By Kathleen May

Djuice Dragons rendezvous with their shore crew on Friday October 13th in Frenando de Noronha. Despite it being a Friday and the thirteenth of the month circumstances that any superstitious sailor would avoid like the plague all went well. The pit stop, which is legal under race rules, took over a week to plan.

When it rains in this business it pours and Djuice was not the exception to the rule. The dragons had been limping along with a broken headboard car for the mainsail along with a with a water maker that had stopped working. The shore crew gave the dragons a new headboard car for the mainsail and some spare parts to fix the water maker and a few gallons of diesel fuel. In addition the intrepid lads on Djuice were treated to some fresh fruit and ice-cold coke. The Volvo race rules permit almost anything once the Volvo 6o is moored. This is not the first time in the history of the race that a pit stop was necessary in the last Whitbread Innovation Kverner also skippered by Knut Fostad and Chessie Racing both made pit stops.

The meeting took place within one mile of the shore as stated in race rules, Djuice Dragons shore crew chartered two vessels for the occasion a fifty-five foot ketch and a small fishing boat. A plan was formed where Djuice would tie up along side the anchored ketch. The potential problem with this plan was in rough seas rigging could become entangled resulting in possible damage to both boats. Plan B was initiated where Djuice would put only a bow line aboard the ketch and lie astern of it. The fishing boat would then have the task of transferring the supplies aboard Djuice Dragon.

As with any good plan detail is everything it can make the difference whether things go smoothly and according to plan or terribly wrong. Team djuice left nothing to chance, poring over position reports throughout the day it looked like the rendezvous would take place at 9:30pm in complete darkness. The shore crew left the dock at 5:30pm to be in position before darkness fell. Armed with the longitude and latitude that had been agreed to by both parties they headed for the very spot. After arriving at around six pm the shore crew anchored and waited a few hours for Djuice to arrive all the while rocking and rolling in an Atlantic Ocean swell. Everyone some how managed to keep their lunch down.

Communications were then established between the Djuice Dragons shore crew and the racing crew via Nera Sat phone. At nine pm they were within five miles of each other and VHF radio contact was established. Djuice's bright pink hull appeared out of the darkness. She made right for the ketch under full mainsail and staysail. It only took two attempts to get the bowline across to the ketch where it was tied off. It was a media event as Steve Anscell a TV director was on board along with a Granada cameraman and few others taking photographs to record the event for posterity.

The fishing boat came along side and the stores were quickly passed from one boat to the other, there was no time for socializing. Videotapes and film were passed back to the shore crew, the line on the bow was let go and Djuice went on her way. The pit stop took only four minutes to complete. No doubt a Winston Cup Nascar pit crew would be impressed with both the speed and efficiency of the operation.

While Djuice was busy with their pit stop the girls sailing Amer Sports Too made the decision to pass both Djuice Dragons and getting the necessary spare parts to fix their Satcom B a high speed data link which was onboard Djuice's supply boat. Amer Sports Too navigator Genevieve White made it crystal clear about the validity of the decision. " If we had the Sat B we would have a much wider range of information. We are very much looking forward to getting all that sorted out in Cape Town. As far a the stop goes that is out of the question."

Meanwhile at the front of the fleet Illbruck still leads by only twenty-eight miles her lead has shrunk somewhat. Skipper John Kostecki reported, "We went through a few rain clouds last night and I guess we didn't play them as well as Assa Abloy - or perhaps they didn't have them." Grant Dalton's Amer Sports One was the biggest gainer last night. As usual Dalt's has a clear view of the race so far. "The best boat is winning at the moment and the second best boat is coming in second." He added that in his opinion he thinks the order of the boats is about right. Does he think things will remain the same until the end of the leg? Answer: " This race is often won by days. It is usually the biggest margin of any of the legs I don't actually see their lead as significant in this leg. You are fighting for every yard. If someone gave you a knot you'd be happy."

John Kostecki on board Illbruck has no illusions about just how secure his lead is. "All eight of the skippers would prefer to be in first place." At the same time he recognizes that he has a tenuous grip on the lead at best. Always the tactician, "I've no doubt that people are going to be split on this last bit into Cape Town," he adds "Am I concerned about it? Sure I'm concerned about it, But that's yacht racing."