A recent post raised the troubling implication that problems aboard the 105-foot racing trimaran Groupama 3 may have been foreseen by the crew, hence their sudden way-off-course left turn towards New Zealand. The problems ended up becoming frighteningly real near the port city of Dunedin, resulting in the capsize the massive boat. Footage of the dramatic rescue of the crew was circulated and viewed worldwide.

One well-informed inquiring mind based in Western Australia recently dissented in a highly informative e-mail. Bob Williams, CEO of Antarctica Cup Race Management, said:

"I must take issue with you over your story 'Inquiring Minds' regarding the motives of the Groupama 3 heading north towards New Zealand prior to their capsize 80 miles from Dunedin. At the time, Russian solo circumnavigator Fedor Konyukhov was 300 miles SE of Groupama aboard his ' Open 85 ' yacht Trading Network Alye Parusa, trailblazing the Antarctica Cup Racetrack, 'enduring' - in his words - 'one of the harshest storms I have ever encountered'..."

(The newly created 14,600 nautical mile Antarctica Cup Racetrack circumnavigates Antarctica in the Southern Ocean. Konyukhov is the first sailor on the racetrack, and he is doing it alone). Williams continued:

"(Konyukhov) described the condition on Feb 18 as: 'Here at 52 South, the winds are 50-55 knots, with gusts up to 65 knots and monstrous seas. Some of the waves are half the height of my 110 ft mast. It is difficult to breath on deck when I am standing facing the wind. The mainsail is completely down and I have only 1/3 of the staysail set, yet the boat is still doing 10 knots, and surfing at 15 knots down the waves...'

"Cammas and his crew (aboard Groupama 3), running up behind Fedor, had the speed to get out of the way of this storm by heading north. Fedor would have undoubtedly done the same, had be been in a multihull... Given the choice, I would not have wanted to be down there in the Southern Ocean on Feb 18 any more than you."

Good point. Then again, I am not a crew of 10 highly experienced and skilled multihull racers aboard a sailboat built and designed specifically to break the around-the-world sailing record (which by definition includes the Southern Ocean in winter). I was not on a pace to break the record had I not changed course. And I am not French (in that borderline-crazy take-no-prisoners style in sailing-record-breaking sense of being French).

To support his point, Williams provided the following weather links:

This link tracks the storm running that day. This link the extreme wave peaks. This link shows the extreme wave heights.

Check them out, then check in with your thoughts in the comments (below) or by e-mail. And be sure to check out solo-pioneer sailor Konyukhov's progress here. He has just rounded Cape Horn after toughing-out another 65-knot storm, and is entering "Iceberg Alley." (Did I mention, alone). Given the choice, I would not want to be down there, either, even on a nice day.

Photo: Groupama 3 dirty-side-up, courtesy of Groupama 3.