Estrella Damm, leader of the Barcelona World Race, reports on first day

Guillermo Altadill sends the first report about Estrella Damm's progress via email, the day after departure from Barcelona:

"After the first night onboard all seems to be good, light and shifty winds make us work hard, Jonathan and myself, during the night. We can see PRB, Hugo Boss and Virbac in only a couple of miles separation.

We leave Ibiza on starboard. That was not included in our plans but, as well, the weather prediction was not according to the plans. So we are where we are and that seems the right place for now.

For the next hours we expect to have more work in the nav station then on deck, anyway. We are hand steering since the start in Barcelona to get the 100% of our boat.

I found scissors in the sail repair kit and I go to cut my hair to be more confortable in the next few months."

Co-skipper of Estrella Damm, Jonathan McKee, says that at 15:00 GMT, he and skipper Guillermo Altadill were sailing in about six knots of wind, making just over six knots of boatspeed whilst sailing upwind.

Regarding the decision to sail to the East of Ibiza overnight, McKee said: "It was a hard decision and it wasn't one made with a lot of confidence...I think all of the other boats would tell you the same thing. For some reason, the weather models are having a difficult time dealing with the conditions right now."

McKee says he expects more of the same overnight and into tomorrow, with light winds making for a minefield of gains and losses on the road to Gibraltar.


Estrella Damm skippers Guillermo Altadill and Jonathan McKee comments on the first 24 hours of the Barcelona World Race. Ibiza, 12 November 2007. Video copyright Barcelona World Race