Christian Radich (Norway) is holding on to her lead overall on corrected time, but has been overtaken on the water by a number of the smaller vessels favoured by the southerly winds. Behind her overall is now the Class B Jolie Brise (UK), clearly intent on taking a second title, with Statsraad Lehmkuhl (Norway) in third place.
Behind Christian Radich and Statsraad Lehmkuhl in Class A on corrected time is the Brazilian Cisne Branco. Behind Jolie Brise in Class B on corrected time is Moosk (UK) with Morning Star of Revelation (UK) in third. Class C is now being led by Akela (Russia) with Black Diamond of Durham (UK) in second and Gaudeamus (Poland) in third. St Barbara V (UK) remains in the lead in Class D with Rona II (UK) still in second but the third place now taken by Thyra (Denmark), in her own battle with fellow Danish Naval vessel Svanen.
Photo: Moosk (UK).
On the water Akela is now in the lead with just 10 miles to go to cross the finish line which she will do within the next few hours. Esprit (Germany) and Rona II are also doing well and expected to cross the finish line tonight. The closest Class A vessel to the finish line is Mir (Russia) with just over 35 miles to go.
The southerly winds have helped the yachts to make better progress than the square rigged ships and this is forecast to continue with south easterly winds of 11-21 knots, increasing to 27 knots at times. The further outlook is for the wind to come round to south south west, which will should help increase the average speed of the flee
August 16, 2008 | admin
Christian Radich (Norway) is holding onto her lead overall on corrected time although Statsraad Lehmkuhl (Norway) is making a strong come back attack and closing the gap between them. In third place overall and in Class A is the Brazilian Cisne Branco which has been keeping pace with the leaders since the beginning of the race on Tuesday.
In Class B Trinovante (UK) is still in the lead and proving hard to beat. Moosk (UK) is now up in second place and chasing hard with Jens Krogh (Denmark) doing well in third. The Class C battle continues with Akela (Russia) now leading with Black Diamond of Durham (UK) in second and Gaudeamus (Poland) back in third although any of these could take the lead at any time. Class D is also a battle with Assarain II (the Captains’ Daughters)(UK) now in the lead and a real threat to the others. St Barbara V (UK) is in second and Rona II (UK) back in third.
Photo: Assarain II
On the water Mir (Russia) continues to dominate although Christian Radich is now almost level and her captain is almost certainly keen to take the lead. Some of the smaller yachts are making good headway in the variable winds.
The forecast is for the winds to become lighter within the next 48 hours and then change to south south west 15-21 knots in the more southerly area where the leaders are now, while the back markers will continue to experience south easterly 11-16 knots of wind.
August 15, 2008 | admin
The competition is beginning to heat up as the vessels pass the first waypoint and head south. The wind has also veered to a more southerly direction which is slowing the square rigged ships and meaning more tactics will come into play. Christian Radich (Norway) has now taken up the lead overall on corrected time as well as in Class A. Behind her is Alexander von Humboldt (Germany) with Statsraad Lehmkuhl (Norway) now in third.
The competition for Class B is also hotting up with Trinovante (UK) going well and now in the lead on corrected time. Moosk (UK) is also on the move and up into second place with Jens Krogh (Denmark) in third.
Photo: Cisne Branco (Brazil)
The battle for Class C continues with Black Diamond of Durham (UK) now in the lead with Gaudeamus (Poland) in second and Akela (Russia) third. Class D is also going to be another UK battle with Rona II (UK) taking up the lead with Assarain II (the Captains’ Daughters)(UK) in second and St Barbara V (UK) in third. All these positions are sure to keep changing as the race progresses.
On the water Mir (Russia) continues to lead with Cisne Branco (Brazil) keeping pace and Christian Radich, Cuauhtemoc (Mexico) and Statsraad Lehmkuhl all close behind.
Because of the change in direction and speed of the wind, the estimated times of arrival listed for each of the vessels is likely to be extended as the race progresses.
August 14, 2008 | admin
The Class A ship Statsraad Lehmkuhl (Norway) remains in the lead overall on corrected time with Christian Radich (Norway) close behind in second and Cisne Branco (Brazil) in third. These three look set to battle it out between them for the honour of winning the race and their class.
Tecla (Netherlands) remains in the lead of Class B with Trinovante (UK) in second and now Far Barcelona (Spain) in third. Class C remains unchanged with Guadeamus (Poland) in the lead, Akela (Russia) in second and John Laing (UK) in third. The battle for Class D continues with St Barbara V and Rona II (UK) still in second and now Svanen (Denmark) back in third place, pushing rival and fellow Danish Naval vessel Thyra back into fourth – this is another battle that looks set to continue.
On the water a number have now rounded the first waypoint ten miles off Aberdeen and are now heading back down the North Sea towards Den Helder. Mir (Russia) remains in the lead with Cisne Branco now in second place and Statsraad Lehmkuhl in third. Others around the waypoint are Christian Radich, Cuauhtemoc (Mexico) , Eendracht (Netherlands) and Esprit (Germany)
The fleet are continuing to enjoy favourable north westerly winds of 12-18 knots which are set to continue for the rest of today. Tomorrow the winds are forecast to go round to east/south east and lessen slightly to 10-14 knots which will slow some of the square rigged ships down a bit.
The communications vessel, the Norwegian Coastguard Andenes was forced to be redeployed overnight to attend to some urgent coastguard duties, but Lord Nelson stepped in to take over the morning communication schedule, which delayed matters a little but hopefully things will be back to normal later today.
August 14, 2008 | admin
At the 1700 GMT position report, Statsraad Lehmkuhl (Norway) was holding on to her lead overall on corrected time with her Norwegian rival Christian Radich still hot on her heels in second place. In third is now Cisne Branco (Brazil).
In Class B the lead on corrected time has now been taken up by Tecla (Netherlands) with Trinovante (UK) now in second place and Moosk (UK) in third. The Class C leader is Gaudeamus (Poland) with Akela (Russia) in second and always a threat to the lead, and John Laing (UK) in third. Class D is another UK battle with St Barbara V (UK) in the lead with Rona II close behind. Behind them is now Thyra (Denmark) with her fellow Danish Navy vessel Svanen close behind them.
On the water Mir (Russia) continues to dominate the fleet with Cisne Branco also doing extremely well, while close behind her is Christian Radich with Statsraad Lehmkuhl still slightly north but closing the gap.
Winds have continued in a northerly to north-westerly direction 20 – 25 Knots which means the fleet have all been making good progress. However the forecast is for the winds to back from tomorrow and decrease slightly so progress may slow.
August 13, 2008 | admin
As a number of vessels are approaching the finish line in the first race of The Tall Ships’ Races 2008, it is clear that many of them are pulling out all the stops to beat their rivals. Christian Radich (Norway) retains the lead overall on corrected time, but now Alexander von Humboldt (Germany) has moved up to second place with Statsraad Lehmkuhl (Norway) in third. On the water, Alba Explorer remains likely to take line honours with an expected finish time of around midnight tonight.
Class B continues to be led by Stina Mari (Norway) on corrected time with Jolie Brise (UK) now in second and Far Barcelona (Spain) back up into third place. Behind Alba Explorer in Class C is Black Diamond of Durham (UK) who are making a run for the line and Spaniel (Latvia) in third, who are always keen to be in the winning line up. Lietuva (Lithuania) has now taken over the lead in Class D, pushing Rona II back into second place and Urania (Netherlands) remaining in third.
The fleet tracking shows that some of the fleet decided to go further north, while others kept a more southerly course. Strategically Statsraad Lehmkuhl may have an advantage over Christian Radich as she is slightly more up wind which may help her close the gap.
Winds remain fresh for much of the fleet but as the vessels approach the Norwegian coast, winds will become light and variable, which may extend the calculated ETAs for many of the vessels.
Sail Training International
July 26, 2008 | admin
