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End Day 43: Conditions Improve Overnight

Cheyenne back on pace after return of the west wind

Still 755 miles ahead of Orange's 2002 record pace

Yesterday was Moose's birthday
so today I have a picture of him on the
helm with Fraser standing in the cockpit.
© Nick Leggatt 2004 Nick

Day 42-1/2: Slow going crossing the High

Long Saturday in tactical search for path through the High pressure ridge

Lead over Orange 2002 RTW course shrinks to 830 miles

End Day 42: Full Hoist Again

10 hours of further mast repairs successful in restoring mainsail utility

288 miles over past 24 hours as Cheyenne tactically picks its way through South Atlantic High pressure ridge

950 miles / 2+ days ahead of Orange 2002 record track

"The mast is fixed. The high wire act at the top of the mast at 148 feet was performed by four different mast climbers during the day and was completed by the light of headlamps last night. Justin Slattery, Damian Foxall, Guillermo Altadill and Dave Scully spent a total of nearly 10 man hours up the mast. The mast track is repaired, we have hoisted full sail, and with a lot of luck and care we should be good to sail to the finish.

We are now in one of the most tactical periods of sailing. We must cross an expansive High Pressure ridge which has loomed on our forecasts like a wall of no wind. We are picking a way through and have not become becalmed so far. The glory of 500 mile days is far from our minds as we just want to keep the boat moving in the direction of North. If we make contact with the better wind pattern within a day, we will have eliminated one more risk that could put us behind the record pace. - Steve"

Vendredi 19 mars - reportage de JV (Jac Vincent): Jour Cap Horn + 1

"Apres l'Euphorie du Cap Horn mercredi soir, il a fallu gerer le delicat passage du detroit de Lemaire en pleine nuit. A 100 miles a l'Est du Cap et a la pointe Est de La Terre de Feu, ce detroit marque pour nous l'entree dans l'Atlantique Sud. De fort courants, grains et raffales de vent nous y attendaient et nous ont bien secoue. Mais a 30 noeuds de vitesse nous avons vite passe cet obstacle et nous avons fait cap au 60 vers les Iles Falklands (Malouines) distantes de 300 miles. Le bateau laboure la mer a 22 noeuds de moyenne dans un vent de NW de 25 noeuds, impossible de loffer pour idealement passer au vent et a l'ouest des Iles, la mer est trop desordonnee pour l'affronter de face.

Jeudi matin, soleil et ciel bleu, nous passons a vue de l'Ile Beauchene, petite et desertique. La mer est plus calme, Cheyenne glisse a plus de 20 noeuds dans du vent de NW et l'equipage se detent pour la 1ere fois depuis les 3 semaines intenses dans les mers du Sud. Des nuees d'oiseaux nous survolent et jouent dans les turbulences de nos voiles. Un Albatross se fait surprendre et tombe maladroitement sur le filet. Nos 2 kiwis se precipitent sur ce repas imprevu mais l'oiseau redeploie ses ailes et decolle imediatement grace a son envergure et aide par le vent apparent du bateau. Steve est ravi d'avoir eu a son bord un passager, certe non invite, mais de telle envergure et embleme des latitudes Sud! L'apres midi, ralenti sous le vent des iles, l'intrepide Irlandais Justin est envoye en tete de mat pour commencer la reparation du rail de GV. Pour l'instant nous ne pouvons pas envoyer toute la toile , mais ce n'est pas trop penalisant tant qu'il y a du vent.

Quelques manoeuvres et changement de voiles seront necessaires pour echapper au devent des Iles et a la tomber de la nuit nous avons retrouve les 25 noeuds de NW, les iles sont dans le sillage et nous marchons a plus de 20 noeuds pres du vent, cap au 40 sous GV 1 ris et trinquette.

Vendredi matin, Le vent a molli et on envoie le solent. Toujours ciel bleu mais petit dej gris ... plus de boisson chaude, the ou cafe car on rationne le gaz pour les repas. Poridge froid egalement. Mais les anglo saxon ne peuvent pas accepter ce sacrilege et la "potion magique" est aussitot placee dans le compartiment chauffe, au milieu des chausettes et sous vetements odorant, qu'importe , The Poridge will be warm ! Nous avons encore beaucoup de gasoil pour alimenter le chauffage qui va etre transforme en "cuisiniere" par notre mecanicien et ministre de l'interieur anglais Mark.

Cote meteo un petit sejour a la table a carte avec notre Navigatrice Australienne Adrienne Cahalan comfirme les infos de la veille: nous allons atteindre dans la nuit et samedi la zone de calme d'une dorsale . Nous en sortirons grace au passage d'un front froid accompagne de vent du NW au debut puis SW derriere et en principe cela nous emene sur les bord d'un anticyclone centre sur l'Argentine avec des vent du Sud puis SE qui devraient nous permettre de monter jusqu'a 25 S de latitude. En theorie c'est plutot bien.

Cheyenne vendredi 19 a 11h tu par 49 S et 53 W"

Brian Thompson writes on Day 42

19 March:

"We are out of the fifties and into the forties now, stepping back in time to 4 weeks ago as we sliced down the Atlantic towards the Southern Ocean.

Now we are heading up the coast of South America, leaving the Southern Ocean behind. We are sailing hard on the wind on port tack, in beautiful conditions. The sun is shining and we have been enjoying the most spectacular sunsets and sunrises we can remember. The air is incredibly clear here and the variety of clouds makes the sky an ever changing ceiling for our world.

As usual Justin is closest to the roof as he is again tied off at the top of the mast, working on the broken mainsail track. He is being helped by Guillermo and they are using the last tired drill bits and easy-outs to extract the broken screws that are still imbedded in the back of the mast. Once again Moose has been doing a great job, precision cutting the broken pieces of track that we have, to make one that fits the exact length missing, and with all the holes lining up precisely. He's calling it rag engineering ('rough as guts' in kiwi) but that is being self deprecating...

We are looking at very light winds later tonight and tomorrow and then as a front moves towards us from the coast we will be expecting increasing southerly winds to speed us north. The gods must be smiling on us as this section is often very slow and upwind as far as Rio in Brazil. If this all goes according to plan it will be a big bonus for us on our record attempt.

Overnight 19-20 March:

Gentle sailing tonight as we beat upwind in light air, slowly skirting a high pressure ridge in our path. The high is giving us brilliant clear skies filled with stars, and with the lack of moon and dark seas it looks like we are floating in space, looking out at half the universe. Jupiter is still where we left it 4 weeks ago, passing from east to west during the night hours.

Just about now on Day 42 Orange rounded the Horn, about 2.5 days behind us and 900 miles back from our current position. It feels like Bruno and his team, including my friend Nick Moloney, are breathing down our necks, charging along at 500 mile a day pace as we tack on the faintest zephyrs here at 46 south. Of course they passed here 2 years ago but their phantom remains, here on our computer screens with their track, and with the vivid stories that Nick told of their trip.

It is just starting to warm up here so today marks the end of an era, for I am about to make the last porridge, perhaps our unofficial end to the southern ocean. I am planning a good one with added custard and milk powder. From tomorrow until the finish it's going to be all muesli in the mornings. As our watch is going to be doing breakfast for the next days, that is fine with us, it's the easiest meal of all...

Brian"

From Nick Leggatt: Just thought that we can't be leaving the Southern Ocean without at least one picture of an albatross. This one is of a Black-browed albatross (Diomedea melanophris), perhaps the most common variety. They are a bit smaller than the huge Wandering albatrosses that have also been following us but are nonetheless quite an impressive sight as they glide in our wake, especially with a beautiful Southern Ocean sunset forming a backdrop! (c) Nick Leggatt 2004

Day 41-1/2: Cheyenne heading NE up the S Atlantic

205 nm past 12 hours

17 kt avg speed upwind throughout Friday

1050 nm ahead of RTW record pace

"We are currently still in the mid latitudes at 49S in NW wind of 20kts sailing fast upwind toward the high pressure ridge located at about 48S. Once we get through the high pressure ridge, on Sunday we should get moving again with a W-SW wind as the effects of a cold front start to push us forward out of the mid latitudes and into the sub tropics - namely latitude 30's. Early next week, the wind is then forecast to shift into the SW and then S by which time we will be in the sub tropics at about latitude 35S."

Adrienne Cahalan - on the demise of the Chatter Water, Navigation and Inter-hull Social Interaction

"19 March 2004: As the elation of rounding the Horn subsides, reality rears its ugly head. Its not often that a hard hitting emotional update comes out of the navigation station. Normally the navigation team just keep driving down the information highway, stopping to give out numbers, courses, and on occasions info such as time to go, sea temperature and the like. They say we are heartless creatures, bottom dwellers (and by that I mean below decks) and generally sport a 'screen saver' like tan. Well, move over Gwyneth Paltrow at the Oscars, navigation is about to show its human side.

I spend most of my time in the starboard hull where the navigation area is located. We have been on port gybe for most of the trip so it can get pretty lonely over this side. The crew only come to see you when they want a special email sent or some type course direction. So it is important to get across to the port hull to keep in touch. Included in the trip across to the port hull is not only a chance to see what's happening up top but also to get to the galley, make a cup of tea, sit down and have a chat.

Reality hit hard when I spotted something weird happening just after the Horn. My suspicions were immediately raised when I went over there saw someone putting a pressure cooker in the drying locker amongst what only can be described as socks and thermals that could get up and make their own cup of tea. So that was it: we were short on cooking gas. I broke down as I heard the news that the ritual of tea and coffee, (known to many as chatter water) had come to a grinding halt. Tea and coffee - the only thing that keeps navigation functioning. For a while there, it looked grim, but after a slight re-adjustment frappacinos became the order of the day and it is amazing how quickly milk powder and sachets of coffee mixed with cold water and shaken (not stirred) can be a suitable substitute. Conversation gets going again and courses get handed out. The only thing that remains is to block out the thought of where the freeze dried food in the pressure cooker is currently fermenting before each meal.

So navigation goes on, and today we leave the 50 latitude. The southern hemisphere 50 latitude is unjustly criticised by sailors citing, for example: bad weather, big seas, cold temperatures and grey skies. However, it has its good side which will be missed a lot, namely the friendly albatross, the remoteness and (got to have 3 - think of something....) the interesting weather systems.

We have just passed the Falklands to the East. There was some hot debate about this because due to lack of wind we sailed through the Straits of La Maire just after Cape Horn. For anyone who has been through there before will know that this is a high risk manoeuvre with 5 kts tidal races and bullets of 40kt that come down from the Argentinean mountains. There is also the small matter that in a 15nm gap without engines things could go bad very quickly. Anyway, brave or stupid we hurtled through at 30kt+ boat speed with the tide in our favour. This placed us in a situation where we could have passed to the West of the Falklands setting ourselves up a little better with the high pressure ridge that we will have to cross this Saturday-Sunday as the wind dies last in the west on Saturday. However due to the sea state and the current limitations associated with pushing the rig too hard, we elected to take a more downwind option and go east of the Falklands. This meant however the risk of the lee of the islands which we felt today as passed to the south and east of them and where we stopped for a couple of hours and the fact that now we are upwind to keep as west longitude as we can.

We are currently still in the mid latitudes at 49S in NW wind of 20kts sailing fast upwind toward the high pressure ridge located at about 48S. Once we get through the high pressure ridge, on Sunday we should get moving again with a W-SW wind as the effects of a cold front start to push us forward out of the mid latitudes and into the sub tropics - namely latitude 30's. Early next week, the wind is then forecast to shift into the SW and then S by which time we will be in the sub tropics at about latitude 35S. We are hoping for a smooth transition from S-SE wind in the sub tropics to the SE trade belt below 30N. Below latitude 30N we hope have good trade winds of SE 15-20kts to get us to the ITCZ (doldrums) near the equator. We have about 3200 nm to sail to the equator which we hope we will reach after next weekend. This is the script, we will wait and see how the movie turns out. And, hopefully, only 20 days to a cup of tea..."

End Day 41

Cheyenne heading NE to battle High pressure ridge

418 miles run over past 24 hrs in variable winds

1109 miles (2-1/2 days) ahead of Orange's course

"...Then blasting across to the Falklands today at high speed only to be becalmed again 25 miles in their lee. We are now working our way offshore of the islands and slowly finding the wind again, and about to resume our progress NE."

Damian Foxall, Nick Leggatt, Brian Thompson

Fraser Brown's Cape Horn rounding:

"Well it was definitely a hard road to get there - especially in the last 3 days. We suffered some bad gear breakages up the mast which slowed our progress dramatically and actually lost us about 2 days overall on the current record. However we have still gained the fastest time to the Horn from the startline ever and have rounded successfully to complete another big turning point of this record attempt. The rounding of the Horn was quite unbelievable - we actually went around at dusk passing only 1 mile away with the sun going down and in flat water, we were able to see the Chilean coast as we approached and had a near perfect view of the Horn itself as we went past. For Jacques my watch leader who is on his 7th circumnavigation he said that this was quite unreal to see the Horn like this, we had a good one.

Everyone are extremely happy that we are finally around, for one we say goodbye to the southern ocean where we have seen killer whales, icebergs, albatross the Aurora Australis ( easier known as the southern lights ) big breeze, the storm kite, the storm jib, and extremely confused water and now we start heading north up the Atlantic into the warmth and to the finish.

We have another 7500nm to go but this doesn't really sound like alot considering the mind frame you are in about sailing round the world. Life on board has already changed dramatically as everyone starts taking mid layers off the extra pair of socks the gloves have already gone and the spray jackets are coming out, it's a good feeling.

Currently we are about 2 days ahead but we will need all of this time up our sleeve to still gain this record we have along way to go with many weather systems to get through including the doldrums.

Fraser Brown
Cheyenne"

Brian Thompson on Days 40 - 41: The Falklands

"We rounded Cape Horn by 3 miles yesterday evening. It was a spectacular day with sun and high clouds, crystal clear visibility and a 20 knot breeze from the NW. The coastline was rugged and mountainous, like Western Scotland. There were no trees and no sign of human habitation except for the small red and white striped lighthouse set on a low hill. The spectacular pyramid shape of Cape Horn was just to the West of the lighthouse and could be seen for 40 miles each side. I doubt many people have had such a good day on their passages past, we were very lucky according to all the Horn veterans on board. Some of them have never seen it, rounding in darkness, or in bad visibility, further offshore.

Jacques has now chalked up 7 roundings of the Horn on round the world trips and at the tender age of 41 thinks there may be a few more left in him. We think the record is 8 by the legendary Grant Dalton, and as he has allegedly hung up his sea boots, there is hope yet for Jacques to be the king of the South.

We took some great pictures on board, and overhead a plane from the Argentine Air force was circling taking footage for Spanish TV.

So we sailed from Ushant to the Horn in 39 days and 16 hours, the fastest time ever and 2.5 days ahead of Orange. I thought in Plymouth, before the start, that doing less than 40 days to there was going to be a good target, and we achieved that despite all the slow times in the last week. So we have to be satisfied with where we are now. Its time to do our best now in the fickle breezes of the South Atlantic.

We have launched straight into this new regime. At first, we were marvelling at the flat seas and our 28 knot speeds and then within 3 hours we were becalmed off the Patagonian coastline. We then had rough conditions through the Le Maire straights with 4 knots of tide under us in the middle of the night.

Then blasting across to the Falklands today at high speed only to be becalmed again 25 miles in their lee. We are now working our way offshore of the islands and slowly finding the wind again, and about to resume our progress NE.

Temperatures are rising here and the foul weather tops are off this afternoon in the bright sunshine. The Andes are doing a great job of blocking the Southern Ocean drizzle.

Better go on watch, more later. Thanks for all your messages, they are great to read.

Brian"

Day 40-1/2: Cheyenne driving past Falklands

263 nm past 12 hours

1200 nm (2-1/2 days) ahead of Orange 2002 RTW track

An ongoing challenge of variable winds

David Scully on the approaching Cape Horn

17 March 2004

"Clear as a bell against the blue austral sky, the mountains of the Patagonia Cordillera, and the last great cape on our course around the world. It is evening. We are surfing gently in about 28 knots. All the crew line the side of the port cockpit, drinking in the first sight of land since we passed Ouessant, 39 days ago. This is an emotional moment on board. For some, it is the first road sign on the way to relief from the battering and cold we have experienced for the past 25 days. For myself and my core team, to pass this rock rising from the sea is a vindication of the months of effort we put into preparing 'Cheyenne' for this adventure.

The last time I passed this way, I wrote 'Cape Horn is where land and sea meet - and hate each other', for the violence of the scene as I sailed by. Today, it reminds me of the calm coastline of Baja California, but I am still aware, and in awe, of the latent power of land and sea here. Whatever happens in the weeks to come, we will all be thanking God a little bit, for having been allowed safe passage to this point.

In less than an hour, we will sheet in and point north to pass just east of the Falklands. The crew will be excited, knowing that now, every hour sailed is taking us toward more civilized seas."

Around the Horn - Justin Slattery

"I'm finally around the Horn,
bDay 39
56S 65W
After a good day we passed close by Cape Horn .
St. Patrick's day and Damien Foxall and I celebrate with 2 hidden heinekens donated to the cause by the Kiwis. A fly-by of a small plane from Ushuaia is our first contact with the outside world ,we see land for the first time in 39 days.

Flat calm , after weeks of movement suprises us , we are into the South Atlantic , and heading North. The Falklands islands 300 miles ahead .

Despite our recent bad luck , our 5 day lead having been reduced ,we are however more than 2 days ahead of the Jules Verne record. At 39 Days 16hrs we have set a new record from Ushant - Cap Horn ; We will need every hour of that as we tackle the St Helena and Azores High Pressures of the South and North Atlantic.

Heading home....

Justin"

2 Irishmen go wild down south!

Day 40: Cheyenne Rounds Cape Horn at 2126 GMT Wednesday Night

39 days 16 hrs 16 minutes after RTW start

Steve Fossett and team 2-1/2 days ahead of record pace - now heading into the South Atlantic for the long final push on their Round The World Sailing record bid

Steve: "We are filled with optimism that we can actually pull this off"

"Everyone is in high spirits here. For 6 of us it is the first time around the Horn. For (Cheyenne watch captain) Jacques Vincent, it is the seventh time - which is the most ever of any racing sailor. More importantly it is a milestone in our campaign to break the RTW record. Despite an array of problems, we have reached this point faster than any other boat. We are filled with optimism that we can actually pull this off.

Now the focus shifts to our next challenge - navigating a course through the light and variable winds of the Southern Atlantic. It does not look easy"

Cheyenne and crew crossing Cape Horn 17 March 2004
Steve Fossett at the helm. Lined up in front of him, L-R:
Damian Foxall, Mike Beasley, Fraser Brown, Mark Featherstone, Brian Thompson, Justin Slattery, Jacques Vincent,
Dave Scully and Guillermo Altadill. Crouching in front are Adrienne Cahalan and Paul 'Whirley' van Dyke.
Of course I am not in the picture (Nick Leggatt)!

© Nick Leggatt / Marathon Racing 2004 (free for news use)

Jacques Vincent au Cap Horn: Cheyenne au bout du monde

"bonjour.

Il arrive !!?! qui...le pere noel...non le Cap Horn ! Ca fait 4 jours qu'il nous boude , impossible de l'approcher.

La reparation du rail du mat nous a beaucoup retarde. Du coup nous nous sommes retrouves, sans vent et secoues violemment dans une mer bouillonante, au centre d'une mauvaise depression a 975 mb. Impossible de dormir. D'habitude la derive vibre a se deboulonner et l'eau vrombit le long de la coque....dans un fracas de chute d'eau. Mais la le silence, ponctue par les coup de butoir d'une bome folle est pesant. Je suis de toute facon reveille par Brian "On affale la GV !" En tete de mat la tetiere a arrache son rail !

Bien enerves , on affale et on renvoie immediatement au 1er ris. On est un peu abasourdi par cette seconde rupture du rail, mais il faut continuer cap a l'Est le plus vite possible pour echapper aux calmes. Pas question de ralentir pour reparer cette fois . Enfin mardi le vent est rentre du NW apres un bref passage au SW et quelques empanages. La mer est toujours desordonnee et nous nous approchons des cotes Chiliennes. Mercredi matin on a tout oublie. En petite tenue, 2 ris et solent,Cheyenne surfe la houle du pacifique entre les grains ou l'anemometre monte a 40 noeuds et nous apercevons la terre pour la premiere fois depuis 39 jours.

A bord c'est la frenesie des veilles de fetes. Et puis ca y est on voit le Cap Horn. Mercredi soir a 21h26 utc Cheyenne est au Sud du fameux Cap, eclaire glorieusement par le coucher de soleil . Des chocolats sortent de toutes les poches (on a sacrifie la ration du "day 64"), nos deux incroyables kiwis ont chacun une bierre a la main, Guillermo sort avec le pavillon de son resto catalan prefere , (moi j'ai ma casquette "Sodebo") et le panneau "Cap Horn" est fierement tenu par les 2 intrepides Irlandais. Un avion des "annees soixante" nous survole.

Sceance photo interminable, heureusement le bateau file a 20 noeuds, le soleil disparait sous l'horizon, l'obscurite avale la silouette du "Rocher" deja dans notre sillage. C'etait un "bon Cap Horn".

C'est un miracle d'etre arrive jusque la, la suite s'annonce difficile a cause d'une meteo compliquee, mais le record reste a notre portee. Le bateau , une fois le rail repare, sera de nouveau a 100 % comme le moral de l'equipage.

Pour l'instant le bateau glisse sous le vent de la Terre de Feu, la mer est plate et dans 5 heures apres l'Ile des Etats on tourne a gauche pour remonter l'Atlantique.

Ciao

Cheyenne au bout du monde - Jac"

Brian Thompson writing on 17 March - approaching Cape Horn

"We are finally getting away from the grip of this low pressure system that has been sitting on us and getting into steady breezes from the NW. Last night we had light breezes and big swells of up 7m from all sorts of directions. Although we were trying to protect our mainsail fittings we still managed to rip out the full main track on the mast. With the enormous size of this mainsail (600 square metres).

Report cont, I had to go and reef during the last one..

The main on Cheyenne is 600 square metres of Cuben Fibre weighing approx 600 kilos. Coupled with the huge roach on the sail the loads on the fittings become huge when the sail starts swinging. It can look as if a manic sailboard sailor is trying to pump the boat on to the plane.

We saw the track had pulled out at dawn and the sail was just held up by the main halyard. We dropped the sail to the deck and within 15 minutes had the track gate removed at the base of the mast and slid the headboard back on to the 145 foot track. We re-hoisted to the 1st Reef and got sailing again. Any repairs can wait until north of the Falklands when we will enter an area of high pressure, and that will be this weekend.

Since then we have enjoyed the best sailing for the last 4 days, as the wind finally filled in, and we were back to downwind blasting for the last 400 miles of the Southern Ocean. We have had the blast reacher up but in this final 50 miles to the Horn the wind has picked up and we are back to the solent in 30 to 40 knots. We just passed the Diego Ramirez islands that are to the SW of the Horn, the first land seen since Ushant 39 days ago. Otherwise it has been only sea, sky, ice and the occasional ship.

We will be rounding the Horn in about 2.5 hours and Guillermo is working with Spanish TV to organize a plane to get some footage of our passage. It should be a good sight.

In many ways I am looking forward to getting back into the Atlantic and heading for the finish and home. The last few days have been frustrating with the cross seas, light winds and breakages, so it will be good to get back into smoother seas and be able to sail the boat to its potential again, not backing off for the sea state all the time.

There is plenty to miss about the Southern Ocean, though; the incredible downwind runs we have had, day after day and the sights of the wildlife and the icebergs. Most of all it is the satisfaction of getting to a place that you have read so much about, and a place where you have closely followed the progress of others in previous races.

We had a good run in the Southern Ocean; we had no winds over 40 knots and did not get surprised by any ice. Although we did get caught by that final low and lost miles, at least we did not end up on the south side of it and beating. Overall our Indian Ocean crossing was well above average as this is normally the harder ocean with more gales and a worse sea state, and the Pacific was below average for us with more complex weather than usual.

We pulled out a 4.5 day lead on Orange shortly after NZ and now have a lead of 2.5 days at the Horn, as Orange had a great run in the Pacific. It's all to play for now in the lottery that will be the South Atlantic Ocean. This is traditionally the slowest part of the trip and it will not be any different for us, there are loads of high pressures and slack areas of wind between the Falklands and 30S where the trade winds should kick in..

Will have a report on the Horn tomorrow, when we should be reaching up to the Falklands at high speed...

Brian"

Damian Foxall - the week in review

"Day 35

As we get chased down by the low pressure the wind builds along with the sea state crossed and confused , we reduce the main to 1 reef to preserve the boat as the main roach whips the mast head.

Each watch is on tender feet as we try to nurse the boat through the seaway. However, despite our best efforts, 6 hours later, on the lifted gybe we rip the main track off at 1st reef.

The main has a lock system at each reef , this was now swinging off the head of the main which we dropped to the deck as it flayed the rig on the way down.

This set the scene for the next 3 days , as we bounce slowly forward with little sail, in less wind and a nasty sea state.

For 36 hours while the helms tried to steady the boat , Justin , Dave , Moose and I spent most of the time up the rig as the 3rd reef lock system was unbolted and moved to the No. 1 Reef.

The No. 3 reef then replaced with pieces of the repaired and spares we had. Conditions were far from comfortable and Justin in particular spent hours aloft with Drill , EZ outs and Allen keys.

While aloft we found sheared bolts in the lower shroud chain plates. These, too, had to be drilled out and replaced , a luck find - which ignored could have led to rig failure. The opportunity is taken to rerun the Solent halyard, lost in the Spi drop last week , we put it in with a 2:1 purchase.

Finally on...
Day 37
We get going , an amazing effort by all the crew , the boat finally back in one piece for the first time in 2 weeks.

Day 38 / 39 Then in the middle of the night with Full Main up , we rip the mast track out at Full hoist , another commando effort and by morning we are back sailing but with the limit of 1 Reef , until the seastate inproves after the Horn.

The whole crew is exhausted and frustrated by these persistent technical failures.

This whole scenario has cost us 3 days , but then the wind fills in, and in an improving sea we at last start to make the final approach to the Horn.

There goes 4 days I would rather forget ; somehow I dont think I will.

Day 40
56S 65W
After a good day we pass close by Cap Horn. St. Patrick's day and Justin Slattery and I celebrate.

A fly-by of a small plane from Ushuaia is our first contact with the outside world , we see land for the first time in 39 days.

Flat calm , after weeks of movement, suprises us , we are into the South Atlantic, and heading North. The Falklands Islands 300 miles ahead .

Despite our recent bad luck , our 5 day lead having been reduced , we are however more than 2 days ahead of the Jules Verne record. At 39 Days 16hrs we have set a new record from Ushant - Cap Horn ; We will need every hour of that as we tackle the St Helena and Azores High Pressures of the South and North Atlantic.

Heading home....

Damian"

Day 39-1/2: Cape Horn in sight

Fossett and team expect to round Cape between 20:00 - 21:00 GMT tonight

Cheyenne 1200 miles ahead of record pace - with daunting final leg ahead

"We are now in the good winds to the Horn. ETA is 20z to 21z at 1 to 10 nm off the Lighthouse. We will not break any of the records between the capes, but we are the fastest ever from the start to Cape Horn on a RTW attempt. If we could just stop having breakages we would have a very good chance at this record. A beautiful day for sailing."

Nick Leggatt writes!

"39 1/2 days at sea and we are now approaching Cape Horn! We are not far off Tierra del Fuego but heavy rain is keeping the land hidden from view as we race along under double reefed main and solent. We have had to out in a gybe recently to make it around the Horn and will have to gybe again in an hour or so, onto a new course which will take us east of the Falklands. Having had fantastic sailing conditions for the first half of the voyage this week in the Pacific has been hard work and slow. Our course has been dictated a bit more by the fact that we have to get south around the Horn and so to a certain extent have had to sail in unfavourable weather conditions.

The winds we have had recently have been lighter than one would normally associate with the Southern Ocean but we still have the huge swell which has caused the boat to lurch around quite violently. The constant crashing off the waves eventually caused the mainsail to tear the first reef halyard lock off the mast. We dropped the main and then set it up so that we could sail with two reefs until we repaired the track. At first the plan was to use this configuration to get the lee of the Falklands where we would be able to effect a repair, but better weather enabled Justin Slattery, Mike Beasley, Damian Foxall and Dave Scully to go up the mast and make a repair. Unfortunately their being up the mast meant that we were forced to sail an even more conservative course and we did loose a bit more time on our record pace.

The next day, in similar conditions we managed to loose the full hoist halyard lock and so had to drop the sail again. Now, as we approach the Horn, it is blowing near gale force so there is no need for the full hoist halyard lock and it would be impossible to repair under the present conditions anyway. We now have a good weather forecast for the period between now and the weekend so we plan to make the most of it and will try to get north east of the Falklands as fast as possible. The forecast for the weekend calls for light winds again, so this may be a good time to send crew up the mast to fix the track again.

For now our lead over the record has been reduced from over 2000 NM to 1270 NM. Rounding the Horn gives a very good indication of our position relative to Orange as she would have been on a very similar course two years ago. To make it back to the finish in record time we have to cover the 8500 NM up the Atlantic in 24 days, an average of about 355 NM per day or about 14.76 knots.

Keep an eye on www.fossettchallenge.com for the latest developments. As I write the sun is breaking through the clouds so now would be a good time to get on deck and have a quick look for land."

End Day 39: Cheyenne Making progress again to Cape Horn

Further mainsail track damage early Tuesday to be repaired en-route

1272 miles ahead of Orange's 2002 RTW track as Cape rounding expected later today

    
Damian Foxall - Happy St Patrick's Day! - Justin Slattery
© Nick Leggatt 2004

Watch captain Brian Thompson writing early Tuesday on a slow day 38:

"Day 38 has just been completed with a rather painful 265 miles sailed, but it does however keep us 1643 nm ahead of Orange. (ed. note - this was reduced to around 1300 nm by end Day 39) In this portion of the record they were flying so they may be a lot closer by the time we arrive at the Horn.

However, it is swings and roundabouts and we had some great conditions in the Indian Ocean which allowed us to draw ahead. Now it is our turn to have some slow days. Day 38 was our slowest since Day 2 at Cape Finisterre and this was due to a low pressure catching us from behind and parking almost over us. It is now starting to drift south allowing the faintest of breezes from the north to return. As we get further from the low today this wind should fill in to over 10 knots and allow us to finally make some progress.

We used the opportunity of the light winds today to fix the solent halyard that was lost when the spinnaker fell into the water. Earlier today Damian was up the mast dropping in a new mouse line and using it to draw up the halyard. Then we had to work at the mast base to remove some twists in the halyard, where it was wrapped around other halyards. Finally, Justin spent another hour up the mast rigging the halyard as a 2:1 system to halve the load on itself and hopefully reduce chafe. We kept going at full speed (about 8 to 10 knots) most of the time so the operation did not cost us any miles. We were working for about 6 hours on this and on various other smaller jobs and got the boat into good shape, we will continue with the maintenance tomorrow as there are still a few more jobs to do. It's great to have the solent halyard back as it makes changes to the gennakers much faster and makes us less reliant on the sole gennaker halyard to hoist all our sails.

It seems like we have been 2 days from the Horn for a long time. We are 580 miles away (ed. - at start Day 39) and now as the wind is returning we are hopeful that we may have finally made it under the 2 day barrier. After the Horn it looks like we have a couple of good days sailing up past the Falklands and then we are looking at potentially light and variable conditions from there up the South American coast. After about 30S we should pick up the beginnings of the trade winds and be moving until the equator...

Brian"

Day 38-1/2: Wind Returns, But More Repair Challenges Ahead

Slow winds so far today, but pace now improved

Cheyenne has another mast track breakage to deal with

Lead over RTW record pace 1300 miles

"Now it is the mast track at the top that has ripped off. We are baffled that this has occurred in mild conditions - without any significant shock loading or sailing error. We are limited to a one reefed mainsail until the repair can be effected. We are running out of spare mast parts and are scavenging bolts from winch bases and other rigging locations. Right now we just want to get sailing. The repair will be attempted at the next slowdown beyond the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic. It is demoralizing that there is one breakage after another.

Meanwhile we have been stuck in the center of the Low with light winds and we reflect with envy on the 600 mile days Orange was able score on the way to the Horn. Our lead has shrunk from a maximum of 4 1/2 days to 3 and continues to shrink. The lost time on repairs and a poor weather pattern forecast for the South Atlantic means we are going to be hard pressed to maintain any lead at all by the time we reach the Equator."

David Scully - 2 day's diverse notes - on Monday's elation after the repairs and on Tuesday's 'darkness before the dawn' as more repairs lie ahead...

Monday 15 March - "We were sailing at full potential again!"

"Job done! After a mammoth repair effort which started and first light yesterday, we are fully functional again, with the mast track back in place and all reefs operational.

It was to be a good weather day for this part of the world. Although the heavy swell persisted, winds were less mostly under 20 knots, and the day was clear. Still, my heart was in my mouth as I followed Justin up the mast early yesterday. I do not dangle in the upper rigging with the same frequency or enjoyment that I did ten years ago, and the last time I had been to the top of this rig in a seaway was an experience I do not dwell on. Still, needs must when the devil drives, and after a few heart stopping moments on the way up, we were able to lash into the jumper struts and get to work. We had brought the battery drill, drill bits, "Easy outs" and vice grips, and, invoking a separate saint for every sheared bolt, succeeded in backing all 8 out of the rig before the drill bit broke. And that was the first step.

Back down the rig to the third reef location. where we removed the intact reinforced section of track, then back to the deck, where boatbuilder Mike Beasley was ready to receive the scrap and start piecing a new section of mast track together. That was step two.

We returned to the top of the mast with the third reef track section, and started the long job of bolting it into place.

Imagine, if you will, two bodies, tied to a pole that gyrates wildly through about an 8 foot radius as the boat beneath it wallows through the waves and troughs, trying to manipulate precision machined parts with fingers numbed by exposure to the wind and cold. We were shaking about up there like Tibetan prayer flags in the wind, like a couple of wind chimes, working with the bolts and the Duralac, and the allen keys and the tap set and the helicoils, and the screwdriver, and god help you if you dropped anything, because it was a long and risky descent to get another one. I was at the end of my endurance by the time the last bolt was screwed home, and i think that even Justin, tough as he is, was feeling it a bit. But step three was done!

Back to the deck, where Mike's improvised work shop in the port cockpit yielded a perfect replacement for the third reef track section. The final step was to secure this in place, and mercifully, Mike and Damian volunteered to take on the job. In an hour they had it in place, with every bolt matching it's hole spacing perfectly. Step four accomplished. The crew cheered, and put there backs to hauling the mainsail up to full hoist. We were sailing at full potential again!"

Tuesday 16 March - "This is a part of the world that rewards persistence..."

"As the saying goes, things always look darkest before they go totally black. When I climbed into my bunk at the end of my watch, we were sailing, albeit slowly. We had fixed the mast track problem, re-run the broken solent halyard, and were driving hard to escape the center of the low pressure that has held us captive for the past two days. Exhausted, but up to speed.

Three hours later, the total absence of noise woke me as effectively as the loudest alarm. I lay in the dark, wondering why I did not hear the water moving past the hull, or at least the slatting of a lifeless sail. Moments later, Steve came down to say that the masthead headboard track position has pulled off, just as the first reef one did two days ago. The storms are one thing, but it is the calms that are killing us.

At least now, the M.O. is established. The sail was dropped, broken section of track removed, and the sail re-hoisted to the first reef. Now we prepare to climb the mast and perform the same tortuous rescue operation we did two days ago.

Long faces, eyes downcast, faces that look suddenly tired. "What is next?", is the question in our minds. What other hurdles will we have to leap in the race to Cape Horn?

On the plus side, we are still ahead of the record, though not on record pace at the moment. We know how to solve the problem, and have the means and opportunity to do so. The drill bits are duller, we are robbing bolts from all over the boat, but the job can be done. We have taken our good days in stride, so we should be able to deal with our bad days with the same good humour. This is a part of the world that rewards persistence, so we are going to hoist the big genaker and go for every drop of speed we can muster to get back in steady breeze, and get around this blasted point of land."

End Day 38: Slow Going, Still Caught in the Low

265 nm past 24 hours

Still 1562 miles ahead of Orange 2002 record track

562 miles from Cape Horn

Watch captain Brian Thompson reports on Days 37 and 38:

"After working flat out from dusk till dawn we achieved the goal of making operational all the mast track inserts for the 4 reef positions. We can now use the main halyard lock on full main, 1st and 2nd reef, and we can use 3rd reef using the main halyard alone. That should not be a problem as the sail is so small and it is unlikely we will need 3rd reef again now.

It was a great feeling to raise the main up at sunset last night, and the full main looked enormous compared to the cropped version we had been looking at for the last 24 hours. The wind had dropped significantly during the day so we were soon sailing under full main and solent, heading east at 15 to 20 knots. The mast team had a very busy day; that was Justin and Dave working on the 1st reef track, and Damian and Mike subsequently working up the rig in tandem on the 3rd reef track. This morning Justin said his body felt like he had been through a very tough game of rugby yesterday where the opponents were a lot bigger!

As Damian and Mike were working up at the 3rd reef they noticed some bolt heads sheared on the lower shroud attachment. They made some replacements and with a call to Southern Spars, the mast manufacturers, it was clear it was not a serious problem.

During the night the wind dropped more as the low approached closer from the west. Now in the morning we are down to 10 knots of wind. It will be like this or lighter for the next 12 hours before the low moves away to the south and allows the breeze to return.

This calmer weather has allowed us to do a few other jobs. Damian is up the rig again at the solent halyard exit attempting to re-lead the halyard that slipped through the mast when the halyard broke a few days ago. At present we are fishing around at the base of the mast trying to locate the mouse line he sent down, it should be done soon and then we will be able to do faster changes between the gennaker and the solent. Currently we are using the same gennaker halyard for both sails.

Nick's cut has been redressed by Dave, it looks like it is healing up well. He was starting to look like a ferocious Harley rider with the beard and the helmet on his head!

Brian"

Today's picture shows Damian and Mark furling
the solent as we prepare to hoist another sail.
Gives quite a good impression of the size of the sails.
© Nick Leggatt

Day 37-1/2:

Repaired Cheyenne going East, avoiding the Low

177 nm past 12 hours

Now 1720 miles ahead of Orange 2002 record track as Cape Horn beckons

"The Low has enveloped us as it moved east. Windspeeds in the center of a Low diminish to light and variable.

The price we pay for making the mast repair yesterday is that we are now caught in the light air. But of course we are happy to pay it. Our already slow approach to Cape Horn is perhaps a day longer than if we did not have the mast problems.

In the course of repairs yesterday, a likely future problem was caught. Bolts securing the lower of 3 shrouds on each side had broken. With four hours work, but no slowdown, new bolts were installed. Another good catch before a failure."

Weekend reportage de Jac Vincent: une gross casse; un mega chantier pour reparer

"bonjour

WE difficile: nous avons eu une grosse casse suivi d'un mega chantier pour reparer.

Avarie: section renforcee (avec ancrage du hook) du rail du mat au niveau du charriot de tetiere de GV a 1 ris (a 40 m de hauteur) arrache !

Traduction: on rentre a la maison !

Un equipier vient me reveiller pour mon quart. Au lieu du traditionel et amicale "debout,le petit dej est pret" le message etait "habille toi ya de la bricole a faire sur le pont!". Sur le pont la grand voile avec sa tetiere en liberte et les mouvement secs du bateau menace de tout arracher et elle est vite affallee. Vision d'horreur.

En fait dans un premier temps on a bricole pendant 3h de facon a pouvoir renvoyer la Gv au 2eme ris. Pendant 24h , en attendant que la mer se calme, notre vitesse a souffert mais tout le monde a bien dormi. Solent et 2 ris dans la Gv avec 20 noeuds de vent au portant ca fait un peu lendemain de cuite. Mais dimanche matin branle bas de combat.La mer s'est calmee, le soleil nous offre un arc en ciel geant sur 360 degre qui passe quasiment sous le bateau... (non, ya pas d'alcool a bord !) Seance photo puis on prepare tout les outils , Mike n'a pas lesine: meuleuse , perceuse, scie, tarauds...la rallonge electrique qui traverse le filet...

Justin monte au mat pour une premiere inspection . Il redescend avec de pas trop mauvaises nouvelles. Puis il remonte suivi de Dave , avec perceuse et marteau en bandouliere, operation "Rambo". Il faudra toute la journee et plusieurs equipes de 2 braves pour venir a bout du probleme. D'en bas on ne les entendait pas jurer mais a les voir secoues dans tout les sens on pouvait imaginer le vocabulaire utilise. Le soir dans un soulagement general et apres 20 minutes de moulin cafe la Gv etait renvoyee. Decidement rien n'arrete ce camion !

Le Cap Horn est a 800 miles, notre avance sur le record risque de maigrir mais pas notre moral. Cote meteo nous sommes a l'avant d'une depression qui bute sur le Chili et nous avons du vent du nord plutot faible autour de 11 noeuds. C'est pas terrible mais cela devrait nous emener jusqu'au Cap Horn.

Ciao

Cheyenne le 15 mars a 10h par 53 S et 88W

Jacques"

One From The Vaults - Round Ireland Record 1993

Lakota's crew and the Cork Dry Gin Round Ireland Record Trophy they were presented with at the NYC - Nov 1993.
L to R: Con Murphy, Cathy Mac Aleavey, Steve Fossett, David Scully and Brian Thompson

FIXED

End day 37: Cheyenne Crew Effect Mast Track Repair Sunday - at Sea

Full day operation appears to be successful

346 nm day under 'running repairs'

Fossett and team remain 1830 miles ahead of Orange 2002

"I can't believe these guys fixed the mast. With a "Do it now" attitude, the Cheyenne crew mobilized on Sunday morning to make the necessary repairs. As reported earlier, a section of mainsail track on the mast ripped off early Saturday morning. The initial repair plan was to anchor in a protected bay in the Falkland Islands to attempt the repairs. The suspense of not knowing if it was repairable was too great - and the crew attacked the problem at sea 3 days from Cape Horn.

Justin Slattery and Dave Scully were up the mast for over 6 hours during the day. The first challenge was to remove the 13 screws which had sheared off. This required drilling and use of Easy Out tools. Then a similar section was removed from the the Third Reef location and fitted to the more important First Reef point. All this while suspended from the Man Halyard of the swinging mast. Meanwhile Mike Beasley fabricated replacement Third Reef track out of damaged and miscellaneous spares. Mike and Damian Foxall went up the mast to install the replacement.

Without a successful fix, Cheyenne was limited to raising the mainsail only to the Second Reef, a restriction which would have made it impossible to sail fast enough to break the record of Orange. Sure, we lost a lot of time on this whole episode, but now we are again in the hunt for the record.
- Steve"

Adrienne and Justin in the galley
© Nick Leggatt 2004

Fraser Brown on repairs at 53 South

"A huge effort at 53 South:

My god the last 24 hours have just been insane. We had some serious head seas - the boat was like a cork - the on watch had a lot on with decision making as to just what was the best thing to do. If you reduce to 2 reef the boat speed is a lot lower but the angle on the waves is slightly worse. However staying at 1 reef is slightly faster - a better angle on the waves - but a little too fast for conditions. We stayed at 1 reef and eventually something had to give - and what a thing to go but in hindsight it kinda makes sense. The headboard car completely sheered the reinforced section of track off the mast at the 1 reef position which sheered about 12 M10 bolts, then the first batten car ripped off the track aswell under the extra load so we were pretty quick to get the sail down before we could have potentially unzipped it from the rig.

The repair has been a mammoth mission, but somehow the weather gods prevailed (and at 53 South and so close to the Horn) we have been up the mast all day mostly 2 at a time repairing the damage. It was a momentous occasion to get full main back up again, once again we have pulled it off to stay in the hunt.

However here are the hard facts of a breakage like this: we lost 200NM on Orange's record and have potentially gone from a 5 day lead at the Horn to a 3 day lead, however it could be a lot worse - at least we had some miles to play with.

Well onwards and upwards. We are now sailing under full main and solent and back up to 20 to 22 knots and currently heading directly at the Horn, 850NM away, we have really gone the hard way around getting to this part of the world so we had better see it after all of this!!

Fraser Brown
Cheyenne"

Day 36-1/2

Cheyenne 1000 miles from Cape Horn

Still 2000 miles ahead of Orange 2002

Heading SE towards Cape

Cheyenne watch captain David Scully described yesterday's incident with the mast track - and the possibilities for its repair:

"March 13th: Once again, the worst has happened. Sailing in violent seas this morning, the headboard car, which carries the weight of the mainsail, and locks it into position on the mast, was torn from the mast track along with the reinforced section of track upon which it was riding. A the moment we are proceeding toward Cape Horn under double reefed main and headsail, all chance of a record time to the Horn, gone.

This is a devastating breakdown, but perhaps not unrecoverable. The headboard car is largely undamaged. The mast track is, of course, destroyed at the first reef position. It may be possible to remove section of track from the third reef position, and use it to replace the damaged area at the first reef position. We will then have to pirate some track sections from other places on the boat to replace the reinforced area we are stealing. This will give us back our potential to raise the mainsail to full hoist, and use the first reef position, at the expense of using the third reef. Hopefully the trip up the Atlantic can be accomplished in moderate weather.

This is not a straightforward repair at sea. We will have to remove a dozen sheared bolts using our battery drill and bolt removal tools. Then the third reef insert will have to be removed, and bolted on to the first reef position. Finally, several odd bits fo track will have to be spliced into the hole this leaves. And all this must be done hanging from a halyard, 30 meters above the deck, in a seaway.

We have enough sail up to make it around the Horn. As soon as we pass this milestone, we will be looking for a calm spot to make the repair. Naturally, the crew is devastated, but not despairing. To be sailing a crippled boat is a most frustrating experience. To be losing time on Orange is worse. But there is still the hope that this can be repaired and that we can complete our mission, and while hope persists, we must remain confident."

Watch captain Brian Thompson yesterday was in the midst of describing the stresses which the boat is under - when the mast track incident interrupted him. Here is that full report:

Saturday: "Well it has been another busy night for us on Cheyenne, we started off with 1 reef and the solent and now after 10 hours we are again on this same combination. In the intervening period we did every down shift possible to 3 reefs and the storm jib and then every up shift back. What caused this was the approach of a cold front that brought 40 knots and a northerly wind. After the front, around dawn, the wind lightened to 25 knots and swung into the west.

As we are becoming accustomed here in the Southern Ocean any kind of front leaves us with a very bad seaway. This is the 4th front we have been through and on the others we have been able to gybe away to a better angle to the waves. However this time we have got to keep plugging away to the NE to set up for the strong NE winds that will be blowing for the last 700 miles to the Horn. By getting slightly more north now we will set up for a better angle to the Horn. We would rather not be beating around there - we are not as tough as the Challenge Yachts, the ones that race around east to west..

So it's a boat handling issue now, and our main concern would be to not break any battens or damage the rig. Our boat speed is under control, so we are not too concerned with the structure at present.

Whenever conditions are like this and it is stressful for the boat, I certainly feel concerned as well. We all get attuned to the boat; we know that these boats are far from bullet proof. They are fantastic in moderate conditions but in these crossed waves the boat gets much more of a hammering than a monohull that can roll with the individual waves. On a wide multihull like this both hulls are in different waves, are moving up and down at different rates and giving a very jerky motion that is particularly hard on the rigging and sails. The wave are not big or dangerous in themselves, they are just at a bad angle for going downwind.

So we are marching on, looks like the wind will moderate a little and then shift back to the NW which will make our angle much better on the waves, so only another 12 hours or so of these conditions.

The good news is that we have Nick back on our watch now, and sporting one of our Gath surfing helmets, with a visor, that serves to keep the spray off his cut cheek. He drove for an hour in the windy conditions last night and is back on top form.

Wildlife is sparser now as we are far from any land. We are still seeing several species of Albatross every day, but Nick has not seen any new types, so far he has spotted a third of the 13 species. Also we are never far from storm petrels that seem to use us as the control tower for their flying. Yesterday we went flying past a seal that was all alone about 1700 miles from land, hope it evades the killer whales and gets back home..

We passed a tanker yesterday that appeared to be heading for Antarctica.

STOP PRESS

The mainsail track at the first reef position has just pulled out as I was writing this. The main is now on the deck and we are putting the headboard back on the mast and replacing a broken batten car. We will be able to use the main to second reef and third reef till we can find calm conditions to go up the mast and work on the track. This won't happen till after the Horn and perhaps the Falklands. Let's hope the wind keeps blowing....
Brian"

PS: Birding totals for Nick in the Southern Ocean:

5 species of albatross
4 species of petrel
3 species of shearwater
1 penguin
3 species of storm petrel
1 skua

End Day 36 - Broken Track

Cheyenne Mast Track Damaged Saturday at First Reef Point

RTW continues but repairs will be needed after Cape Horn

Cheyenne logs 438 miles Saturday despite repairs

2000+ mile lead on Orange RTW pace threatened by damage

"While sailing in a sloppy sea, the head of mainsail ripped off the track at the first reef point on the mast. This section of mast track was secured with 13 heavy screws which were sheared.

With a loss of 3 hours, we got the mainsail hoisted to the second reef point and we have resumed sailing. The repair requires drilling and using an Easy Out to remove the broken screws. Then we would fit replacement track. Calm water is required to work 120 feet up the mast. A preliminary idea is to stop in the wind protection of the Falkland Islands and do this work which is estimated to take up to 24 hours. Rules of the Round the World Record prohibit outside assistance, so we would not go into Port.

Our record chances are jeopardized. Our 4 -1/2 day lead on Orange will shrink by a day before we can get around Cape Horn and into protected conditions. Then if we lose one day on the repair we are still in the game. If we can't make the repair, the reduced area of mainsail we can hoist would be insufficient to keep up with the record pace to the finish. This is yet another repair challenge for the resourceful Cheyenne crew.
- Steve"

Todays picture shows Steve putting the bearings back
into the headboard car after the halyard
lock was torn from the mast earlier today.
© Nick Leggatt 2004

SPECIAL REPORT

Cheyenne Mast Track Pulls Out at First Reef Point

RTW attempt continues, but repair will be required shortly after Cape Horn

Unable to maintain record speed without difficult repair

Repair at sea sheltered by Falklands contemplated

"While sailing in a sloppy sea, the head of mainsail ripped off the track at the first reef point on the mast. This section of mast track was secured with 13 heavy bolts which were sheared. With a loss of 3 hours, we got the mainsail hoisted to the second reef point and we have resumed sailing. The repair requires drilling and using an Easy Out to remove the broken bolts. Then we would fit replacement track. Calm water is required to work 120 feet up the mast. A preliminary idea is to stop in the wind protection of the Falkland Islands and do this work which is estimated to take up to 24 hours. Rules of the Round the World Record prohibit outside assistance, so we would not go into Port. Our record chances are jeopardized. Our 4 -1/2 day lead on Orange will shrink by a day before we can get around Cape Horn and into protected conditions. Then if we lose one day on the repair we are still in the game. If we can't make the repair, the reduced area of mainsail we can hoist would be insufficient to keep up with the record pace to the finish. This is yet another repair challenge for the resourceful Cheyenne crew.
- Steve"

"The mainsail track at the first reef position has just pulled out as I was writing this. The main is now on the deck and we are putting the headboard back on the mast and replacing a broken batten car. We will be able to use the main to second reef and third reef till we can find calm conditions to go up the mast and work on the track. This won't happen till after the Horn and perhaps the Falklands. Let's hope the wind keeps blowing.... Brian"

Day 35-1/2

Surfing the Southern Ocean

2050 miles ahead of Orange 2002

12 March 2004 - Cooking Fuel Shortage?

After a eventful week that included broken gear and injured crew, a few domestic notes from Cheyenne:

Last night Steve Fossett advised that the Southern Ocean run has consumed more cooking fuel than expected.

Like any good household, some domestic conservation measures have now been put into effect:

"The second of 3 cooking fuel bottles reached empty last night. This can be a real problem - when all of our meals are based on cooking dehydrated food.

Everything on Cheyenne is stocked based on a successful pace. Our cooking fuel supply was calculated to be 66 days. The first bottle fell only a little short at 20 days, but now the second bottle only lasted 15 days. Perhaps we having been living it up in the Southern Ocean with hot chocolate at night and coffee at breakfast.

At this rate we would run out before reaching the Equator. Conservation measures now go into effect: Muesli instead of hot porridge for breakfast, cold drinks where possible, and experiments with hydrating rice and mashed potatoes with lukewarm water. We may be eating a lot of health bars.

As for the possibility of this team retiring from the record attempt due to inability to cook: No Way.
- Steve Fossett"

Today I have a picture which could be of anybody but which is, in fact,
of Fraser at the helm as we surf down quite a big wave.
© Nick Leggatt 2004

Kiwi Fraser Brown's impressions of Storm Kites and the Southern Ocean: 'Don't mess with me - or I'll make you pay'

"Well there is something about this place down here in the south - it really gives you the 'don't mess with me - or I'll make you pay' feeling. When you look over your shoulder at the horizon you see grey and rain then the breeze will increase by 5 knots or maybe 10 knots (if you're lucky) without too much warning. You change your angle on the swell, ride it out and look for next relief in pressure - or have to change down another gear.

The storm kite had been in action for a couple of days and all was going well, we had some great surfing conditions and excellent breeze the storm kite was doing a great job. However it eventually ended in the strop at the top of the sail chafing on the mast fitting and next thing you know the kite is laid out down to leeward on the trampline and in the water flogging away but still attached at the end of the bowsprit. This rudely interrupted my lunch, as everyone available was called on deck to claw the kite back on board. We managed to retrieve it and keep it one piece but I will say that now it is nicely tucked away down below somewhere, it may come back out at the dock...

Once we had this big flogging sail in control but all over the boat with everyone holding it down in different area's and formulating a plan for the next move you get a chance to take a breath and look around. You realise that you're in those same grey raining conditions surfing down the large ocean swell but all of sudden things have changed completely to being fully in control... to looking around at the puffing faces of everyone who have just pulled in a heavy damp piece of cloth from the ocean.

Once again this Southern Ocean hammers home to you the reality of being this far south - where only a 1 knot increase in pressure is felt by the person driving. We are close to the Horn... not far to go now, I'm sure everyone is looking forward to getting around...

Fraser Brown"