conditions will improve so as to ensure that we won’t be celebrating Christmas day aboard the good ship Ericsson 4.
That’s it for now,
Ryan Godfrey
Cricket : 22 teams have Confirmed for this Phuket Sixes at this stage
Check out www.phuketsixes.com to see the Fun In The Sun that the teams have at this ICC Award winning Tournament.
15 to 19 April 2008, format as follows:
* Wednesday 15 April - possible games Karon Stadium until 2 PM (depending on Team Numbers).
* Wednesday 15 April - Kenny Jackson's Beach Cricket 3 to 6 PM.
* Wednesday 15 April - Captains and Officials Meeting 7.30 pm onwards.
* Thursday 16 April - full days play round 1
* Thursday 16 April - Opening Party (food and drinks included).
* Friday 17 April - full days cricket continued.
* Friday 17 April - Twenty / 20 All-stars Match from 7 pm / Star Players - VIPs - Selected Players.
* Saturday 18 April - 2nd round continues.
* Sunday 19 April - Finals Day.
* Sunday 19 April - Closing Dinner - Auction - Trophy Presentations.
15 to 19 April 2008, format as follows:
* Wednesday 15 April - possible games Karon Stadium until 2 PM (depending on Team Numbers).
* Wednesday 15 April - Kenny Jackson's Beach Cricket 3 to 6 PM.
* Wednesday 15 April - Captains and Officials Meeting 7.30 pm onwards.
* Thursday 16 April - full days play round 1
* Thursday 16 April - Opening Party (food and drinks included).
* Friday 17 April - full days cricket continued.
* Friday 17 April - Twenty / 20 All-stars Match from 7 pm / Star Players - VIPs - Selected Players.
* Saturday 18 April - 2nd round continues.
* Sunday 19 April - Finals Day.
* Sunday 19 April - Closing Dinner - Auction - Trophy Presentations.
Sailing : Day 36 onboard Roxy in the Vendée Globe
Sam Davies’ daily log - “Hello!
It's windy here today!
There are 40 knots of wind out here and big waves, and Roxy is flying along for the moment, just about under control! That said, it was difficult to keep the tea in my mug this morning. Luckily, I think that the depression is a bit less nasty than it was for those a bit further back. Hopefully, 40knots is the most I will see, and we can keep racing fast. I am on a mission to stay in front of Brian Thompson for as long as possible. We spoke on the phone yesterday and said that we must keep in touch as our routes will converge and we're not sure who'll be ahead. We don't want to literally "bump" into each other! As I am writing this, I have just seen 45 knots of wind and Roxy did a GPS speed of 28 knots. We were on the top of a huge wave and everything went quiet because nearly all of the hull was out of the water on the surf! I think I'd better get ready to take the 3rd reef... just in case.
S x”
At 1100 UK time, Sam Davies aboard Roxy was in 11th position, 851 miles from race leader Jean-Pierre Dick aboard Paprec-Virbac 2
It's windy here today!
There are 40 knots of wind out here and big waves, and Roxy is flying along for the moment, just about under control! That said, it was difficult to keep the tea in my mug this morning. Luckily, I think that the depression is a bit less nasty than it was for those a bit further back. Hopefully, 40knots is the most I will see, and we can keep racing fast. I am on a mission to stay in front of Brian Thompson for as long as possible. We spoke on the phone yesterday and said that we must keep in touch as our routes will converge and we're not sure who'll be ahead. We don't want to literally "bump" into each other! As I am writing this, I have just seen 45 knots of wind and Roxy did a GPS speed of 28 knots. We were on the top of a huge wave and everything went quiet because nearly all of the hull was out of the water on the surf! I think I'd better get ready to take the 3rd reef... just in case.
S x”
At 1100 UK time, Sam Davies aboard Roxy was in 11th position, 851 miles from race leader Jean-Pierre Dick aboard Paprec-Virbac 2
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