-
UK Swells Hitting Home
posted by Tom Court » January 8, 2009
As i have been traveling now for most of the year, it is a nice change to be back at home, enjoying xmas and new year with my mates. The UK winter makes a change from the tropical scene of palms in the wind and white sandy beaches…you mite think an unwelcome change. However, as cold as it is its always nice when the sea dishes up some nice waves from afar. Unfortunately there has been no wind so i havnt been able to kite, but here are some shots from my home surf break…
Dont let the cold put you off :)
-
Vendee Globe, Dismastings
posted by Manos Roudas » January 8, 2009
At 1920 GMT, only a matter of an hour and 20 minutes since passing Cape Horn, Vincent Riou called his team to report that PRB has been dismasted. When the call was made PRB was in a position about 7.8 miles to the North West of Cape Horn. Both skippers Riou and Le Cam are safe and well. He called back to his team about an hour later, saying that he did not want to issue a Mayday signal, but was trying to locate a suitable vessel to tow them, perhaps through the contacts of Isabelle Autissier. They believe that the temporary lashing which they had made to the chainplate gave way. They had around 25 knots of NW’ly wind when the rig came down but have a limited chance of setting a jury rig while they are in the islands. Riou and Le Cam acted quickly to cut away the rigging and free the broken mast. Since they cut the mast free PRB is reported to be drifting at 1.5 knots to a course of about 25 degrees, effectively away from the islands.
-
Happy new year
posted by Anton Vandersteen » January 1, 2009
Hello sailors,
Happy new year and all the best wishes for 2009.
May the trade winds be prosperous for you this year.
Greetings,
Dutch Albatros -
A new onshore hobby
posted by Anton Vandersteen » December 25, 2008
Hello sailors,
I have found a new onshore hobby.
Boomerangs.
There is even a boomerang design called Albatros. -
New Banner
posted by Anton Vandersteen » December 25, 2008
A new banner for my society
-
Dutch Albatros Banner
posted by Anton Vandersteen » December 25, 2008
My new banner with all the flags of the countries in which waters I have sailed these past years.
-
Telefonica Blue 1st to Finish
posted by Manos Roudas » December 23, 2008
Fighting for every inch, Telefónica Blue, skippered by Dutchman Bouwe Bekking, crossed the finish line at the end of leg three of the Volvo Ocean Race to score an emphatic victory in Singapore today at 1451 GMT (2251 local time).
It was among the closest finishes in the race history, with the top four boats finishing within 20 minutes following nearly 10 days of racing.
The Spanish team takes a valuable eight points towards their overall score, which now stands at 30.5 points, putting them into second place overall (subject to protest). Puma finished second on this leg.
The final podium spot went to Ericsson 3 (Anders Lewander/SWE), who beat their teammates on Ericsson 4 (Torben Grael/BRA) to take third, and a total of 23.5 points overall. (Finish time 1509 GMT, elapsed time 09:05:09:48s) -
Scoring Gate
posted by Manos Roudas » December 22, 2008
Ericsson 4 are tacking to the waypoint that is the scoring gate for leg 3. Ericsson 4 (Torben Grael/BRA) led the Volvo Ocean Race fleet through the scoring gate at Palau We yesterday, followed by Telefónica Blue (Bouwe Bekking/NED) and Ericsson 3 (Anders Lewander/SWE). Although they were disappointed not to be first through the gate, Bekking and his crew were pleased with the second place points, but today, they are not happy at all.
Leg three, at 1950 nautical miles was estimated to take around eight days to complete, but today, day nine, the leaders still have 220 miles to run. -
Home for winter festiveness!
posted by Tom Court » December 19, 2008
After two nice months in the Caribean, I have returned home to the UK for Xmas with my friends. I am also going to start the new year off well with some professional training in a gym in London, working on a new regime for next year…
Maybe a short trip to Fuerteventura to test a new wave board and gather some nice video for the winter season! I will keep you posted
HAPPY CHRISTMAS!
-
Delta Lloyd Damaged
posted by Manos Roudas » December 19, 2008
The Dutch/Irish entry in the Volvo Ocean Race, Team Delta Lloyd (Roberto Bermudez/ESP) has suffered damage to the port side carbon structure around the keel ram. The boat was half way across the Bay of Bengal when the damage occurred, at 1930 local time, midday GMT. Skipper Roberto Bermudez de Castro and his crew are safe and boat is not taking on water.
It is too early to know the exact cause of the damage, but it is likely to be a failure of the hydraulic system. The crew have not retired from the race but are considering the possibility of going to the nearest harbour or continuing towards Singapore, which is the preferred option.
