Day 32, Tuesday March 9, 1999

© Photo Richard Konkolski

Victor Yazykov wished to finish the race as soon as possible but he still had 147 miles to go. He suffered some problem every day. Two days before, with the contrary winds, his autopilot stopped working. Next morning he opened a hatch to the aft compartment to find it half full of seawater. A rubber gasket on the hatch was damaged by mainsheet traveler control line. Then about eight two-gallon plastic containers with fresh water got chafed and holed by the boat's movement. He lost almost all fresh water. Left with a couple of cans filled with slightly salted water, he could still make salty tea.

Yazykov's Wind of Change Russia © Photo Billy Black

Fortunately his pilot started to work again after its brain box dried and Victor got a light following wind, perfect conditions for his new huge foresail. After midnight, the wind increased and the pilot could not handle the big sail anymore and he had to take it down. Taking it down to the deck he could not cope and partially rolled sail got into the ocean.

After recovering the sail he was so exhausted that he could not do anything for a full day. Today, with contrary and shifting winds, he almost could not make any progress. Very thick fog for the last three days did not make his life easier. He discovered that the radar antenna did not rotate. To help solve all these problems he cooked a good meal and took a can of beer, to keep the crew happy. He only had two cans left, so he should get to Punta in two days.

Petersen's No Barriers © Photo Marek Slodownik

Neal Petersen was getting closer to Cape Horn. He reported: "We are getting there. The winds have gone SSW and blowing between 30-40 knots. I am making a course pretty much straight for the Horn, but the weather forecast is not good again. It changes daily… …I am running with just a staysail set as its too rough for a mainsail. I would make better progress with a genoa, but the genoa is torn."

A message was also received from Neil Hunter: "Finally got a bit of breeze but have had to nearly drop down into the furious fifties to find it. Not a good wind direction though, from dead aft, but we are making progress. Have just gybed onto port tack as there is a slight indication the breeze might clock a bit NWerly… ...Just pleasant sailing and lots of birds. No dolphins, whales or fish though. So..."

© Photo Richard Konkolski

Positions:

Class 1

Class 2

Copyright © Richard Konkolski
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