Ocean Race Europe: Crash protest hearing first in Cartagena, "Biotherm" leads
Two days after the collision between the Holcim-PRB and Allagrande Mapei Racing teams, the Ocean Race Europe has announced the hearing of the protests lodged by both racing teams for the stopover in Cartagena. As it was not clear whether and when the teams would reach the first stage port of Portsmouth after the protests, which are currently in full swing, it was decided to wait until the Spanish finish port of the second stage from Portsmouth via Porto-Fly-by to Cartagena before hearing the case.
Ocean Race Europe: Redress possible after crash
The complex case of the Ocean Race Europe collision, which occurred less than two minutes after the keel start of the 2nd Ocean Race Europe, will go before the International Jury appointed and sanctioned by World Sailing. The jury consists of International Judges (IJ) and International Umpires (IU): Andrés Pérez (IJ and IU, Chairman, Spain), Miguel Allen (IJ & IU, Portugal), Chris Atkins (IJ & IU, Great Britain), Corinne Aulnette (IJ, France), María Toriijo (IJ & IU, Spain) and Sofia Truchanowicz (IJ & IU, Poland).
Race Director Phil Lawrence cited several reasons for the seemingly late timing of the hearing: "Firstly, the teams concerned are currently focussing on repairing the damage and are doing everything they can to return to racing. If they are able to return to the water in the next few days, they will probably not have enough time in Portsmouth to prepare properly for the hearing."
Secondly, according to Lawrence, the result of the hearing could be that a team is awarded compensation by the jury. In this case, the compensation could consist of the team being awarded average points for the missed stage based on its previous race performance. "That would not be possible in Portsmouth," says Lawrence. Both teams continue to work hard on their comeback as the remaining fleet of five boats head towards the first leg harbour of Portsmouth. Click here for the live tracker.
Position poker in the English Channel
Paul Meilhat's Team Biotherm defended their lead after the third night. The gap between the pursuers, which had swollen on Tuesday, has shrunk again. Most recently, "Paprec Arkéa" and "Malizia - Seaexplorer" were chasing the French leader with a gap of around 18 and 31 nautical miles respectively. The leading group approached the entrance to the English Channel on Wednesday morning, which lies around ten kilometres east of the line between Dover and Calais.
Two historic landmarks - the Phare de Walde lighthouse on the French side and Leathercoat Point on the English side - form the eastern border of the English Channel to the North Sea. The Ocean Race Europe fleet is expected to arrive in Portsmouth after the Channel passage on Thursday. Before that, however, the crews will have to master another zone with nerve-wracking currents and countless manoeuvres, despite increasing fatigue.
It was less than 120 nautical miles to the finish on Thursday morning. But anything but an easy final sprint lies ahead. "The entire route along the English coast will be difficult for us; it can be very unpredictable," Boris Herrmann's British co-skipper Will Harris knows only too well. The day before, the crews had to contend with light winds on the edge of a high-pressure area in the North Sea.
Ocean Race Europe: not half an hour without manoeuvres
While Yoann Richomme (Paprec Arkéa) was pleased to have "got through faster than expected", Will Harris admitted that Team Malizia "lost a lot more time there than we thought. It felt like we were stuck, which was frustrating." Team Malizia had come within two and a half miles of "Paprec Arkéa" at one point, but then saw the gap grow again.
After some dream conditions, the crews then had to struggle once again in a calm zone from Tuesday evening into Wednesday night. "Another factor that makes things complicated is the current," explained Paul Meilhat. And this too: "We even sailed backwards during the night!"
It won't be any easier this Wednesday either. "We won't have any wind for most of the day," says Yoann Richomme. "We'll have to try to find a way through the south, but that won't be easy given the current, the sandbanks and the restricted zones (TSS). We'll be fighting all day to make progress!" This is in line with Will Harris' assessment.
On a winding course to Portsmouth
The fleet will meander between the English coast and the shipping lane. "We'll be tacking all day long and manoeuvring back and forth between the two," said Paul Meilhat, describing the current task. "By the end of the race, we won't have half an hour without manoeuvring!"
Team Malizia also experienced some nasty reversing on Wednesday morning, as Boris Herrmann von See reports: "We were just happy to get going again - after three hours in reverse. Let's see what we can do now."
North Sea pictures from "Malizia - Seaexplorer:
