Two Italians are trying to beat the record of 15 days, 2 hours and 26 minutes set in 1999 by Hans Bouscholte and Gerard Navarin.
The same crew failed last year in the attempt due to rudder problems.
Full story (in English) at:
http://www.oceancat.net/inglese/frame.htm

thanks for the update -any word on the 15 day challenge team with the smaller version Parlier design .

link --- SailHead Magazine by BowmansUnion

The Italian team looks to have a good design ,--looks much like the ARC 21 type hull in profile design with deep narrow bows . Seven compartments in each should provide ample storage and enough reserve buoyancy to carry food water supplies spare parts tools nav equipment etc .The added wings should provide good speed without the fatique factor of being trapped out on the wire.
One thing not seen is safety lines or chicken lines as they are sometimes called ,-Locking into a secure non sliding position with for and aft safety lines would seem a necessity for 15 straight days on the open Atlantic .
A race across the Atlantic on 20s seems probable in the future ,--though most have been attempted by various EU teams ,-perhaps another international challenge race and perpecual trophy should be proposed.The US certainly has numerous veteran ocean racing teams from the 1000 mile races.
Wish them success -and hope they set a new record and arrive safe and well .
Happy New Year
Carl

633 nm sailed so far (in less than 3 days).
Apparently the two Italians have an advantage of over 160 nm over the present record!

IMO the wings on this boat do not got far enough aft, from this piccy I would suggest they need to be a fair bit further bac. what about wne they big wind from astern ?

I didn't realize that they were already underway...here's a link to their position map. I would be interested to know how they solved the sleeping problem.

http://www.oceancat.net/italiano/pagine/mappa.htm

Hello All,
Here is a nice link to weather patterns for this passage

http://www.intellicast.com/Local/US...anticHIRES&prodnav=none&pid=none

..from there you can navigate to any product one wishes.

The nights have been beautifully clear and full moon,..the wind steady 24 hours,....was 20-25k yesterday,...today 15-20k,....they be movin' good mon!

A rate of 210 -ish per 24 hours,......average 10 per hour,....with ocean rollers and night sailing,....doing good, I say.

The sun breaks here about 6:00 am,.........and is out of the sky by 6:15pm,......it is dark about 6:30pm,.....so 12 good daylight hours..

regards,

Bruce
St. Croix
US Virgin Islands

Hi Jake- bro- scoob ---happy N Y to all catsailors--HOPE its a great one in 05 ,-{and other mono sailors and the landlubbers too }

On the sleeping aspect ,-think most have designed in a gortex type tent or cocoon that attaches to the wings that you can get in ,strap yourself in place ,and be somewhat protected from spray and the elements.-Not sure either exactly what setup this attempt has ,-they are doing really well and must have ideal conditions so far .

To sleep on an open trampoline is almost possible ,--though -{did sleep for an hour or two it in some of the past 1000 mile races } but only becalmed at night as the crew drove . When moving it is very difficult ,I tryed it in the 80s in attempting to race a Stiletto 23 in the Mac races --about 320 nm ,-here on the Great Lakes ,-The only thing we had was a spray doger from the front crossbeam ,-water would still hit you from underneath and over the dodger making sleep impossible .
As long as the crew could sleep and the boat itself was seaworthy and could be righted easily ,the crossing might not be as overwhelming a task as some imagine,---weather permitting , as this team from Italy is showing .

Hope they keep it going and are rewarded with the record and acknowledged accomplishment .

1,283 nm sailed in 6 days.
Roughtly 220 nm per day.
9.1 knods VMG so far.
1,283 nm to go.
5.9 knods VMG to beat the record (prsent advantage 276 nm)
GO Andrea and Matteo

147 more nm sailed.
1,430 so far (in 7 days).
Still an advantage of 272 nm over the present record

1,626 nm sailed in 8 days.
Roughtly 200 nm per day.
8.4 knods VMG so far.
955 nm to go.
5.7 knods VMG to beat the record (present advantage 266 nm)
Better winds forecasted for the next 36 hours.

Hello Catfan,

I see that there is a daily log on the website. I bet you it is really interesting, however, it is in Italian,......can anyone translate out there and share the scoop with us?

It looks like 4 days or so and they will be across the ocean,.....way to go!

The moon is gone now, at night, but the trade winds are steady, 24/7.

We had North winds for 1 day or so on Sunday-monday, which I believe explains the GPS course change we see.

I'd sure like to hear their stories!

Good Luck Beach Catters!

regards,

Bruce
St. Croix

Hello Bruce,

read the Ship's log page in French.
This is the update of Thursday Junuary 6

Finalement cap sur la Guadeloupe! Comme prévu, le vent a tourné vers la gauche, en arrivant maintenant de ENE, et Matteo et Andrea réussissent à se diriger, sous gennaker, directement vers la Guadeloupe, à 630 milles environ ce matin. Ciel nuageux, et quelques averses, vent entre 12 et 15 noeuds, voici les conditions actuelles, qui ne devraient pas changer particulièrement dans les prochains jours, à part quelques renforts du vent, qui pourrait atteindre localement jusqu'à 20-25 noeuds.

630 nm to go for Andrea and Matteo

Catfan,

Ok, you got me.

Can you interpret for us? It looks real interesting!

It is Friday morning, and I was planning to go sailing today, but the wind is out of the NE ( 40 degree) with a steady 25 mph with gusts to 44mph,...so, looks like a 'maintain the boat' day.

The Abaco team must be flying!

Considering their course to be W ( 270 degrees) and the wind at 45 degrees.

thanks for the updates,

Bruce
St. Croix

Finally course on to Guadeloupe! As expected, the wind turned towards the left and maintained ENE, and Matteo and Andrea succeed in continuing, under gennaker, directly towards Guadeloupe, approximately 630 miles away this morning. Cloudy sky, and some downpours, wind between 12 and 15 knots are the current conditions, which should not change particularly in the next days, along with some strengthening s of the wind, which could reach locally up to 20-25 knots.

Last update Friday January 7.

482 nm to go. Around 24 h of advantage over the current record. Wind 15-16 knots from NE, due to strenghten in the afternoon. Andrea and Matteo are very eager to arrive.
They suffer from serious infections at their hands (as Bouscholte and Navarin in their attempt).


Le vent est revenu, 15-16 noeuds de NE, et il devrait augmemnter encore un peu dans l'après-midi. Andrea et Matteo, un peu rallentis dans les premiers jours de la semaine, sont de plus en plein impatients d'arriver, souffrant de plaies, surtout aux mains, dues principalement à l'humidité constante. Ils se trouvent ce matin à 482 milles de la ligne d'arrivée, avec environ un jour d'avance sur le record.

You can copy some of the daily log and paste it into

http://babelfish.altavista.com/

select to translate from Italian to English and you can get a "rough" idea as to what the log says.

Hello All,

Thanks for the updates and links to translators.

We were to sail today, but the wind speed avg is 27 mph with gusts to 49 mph.

And steady. This is at 7:30 am Saturday.

They be movin' mon!

regards,

Bruce
St. Croix

Hello All

Here is the translator from above link;

The wind returned, 15-16 nodes of, and it would owe augmemnter in l'après-midday still a little. Andrea and Matteo, a little rallentis in the first days of the week, are moreover into full impatient d'arriver, suffering of wounds, especially with the hands, due mainly to constant l humidity. They are this morning with 482 miles of the line d'arrivée, with approximately a d'avance day on the record.

...can you imagine wearing your wetsuit for 10+ days..




..what a beach cat story..

regards,
Bruce
St. Croix

Hello All,

Looks like mid-Sunday landfall.

You guys in the USA get the 'Sailing channel'?

translation from Saturdays' log

The Guadalupa is near! Only 240 miles still to cover for Andrea and Matteo that are crossing a zone of small rumps accompany to you from un'onda formed. I reinforce previewed has arrived, and with 20-25 wind nodes the two boys are heading nearly in route towards l'agognata French island. of advance payment on the record of Navarin and Bouscholte means and, the 240 miles equivalent approximately a day. L'arrivo in fact is previewed for Sunday afternoon. A small committee of acceptance already has formed itself to Point-à-Pitre...: sponsors, journalists, friends and the troupe television of Sailing Channel...!


congrats, looking forward to a great story.

Bruce
St. Croix

Hello All,
It is 6:30 am St. Croix time ( we never change the clocks, it is Atlantic Standard time zone) and a storm system just went thru, driving rain and winds to 45 mph, it has now settled to 15 mph NE and a rainy, cloudy sky ( reminds me of Ohio, where I grew up),which is rare for the Caribbean.
The Italians should be in today, hopefully without incident,...what a trip!
I was looking a the photo page,
http://www.oceancat.net/inglese/frame.htm
..and there are excellant views of the hull be driven in offshore conditions.
If you do to the 'design' link, you finds that the cat was engineered to do 2 things extremely well.

#1 Maximum sustained speed under spinnaker...and
#2 Maximum platform stability

To accomplish this, the enginneer mentions he(she)designed that both hulls be in the water. Also, we see those big racks.

So, to the designers out there, what do you think.. A success?

And to the distance racers, what do you see? YOU tell us, would you rather be on a wire for 8 hours,.......or on a rack. Which would allow you to perform at peak efficiency for the same amount of time ( say 8 hours, offshore).

Safety offshore?

This is a forum, so jump in!

Plus look at the pic with the stern view of the hulls. those are some deep, thin hulls. Definately not the width of a I-20 hull. Comment?

Could we see these types of developements in the upcoming East Coast USA distance race?

regards,

Bruce
St. Croix