Team Russia VOR qualifier: Day 2 - Dodging Oilrigs in the North Sea

[Source: Team Russia] Team Russia's skipper Andreas Hanakamp sends his report from Kosatka on the second day of their qualifier for the Volvo Ocean Race:

The low that gave us a quick ride into the North Sea changed its mind, filled up and left clouds, rain and no wind in its wake. But anyway, while the on-watch was working on getting through the windless area, the off watch had enough to focus on the inside of the boat as unforeseen challenges lay hidden in the engine bay. First was the DC hydraulic pump for the keel where a solenoid surrendered to the constant flow of seawater and stopped working. Second the water maker gave us a hard time, as it couldn't get enough water to run properly. The flat underwater body of the boat and the high speeds she is sailing most of the time caused this. After finally working things out, the starter motor of the small engine got stuck which took until this morning to sort out.

In the meantime a northerly breeze kicked in, letting us go west under Code 0 in search of the SE flow that should be closer to the island. Depending on the breeze over the next 12 hours we will decide whether we continue our attempt at the record time around Britain an Ireland, which would led us as far north as the Shetlands.

Position this morning at 06.38 (15 August 2008)
Latitude: 56° 6’ 51.35” N
Longitude: 2° 25’22.61”E

Conditions aboard Kosatska were pretty wild during the first day of their VOR qualifier. Britain, 14 August 2008. Photo copyright Team Russia