race within a race...news 26 January 2014....

Yesterday started with some good breeze. As the day bore on the breeze increased and eventually went forward with us sailing a bit lower then our layline but sailing at a good pace. By mid afternoon we decided to sail best VMG and did some sail changes and a course adjustment.. soon after, some more sail changes as the breeze slowly sucked away.

We spent

2-3 hours in near no wind conditions and then slowly in the early evening the breeze filtered back, with some more sail changes and during the course of the night the breeze setting in for a more reliable evening of sailing. Good VMG was made throughout the night. We are happy with our vector at this point in time. Hopefully the winds will play ball.

 

All well aboard. Focussed on Perie Banou to try and beat them on corrected time. Right now both boats are roughly committed to their final routings and then there is the inevitable Cabo Frio to Rio Passage... where it can be a lottery..

positions positions positions...day 21

news 25 January 2014

Yesterday am started with good breeze.. there was also a little birdlife noted in the AM. Our highlight was us passing a tanker. It is really amazing looking on your AIS and figuring out how far away they are, their heading and speed.. simply by watching a screen. The ship can see us in the same way as well as we have a proper AIS transponder.. On Yolo we can watch it on the laptop plugged in or on the tablets via wireless.. we have this function wireless aboard.

 

As the afternoon wore on the winds died away a bit which meant we needed to sail higher then best VMG to keep the kite filled. It went down to around 6knots.. This carried on into the early evening.. at the same time there were lots of oscillations so continual trimming was required. During the Evening we needed to gybe  few times and do another kite change. Early this AM we noted the outer core chafing on the guy, whcih required setting a temp guy while we did the repair.. As I write it, the repair is underway.. and then we will switch to the original again.

Perie Banou is our main competition for now. They are playing a good game.. and it would seem in the dead downwind in the light stuff they are quicker. Yolo does not like Dead downwind.. so hopefully sailing better to our Polars will help.

Currently we are sailing close to VMG Making fair progress. Our speed is currently 7.5ish knots.. and we have around 612 miles to go.

 

position report 10am (SA time ) 25 January 2014

Our position this AM is as follows:

 

S23-04-75

 

W32-02-10

NEWS FLASH NEWS FLASH....YOLO back in 1st place IRC 2 class....

BLOG report DAY 20...

This past 24 hours has been quite pleasant, besides a couple of hours yesterday afternoon when the wind dropped and left us going slowly for a while, other then that pleasant sailing.. No sightings yesterday except for some Fairy Terns. Assume they are based off the Island of Martin Vaz of Trinidade, the Islands we are passing that are over 100NM to the North of us.

We are keeping tabs on our nearest opponent Perie Banou who seems to be holding onto the lead.. I think it will come down to the crunch right at the end who will be the decider.. and who transits the Cabo Frio-Rio section. This section in known to be a bit of a lottery, windless at times, with the winds varying with the different times of the day. We are working closely with our routing software to vector in on the best angles for Cabo Frio. There is still a lot of distance between us and the finish and need to be careful.. the weather can also throw some curve balls at us.

 

Temperatures are now very hot with water temperatures at 27.5 deg. We try to keep in the shade as much as possible.

 

position report 10am (SA time) 24 January 2014 - DAY 20

Our position this AM is as follows:

 

S22-51-11

 

W29-32-92

BLOG report - 23 January 2014 10am (SA time)

Over the past 24 hours, we have had fairly good breeze.. besides the rain clouds yesterday morning which were quite vicious as they brought up to 30 knots suddenly with them.

 

Yesterday YOLO sighted two fishing vessels.

 

At the moment YOLO is making good VMG. We are currently sailing in 15 knots, with a cross sea state of around 1.5 metres.. so awkward to steer.

 

All well aboard.

 

position report 10am (SA time) 23 January 2014

Our position this AM is as follows:

 

S22-21-84

 

W27-02-19

Battle in IRC class 2....

update 22 January 2014..

This past 24 hours has thrown everything at us.. from clams with sloppy seas having us drop all our sails to wait for new breeze again.. to nice breeze, rain clouds with up to 30 knots in it, which sometimes has us dropping the kite in a hurry if it is the light one up.. over this past hour we have had a rain squall come in at 35 knots necessitating a hurried drop of the kite and a hoist of the jib to transit the Zone.

 

Overall the night has had good speeds for which we are happy with and can hopefully make up for yesterday's dismal day... Up ahead we are hoping for reasonable breeze and VMG today and some of tomorrow but expect a 6 hour patch tomorrow to be very light.. We will keep watching the gribs to see if it changes.

We are asked about our ETA.. Always hard to predict... but we guess conservative around next Wed.

position report 10am (SA time) 22 January 2014

Our Position as at this AM is:

 

S21-18-05

 

W24-32-77

 

s/v YOLO

From rain clouds to searing heat. Fully clothed for sun protection

beauty but calm waters..grrrr

news...21 January 2014

These past 24 hours have been frustrating.. with light winds. During the day yesterday it was fickle with wind shifts and chaning strenths, at Sunset the winds died down and shifted, so after almost 2 weeks the jib was hoisted again for about an hour when it all died down to nothing. With the sea swell the main was slatting a lot so it was dropped as we were not moving anyway.. This gave us a chance to attend to any chafe issues. Main was down for 2 hours.. and then the rainclouds fired up.. With us quickly rehoisting, getting the kite working and off we went.. But after every raincloud there is a calm. and this is how the night went.. with lots of shifts..

The conditions last night were exactly as our Gribs forecasted.. so not a surprise.. just makes it a very slow crossing.

 

As one can see a definite split in the fleet between the fast and the slow boats.. The fast boats managed to sail and stay ahead of the weather system whereas the slow boats could not outrun it.. Leaving us "wallowing"

 

All well aboard Yolo this Am.

 

BEst to All.

position report 10am (SA time) 21 January 2014

Our position this AM is as follows:

 

S20-30-56

 

W22-32-39

 

Frustrating night past.. with lots of dead calms and rain clouds in between..

Day 16 handicap and overall positions

shift and sleep patterns on board YOLO...

 

We are often asked how we manage this being Double handed. Firstly we always maintain a watch..24/7. We operate on a two hours on, two hours off.. this ensures optimal helming and during the day limiting exposure to the sun. This does not mean the rest of the time is R&R time.. there is navigation that happens, maintenance, cooking, cleaning.. So ideally one tries to catnap during the day an then during the night-hours to get around 1.5 hours at a time.. this can leave one at times wanting for more.. but this is how we do it.

 

Temperatures aboard are hot, currently with a water temp of 25.5deg, So nights are hot and humid and daytime is hot hot. With little wind it aggravates things..  Aboard we try and helm as much by hand rather then the self steering, this saves power and hopefully allows us to optimize as well as to keep us occupied.

position report 10am (SA time) 20 January 2014

Our Position this AM is as follows:

 

S20-26-29

 

W20-57-98

Still 1st place on handicap class 2....day 15..

NEWS from YOLO 19 January 2014

Yesterday AM Yolo had good breeze but as the day wore on the winds became fickle again with lots of kite changes and Gybes to be had.

 

Looking at the breeze it looks like the tail enders will benefit most as Yolo has been concertinad into the system. AS the system changes those behind are less affected. Yolo now needs to sail her "socks" off to have any chance of a podium. The moon is rising later and later and soon we will have no moon at all.. making for dark sailing unless we have clear skies.. which we have not experienced too much of late. The water temperature has been up to 25 degrees but is now back to 24.5.

Conditions are very hot during the day.. With one taking every precaution against the sun.

 

All well aboard.

position report 10am (SA time) 19 January 2014

S20-10-952

W018-30-944

 

day 14 overall and handicap postions....OH SO CLOSE.....

news from YOLO 18 January 2014

Hi all,

 

This last 24 hours has been a bit improved.

 

We still made some more Northing till late yesterday, when at sunset we gybed and made more Westward. Most of the day has been filled with wind and a slightly confused sea making steering awkward. The moon rose slightly later last night with it giving a bright seaway to sail in. No need for torches to find thing.. Our current strategy is to work westward but we are aware that there are still light patches ahead.. Hopefully we will able to skirt it by gybing and Northing again.. We will have to see.

 

Our ETA has moved a couple of days and as things look, this will be our longest Atlantic crossing yet. Still Some way to go.

Position report 10am (SA time) 18 January 2014

S19-31-40

 

W15-56-64

day 13 Handicap and overall positions..

flying fish!!!

pre dawn sky...

moon rising...

position report 10am (SA time) 17 January 2014

Our position this AM is as follows:

 

S20-00-35

 

W13-25-43

news DAY 13..

This past 24 hours has been very similar to the previous pattern, light winds in the morning, more wind in the afternoon and lightish in the evening.. Boat is going well and we are doing our best to maintain our class lead.

 

Last night had a full moon which lit up the ocean like it was almost daylight.. Spectacular.

 

At sunrise a few flying fish were found on the deck.

Day 12 overall and handicap positions..

breathtaking sunset

news from YOLO - 16 January 2014

This past 24 hours has been slow, with the highest breeze recorded at 12 knots and the lowest..well....

We are currently trying to skirt the high pressure zone.. and still expect lighter conditions for the next few days.. then hopefully it will increase.. the bad side to the increase is the guys behind stand to benefit more from it then us.. Grrr.. again.

The seas are a bit flatter helping the kite to hold it's shape in the very light conditions. We passed a ship in the early hours of this AM. Still lots of flotsam in the sea.. Gosh how it is changing. Aboard we are eating well and although an adjusted ETA, we should still be fine with provisions and water. Water temperature is 23 degrees and climbing and the daily temperature is now  very hot, especially in the late  mornings when the sun is at full glare.. Sunsets are a site.

position report 10am (SA time) 16 January 2014

 

S20-38-60

 

W11-17-21

day 11 Handicap AND overall positions..

interesting article...

MASERATI SAMBA PARTY

Louay Habib

 
Giovani Soldini’s turboed Volvo 70, Maserati finished the Cape to Rio Race in the early hours of Wednesday 15th January 2014 to shatter the course record, which has stood for 14 years. Completing the 3,300 mile course in 10 Days, 11 hours, 29 Minutes and 57 seconds. Maserati beat the previous record by over two days.

 

Maserati looks almost certain to also win the Cape to Rio Race overall after IRC time correction. Theoretically, Robert Date’s Australian Reichel Pugh 52, Scarlet Runner could beat Maserati but the team from Sydney would need to average over 12 knots for the last 950 miles, which is a tall order.

In IRC Two, a tremendous battle for the class win has been raging since the start. Royal Cape Yacht Club Commodore Dale Kushner, racing Yolo Two Handed, has pulled out a lead of over 130 miles on the water from close rival Perie Banou Rolly Tasker, skippered by Australian Jon Saunders. However, after time correction, the two yachts are less than two hours apart after ten days of racing.

 

The Cape to Rio Race has become a fascinating strategic battle for the remaining yachts, as indicated by Dale Kushner’s latest blog, sent via Xtra-Link Satellite connection.

“We have been sailing in winds varying from 6 knots to 12 knots, right from behind in swelly conditions. This means that it is very difficult to keep the kite trimmed all the time.. and this means not such good speed. We are still trying to make northwards in an attempt to stay in the better winds.. what this means is that we now need to sail extra distance and our lead in our class could come under threat as the rest of the fleet have more northing already.. It would seem that the prevailing conditions are covering most of our fleet at the moment. Port gybe is faster due to the swell action. Otherwise all good aboard YOLO, just disappointed that these light winds are going to severely affect out ETA.”

 

Xtra-Link is the official Sat.Comm Partner for the 2014 Cape to Rio Race.

 

 

 

Update 15 January 2014

Not much to speak of in the last 24 hours.. we have been sailing in winds carying from 6 knots to 12 knots, right from behind in swelly conditions.

Loosely this means that it is very difficuly to keep the kite trimmed all the time.. and this means not such good speeds. We are still trying to make Northwards in an attempt to stay in the better winds.. what this means is that we now need to sail extra distance and our lead in our class could come under threat as the rest of the fleet have more northing.. It would seem that the prevailing conditions are covering most of our fleet at the moment though.

 

So depends on if you are on Port or Stb gybe will tell which would be faster..ie. Port gybe would be faster due to the swell action.

Otherwise all good abord YOLO, just disappointed that these light winds are going to severely affect out ETA's.

 

Best..

what a STORM it was - courtesy of Bobby Jordan , SUNDAY TIMES (12 January 2014)

day 10 handicap positions

News from YOLO - 14 January 2014

Well, it would seem that the South Atlantic High is going to catch us after all. The system seems to have moved a touch more North then anticipated. and it is likely that we will get messed around by it in the days to come.. not enough wind to outrun it..(unlike the big boats who can generate their own wind and outrun these things). So this means a couple more days to the ETA.. Grrr.. we have a challenge with the delivery guys to beat our time, this is like handing it to them on a plate.

Looks like this is going to be a slow crossing after all.

Other then that our time is spent with sail changes, managing chafe, sleeping etc..

 

All well aboard.

 

position report 10am (SA time) 14 January 2014

Our position this AM is:

S23. 00,46

W07. 53,89

Day 9 handicap positions..

Some pictures on board the good ship YOLO

NEWS from YOLO 13 January 2014

This past 24 hours has been varied conditions being had...fortunately we had wind. The day started with nice 12 knoters.. and increased throughout the day.. having us doing kite changes to optimise. We needed to do some spinnaker repair as well as there was chafe on the leech line as well as to manage chafe on the halyards.. By Late afternoon the winds had settled in nicely. Ian was introduced to the delicacy of Fried Garlic Warsaw polony for supper.. Nice evening with winds at one stage gusting up to 25knots, steering towards the early hours was a bit more difficult as there was no moon and a clouded sky. At sunrise the winds softened to 12ish again.

Our aim is a bit more Northing. We are happy with our last 24 hour run.

 

All well aboard the good Ship Yolo

daily position report 10am (SA time) 13 January 2014

Our position this AM is as follows:

 

S24-12,59

W06-07,46

Day 8 Handicap postions (12 January 2014)

http://cape2rio2014.com/images/Results/Day__8_Sunday_060800GMT_Daily_Position_Report_WEB2.pdf

position report 10am (SA time) 12 January 2014

Our Position this AM is as follows:

 

 

S25. 54,08

W03. 25,76

news from YOLO - 10am (SA time) 12 January 2014

Well the past almost two days have not been great.. after being enticed into cutting the corner, we lost a few miles in the process and have gone back to working Northish. Yesterday proved fickle with some rainclouds which proved difficult to dodge(behind a serious raincloud is a no wind

zone) so not a fruitful day.. the evening bore on still with lighter winds..

By around midnight the winds were good again and at sunrise this AM we have around 18knots across the deck. Sailing nicely at the moment.

 

All good aboard.

Day 7 handicap positions (11 January 2014)

Position report 10 am (SA time) 11 January 2014

Hi All,

 

Our Position today is as follows:

 

S27,39,67

W01,37,44

 

 

All good aboard. Lighter winds being experienced. Rain clouds around.

BLOG report - 11 January 2014

Yesterday am was good sailing, good speeds being made.. by late afternoon the wind had reduced.. with us changing to a lighter kite and then later struggling to support this.. In the end, we opted to make some northing and spent most of the night doing this in much lighter breeze. By Sunrise the wind had filtered back and Yolo is sailing comfortably again, albeit still in lighter breeze. There are rain clouds all around us.. and we have sighted a rainbow this AM. The intention is to still keep going NNWish..

for now. There are no short cuts. Our last one cost us a couple of miles.

 

All well aboard. Eating well. All good.

We have sailed this part of the Atlantic on numerous occasions. This Ocean is known to be one of the cleanest in the world if not the cleanest. So it was disappointing yesterday to see the sort of litter we did.. there were Nylon ropes, buoys, nets, plastic cartons floating around.. this is not normal litter, but litter generally caused by careless fishing. This needs to be monitored.. this is bad for the environment and a risk for smaller vessels.

 

GPS proof of meridian crossing..

celebrating crossing the meridian...

DAY 6 handicap positions (10 January 2014)

update from YOLO - 10 January 2014

The past 24 hours have been pleasant.. yesterday the whole day was spent under spinnaker.. and most of the time was taken trimming, steering, checking the boat and resting. We still have fresh ingredients aboard which are being used for our meals still.

 

Onboard, we try and eat well, good for morale and important to keep energy up. So for example, Yesterday's breakfast consisted of Oats, lunch was cold meats, salads etc.. Late afternoon some snacks.. normally chips or biltong and the evening meal consisted of Spaghetti Bolognaise. Around midnight the chocolate normally comes out.. Last night had the breeze increase slightly, with nice sailing conditions.. This morning we are sailing along in 22 knots at the moment..

We have sighted lots of flying fish, frigate birds and some brides whales this AM. We are not slowly arching to the West.

 

Of significance is that we are not far from the 1/3rd mark in the race which we will reach later today..

Also significaant is that in a couple of hours.. we should be crossing the Meridian..(for the lesser educated.. where East meets West.. and where time is taken.. ie. if we are on the Meridian and the sun is exactly above us, it is exactly midday) for those of you who still don't get it.. we are on the South side of that line that runs through Grenwich.

 

All Well aboard.

 

Pic-Of Ian steering this AM.-(Pic to follow seperate)

YOLO position report 10am (SA time) 10 January 2014

Good Morning,

 

Our position is:

 

S 28deg, 37,84

 

E 00deg,24,04

 

s/v YOLO

article from www.yachtsandyachting.com by Louay Habib (9 January 2014)

Xtra-link, Sat.com partner for the Cape to Rio Race, mourns the death of Bille crew member António João Bartolomeu. The incident occurred during the ferocious storm that hit the fleet with 50 knot winds on the first night.

All of the yachts that sent out distress signals have now been accounted for, 10 yachts have returned to port with the remaining 25 yachts racing towards Rio de Janeiro. During the difficult time, that has now thankfully passed, the Royal Cape Yacht Club and the South African rescue services showed incredibly tenacity in assisting every yacht in need and should be congratulated on their efforts.  During the emergency, Xtra-Link worked around the clock to ensure that the tracking devices on board all yachts were functioning to their optimum to assist with the rescue operation. For those yachts still racing, the cold front virtually disintegrated the usual area of Doldrums associated with the South Atlantic High and the fleet is making great speed towards Rio de Janeiro.  Giovanni Soldini's turboed Italian Volvo 70, Maserati is making record pace. The current record is held by the American 74' maxi Zephyrus IV - she completed the race in just 12 days, 16 hours and 49 minutes in 2000. Maserati needs to complete the 3,300 mile course by dawn on January 17th and is currently well inside record time.  Whilst Maserati is hot favourite to take line honours and set a new record for the race. The overall leader of the race using the IRC Rating system, is extremely close. After 92 hours of racing, the top three yachts on corrected time are all racing in IRC Two.  Perie Banou Rolly Tasker is currently leading the race overall. Skippered by Australian Jon Saunders who is the only man to have circumnavigated the planet three times without stopping (in 1986-88), having previously done it twice non-stop in 1981-82. He and his boat Perie Banou have done many Sydney-Hobarts but missed the 2013 race to compete in the Cape to Rio Race. After 4 days of racing, RCYC Commodore, Dale Kushner, racing Yolo two handed, is 175 miles ahead of Perie Banou on the water but after time correction is less than a mile behind the Australian boat.  Dale reported in via Xtra-Link satellite link: "After several days of rough weather, with the boat and the crew soaked through, we seem to be in the trades for now. Sailing along at approx. 9 knots with kite up. Nice to have some sunshine on our backs and after the first few days of turmoil, we can settle down to a decent meal and watch system. All is well on board, it was a real asset to be able to tell family and friends that we were ok over the last few days."  Yolo is a much lighter boat than Perie Banou and that may tell in the overall standings, now that the yachts are in lighter downwind conditions, it is likely that in the next update of the leader board that the race will be led by Yolo.   The Robinson family racing, Investec Ciao Bello are also doing extremely well. There are no less than seven family members on board. Father and Mother, Gillian and Michael, are racing with their five children; Kathryn (28), Ricky (26), Brennan (25), Ryan (16) and Michaela Mae (13). Currently lying third in IRC Two and fourth overall, the Robinson family was runner up in the last Cape to Rio Race.