ICE GATE ANNOUNCED FOR THE ARTEMIS TRANSAT
ICE GATE ANNOUNCED FOR THE ARTEMIS TRANSAT
Race course length increases
In brief:
- Race direction announces a compulsory ice gate, course increases by 210 miles
- Loick Peyron statement on race
- Meet Steve White, the 13th man in the IMOCA 60 lineup
- LIVESKIPPER open registration – your chance to race the boats yourself, live, during the race from the dry and warm cockpit of your computer desk! http://www.liveskipper.com
In detail:
Race direction announces compulsory ice gate
Having kept a careful eye on the ice reports, the Race Direction team decided to put an ice gate in place on the course. The gate is a virtual horizontal line, a point of which must be left to starboard.
“Given the number of ice blocks and their presence very far South this year,” explained Sylvie Viant (Race Director), “we felt, after having consulted the skippers that it was a necessary move, because safety is our first concern.”
The gate, a 130-mile wide line located between 47º and 50º W at 40º N (below the Grand Banks), will imply the course is now longer by approximately 210 miles, for a total of 2955 miles. The risk of collision with an iceberg is obviously one of the singlehander's worst nightmares, and a major hazard at this time of year on the North Atlantic.
Loick Peyron, 25 years after
Coming back for the 5th time after having won the event twice - and thus equaling Eric Tabarly's feat - Loick Peyron is clearly among the favorites for The Artemis Transat 2008.
“It's great to be here at the heart of historic Plymouth, having the boats docked in Sutton Harbour, around The Barbican makes a huge difference in terms of atmosphere,” said the ever-relaxed Breton skipper, whose Gitana Eighty Open 60' was undergoing final preparations.
“Funny to think that it's almost been 25 years since I took my first transatlantic start here in Plymouth, and that I've never raced that course in a monohull. And if those boats are clearly less stressful to sail singlehanded than the multis, the new generation of monohull is very sophisticated and requires huge efforts. The sail area is massive, the ballast system crucial, and all the little refinements make maneuvers somewhat complex: a complete tack can take up to 25 minutes!”
Like his fellow competitors, Peyron acknowledges the fact that the race is very open this year. “It's very hard to foresee the podium, as I can identify at least 6 boats capable of winning,” he said. “Too bad a lot of our English rivals cannot be with us... But I really sympathize; it surely is a big disappointment."
Meet Steve White
Steve White, 35, the latest addition to the IMOCA fleet in The Artemis Transat, admits he started sailing “by accident, with a friend who bought a boat but didn't have a tow bar on his car. I did, helped him out, sailed with him because he was nervous to go alone... and a couple of years later I found myself buying a 30 footer.” But the big life-changing experience came in 1998, when Steve had a chance to round the Fastnet on a 67-ft boat in tough conditions. “We set off from Plymouth, and were blown out of our boots by 35 - 40-knot winds, it was great. I drove home, quit my job and decided that the Vendée Globe was my goal. I had followed Christophe Auguin's race and it had fascinated me.”
Read Steve's story here http://theartemistransat.com/60/article.asp?sid=14416
Ice detector aboard Marc Guillemot's IMOCA 60 Safran
Developped by Sagem (part of the Safran Group), a unidentified object detector is currently being set up aboard Marc Guillemot's IMOCA 60. The prototype, which will be tested during The Artemis Transat, consists of a miniature thermo-sensitive camera fitted on the masthead. The camera detects all objects which show a significant temperature difference with their environment - the system is essentially developed to spot icebergs and growlers, and originates from the special binoculars used by sea rescuers to catch a "thermal signal", like the emerged head of a man who has fallen overboard.
To follow The Artemis Transat, visit http://www.theartemistransat.com and click on race viewer options (2D and 3D viewers).
Race course length increases
In brief:
- Race direction announces a compulsory ice gate, course increases by 210 miles
- Loick Peyron statement on race
- Meet Steve White, the 13th man in the IMOCA 60 lineup
- LIVESKIPPER open registration – your chance to race the boats yourself, live, during the race from the dry and warm cockpit of your computer desk! http://www.liveskipper.com
In detail:
Race direction announces compulsory ice gate
Having kept a careful eye on the ice reports, the Race Direction team decided to put an ice gate in place on the course. The gate is a virtual horizontal line, a point of which must be left to starboard.
“Given the number of ice blocks and their presence very far South this year,” explained Sylvie Viant (Race Director), “we felt, after having consulted the skippers that it was a necessary move, because safety is our first concern.”
The gate, a 130-mile wide line located between 47º and 50º W at 40º N (below the Grand Banks), will imply the course is now longer by approximately 210 miles, for a total of 2955 miles. The risk of collision with an iceberg is obviously one of the singlehander's worst nightmares, and a major hazard at this time of year on the North Atlantic.
Loick Peyron, 25 years after
Coming back for the 5th time after having won the event twice - and thus equaling Eric Tabarly's feat - Loick Peyron is clearly among the favorites for The Artemis Transat 2008.
“It's great to be here at the heart of historic Plymouth, having the boats docked in Sutton Harbour, around The Barbican makes a huge difference in terms of atmosphere,” said the ever-relaxed Breton skipper, whose Gitana Eighty Open 60' was undergoing final preparations.
“Funny to think that it's almost been 25 years since I took my first transatlantic start here in Plymouth, and that I've never raced that course in a monohull. And if those boats are clearly less stressful to sail singlehanded than the multis, the new generation of monohull is very sophisticated and requires huge efforts. The sail area is massive, the ballast system crucial, and all the little refinements make maneuvers somewhat complex: a complete tack can take up to 25 minutes!”
Like his fellow competitors, Peyron acknowledges the fact that the race is very open this year. “It's very hard to foresee the podium, as I can identify at least 6 boats capable of winning,” he said. “Too bad a lot of our English rivals cannot be with us... But I really sympathize; it surely is a big disappointment."
Meet Steve White
Steve White, 35, the latest addition to the IMOCA fleet in The Artemis Transat, admits he started sailing “by accident, with a friend who bought a boat but didn't have a tow bar on his car. I did, helped him out, sailed with him because he was nervous to go alone... and a couple of years later I found myself buying a 30 footer.” But the big life-changing experience came in 1998, when Steve had a chance to round the Fastnet on a 67-ft boat in tough conditions. “We set off from Plymouth, and were blown out of our boots by 35 - 40-knot winds, it was great. I drove home, quit my job and decided that the Vendée Globe was my goal. I had followed Christophe Auguin's race and it had fascinated me.”
Read Steve's story here http://theartemistransat.com/60/article.asp?sid=14416
Ice detector aboard Marc Guillemot's IMOCA 60 Safran
Developped by Sagem (part of the Safran Group), a unidentified object detector is currently being set up aboard Marc Guillemot's IMOCA 60. The prototype, which will be tested during The Artemis Transat, consists of a miniature thermo-sensitive camera fitted on the masthead. The camera detects all objects which show a significant temperature difference with their environment - the system is essentially developed to spot icebergs and growlers, and originates from the special binoculars used by sea rescuers to catch a "thermal signal", like the emerged head of a man who has fallen overboard.
To follow The Artemis Transat, visit http://www.theartemistransat.com and click on race viewer options (2D and 3D viewers).
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