Uroš on Mini Transat – Leg 2

ENG: Uroš completed the first leg of the Mini Transat more than successfully! He finished 6th, only 2 hours 38 minutes and 5 seconds behind the first boat. That leaves him with all the options still open to attack the competition. Jure Jerman [team weather-router/strategist] worked super hard on in the last weeks to give Uroš all the tools and weapons he needs for the battle. They are in contact daily.

Meanwhile Ashika II had some wounds from the 1st leg to heal. With a torn jib and leaking daggerboard boxes, it was necessary to bring in experts like local sailmakers for the jib and Jure Pernat [R&D specialist at Seascape] for the carbon fibre work. With both issues now resolved, the boat is locked and loaded. Robeline and their Spanish distributor Rigging Workshop, who ensured Ashika II had all the ropes of the highest race-grade quality, also sent in a new set of halyards, just to be sure. 

Regarding the route, the race organisers added waypoints across the Atlantic to Guadeloupe island in the southern Caribbean Sea. This means a lot of extra miles, and instead of a record-fast leg Jure predicted beforehand, we are now looking at around 20 days of solitary sailing. But this is where Uroš proved to be very good at. When the fatigue sets in, motivation for competition drops, the weather data becomes less accurate, and more decisions have to be made by the sailor. It is at this point when Uroš and his raw stubbornness start to work their magic. Those 2 hours, 38 minutes, and 5 seconds mean nothing now! GREMO UROŠ!

SLO: Uroš več kot uspešno opravil s prvo etapo Mini Transata! Zasedel je 6. mesto, le 2 uri 38 minut in 5 sekund za vodilnim. To mu pušča odprte še vse možnosti za napad na konkurenco. Jure Jerman [ekipni meteorolog/strateg] je v zadnjih tednih zelo trdo delal, da je Urošu dal vsa orodja in orožja, ki jih potrebuje za to bitko. Slišita se vsak dan.

Medtem pa je morala Ashika II zaceliti nekaj ran, ki jih je utrpela na prvi etapi. Raztrgan flok in puščajoče škatle smernikov so zahtevale pomoč strokovnjakov, kot so lokalni jadrarji za flok in Jure Pernat [specialist v razvoju pri Seascape-u] za popravilo z ogljikovimi vlakni. Obe težavi sta odpravljeni in jadrnica je ponovno v najboljši formi. Robeline in njihov španski distributer, ki sta zagotovila, da ima Ashika II vrvi najvišje kakovosti, so organizirali ekspresno zamenjavo dvižnic za vsak slučaj.

Kar se tiče rute, so organizatorji dirke dodali obvezne točke okrog katerih bo treba odjadrati preko Atlantika do otoka Guadeloupe v južnem Karibskem morju. To pomeni precej dodatnih milj in namesto rekordno hitre etape, ki jo je napovedal Jure, se nam seda obeta približno 20 dni samotnega jadranja. A v takšnih situacijah se Uroš odlično znajde. Ko nastopi utrujenost, pade motivacija za tekmovanje, vremenski podatki postanejo manj natančni in vse več odločitev pade na jadraleca samega, takrat Uroš in njegova surova pohorska trma začneta s svojo čarovnijo. Tisti 2 uri, 38 minut in 5 sekund zdaj ne pomenita nič! GREMO UROŠ!

ENG: Second leg of the race starts on Saturday 28th of October in Santa Cruz de La Palma and finishes about three weeks later in Saint François Guadeloupe in the southern Caribbean Sea. Follow it via Youtube live stream and GPS tracker below.

SLO: Na drugo etapo regate se bodo tekmovalci podali to soboto, 28. oktobra iz Santa Cruz de La Palma. Na cilju v Saint François na otoku Guadeloupe v južnem karibskem morju pa jih pričakujemo približno tri tedne kasneje. Dogajanje lahko v živo spremljate na Youtube predvajanju v živo in preko GPS sledilnika. Povezavi do obeh kanalov najdete spodaj.

TRACKER & LATEST NEWS

SLO: Pohorski viking je pristal na Karibih in osvojil skupno 5. mesto na La Boulangère Mini Transat, kar je najboljši slovenski oceansko regatni rezultat in najboljša uvrstitev Ashike II v vsej njeni karieri! TO UROŠ, PA ŠELE ZAČELI SMO!!!
 
ENG: Viking from Pohorje has landed in the Caribbean and finished 5th on Mini Transat, the best Slovenian ocean racing result and the top result in the history of the boat. YES, UROŠ, WE HAVE JUST BEGUN!
ENG: LET’S GOOO! Uroš is now on the final approach. About 12 hours to go. He probably has no idea how well he is doing after his problems with the bowsprit, and seeing him push so hard is a testament to his grit and endurance. He must be dead tired. As we know him, it was long ago since he had his last nap, and he won’t take any until he is back on land. He is chasing Jacques DELCROIX (753), who should not finish more than 7 h 16 min ahead. If Uroš manages to prevent that, which is totally doable with the current 38-mile distance between them, he will finish 5th in general!
The tracker now updates every hour!

SLO: GREMOOOO UROOŠ! Uroš jadra zadnje milje. Ima še približno 12 ur do cilja. Verjetno nima pojma, kako dobro mu gre po težavah s kosnikom. Kako močno se žene v tem čisto zadnjem delu regate je dokaz njegove odločnosti in vzdržljivosti. Verjetno je na mrtvo utrujen in kolikor ga poznamo ni spal že kar nekaj časa in tudi ne bo dokler ni nazaj na kopnem. Zasleduje Jacquesa DELCROIXA (753), ki ne sme priti v cilj več kot 7 h 16 min pred njim. Če bo Urošu to uspelo preprečiti, kar je ob trenutnih 38 miljah razdalje med njima povsem izvedljivo, bo zasedel skupno 5. mesto!
​Sledilnik se sedaj posdablja vsako polno uro!
ENG: We are now entering the race’s last stage and starting to calculate the final result. The winner of the La Boulangère Mini Transat is determined by the combined time sailed from the first and second leg. What is becoming increasingly apparent is that Uroš is in the fight for 5th place. The sailors to beat are Jacques DELCROIX (753), who should not finish more than 7h 16min and 12s ahead of Uroš, and Victor MATHIEU (967), who needs to finish at least 2h 28min and 34s behind. Both seem doable, but there is still much time until Monday morning when we reckon Uroš will cross the finish line!
 
SLO: Vstopamo v končnico regate in pričenjamo z izračuni končnih rezultatov. Zmagovalec Mini Transat-a je določen s seštevkom prejadranega časa v obeh etapah. Kar je vse bolj jasno je, da se Uroš poteguje za skupno peto mesto. Da ga osvoji mora premagati Jacques-a DELCROIX-a (753), ki ne sme končati več kot 7 ur 16 minut in 12 sekund pred Urošem, ter Victor-ja MATHIEU-a (967), ki mora ostati vsaj 2 uri 28 minut in 34 sekund za njim. Oba pogoja je popolnoma mogoče izpolniti, vendar je do ponedeljka zjutraj, ko pričakujemo Uroša v cilju še precej daleč.
 
 
ENG: How does Uroš decide where and when to turn? With the help of the barometer, temperature and radio forecast and according to the knowledge of the his boat and the environment?
 
JURE JERMAN: The barometer and temperature are difficult to interpret as useful information in the tropics. Some turns are dictated by storm systems (squalls), which you want to avoid or take advantage of the wind ahead of them. Then there are the longwave radio forecasts, which include the sector wind forecast for 3 days ahead and the locations of typical weather systems (cyclones, anticyclones and tropical waves). However, interpreting this information is very difficult, and sailors are more or less blind, especially when they come out of a useful weather forecast period.
 
The agreement before the start was that Uroš should go south of the shortest line (well, maybe he exaggerated a bit 😉), as the ensemble forecasts indicated a slightly faster southern route. In doing so, he should stick to the maximum speed in the direction of the target (VMG).
 
[Attached below are the two documents Jure prepared for Uroš before departure from La Palma. Besides the thorough 1 on 1 preparation, Uroš also got another 10-page explanation document to interpret all the data from these two images.]

 

SLO: Kako se Uroš odloča, kam in kdaj obrniti? S pomočjo barometra, temperature in radio napovedi ter poznavanja barke in okolja?

JURE JERMAN: Barometer in temperaturo je v tropih težko interpretirati v smislu koristne informacije. Nekaj obratov diktirajo nevihtni sistemi (squali), ki se jim hočeš izogniti oziroma izkoristiti veter pred njimi. Potem pa so tu še napovedi po dolgovalovnem radiju, v katerih je napoved vetra po sektorjih za 3 dni vnaprej in lokacije značilnih vremenskih sistemov (cikloni, anticikloni in tropski valovi). Je pa interpretacija teh informacij zelo težavna in so jadralci bolj ali manj slepi, posebno ko pridejo iz časovnega območja uporabne vremenske napovedi.

Dogovor pred štartom je bil, da gre Uroš južno od najkrajše linije (no, morda je pri tem nekoliko pretiraval 😉), saj so ansambelske napovedi kazale na nekaj hitrejšo južno pot. Pri tem naj bi se držal največje hitrosti v smeri cilja (VMG).

[Spodaj priloženi grafiki je Jure pripravil pred Uroševim odhodom iz La Palme. Poleg priprav v živo, ki sta jih imela, je Uroš dobil še 10 strani dolg dokument z razlago vseh pomembnih informacij na spodnjih slikah.]

ENG: After initial guessing that something went wrong with the big spi, we weren’t too far off. We learned from organisers that Uroš had broken the bowsprit or one of its parts (that means no spi). We doubt that the tube itself has failed. It must have been one of the attachments. With the latest tracker update, the news is more positive, as it looks like he managed to fix it and is now sailing with the speed expected for the wind conditions he is in.
GO UROŠ, YOU HAVE SOME CATCHING UP TO DO!

SLO: Po začetnem ugibanju kaj je šlo narobe s špinakerjem smo ugotovili, da se nismo preveč zmotili. Organizatorji so namreč sporočili, da je Ashika II utrpela poškodbo kosnika (ki je ključen za jadranje s špinakerjem). Dvomimo, da se je zlomila sama karbonska cev kosnika, najverjetneje je popustilo eno od vpetij. Zadnja ovežitev podatkov sledilnika kaže dobre novice, saj je videti, da je Uroš uspel popraviti škodo in sedaj jadra s hitrostjo, ki bi jo pričakovali v danih razmerah.
GREMO UROŠ, IMAŠ NEKAJ DELA, DA NADOKNADIŠ ZAOSTANEK!

ENG: Signs of trouble onboard Ashika II. Data from the tracker shows that during the night, Uroš ran into trouble. His speed dropped significantly, and he had to bear away straight downwind, jibe and then jibe again. Afterwards, he resumed his previous course but much slower than before or compared to the boats nearest to him. 10 hours later, he is still doing at least 3 knots less than the competition. He lost 50 NM to the leader and dropped to 8th place. Only guessing, but it looks like something went wrong with his big spinnaker (masthead gennaker in non-french terminology).
 
We are keeping our fingers crossed that whatever happened can be resolved and that we will see him back to full speed by the next tracker update at 15:00.
GREMO UROŠ!!!

SLO: Videti je, da so Ashiko II doletele težave. Podatki GPS sledenja iz današnje noči nakazujejo, da se je Urošu moralo zgoditi nekaj nepredvidenega. Njegova hitrost je znatno padla, odpadel je od vetra in dvakrat krožil. Kasneje se je sicer vrnil na prejšnji kurz, ampak s hitrostjo, ki je precej nižja od okoliških sotekmovalcev. Po desetih urah še vedno pluje vsaj 3 vozle počasneje od konkurence.
Na tej točki lahko samo ugibamo, da je najverjetneje nekaj narobe z njegovim špinakerjem.

Močno stiskamo pesti, da bo težavo, kakršnakoli že je, lahko odpravil in bo do naslednjega update-a ob 15h spet na polni hitrosti.
GREMO UROŠ!!!

ENG: Our Viking from Pohorje hills keeps the competition at bay for the second day. But the battle is far from over. Today’s calculations show that the leading sailors from all three groups (North, Central and South) will meet right around the red dot on the tracker or the red triangle routing below. Sailors must sail south of this point, as this was mandated by the regatta organizers for safety reasons. The black circles on the individual projected routes represent the sailboat’s position at the same point in time. As you can see, they are super close together all the way to the extreme western side.

Given that they are now sailing in stable trade winds and should remain so until the finish line, the most important thing is that they squeeze every last tenth of a knot of speed out of the boat. The good news is that this sailing mode (downwind VMG) suits Uros and Ashika II best.

LET’S GO UROŠ! LET’S GO SEA LION!

SLO: Naš Viking s Pohorja že drugi dan zapored kontrolira konkurenco in jih uspešno drži za sabo. A bitke še zdaleč ni konec. Današnji izračuni kažejo, da se bodo vodilni jadralci iz vseh treh skupin (severne, srednje in južne) srečali ravno okoli rdeče točke, ki jo vidite na sledilniku oz. rdečega trikotnika na spodnjem routing-u. To točko morajo jadralci objadrati po južni strani, saj so tako določili organizatorji regate iz varnostnih razlogov. Črni krogci na pozameznih projeciranih rutah predstavljajo pozicijo barke ob istem času in kot vidite, so vse do skrajno zahodne strani čisto skupaj.

Glede na to, da sedaj jadrajo v stabilnih pasatih in naj bi tako ostalo vse do cilja je najpomembneje, da iztisnejo iz barke vsako zadnjo desetinko vozla hitrosti. Dobra novica je, da ta način jadranja (downwind VMG) Urošu in Ashiki II najbolj leži.

GREMO UROŠ! GREMO MORSKA LEVINJA!

Jure did some calculations with the new data and compared the ideal routes for all three groups. The dots on the lines represent the position at the same point in time.

As you can see, the northern group should come out ahead by a slim margin. But the real trick is to fight through the transition zones (light and confused winds) they have been dealing with the whole afternoon.

In the following hours, the conditions should stabilise. So this night will be crucial. 

This is how it must look out there right now! Just a regular Monday for Uroš. He has been following the strategy prepared with Jure Jerman to the dot, which is paying off. He has been speeding along and positioning himself very well. We believe he is through the first front and now racing downwind. There is no doubt anymore that the northern route was the correct choice. Those going south have a lot of catching up to do. Among those are also three sailors who were ahead of Uroš on the first leg.

The big question mark
An prelude by Jure Jerman

The last enter was pressed, the latest routing material was passed to Uroš, and now he is on his own!

The biggest challenge we faced yesterday was the fact that there are two alternative routes, both almost equal on the next waypoint but very distant from each other: at a certain stage, there is almost 400nm between the two.
Each has its advantages and disadvantages, but finally, we had to decide on one.

The south route is going to the trades close to the African coast and then all the way to 23N. Trade winds will get weaker, or they will almost completely diminish between the 2nd and 4th of the race.

Northern is turning the island of Hierro as an obligatory way point and almost returns to Palma, a bit further to the West. It is counting on more pressure coming first with the trough on Sunday/Monday night and later on favourable winds on the north side of a low coming on Tuesday. The exact position of that low is still unknown, making the N route more unpredictable.

Both routes will come back together after a week or so; in between there will be a nail-biting time. Not that much for Uroš, but more for us.

Already, the first day is going to be very interesting due to vanishing trade winds on the way to Hierro and rounding it in the night. Those going S will continue, and those going N will have to get around the island in weak and unstable winds.

What a start from Uroš!
Conservative at the beginning, but picked up speed as soon as he got out of the wind shadow of the competitors! GREMO UROŠ!