Mails from the Skippers

Mails from the Skippers

20.04 - 10h02 - Hugo Boss: AND DON”T SCRATCH IT!

Less than 300 miles to the finish, and in stark contrast with the light winds at the start of the race, we are going to have to reef down and hang on. A low pressure system is about to stir things up, and when things get windy in the Med, it gets hectic with violent squalls and very gusty winds. So while we are... More

Mails from the Skippers

15.04 - 17h49 - Wouter from Hugo Boss: “Make a U turn at the next junction"

In Holland we like to take the car to go on summer holidays to say Italy. Great to have the car as it gives you lots of independence (we are big on that; we fought the Spanish 80 years for it!), and a 1000km is not that far when most of it is spent on the German autobahn or French auto-route. Sure there are a few key... More

Mails from the Skippers

13.04 - 09h58 - Update from Hugo Boss

“So you reckon it is the dog walker?” Midnight watch change handover, and we are talking about the latest clothing advise. “Well, the bear suite jacket has been doing well, until I got drenched not long ago.” With water temperatures down and the wind picking up, I am not about to take any... More

Mails from the Skippers

13.04 - 05h10 - The GAES Girls: Thank you

This will be our last message for the second edition opf the Barcelona World Race. As we write we can see Barcelona and we are 12 miles from the finish line. We anticipate crossing the line between 0630hrs and 0730hrs UTC and we will ahve accomplished something great together. A couple of new records and completion of... More

Mails from the Skippers

12.04 - 10h03 - Hugo Boss: Heading east

And so during the night the moment all of the crew on board HUGO BOSS have been waiting for came: we are tacking and heading east! I can`t quite recall the lat tack, but it might very well be more than 3000 miles ago, in any case well before Rio de Janeiro. After close to one hundred days at sea though Andy and myself... More

Mails from the Skippers

12.04 - 04h41 - GAES Centros Auditivos: So close yet so far

So close yet so far. This is the story of last night. As the sun set we watched it sink below Cabo de Nao and it took with it all the wind. We have floated all night long with a hint of some breeze filling in only to find it short lived and from a different direction before the next puff makes us think the same.... More

Mails from the Skippers

10.04 - 05h32 - GAES Centros Auditivos back in Anna's home waters!

We entered the Straits of Gibraltar at sunset with a gentle 10 to 15 knots of wind blowing. We felt blessed as we have watched all the fleet before us enter the Straits in upwind conditions and here we were enjoying gybing downwind in flat water. As it got dark we crossed the imaginary line at Tarifa which took us... More

Mails from the Skippers

09.04 - 13h25 - I've found them! from Hugo Boss

Half way through my watch, and after 1.5 hours trimming and driving I sit down for a cup of tea. Pretty much our only luxury on board, and a nice peaceful moment before you do the rest of t6he three hours. Through the window I can see another cloud line in front of us. We have gone through quite a few today, so no big... More

Mails from the Skippers

09.04 - 05h04 - Gibraltar, huge amounts of shipping in a very small space

What a great podium of boats. Congratulations to all of them. We are also closing the miles to the final stretch, The Mediterranean. This will be difficult with many transitions that will require efficient sail changes to avoid floating. Gibraltar closes every hour and is looking much better than the difficult... More

Mails from the Skippers

08.04 - 10h16 - Postcard from Wouter and the Hugo Boss

And so we opened up the package of ham for lunch time…We were still a bit skeptical. A little smell test later, and it was confirmed; nothing wrong with the ham! Perfect, we dug into it, and had a delicious lunch. Good thing we kept the package for more than 90 days! We don’t have a lot of luxuries on... More

Mails from the Skippers

08.04 - 04h39 - Breakfast pointing Gibraltar

Breakfast yesterday was at Madeira or rather south of the islands and now we are aiming towards Gibraltar. For the fist time since rounding Cape Horn we will be changing onto a port tack with the wind shift today, that is very exciting. The forecast is for light winds and we hope they are not too light so we can... More

Mails from the Skippers

07.04 - 10h23 - Hugo Boss: Where are the trades?

In the 1600's there was a death penalty in Portugal on telling people where the band of trade winds were. As far I am aware, that has been lifted, so please can somebody tell us? After our successful crossing of the Doldrums we have been sailing in some weak to moderate 10-15knot winds from the NNE. Usually the... More

Mails from the Skippers

07.04 - 08h38 - Message from Ryan Breymaier

Our course upwind is directly up the rhumb line for the moment, which means we are ticking off miles nicely.  long may this continue, we are supposed to be tacking upwind already. Gibraltar is the last major hurdle, after that, as Boris says, we have entered the breakwater into the outer harbor of... More

Mails from the Skippers

07.04 - 06h24 - Glorious food

June 2007, somewhere 200 miles west of the Irish coast, and I am down in the galley on board the American maxi yacht Rambler. We are day nine into the Trans-Atlantic race, and clearly I am not hanging around in the galley for a cup of tea. No way, I am hungry, and scavenging for food. There is no choice really, it has... More

Mails from the Skippers

07.04 - 04h09 - Dee Caffari and Anna Corbella, full of eastwards promise

Dawn yesterday arrived a whole hour earlier than before a sure sign we have been heading East. It was a cool sight heading into the new day with all the rain clouds to leeward and clear skies to welcome us. We held a good breeze all day allowing us to enjoy some fast reaching conditions towards Madeira. Last night... More

Mails from the Skippers

06.04 - 04h34 - From the GAES Girls, north or south?

Finally pointing at Gibraltar and having consistent breeze all day has meant the miles have ticked by. It is all encouraging stuff. The boat has been covered in salt that had been baked on by the sun and now today having had some rain showers it is all salt free. A decision of north or south of Madeira has been our... More

Mails from the Skippers

05.04 - 04h17 - Crazy winds, gone! ...Dee and Anna rolling on towards Gibraltar

A huge Congratulations to Jean Pierre Dick and Loick Peyron, the winning combination and also well done to Iker and Xabi who will finish today in a credible second place after an awesome job and a non stop circumnavigation. Of course when you see fellow competitors finish it makes you think of your own arrival but we... More

Mails from the Skippers

04.04 - 07h40 - Things that go bump, and slam, on Hugo Boss.

“Did you feel the bump?” Andy, asks on the watch change. We passed the equator and are now back in the northern hemisphere. Autumn has turned into spring and the water in the sink will now spin the other way?! I know at least the latter is but a fairy tale, and I don’t think the first one is true... More

Mails from the Skippers

04.04 - 05h48 - From Ryan on Neutrogena, Up the Rhumb Line!

Another day with a good wind direction, keeping us sailing right up the rhumb line without tacking.  We may not be reaching at high speed like our competitiors with a better angle to the north, but we are counting down the miles, thats what counts.  As usual for us, minimum distance, and preserve the... More

Mails from the Skippers

04.04 - 04h12 - One step at a time.

Congratulations to Jean Pierre Dick and Loick Peyron on their race. An awesome job that saw them control this contest from the start. A true inspiration to us all and a great history. It has inspired all of us and also made us realise that the end if near, but despite getting to Gibraltar the Mediterranean, can... More