NOR Challenge er godt i gang med kvalifiseringen til Transat Jacques Vabre

Nå er NOR Challenge, Rune og Simen, på veg fra Oslo til Gosport, utenfor Southampton. 750 nm tilbakelegges uten stopp. Seilasen er tre ting; trening, kvalifiseringsseilas til Transat Jaques Vabre og frakt av båten til start i Rolex Fastnet Race. Seilasen har vært planlagt lenge og er som nevnt et ledd i treningen til den største utfordringen for laget.

Fra start i Oslo til et stykke etter Kristiansand har det vært dårlig vind. Men så tok det seg opp og vi har nå seilt i snitt i 20 knop NV vind siden i dag tidlig og har logget i snitt 12 knop BSP, og en topphastighet på nærmere 20 knop.

Posisjonen er nå 55,58.80N , 6,52.84E, dvs langt utenfor Danmarks vestkyst.

Alt av utstyr virker veldig bra og vi er spesielt storfornøyde med vår nye «Fatboy», en type «saccosekk» som er utrolig behagelig å hvile/ sove på. Vi har aldri hvilt bedre under seilas.

Et dikt til vår kjære venn Per Ferskaug:

Vi seiler nå langs Danmarks kyst,
takket være Per.
Du stiller alltid opp til dyst,
som gjør at vi kan seile mer.

Simen og Rune er nede og koser seg,
mens vannet spruter uavbrutt.
Vi kan ikke la være å tenke varmt om deg.
selv om vi vet at du sitter der mutt.

Vi vet du ville seilt med oss,
men helsa har sagt stopp.
Begynn å trene som en foss,
for da blir alt bare topp.

Mer informasjon etterhvert. Når vi er under normal dekning igjen vil vi legge ut filmer og annet.

Gi gass!

Reklame

Start kvalifisering til TJV

Start fra Dronningen i Oslo
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Oppdatert informasjon om Transat Jaques Vabre

Starten på Transat Jaques Vabre nærmer seg med stormskritt. 30. oktober er kun om 3 måneder og Teamet er i full gang med forberedelser. Det er mye som skal forberedes til en slik seilas. Vi vil holde leserne løpende oppdatert om dette fremover.

På Transat Jaques Vabre’s engelske sider ligger det nå oppdatert informasjon og foreløpig påmeldte team.

The 20/07/2011

For the 10th Transat Jacques Vabre, a fleet of more than 30 boats expected

Raced every two years by duos – crews of two – across the Atlantic retracing a route traditionally taken by the coffee trade, the formula for the Transat Jacques Vabre has proven a durable and popular ever since the first edition of this renowned ocean race in 1993. With the continued support of its original partners, Kraft Foods and the City of Le Havre this Transat Jacques Vabre celebrates its 10th edition. On October 30th 2011 more than 30 duos will set off from Le Havre aboard both multihulls and monohulls across the Atlantic ocean bound again for Costa Rica.

By July 11th 20 teams have already registered entries but it is known that there are more teams making ready to enter. This year sees the return of the Class 40 fleet – absent in 2009 – which will swell the race’s monohull fleet along with the 12 60 foot IMOCA Open 60’s which are already registered.

Strength in depth in the IMOCA

In the larger IMOCA monohulls 14 teams are expected to compete on this classic passage, a cross section of the top names and up and coming stars of this highly competitive class, starting with the defending champion Marc Guillemot (Safran) who this time will race with Yann Eliès. Within this fleet there will be three new IMOCA Open 60’s making their big race debut, the new Cheminées Poujoulat (Bernard Stamm/ Jean-François Cuzon) which was launched only this Spring in La Ciotat, the new Macif (François Gabart / Sébastien Col) who are scheduled to launch their new boat on August 9th and the new Spanish IMOCA Open 60 of Javier ‘Bubi’ Sanso. As well as new boats there will be an exciting new face in the fleet, that of French World Cup winning downhill skier turned motor racer Luc Alphand. The winner of the 2006 Paris-Dakar Rally who has retired from motor racing sets sail on his first Transatlantic Race alongside Marc Thiercelin aboard DCNS. Alex Thomson will return to the Transat Jacques Vabre on Hugo Boss ready to put behind him the disappointment of missing out on last winter’s Barcelona World Race, while Mike Golding in the colours of his new Spanish sponsor Gamesa races in his seventh consecutive Transat Jacques Vabre.

The Class 40’s return

Since 2007 the Transat Jacques Vabre has been open to the forty foot Class 40 monohulls. This dynamic class sees an international mix of professional and amateur sailors. In this class we should see a new reference time for a course which will be new to them, fifteen teams should compete. The duo Bestaven/Bouvet (Aquarelle.com) are presently the leaders of the Les Sables-Horta-Les Sables race to the Azores and back will start among the favourites, along with the entry of Stéphane Le Diraison (Bureau Veritas) and the Mediterranean pair Thierry Bouchard and Gilles Berenger (Comiris Pole Santé Elior).

In total the fleet should number more than 30 boats across the three classes, IMOCA, Class 40 and Multi 50, to assemble in Le Havre from October 22, the historic birth place and host city of the race. The entry rises from the last, 2009, edition when 20 boats competed.

The defending champions 2009

Imoca:Safran, Marc Guillemot – Charles Caudrelier Benac Finished on 24/11/2009 in 15 days, 19 hours, 22 minutes and 10 secondsat 12.46 knots average

Multi 50:Winner: Crepes Whaou! Franck Yves Escoffier – Erwan Leroux Finished on 24/11/2009 in 15 days, 15 hours, 31 minutes and 50 secondsat 13.41 knots average

Upcoming events 2011:

– September 22, 2011 at 11 am: Press conference attended by skippers in Paris

– Saturday, October 22: Official opening of the village in Le Havre

– Sunday, October 30th at 13h02: start of the 10th Transat Jacques Vabre

– From November 13: first arrivals in Puerto Limon

The organization

The Transat Jacques Vabre transatlantic race for duos takes place every two years and is driven by the Transat Jacques Vabre Association which brings together representatives of Kraft Foods and the City of Le Havre, historical partners of the event. This association was created in April 2011 aims to define the overall strategy, coordinate, manage and promote the event to ensure its sustainability and the principle of sustainable development. Pen Duick, operational partner of the association, is in charge of organizing the race.

 

The spirit: «Take the sea, the land act»

Alongside the sporting challenge and human sporting endeavour the Transat Jacques Vabre is also an eco-friendly event that has taken effective measures since 2007 to reduce and offset its carbon footprint. The reduction of CO2 emissions was a major objective for all associated with the race in following a comprehensive sustainable development programme which was established by the organization. Definite actions have been carried out on transport, energy, water, waste management (384 kg of coffee have been recycled!), The use of recycled or recyclable materials, CO2 emissions have also been offset (2200 tonnes of offset and a drop of 65% in emissions between 2009 vs 2007) through reforestation operations in tropical forests. Thus, the Transat Jacques Vabre has obtained sponsorship from the Ministry of Ecology, Energy, Sustainable Development and the Sea for 2011, this action in favor of environmental progress continues on the same lines and with the same level of passion and belief.

Registered Teams :click here

Nedtelling til Rolex Fastnet Race for NOR Challenge

Den 14.august starter Rolex Fastnet Race, en regatta der deltakerne seiler ca. 608 nautiske mil fra Cowes i England via Fastnet Rock i Irland og tilbake til Plymouth Havn. Rolex Fastnet Race er Europas tøffeste havseilas som er åpen for de fleste båttyper.

I klassen som SOLO stiller i er det hele 31 påmeldte Class 40 båter. Siden denne regattaen ikke tillater kun to seilere ombord har Rune og Simen med seg mannskapet Kjell Inge Heiberg, Bruce McKay, Arild Schei, Trym Osborg og Halvor Borse. Dette blir et veldig sterkt team som vil utfylle hverandre.

Onsdag 27. juli allerede seiler Rune og Simen ut fra Oslo med mål Gosport ved Southampton. Seilasen er på ca 750 nm og skal seiles i ett. Dette teller som kvalifisering til Transat Jacques Vabre, som starter 30. oktober. Ved ankomst Gosport skal de delta på en to dagers trening kun for Class40 båter, ledet av den annerkjente seileren Brian Thompson. Så reiser de hjem for så å returnere til Gosport den 11. August sammen med resten av Fastnet laget.

Mer informasjon kommer etterhvert.

The Daily Sail skriver følgende om Rolex Fastnet Race:

Record sized fleet for this year’s epic 600 miler

Thursday July 14th 2011, Author: Giles Pearman, Location: United Kingdom

The waiting is nearly over: the 44th running of the Rolex Fastnet Race, one of the world’s most historic offshore races, is exactly a month away. With a staggering 350 boats entered, 1979’s record-breaking tally of 303 participating yachts looks certain to be surpassed. While the sheer size of the fleet is impressive as its quality and diversity is more so.

Due to the Rolex Fastnet’s unique allure, event’s organisers at the RORC never have any difficulty ensuring that there is a large and impressive fleet in attendance. This year in particular entries came in thick and fast and the entry list was closed within ten days of opening in January. However, the requests kept arriving. After being inundated with additional enquiries from the Volvo Open 70s, the IMOCA 60s, Class 40s and Multihulls to join the 608-nautical mile marathon, the RORC adjusted the entry limit to allow these ‘professional’ classes to be counted above the initial cut-off mark.

The Rolex Fastnet Race commences from Cowes on Sunday 14 August (the first signal sounds at 10:50 BST). While crews with the ambition of being the fastest to the finish will hope to spend only one or two nights at sea, spare a thought for those at the back of the pack, for whom a near week in often punishing conditions may be the order of the day.

Short of a catastrophic breakdown, the fastest boat on the water at the 2011 Rolex Fastnet Race will be the 40m trimaran, Banque Populaire. In the battle for monohull line honours, the most anticipated clash is expected to be the two 100ft supermaxis: Mike Slade’s ICAP Leopard (GBR), first elapsed-time finisher in the past two Rolex Fastnet Races, and George David’s potentially faster Rambler 100 (USA). The two crews know each other extremely well, given their series of tussles in recent months.

“Having won the Rolex Fastnet Race twice, the big play is to win three in a row, which would be quite exceptional,” explains Slade, whose yacht also holds the monohull course record of 1 day, 20 hours and 18 minutes [set in 2007]. “During the RORC Caribbean 600, Rambler 100 proved to be the faster boat in her ideal conditions. However, Rambler 100 may also need to protect herself in bad weather, more than ICAP Leopard. We feel we have a good chance in light and heavy airs, it is the bit in between that we might have a problem! I am really looking forward to the Fastnet, it should be a very exciting race but above all else, I don’t want to lose our record to Rambler 100, that would be heartbreaking and we will vigorously defend it.”

Rambler 100 is as keen to renew hostilities. “We’re anticipating sailing in Cowes Week from 9-11 August and hope ICAP Leopard and others will be competing as well,” explains George David. “We’ve had three races together already – the Caribbean 600, the Annapolis to Newport and now the Transatlantic Race. Rambler 100 took line honours and corrected ahead of ICAP Leopard in all three.”

David is fervent about the upcoming Rolex Fastnet Race and describes his own personal highlights of the parcours: “Beating out through The Needles in a huge fleet, the beauty of the south coast of England, the approach to the [Fastnet] Rock, and the wind and weather conditions all over the place.”

While these two ocean greyhounds are clear monohull line honours favourites, they may not have it all their own way. There is the significant presence of six Volvo Open 70s, including two of the latest breed: Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing (UAE) and Groupama IV (FRA). Then there is the Mini Maxi class including defending Rolex Fastnet handicap winner – the 72ft Rán 2, owned by Niklas Zennström, in addition to Andres Soriano’s Mills 68 Alegre, a fantastic campaigner in the Mediterranean in recent seasons. Throwing in the American challengers, the STP65 Vanquish, and the Reichel-Pugh 66 Zaraffa, both of whom, like ICAP Leopard and Rambler 100 competed in the Transatlantic Race, it promises to be a tight contest at the top of the fleet.

Of the record breaking 350 yachts competing at this year’s Rolex Fastnet Race, approximately a third are non-British crews. A scan of the 2011 entry list highlights the global pull of the event, with yachts competing from the following countries: Austria, Belgium, China, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Russia, Sweden, Switzerland, the UAE and the USA.

Hong Kong’s Karl Kwok, owner of the Farr 80 Beau Geste, will be taking part in the event for the third time. “I am definitely here for the challenge as this is one of the most interesting and competitive offshore races in the world,” he explains. “My first time here was in 1995, followed by my second appearance in the last edition [in 2009]. We did well on that occasion, but it could be better still!” Kwok adores offshore racing: “For me the top three blue water offshore classics are the Fastnet, Sydney to Hobart and Newport to Bermuda – in that order. And Rolex has the top two!” Beau Geste will be another yacht snapping at the heels of the 100-footers and also arrive in Cowes fresh from competing in the Transatlantic Race.

One overseas crew in particular has reason to treasure its association with the Rolex Fastnet. Six years ago, Frenchman Jean Yves Chateau’s Nicholson 33 Iromiguy won the competition on corrected time, the first time in three decades that the overall prize had been won by a yacht under 40ft. For the Saint Malo-based skipper, the victory was both a surprise and a fulfilment of an ambition: “To win the Rolex Fastnet Race was like a childhood dream, it is like an ‘Everest’ in my life and in the life of each member of my crew: absolutely fantastic, unbelievable, gorgeous, not to mention the incredible fact of having beaten all the big guys. It was also very important for me to be the third French sailor to win this race and to have my name engraved on this Cup close to Eric Tabarly [the legendary French skipper who won the race in 1967]!”

Regarding the ‘draw’ of the Rolex Fastnet, Chateau continues: “It is a mythical race. This year will be our seventh time and we are always very pleased and enthusiastic to participate with the crazy dream of winning it one more time.” Amongst the sizeable French contingent is the intriguing story of the IMOCA 60 DCNS 100 (FRA), sailed by skipper Marc Thiercelin and his famous apprentice, former downhill skier and endurance motorsport driver, Luc Alphand. DCNS 100 is one of seven IMOCA 60s, including Cheminées Poujoulat (SUI) launched in May this year.

John Towers is helming the J/122 Oojah (GBR) with a US-based crew joining British boat owner Peter Tanner, their navigator for the race. The English Channel is some distance from their usual racing haven of the east coast of the United States. “As a group of Americans, we consider the Rolex Fastnet Race to be a once in a lifetime adventure that is a natural compliment to our passion for distance racing,” explains Towers, “the Fastnet is a big deal for us and an adventure that we have been planning for the last two years.”

Tanner continues: “Our goal will be the same as any other race we enter. Priority one is a safe passage. Priority two is that the experience is very positive for all members of the crew. Our third priority is to be competitive.”

The three TP52s competing at the Rolex Fastnet Race will resume their engagement having been near inseparable at the recent Giraglia Rolex Cup. On that occasion, Franck Noël’s Near Miss (SUI) finished the 243-nautical mile race less than two minutes ahead of Johnny Vincent’s Pace (GBR). Bryon Ehrhart’s Lucky (USA) was only a further hour behind. On corrected time, only seven places separated the three crews, with Pace coming out on top. Over a considerably longer distance, this ‘race within a race’ will be one to follow come August.

The crew of the Contessa 32 Drumbeat (GBR) will likely have one opportunity to admire ICAP Leopard and Rambler 100 – momentarily leaving Cowes. For co-skippers and brothers-in-law, Mark Himsworth and Pierre Walrafen, the race ahead will be one of endurance and, at times, solitude: “It feels amazing to be one of the smallest and slowest boats competing, tacking or gybing down the Solent against much larger and faster machines after the start. All the while competing on handicap directly against them,” explains Himsworth, who will be taking part in the Rolex Fastnet for a third time.

The reality soon becomes quite different, as Himsworth reveals: “After 24 hours, most of the competition is long gone. Thereafter it’s occasionally difficult to keep your mind away from the thought of the faster boats turning towards (or arriving at) Plymouth while ours plugs steadily westwards round Land’s End. It’s a pretty solitary undertaking when you’re on watch and your co-skipper’s sleeping and none of your competitors are visible, but that’s all part of the attraction, and there’s still plenty going on in Plymouth when we arrive!”

Trophy hunt

The main trophy for overall victory in the Rolex Fastnet is the Fastnet Challenge Cup. In addition, there are more than 30 additional trophies that will be awarded at the prize giving on Friday, 19 August at the historic Royal Citadel, home of the 29 Commando Regiment Royal Artillery, overlooking Plymouth Sound and Sutton Harbour, where the majority of the fleet will berth.