04.11. 2006
TEMENOS caught in a calm zone
The moon lights the way for the fleet |
After the night-time blackout when not a single position is communicated by the race organisers, the first of the day’s rankings occasionally has some surprises in store. This was indeed the case this morning within the Imoca fleet, with a fantastic comeback by Jean Le Cam. As the hours went by, the latter continued his progress, finally getting abeam of Jean-Pierre Dick’s Virbac-Paprec.
Though the distances separating the leaders have been minimal since the start, evidence of the fierce battle between the top trio was really brought home today when, at 1600 hours, just 3 miles separated the three boats.
For TEMENOS the overall picture from the past 24 hours is one of light conditions. While the skipper expected steady winds, the monohull experienced a particularly quiet night. Contacted at 1630 hours by his shore crew, the skipper shared with us his disappointment. "We should have been dealing with the passage of a line of squalls last night, which were supposed to remain with us for nearly 80 miles, but the front disintegrated in front of my eyes. It visibly benefited Jean (Le Cam) who was a little further North.
It was a clear night with a fantastic moon, but to my great sorrow without wind! I’m battling to move the boat through the water in these light conditions. I’ve still got a fair few sails in a jumble on deck. I’ve had a go at all the combinations but for now, given the sea state and wind, the boat goes best under spinnaker. I’ve found a little bit of wind again now.”
The dull weather has finally given way to sunshine |
Nevertheless, the skipper of TEMENOS isn’t getting his hopes up too high. The next few days will be crucial and the skippers are not out of the woods yet. "The upcoming situation is extremely tricky”, confided Dominique in unison with the other skippers questioned at the lunch time radio chat session. A ridge of high pressure is barring their route and should affect the progress of the monohulls until tomorrow evening at least. The average speeds poled at the 1600 hour ranking would seem to confirm this. In the past four hours, the averages have been around 10 knots in contrast to 15 knots the day before. Solely Sill-Veolia is managing to limit the damage thanks to some seemingly more favourable winds in the South.
Once out of the clutches of this high pressure and into the capricious trade winds, the fleet are likely to find themselves in a lot less appetising environment than that encountered by the multihulls just two days earlier.
A squid invites itself aboard TEMENOS |
The beginnings of fatigue were tangible amongst the skippers questioned at the radio chat session today. The cracking pace, coupled with the lack, or more accurately absence of sleep over the past 24 hours of racing, is clearly having an affect. These types of conditions leave little room for skippers to rest: "I’m on my fourth gybe since this morning, and between manœuvres I spend a lot of time at the helm. The light conditions mean lots of trimming and a great deal of concentration at the helm. You have to give it your all to move these boats through the water. Under spinnaker in a gentle breeze the automatic pilot isn’t very effective which leads to a lot of helming and very little sleep. If I see that the conditions are steady enough for the pilot, I’ll make the most of it and go and rest a little” concluded the skipper of TEMENOS.
At the 1600 hour ranking, TEMENOS was in 4th position, 81 miles from the leader, Virbac-Paprec.
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About TEMENOS :
Founded in 1993, TEMENOS Group AG is a provider of integrated modular core banking systems to over 500 financial institutions in 110 countries worldwide. TEMENOS software provides banks with a single, real-time view of the client across the enterprise, enabling banks to maximize returns while streamlining costs. Whether providing 24/7 functionality to the wholesale, retail and private or universal banking sectors, partnering with central banks on core system replacement, or working with the World Bank on solutions for the emerging markets, TEMENOS knows banking. The company has a transparent approach to its operations and brings to bear its experience, expertise, commitment and professionalism on every project.
Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, the company has 39 offices in 31 countries and is listed on the main segment of the SWX Swiss Exchange (TEMN). www.temenos.com
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For more informations, thanks to contact us :
Bleue Salée
Service Presse Dominique Wavre
72 route de Grenoble
F-06200 Nice
email : bleuesalee@aol.com
