Saturday, April 9, 2011

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Volvo Ocean Race Leg 1 - Is West best ?


Author: Volvo Ocean Race Media


After another torrid night and day of racing to windward into 3-6 metre seas, whipped up by 25 knot winds, the eight boat Volvo Ocean Race fleet is still poised for the breeze to swing. The question on every navigators lips continues to be "where from"?

All eight Volvo Ocean 60s are still lined up in an almost orderly formation in the North Atlantic on port tack with their bows pointing towards Brazil.

By virtue of being the inside boat and closest to the next waypoint, illbruck, on the far east of the fleet, still retains the lead although they have had their share of interesting moment.

Co-navigator Ian Moore said this afternoon: "It has been a fairly bumpy ride the last day or so and there have been a few casualties. I won't name and shame the hardened veterans who lost their lunch but I think everyone will be happier when the front comes through and we get to bear away a bit.

People were not the only things that took a pasting. We had that sinking feeling for a while when the sewing machine came loose from its stowage on a particularly savage wave and severed the standpipe from one of the seacocks.

Thankfully it severed the pipe just above the waterline but every time we dropped off a wave we had a miniature Trevi Fountain in the forepeak. Waffler [Stu Bettany], our resident rigger come plumber, was able to rebuild it in typical Kiwi "she'll be right" bodge it fashion".

The tactical situation is more open than the position report would suggest. Should the breeze fill in from the west, Team News Corp on the very left of the pack will come back to the front of the fleet or at least close the distance to the leading pack.

Taking a conservative option at present in the middle of the pack is ASSA ABLOY. Roy Heiner's team holds the get out of jail card depending on the outcome of the weather patterns over the next twelve hours as they have options to bail out to sea [west] with Team News Corp or stick with
illbruck and Tyco.

Kevin Shoebridge [Tyco] and John Kostecki [illbruck] will be keeping a close eye on Team News Corp's position. "We'll just have to see how that works out. That's basically where everyone is trying to get to [the west] for this next wind change so things will close up a bit when it [the
shift] comes through," commented Tyco skipper Shoebridge.

At the same time, Shoebridge is also impressed and cautious with the performance of Amer Sports One, who is now within sight. "He [Dalton] is probably the fastest in these conditions. He's been chipping away at us for the last couple of days and has now just about drawn even so these are
probably his conditions. It would be naive to think he wasn't going to be fast somewhere".

Dalton meanwhile is also pleased with progress, even if his crew is not enjoying the ride. "It has been baptism by fire for a few of the lads as they haven't been tossed around like this for a while and these boats are very uncomfortable".

"With our galley situated so far forward and with nothing to brace against, cooking has been a bit of a trick, not that too many people have been hovering the food down but tomorrow the wind will start to settle down. Soon we will all be on starboard and heading towards the sun, although tricky light air awaits," added Dalton.

While the intensity of the racing means crews have got to be alert 100% of the time, with three weeks of sailing still remaining to Cape Town, they also need to carefully pace themselves.

"The crew have got into the normal routine for the first leg. We can't go burning everyone up with three and a half weeks to go so everyone is sleeping and eating well," added Shoebridge.

At the rear of the fleet, the crew of Amer Sports Too are happy with their progress despite a few glitches on board.

"We made a little mistake on the first night when we didn't gybe with the fleet on a small shift, which is why we are behind. The way the weather is at the moment everyone is sailing the same angles and in the same conditions and there isn't much variant and chances to catch up," commented Abigail Seager.

"We've been bailing out this morning, having found a few leaks. Mainly its water coming down the main hatch and down with wet kit which is to be expected. We've also had a couple of leaks from the water ballast systems which leaks straight into the bunks which was a priority to sort out so
we're looking forward to the tropics to dry everything else out".

Position Report:



Author: Volvo Ocean Race Media


After another torrid night and day of racing to windward into 3-6 metre seas, whipped up by 25 knot winds, the eight boat Volvo Ocean Race fleet is still poised for the breeze to swing. The question on every navigators lips continues to be "where from"?

All eight Volvo Ocean 60s are still lined up in an almost orderly formation in the North Atlantic on port tack with their bows pointing towards Brazil.

By virtue of being the inside boat and closest to the next waypoint, illbruck, on the far east of the fleet, still retains the lead although they have had their share of interesting moment.

Co-navigator Ian Moore said this afternoon: "It has been a fairly bumpy ride the last day or so and there have been a few casualties. I won't name and shame the hardened veterans who lost their lunch but I think everyone will be happier when the front comes through and we get to bear away a bit.

People were not the only things that took a pasting. We had that sinking feeling for a while when the sewing machine came loose from its stowage on a particularly savage wave and severed the standpipe from one of the seacocks.

Thankfully it severed the pipe just above the waterline but every time we dropped off a wave we had a miniature Trevi Fountain in the forepeak. Waffler [Stu Bettany], our resident rigger come plumber, was able to rebuild it in typical Kiwi "she'll be right" bodge it fashion".

The tactical situation is more open than the position report would suggest. Should the breeze fill in from the west, Team News Corp on the very left of the pack will come back to the front of the fleet or at least close the distance to the leading pack.

Taking a conservative option at present in the middle of the pack is ASSA ABLOY. Roy Heiner's team holds the get out of jail card depending on the outcome of the weather patterns over the next twelve hours as they have options to bail out to sea [west] with Team News Corp or stick with
illbruck and Tyco.

Kevin Shoebridge [Tyco] and John Kostecki [illbruck] will be keeping a close eye on Team News Corp's position. "We'll just have to see how that works out. That's basically where everyone is trying to get to [the west] for this next wind change so things will close up a bit when it [the
shift] comes through," commented Tyco skipper Shoebridge.

At the same time, Shoebridge is also impressed and cautious with the performance of Amer Sports One, who is now within sight. "He [Dalton] is probably the fastest in these conditions. He's been chipping away at us for the last couple of days and has now just about drawn even so these are
probably his conditions. It would be naive to think he wasn't going to be fast somewhere".

Dalton meanwhile is also pleased with progress, even if his crew is not enjoying the ride. "It has been baptism by fire for a few of the lads as they haven't been tossed around like this for a while and these boats are very uncomfortable".

"With our galley situated so far forward and with nothing to brace against, cooking has been a bit of a trick, not that too many people have been hovering the food down but tomorrow the wind will start to settle down. Soon we will all be on starboard and heading towards the sun, although tricky light air awaits," added Dalton.

While the intensity of the racing means crews have got to be alert 100% of the time, with three weeks of sailing still remaining to Cape Town, they also need to carefully pace themselves.

"The crew have got into the normal routine for the first leg. We can't go burning everyone up with three and a half weeks to go so everyone is sleeping and eating well," added Shoebridge.

At the rear of the fleet, the crew of Amer Sports Too are happy with their progress despite a few glitches on board.

"We made a little mistake on the first night when we didn't gybe with the fleet on a small shift, which is why we are behind. The way the weather is at the moment everyone is sailing the same angles and in the same conditions and there isn't much variant and chances to catch up," commented Abigail Seager.

"We've been bailing out this morning, having found a few leaks. Mainly its water coming down the main hatch and down with wet kit which is to be expected. We've also had a couple of leaks from the water ballast systems which leaks straight into the bunks which was a priority to sort out so
we're looking forward to the tropics to dry everything else out".

Position Report:



Author: Volvo Ocean Race Media


After another torrid night and day of racing to windward into 3-6 metre seas, whipped up by 25 knot winds, the eight boat Volvo Ocean Race fleet is still poised for the breeze to swing. The question on every navigators lips continues to be "where from"?

All eight Volvo Ocean 60s are still lined up in an almost orderly formation in the North Atlantic on port tack with their bows pointing towards Brazil.

By virtue of being the inside boat and closest to the next waypoint, illbruck, on the far east of the fleet, still retains the lead although they have had their share of interesting moment.

Co-navigator Ian Moore said this afternoon: "It has been a fairly bumpy ride the last day or so and there have been a few casualties. I won't name and shame the hardened veterans who lost their lunch but I think everyone will be happier when the front comes through and we get to bear away a bit.

People were not the only things that took a pasting. We had that sinking feeling for a while when the sewing machine came loose from its stowage on a particularly savage wave and severed the standpipe from one of the seacocks.

Thankfully it severed the pipe just above the waterline but every time we dropped off a wave we had a miniature Trevi Fountain in the forepeak. Waffler [Stu Bettany], our resident rigger come plumber, was able to rebuild it in typical Kiwi "she'll be right" bodge it fashion".

The tactical situation is more open than the position report would suggest. Should the breeze fill in from the west, Team News Corp on the very left of the pack will come back to the front of the fleet or at least close the distance to the leading pack.

Taking a conservative option at present in the middle of the pack is ASSA ABLOY. Roy Heiner's team holds the get out of jail card depending on the outcome of the weather patterns over the next twelve hours as they have options to bail out to sea [west] with Team News Corp or stick with
illbruck and Tyco.

Kevin Shoebridge [Tyco] and John Kostecki [illbruck] will be keeping a close eye on Team News Corp's position. "We'll just have to see how that works out. That's basically where everyone is trying to get to [the west] for this next wind change so things will close up a bit when it [the
shift] comes through," commented Tyco skipper Shoebridge.

At the same time, Shoebridge is also impressed and cautious with the performance of Amer Sports One, who is now within sight. "He [Dalton] is probably the fastest in these conditions. He's been chipping away at us for the last couple of days and has now just about drawn even so these are
probably his conditions. It would be naive to think he wasn't going to be fast somewhere".

Dalton meanwhile is also pleased with progress, even if his crew is not enjoying the ride. "It has been baptism by fire for a few of the lads as they haven't been tossed around like this for a while and these boats are very uncomfortable".

"With our galley situated so far forward and with nothing to brace against, cooking has been a bit of a trick, not that too many people have been hovering the food down but tomorrow the wind will start to settle down. Soon we will all be on starboard and heading towards the sun, although tricky light air awaits," added Dalton.

While the intensity of the racing means crews have got to be alert 100% of the time, with three weeks of sailing still remaining to Cape Town, they also need to carefully pace themselves.

"The crew have got into the normal routine for the first leg. We can't go burning everyone up with three and a half weeks to go so everyone is sleeping and eating well," added Shoebridge.

At the rear of the fleet, the crew of Amer Sports Too are happy with their progress despite a few glitches on board.

"We made a little mistake on the first night when we didn't gybe with the fleet on a small shift, which is why we are behind. The way the weather is at the moment everyone is sailing the same angles and in the same conditions and there isn't much variant and chances to catch up," commented Abigail Seager.

"We've been bailing out this morning, having found a few leaks. Mainly its water coming down the main hatch and down with wet kit which is to be expected. We've also had a couple of leaks from the water ballast systems which leaks straight into the bunks which was a priority to sort out so
we're looking forward to the tropics to dry everything else out".

Position Report:



Author: Volvo Ocean Race Media


After another torrid night and day of racing to windward into 3-6 metre seas, whipped up by 25 knot winds, the eight boat Volvo Ocean Race fleet is still poised for the breeze to swing. The question on every navigators lips continues to be "where from"?

All eight Volvo Ocean 60s are still lined up in an almost orderly formation in the North Atlantic on port tack with their bows pointing towards Brazil.

By virtue of being the inside boat and closest to the next waypoint, illbruck, on the far east of the fleet, still retains the lead although they have had their share of interesting moment.

Co-navigator Ian Moore said this afternoon: "It has been a fairly bumpy ride the last day or so and there have been a few casualties. I won't name and shame the hardened veterans who lost their lunch but I think everyone will be happier when the front comes through and we get to bear away a bit.

People were not the only things that took a pasting. We had that sinking feeling for a while when the sewing machine came loose from its stowage on a particularly savage wave and severed the standpipe from one of the seacocks.

Thankfully it severed the pipe just above the waterline but every time we dropped off a wave we had a miniature Trevi Fountain in the forepeak. Waffler [Stu Bettany], our resident rigger come plumber, was able to rebuild it in typical Kiwi "she'll be right" bodge it fashion".

The tactical situation is more open than the position report would suggest. Should the breeze fill in from the west, Team News Corp on the very left of the pack will come back to the front of the fleet or at least close the distance to the leading pack.

Taking a conservative option at present in the middle of the pack is ASSA ABLOY. Roy Heiner's team holds the get out of jail card depending on the outcome of the weather patterns over the next twelve hours as they have options to bail out to sea [west] with Team News Corp or stick with
illbruck and Tyco.

Kevin Shoebridge [Tyco] and John Kostecki [illbruck] will be keeping a close eye on Team News Corp's position. "We'll just have to see how that works out. That's basically where everyone is trying to get to [the west] for this next wind change so things will close up a bit when it [the
shift] comes through," commented Tyco skipper Shoebridge.

At the same time, Shoebridge is also impressed and cautious with the performance of Amer Sports One, who is now within sight. "He [Dalton] is probably the fastest in these conditions. He's been chipping away at us for the last couple of days and has now just about drawn even so these are
probably his conditions. It would be naive to think he wasn't going to be fast somewhere".

Dalton meanwhile is also pleased with progress, even if his crew is not enjoying the ride. "It has been baptism by fire for a few of the lads as they haven't been tossed around like this for a while and these boats are very uncomfortable".

"With our galley situated so far forward and with nothing to brace against, cooking has been a bit of a trick, not that too many people have been hovering the food down but tomorrow the wind will start to settle down. Soon we will all be on starboard and heading towards the sun, although tricky light air awaits," added Dalton.

While the intensity of the racing means crews have got to be alert 100% of the time, with three weeks of sailing still remaining to Cape Town, they also need to carefully pace themselves.

"The crew have got into the normal routine for the first leg. We can't go burning everyone up with three and a half weeks to go so everyone is sleeping and eating well," added Shoebridge.

At the rear of the fleet, the crew of Amer Sports Too are happy with their progress despite a few glitches on board.

"We made a little mistake on the first night when we didn't gybe with the fleet on a small shift, which is why we are behind. The way the weather is at the moment everyone is sailing the same angles and in the same conditions and there isn't much variant and chances to catch up," commented Abigail Seager.

"We've been bailing out this morning, having found a few leaks. Mainly its water coming down the main hatch and down with wet kit which is to be expected. We've also had a couple of leaks from the water ballast systems which leaks straight into the bunks which was a priority to sort out so
we're looking forward to the tropics to dry everything else out".

Position Report:


PosYacht NameLatLongDTFDTLCMGSMGVMG1illbruck41 23.12N012 46.08W6585023710.182Tyco41 25.60N012 46.00W658722319.583Amer Sports One41 28.12N012 50.00W658832339.684ASSA ABLOY41 35.00N012 56.64W659272369.87.95News Corporation41 50.04N013 10.64W6601162299.87.86SEB41 46.92N012 54.76W6603182309.67.87Amer Sports Too41 57.40N012 34.24W6619342249.47.68djuice41 54.32N012 00.80W66284322110.17.5

Report from Ian Moore Co-Navigator, illbruck

It has been a fairly bumpy ride the last day or so and there have been a few casualties. I won't name and shame the hardened veterans who lost their lunch but I think everyone will be happier when the front comes through and we get to bear away a bit.

People were not the only things that took a pasting. We had that sinking feeling for a while when the sewing machine came loose from its stowage on a particularly savage wave and severed the standpipe from one of the seacocks.

Thankfully it severed the pipe just above the waterline but every time we dropped off a wave we had a miniature Trevi Fountain in the forepeak. Waffler (Stu Bettany), our resident rigger come plumber, was able to rebuild it in typical Kiwi "she'll be right" bodge it fashion.

Yesterday evening we sailed through the mini Transat fleet, which is spread out west of (Cape) Finisterre. If we thought we were having a tough time it's quite humbling to think those guys are out here on there own in 6.5m boats. We got quite close to a boat that looked like the leader and we shone a torch to see if it was anyone we knew but there didn't seem to be anybody on deck. I guess he was having a quick nap. Scary.

All is well aboard illbruck

ASSA ABLOY Chasing the Leaders

ASSA ABLOY and the seven other boats are in the 5th day of the Volvo Ocean
Race, West of the Portuguese coast. The first four boats are in an extreme
close battle. ASSA ABLOY is in forth position, breathing down the necks of
illbruck, Amer One and Tyco.

The first few days most have been very rough out at sea with winds from the
South gusting to 35 knots. Most of the teams reported seasickness and very
uncomfortable conditions. Also djuice reported on the first big set back for
them with a broken headboard car (device that holds the mainsail up). They
lost many miles with that.

illbruck is first on the leader board as Kostecki and his men are furthest
to the south (closest to the Portuguese coast) of the four leading boats,
which is closest to the finish in Cape Town.

Due to the harsh conditions of the last days the Team did not send a lot of
information from ASSA ABLOY. Mark Rudiger managed to get a short note out to
the project manager Richard Brisius on Wednesday 26 September.

"All ok, trying to catch up. Boats are pretty equal in these conditions.
Some stills sent, but sat B barely strong enough for me to get to my web
sites. Sony edit computer survived first big test after flying off swivel
mount on big wave and crashing into bilge. Fired up just fine after that,
Rudi"

ASSA ABLOY is positioned to the west of illbruck, and Newscorp is even
further out to the west than ASSA ABLOY. Between illbruck and ASSA ABLOY
lies Amer One with Skipper Grant Dalton. They are doing surprisingly well
having had such a short preparation time. The big question is now, who will
come out of this pack best and reach the trade winds first. Because once in
the trade winds there will be less passing lanes until the fleet hits the
Doldrums.

ASSA ABLOY's weather guru George Caras from Commander's Weather is keeping a
close eye on the ocean racers. He comments, "I still like their position. It
will continue to be rough for the next couple of days as head winds persist
and will be fairly strong. But I think the flow will come more from the SSW.
Wind speed of 20-30 knots. Being in the West will have the advantage as
there will be a front coming on Thursday night and the wind will move more
to the West and maybe even WNW later on Thursday night and Friday. This will
get the boats being furthest west a better wind angle more quickly (lifting)
It will probably be not long lasting, but maybe a few hours and that could
be at least a little advantage."

More Information:

  • YachtsandYachting.com Volvo Ocean Race Information Page
  • www.VolvoOceanRace.org

See also: DYER DINK for sale