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Volvo Ocean Race Leg 1 - Fleet approach high pressure ridge
Update from Roy Heiner, Assa Abloy
Play The Last Move
With the breaking of the day all the faint dots on the radar during the night have become reality. Five boats within visual range of each other. Five boats together after 7 days of racing. I guess it does not get any better from a racing standpoint. There is definitely not any lack of focus
and urgency onboard. The race is on for the trade winds south of the Canaries and my best guess is that we will also get there within visuals of each other. Then a race to the doldrums, could it be possible that we will all still be together by then? I bet my bottom dollar that we will still be racing boat for boat getting into Cape Town. So I guess, as in basketball, the winning team will be the one that gets to play the last move, gets the last wind shift right.
The happy racing team.
Report from Grant Dalton, Amer Sports One
A 34 Day Leg?
It is the end of day 6 now and we are only at Madeira. It has been so slow so far and I fear that our catering of 30 days could be as much as 4 days short. Good thing that we didn't really eat for the first 3 days hence allowing us to save a bit. We have com (communication) problems onboard
and have lost our Sat B (Satcom B).
This is a major setback, not just as it means we cannot send pictures (photographs and video images) but also as we are totally dependant on it for all our weather information, so vital these days.
Today we sailed straight past News Corp which was satisfying but I fear that the 3 boats in front of us at present (Tyco, ASSA ABLOY and illbruck) are sailing just that little bit better.
We still are working on our sail crossovers, the quickest way to get them up and down etc so we should be pleased with the way we are going I guess with a week nearly gone.
Update from Mark Christensen, illbruck
An Interesting 24 hours
The last 24 hrs have been interesting both in terms of each boats performance and strategy.
Yesterday we were on starboard (tack) with the forecast of a long period reaching on that tack. Time for rest and recouperation.
A few hrs later we had to tack back to port because a small trough line had developed. The wind then swung back into the west, so the fleet tacked back onto starboard and then the wind built to 20kts during the evening.
We have been able to see Amer (Sports) 1 (One) everyday but finally with some reaching we pulled out 5 miles on them.
Further to the west it seems that ASSA ABLOY and Tyco are a little faster than News Corp. The extra breeze has split the fleet a bit with some of the boats not getting any at all.
It is always hard to imagine that the wind can be so different over such a short distance.
If I had to rate the other boats performance, I would place Tyco first because she seems good all around, then ASSA, with her ability to reach.
Amer (Sports) 1 seems quick but maybe still needs to sort out their sail inventory. News Corp seems good whenever powered up and SEB is the opposite. So far we don't seem weak but it would be difficult to say we are the best in any condition.
On the tactical side, there is a major hurdle, even the leg winning weather factor looming. A high is approaching from the west and is ridging up into the straits of Gibraltar. The difficult decision is whether to sail around the high and guarantee some wind but possibly bad positioning for the trade winds or try and cross the ridge to the east and position yourself better for the trades.
It is difficult because often there can be no wind in a ridge. On our last transatlantic (qualifying) race we lost 80 miles to Tyco and 120 (miles) to News Corp parked in a ridge.
It seems that Tyco is banking on the high having moved west to join ASSA two days ago. News Corp is perhaps going to try to cross the ridge to the east having made a move in that direction last night.
The rest of us can't seem to make up our minds just heading down the middle. Every forecast suggests a different option. The next few days may be crucial to the outcome of the leg.
And on a more personal note. After my run of bad luck the other day, things did not improve. We have had a diesel spillage in the head (toilet) area of the boat and footing was treacherous. The seaway the other day didn't help matters and on trying to make my getaway to the relative calm (read on) of my aft bunk, I lost my footing as we launched over a wave and tried to shift a
ring frame with some of my ribs. Not to comfortable but can drive without pain. Just difficult with Jamie's (Gale) humour, don't make me laugh.
A couple of off watches later, it had become almost impossible to sleep but after a few hours of clutching onto the bunk as we launched off every wave, I was sufficiently exhausted to fall asleep. Not long after I woke up with a large bruise and a small cut from what I can only imagine was head butting the hull of the boat.
Today is much better, nice flat calm seas with a gentle 10kts breeze, with the diesel mopped up and the hull not after my head, I'm off to bed.
Report from Jon Gunderson, Team News Corp
You may have heard that our keyboard is broken and we are having to use an on screen one, for that reason this will not be a novel! Pity because there has been plenty of action on board to report.
The last 30 hours have been FULL ON out here. First the front came through which put us back in touch with the leaders. Ever since then we have been in a sail change frenzy trying to find the right sail for the ever changing angle.
Unfortunately we have also been hampered by gear breakages. No one has been sleeping as we try desperately to hang onto the front bunch and stay in this race.
Alby (Pratt) is repairing our code 3 spinnaker below, it will probably take him 24 hours or so.
A few people on board have colds but spirits are high as the sun is out and we are back in nice sailing conditions - a welcome change!
From the broken keyboard
Report from Stig Westergaard, Djuice Dragons
The Long Stretch South
Right now we are facing the challenge of sailing fast south, to catch up with the leaders and to get positioned towards the crossing of a major high-pressure ridge.
This is not an easy task as the benefit of the present sometimes conflicts with the overall goal. We are pushing the boat as much as possible under a code 0 (zero) upwind. Every gram is stacked to weather.
The position reports are not always nice reading. It is somewhat frustrating to see the leaders enlarge their gain just by being further into the wind. Hopefully they will park in the ridge before us.
The atmosphere is great though. Everybody is chipping in the best they can.
I for one am starting to get more patients in the hospital. So far only smaller things, cuts and bruises, infections and the like. Only we have one guy under observation for stomach pains. Probably either a stomach flu or slight malfunction due to constipation. But you never know. I would
rather not see something serious under way.
Jean Yves (Bernot - Navigator) and Wouter (Verbraak - co-navigator) are working overtime to try to figure out where we might have some openings to exploit.
Though still sailing upwind! Everybody told me of the Portuguese North, tradewinds and so far we have been sailing upwind almost all the way. But it is getting warmer. Gone into T-shirt mode. So now we are looking forward to some downwind sailing.
More Information:
- YachtsandYachting.com Volvo Ocean Race Information Page
- www.VolvoOceanRace.org
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