Leg 4

[Guest]

 

[Guest]

The course towards Auckland is calling for some slight detours so the pace is slow as Groupama 4 continues on her way to the West of New Caledonia. There are two reasons for this change of heading: a south-easterly breeze which isn't terribly steady and the need to cover the three ‘western' boats. At a subdued pace since the end of the weekend, Franck Cammas and his men should find renewed drive from this Monday evening.

 

 

 

As media man Yann Riou on Groupama 4 reported this Monday morning: “the days are tending to become a little monotonous”. And we can well understand this sentiment since Franck Cammas and his men have been on the same point of sail for over a week! Seven days heeled over on port tack, in a breeze varying between 8 and 25 knots, where the only manœuvres involve shifting the stack of sails longitudinally and switching from the J1 to the J2 genoa, then back to the J1 or the Code 0… In short, in the stifling heat of the equator, without the possibility of really opening the hatches to get some air circulating down below, the atmosphere aboard the French boat (along with the others) is both sticky and heavy. It'll be another three to four days before the tropical heat fades as a result of a more temperate austral autumn offshore of New Zealand.

 

Attack of the masses

Let's not forget that the six VO-70s are still between 10° and 15° South, which is between the equator and the Tropic of Capricorn, whilst the equinox of the austral autumn (20 March) isn't for another fifteen days. This means that the sun is virtually directly above them at noon, local time, and the humidity rate is bordering on 90%! As a result, the evaporation levels are intense in the Coral Sea and the succession of cloud masses to the North of New Caledonia are leading to rain squalls and, most importantly, lighter ESE'ly tradewinds. Groupama 4 was the first to be affected by this at the beginning of last night (local time) and her speed dropped to less than seven knots for nearly six hours… And yet, her easterly position in relation to the rest of the fleet is again bearing fruit. Early this Monday afternoon, they were benefiting from around twelve knots of easterly wind, whilst nearly all the rest of the fleet were sailing in a SSE'ly air flow!

 

This unforeseen cloud attack has forced the Spanish and the New Zealanders into a tack to reposition themselves along the course of the leader of this fourth leg. Indeed, even the Americans have been affected by this mass of rain. As such the current scenario is very favourable for Franck Cammas and his men, who can slip along towards the Belep Islands (Pott and Art Islands) some 150 miles ahead, so as to carve out a big curve to the West of Nouméa. Groupama 4 is probably going to pass between 100 and 200 miles offshore, so as not to be too affected by the high landforms of New Caledonia.

 

Trundling along

Having rounded the island of Outre-Mer, Groupama 4 is probably not going to switch back onto the direct course. Not looking very pronounced, a depression is forming along the trajectory leading to New Zealand, which is expected to result in light, fluky winds all around the zone… As such it will very likely be necessary to drop down due South, even though the last 300 miles are probably set to round off with boisterous south-easterly headwinds. Behind the French boat, their pursuers don't really have any other choice than to same the same track. From tonight (UTC time), it is expected that the whole fleet will fall into line behind the French locomotive. Puma will be in the position of tender, less than a hundred miles behind, then Telefonica and Abu Dhabi will be in contact around 150 miles further back, followed by Camper nearly 200 miles astray. Meantime Sanya will probably have to catch the next train...

 

Given that there are over 1,300 miles to go before the leaders reach Auckland, will this 8 to 15% differential be enough to ensure the French boat wins an Oscar? It's not certain as the calms which will settle into place to the North of New Zealand may also shift westwards and ensnare the leader. In these French waters, “The Artist” will favour the island of Art, but Franck Cammas hasn't yet written the whole scenario for this action-packed fourth leg. The script hasn't yet gone in for the kill in this latest hunt, though the pack are set to regroup. As such, will the focus revolve around each team's ability to strike out for a stage win (at the risk of losing their way) or rather the need to ensure their podium seat so as to limit the damage in terms of points in the overall ranking?

[Guest]

Camper are running out of room to chase down 200nm.

[Guest]

heres some audio of the boats in the last two days.

 

Rome Kirby-Puma

http://www.volvooceanrace.com/static/as ... _kirby.mp3

 

Rob salthouse-Camper

http://www.volvooceanrace.com/static/as ... thouse.mp3

 

Ryan Houston- Sanya

http://www.volvooceanrace.com/static/as ... _swete.mp3

 

Mike-Camper

http://www.volvooceanrace.com/static/as ... menter.mp3

 

Ryan again-Sanya

http://www.volvooceanrace.com/static/as ... ouston.mp3

[Guest]

 

Groupama sailing team are today making the most of fresh trade winds to increase their margin at the front of the fleet as they power south faster than anyone else.

 

At 1300 UTC Franck Cammas’ crew had extended to 112 nautical miles (nm) ahead of Ken Read’s PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG in second and more than 165 nm in front of Iker Martínez’s third placed Team Telefónica.

 

Groupama were the first boat into stronger steadier trade winds, enabling them to create a much needed safety margin which bowman Brad Marsh believes could come in handy before the finish when the weather scenario could be very different.

 

“Our aim right now is to keep a buffer on the guys behind us and hopefully if things go wrong we have enough to hold them back,’’ he said.

 

“If the weather system changes, like with the system that is sort of threatening to develop behind us, then it’s easy to get all the boats scattered across the ocean.

 

“That creates a chance for someone like Telefónica or PUMA or CAMPER to make a rather large gain with a new weather system coming in from behind us. That’s the risk we have at the moment,” Marsh said.

 

According to race meteorologist Gonzalo Infante a 24 hour drag-race south is on the cards before the fleet turn towards New Zealand’s North Cape and slug it out against the wind to the finish in Auckland.

 

Infante says the final days of Leg 4 are unlikely to be straightforward as a low-pressure system lurking over Fiji could mean a major headache for the fleet’s navigators.

 

“An eastern course runs the risk of falling foul of the low’s light winds but reduces the anticipated upwind sailing to the finish, while a more western course means faster angles but sailing a greater distance against the wind,” Infante explained.

 

Fourth placed CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand navigator Will Oxley has plumped for the more westerly option and reckons the rest of the fleet will have to get closer to CAMPER’s track to avoid the low pressure.

 

“It looks like there’s low above New Zealand,” he said. “To the west of that low extends a finger of quite low air, so the boats in the east will end up having to come down to our line to get around that and we hope to see some compression at that point.”

 

Oxley also hopes the western route could help them equal the reaching pace of Groupama, PUMA and Telefónica -- all three Juan Kouyoumdjian designs.

 

“I don’t think there’s any secret in the fact that this sort of reaching is not our strong point against the three Juan K boats,’’ he said. “It’s very hard for us to go the same speed in equal conditions, so we hope that we have a little more lifting breeze being a little more west than them which enables us to match their speed.”

 

Despite being in fifth place at 1300 UTC today and 37 nm behind CAMPER, Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing skipper Ian Walker still believes the Emirati team have plenty to play for before the finish of Leg 4.

 

“After sailing so well and pushing hard to get into third we now find ourselves in fifth, but hopefully with a shot still at CAMPER,’’ Walker said. “We have just made a nice gain back at them and so maybe we still have a chance to convert our easterly position into gains.”

 

Just over 1000 nautical miles remain of Leg 4 from Sanya, China to Auckland, New Zealand.

 

The first boat is currently expected to arrive in Auckland on March 10 around 1000 UTC.

[Guest]

Though Groupama 4 has been able to extend her lead over the past 24 hours, part of the weather situation between New Caledonia and New Zealand is coloured by doubt. Indeed the light airs offshore of Auckland could cause the fleet to bunch up again. The ETA is reckoned to be between noon on Friday and Saturday night UTC.

 

 

 

 

 

The larder will be empty when Franck Cammas and his men cross the finish line in Auckland. This fourth leg has been longer than scheduled, and the person in charge of the canteen had reckoned on eighteen days at sea! As such, from Friday morning, the crew will have to nibble on the leftovers, whilst the light airs around New Zealand could stretch out the race time even further. In terms of hierarchy there is less uncertainty now: the two trios have converged level with New Caledonia and are now making headway in virtually the same sailing conditions, in an easterly wind of between 15 and 20 knots.

 

A parabola course to round off

Ultimately Groupama 4 opted to sail far beyond her country's overseas territories, passing 150 miles to the West of Nouméa, so as not to be affected by its high altitude. At the same time, the different courses have fallen back into line somewhat behind them and the lateral separation between the three “westerners” (Telefonica, Camper and Sanya) has shrunk from 250 to around a hundred miles. Now the formation of a low to the North of New Zealand, which isn't very pronounced, is leaving no strategic options for the final 1,000 miles to the finish. As a result, the whole fleet will have to avoid the calms which will reign across the direct route from Wednesday and the navigators have no other choice than to head due South for 500 miles, before they stand a chance of being able to make for the northern tip of New Zealand.

 

According to the grib files, for the next 24 hours the French leader will further increase her lead over the Americans and Spanish, who are virtually on the same latitude (with Puma 80 miles further East). It's a favourable position in this beam wind, but it's causing some concern aboard the American boat. Indeed the two boats are practically identical and have the same potential. As such the end of the leg is very important for both these teams, who could still threaten Groupama 4 on this descent along the coast of New Zealand where light airs will prevail. It's even possible that the crews will have to beat into the thermal breezes…

 

General bunching of the fleet?

In this way, from Wednesday evening, the fleet are likely to adopt a course due South, with a slight tendency to sail close to the wind in order to make headway to the East. However, this eastward move will have to be done in moderation so as the teams don't come up against a light breeze generated by the centre of the low. However, at some time or another, it will be necessary to dip down to the northern tip of New Zealand and sail close-hauled in around ten knots of South-East to easterly wind. Though Franck Cammas and his men are in a strong position at this stage of the leg, Thursday looks set to be decisive for the standing in Auckland. Groupama 4 has some good cards up her sleeve, but the wind may yet deal the aces out again.

 

Ultimately the major loser in this fourth offshore leg is Abu Dhabi, despite the fact that the team perfectly handled the exit from the China Sea and their entry into the Pacific. However, the lack of Doldrums didn't penalise those favouring an insular route at the Solomon Islands and Ian Walker and his crew haven't been able to hook onto the easterly tradewinds to the North of New Caledonia like their predecessors. As such they're going to really have their work cut out to catch up with the leading group, whilst Camper still has a chance of overtaking the Spaniards on this final stretch, which they are particularly familiar with…

[Guest]

I spoke to Grant Dolton This afternoon and this is what he had to say about their preformance in this leg so far. "there just not fast enough, but they have sailed tactically alright".

[Guest]

He's right. I'd be interested in what Grant Dalton has to say though!

[Guest Rocket]

Groupama are fast and have also sailed alright.

 

If it was my call I would be going as low as possible in the hope the low catches the weather boats. looks like they may have to flick to Starboard late in the piece to make North Cape - and if you could get some leverage out to the right who knows? Might be more pressure and a late right hander out there. I presume that is why Groupama have pushed it low across the face of Tele and Camp mother. The old "if you lift you lay and if you knock you gain" game... Gotta keep it boogeying though which may make it hard to get leverage.

 

Puma might be going backwards in the next few days....

[Guest]

He's right. I'd be interested in what Grant Dalton has to say though!

Must get that kid a decent sized keyboard.

[SloopJohnB 322]

but the "a" is some distance away from the "o" on my leyboard.

[Guest]

He's right. I'd be interested in what Grant Dalton has to say though!

 

That is what grant said. it was short in sharpe. The only other things that he said was that his cats dead and that telefonica have sailed this leg tactically very poorly and look at where they are. I didnt have pen, paper or my voice recorder working at the time so unfortunitly thats all I remember him saying and i cant remember exactly how he said it. I wasnt expecting to talk to him so I wasnt prepared to record

[Megwyn 2]

Oh come on Stephen - what sort of photo journalist are you to go anywhere without your camera and your recorder!

 

Bummer huh.

[B00B00 310]

Loving your reports and updates Steven, one small request, when posting/embedding the videos is there any chance you can also post the link as well so I can view it on my phone with wireless conection. The phone won't let me view the embedded videos at all, not sure if many others have the same problem.

Keep up the good work, its now the only place I go for volvo updates!

[dlangpap 0]

Dalton's right, Camper lost the Volvo when they chose their boat designer...and Telefonica are good but they also have been lucky and their boat is probably the fastest of this edition of the VOR...

[Guest]

This afternoon Telefónica (Iker Martínez/ESP) moved up to second place on the Leg 4 leader board as Groupama 4 continued to dominate. The fleet is racing towards Cape Reinga, the turning point at the northern tip of New Zealand’s North Island, which lies 437 nautical miles ahead of Groupama.

 

Will Oxley, navigator with fourth placed CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand (Chris Nicholson/AUS) explains that the low pressure system situated to the east of the fleet has a light patch associated with it. For CAMPER to try to avoid it would mean putting the bow down and extending the beat up to the cape by over 100 nm. “We’re all going to roll into this light wind zone and throw the dice and see what happens,” Oxley said.

 

Earlier, at 1300 UTC, Iker Martínez and his men gained six nm and deposed the beleaguered PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG (Ken Read/USA) who had lost 30 nm in the previous three hours.

 

On the eastern side of the course, PUMA have been feeling the full effects of the light wind zone and had yet another night of struggling with heavy rainsqualls with little or no wind under them, resulting in their massive loss today. “It hasn’t been very favourable for us,” remarked helmsman Kelvin Harrap.

 

The larger squalls are visible on the radar if they have some sort of precipitation within them, which helps the team to avoid them, but they are now in third place and 27 nm behind Telefónica.

 

Media crew member Amory Ross said in an interview tonight: “It’s a big shame. We have ‘cabin fever’ as it is, but to have 6,000 nm worth of sailing come down to a few bad clouds is hard. Everyone is feeling it and you can see in their faces and hear it in their voices. We are all pretty disappointed right now.”

 

Groupama too have suffered squalls, but they were coupled with a lot more wind and better angles than the crew had anticipated. Although Oxley thinks Groupama will escape unscathed the French team’s helmsman Phil Harmer said today that they too have had their share of tough moments.

 

“Everyone is quite tired and exhausted,” he said. “We’ve been hanging onto this lead for 18 days or so. Everyone has been sailing really hard to keep this lead, which is what we have done. Now it’s getting a bit stressful because we know the guys behind are going to catch us a little bit, so everyone is hoping and praying they don’t catch us too much before we get to Auckland.”

 

As Groupama hardened up onto the wind, the chasing pack had all made gains on them at 1900 UTC tonight as their speed began to slow, causing their leading margin to be whittled away to 127 nm. Telefónica (Iker Martínez/ESP) came screaming up behind on a broad reach averaging 19.3 knots and gaining 22 nm, 27 nm ahead of PUMA now in third place.

 

Both Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing (Ian Walker/GBR) and Team Sanya (Mike Sanderson/NZL) were also on the pace, both boats making substantial gains and finally averaging high speeds, although they are over 300 nm astern of the leg leader.

[Guest]

Groupama make it sound like camper could still have a chance.

 

The depression, which has settled into position across the direct route to Auckland, is forcing the fleet to go around the resulting zone of calms. Groupama 4 has managed to hold onto her lead ahead of the Americans and Spanish, but the last 500 miles are likely to be punctuated by a steady South-East to easterly headwind, which is set to ease as they close on New Zealand. As such the fleet is likely to bunch up…

 

 

 

“Obviously being in the lead of this leg is a morale boost, but there's no motorway to the finish. We're going to have to deal with a zone of light airs. This transition zone casts some doubt over the last 400 miles to Cape Reinga to the North of New Zealand, as we still don't know if we're going to have light airs and upwind conditions at the finish. There will then be a second tricky zone as we drop down towards Auckland. That could be an opportunity for our pursuers to make up the lost ground on us with the arrival of a front from behind, whilst we'll be in light airs. As such nothing is set in stone, even with a lead of over a hundred miles”, explained Franck Cammas during the noon videoconference on Tuesday.

 

A question of timing

Since they set a course out to the West of New Caledonia, Franck Cammas and his men have been able to hold onto their extra buffer as regards the Americans, who are now behind the Spanish. It would seem that Ken Read got a little too close to the centre of the low and that Puma has fallen into a zone of light breezes, whilst Telefonica is hurtling along at over 18 knots with the wind on the beam! With Camper in the wake of the Spanish, the Americans are on the point of being seriously knocked back in terms of miles, and their position some 50 miles further East, no longer appears advantageous for the end of the leg. Indeed Ian Walker has spotted the danger and Abu Dhabi has side-stepped this zone and are instead covering the Chinese boat, which is becoming a threat…

 

The route to Auckland is still full of pitfalls, with one depression leaving Australia to slip across the Southern Ocean and another disturbance offshore of the northern tip of New Zealand, which doesn't appear too pronounced. Between the two the breeze is fairly shifty both in terms of strength and direction. As such Groupama 4 has continued heading due South, whilst her rivals have no other choice than to adopt the same track. In this way, the moment when the decision is taken to hang a big left towards New Zealand is going to very important. The French boat will be the first to skim past the centre of the low, where the breeze will struggle to reach five knots, before they can latch onto an easterly breeze of around fifteen knots.

 

“Though there are no major options to be had for anyone, the problem stems from the fact that the boats aren't in the same timing in relation to this depression: by being in front, we may be led to pass through a windless zone waiting for the breeze to return behind us… bringing the other boats with it! In the current circumstances, given that the route to the finish has narrowed down the options, there's not a lot we can do.”

 

Final beat

This Wednesday evening, Groupama 4's lead is likely to shrink then, as has been the case since this morning, where they lost ten miles in six hours. Indeed Franck Cammas and his crew are now skirting along the edge of the disturbed system, in what is a south-easterly air flow of less than ten knots, whilst the Spanish are still making headway with over fifteen knots of easterly breeze. However this situation is set to be fleeting because, once they're past 31° South, which will be around daybreak in the Antipodes, the French boat will have passed below the depression, at which point she'll latch back onto a new easterly breeze of at least 18 knots. As such the gaps between the fleet will concertina as the rest of the fleet will also have to deal with this light patch about half a day later.

 

It is only once they pass this critical latitude that Groupama 4 will be able to begin to bend her course round towards Cape Reinga, less than 200 miles from the finish. In fact, it's highly likely that it will be impossible to make landfall on the Kiwi coast without first putting in some tacks to get around the northern headland. After that the easterly wind will ease from Friday: the zone of high pressure centred over the South of North Island, will be replaced by a barometric marshland over Auckland! The breeze will radically decrease as Franck Cammas and his men beat their way along the coast to close on the Hauraki Gulf. If things pan out as they should, it will be no picnic for their pursuers either if they have a deficit of at least a hundred miles on passing Cape Reinga. However, if they're any closer than that, there could very well be a turnaround!

[Guest]

Auckland a "barometric marshland".

 

Nice one.

[Guest]

Overnight, runaway leaders in Leg 4 of the Volvo Ocean Race Groupama sailing team (Franck Cammas/FRA) began their long beat up towards Cape Reinga on the northern tip of New Zealand’s North Island. As the tacking frenzy continued, Groupama’s lead was slowly eroded by the chasing pack, who were still reaching, although at 1000 UTC today, the French team had improved their margin to 108 nautical miles, creating a safe enough buffer to protect their lead from Telefónica (Iker Martínez/ESP).

 

The French team are now sailing in a building south-easterly breeze on the edge of an area of a high-pressure, which is slowly drifting east. This may play into the hands of the Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing (Ian Walker/GBR) and Sanya (Mike Sanderson/NZL), who now may sail less distance upwind but with a more unsettled breeze. Cape Reinga is 315 nm upwind from Groupama’s current position and they are expected to make the turn in high winds later today or tonight.

 

On board Groupama, the crew is tired but still focussed on the finish. Soon they will be running on adrenaline alone as the daily food bags run out on Friday and the finish is not expected until Saturday morning UTC.

 

Telefónica, in second place, is around eight hours and 108 nm behind the leaders and will find themselves sailing upwind in the worst of the south-easterly breeze.

 

Meanwhile, PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG (Ken Read) and Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing , the two easterly boats in the fleet, were badly affected by clouds and showers as they sailed closer to the low-pressure area. Their easterly position will allow them more straight-line sailing than Telefónica (Iker Martínez/ESP) and CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand (Chris Nicholson/AUS).

 

CAMPER is currently transitioning across a light section, trying to break out of the north-east trades and into the new established south-easterly breeze. Skipper Chris Nicholson has observed that PUMA has a lot of leverage over CAMPER, but it seems that it has been difficult for them to convert it into miles ahead. “Hopefully we will be in sight of each other once we get into new breeze, then it’s game on,” Nicholson said today.

 

Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing is covering their lead over sixth placed Sanya and hoping to take some miles out of CAMPER, but with 716 nm to run to the finish, the runway is shortening rapidly.

[Guest]

The longest day

 

 

Before they can step onto the dock in Auckland, Franck Cammas and his men still have a day and a half at sea, beating into a strong South-East to easterly wind, which will fade as they make their way along the coast of New Zealand. The pressure from behind is considerable, with the chasing group hot on their heels, beating a path towards them...

 

Though Groupama 4 is forming the vanguard, the Americans, Spanish and New Zealanders are lying in ambush! Their attack is having increasing resonance as they confront the onslaught from the big seas, where the troughs are increasingly deep, the impact increasingly violent in the rough, abrupt waves and the wind shifts roar as they verge on thirty knots. The sailors are having to submit themselves to the crashing and pounding, their stomachs rumbling with the lack of calories (in this campaign to the Antipodes, the stocks are getting low) as they crawl up on deck to make a sail change. This final battle in the Tasman Sea hasn't yet come to an end. The French scouts are leading the way across this meteorological `minefield', which is calling for a number of deviations, zigzags and tack changes in order to climb the last hill linked to this depression, from which they'll hopefully be able to make out the liberating land mass of New Zealand...

 

Signed up

 

There are still 300 miles to go in these liquid trenches, which shake the rigs, send the bodies flying and make the structures tremble. In this incessant bombardment there's no shelter and the stream of projectiles across the deck is constant, undermining the troops, who are hidden away behind a wall of sails to windward, as if answering the call for action stations. Helmets are compulsory here as protection against the fragments of spray and waves, which thunder and explode across the bow. There are some signs which are unmistakable though: the wind fields, which oscillate wildly under the influence of an Australian disturbance which will slowly become more ordered and the North wind, which will be transformed into a zephyr once Cape Reinga looms up on the horizon.

 

"Nearly everyone is on deck because we've going to further reduce the sail area. Sailing under full mainsail, we're going to put a reef in the J2 genoa because we have over 22 knots close-hauled. The breeze has been beginning to get steadier in terms of direction since early last night, but the wind is gradually building and is set to reach 28-30 knots before daybreak. It should remain fairly strong until Cape Reinga. For eight days we were beam onto the wind with a lot of sail changes to adapt to the conditions and, just yesterday, we put in several tacks in the light airs. As such we're pretty tired. Fortunately we have a full moon tonight and our path is being nicely illuminated! We're going to finish off our daily food rations, but we still have a few things left in the larder to get us into Auckland...", indicated Yann Riou, Groupama 4's media man at noon this Thursday.

 

Putting up a resistance

 

Once a few additional tacks have been put in to get around Cape Reinga, there will only be 180 miles to go to reach Auckland. The boats bunched up slightly last night. Telefonica, Puma and Camper are just 100-150 miles astern of Groupama 4 and the French crew will have to hold off this trio right the way to the finish line. The slight difference since yesterday relates to the fact that this threesome no longer has many tactical options because, with a 25% lead over a course of less than 500 miles in a stable, enduring wind, their strategy will more likely focus on the internal battle for the podium... The Spanish have been in pole position since they got around to the West of the Americans, as they managed to reposition themselves further along the track in front of them. Puma's easterly option is now just ten miles or so away, which doesn't appear to be enough to benefit from a breeze which is itself shifting round to the East!

 

In 24 hours' time, Groupama 4 will be beyond Cape Reinga and the breeze will ease. As such the separation between the leader and the chasing trio could well increase, though the change in weather conditions will make the race for second and third place extremely tense behind the French boat. The latter should tie up in Auckland on Saturday morning (ETA between 0600 and 1200 UTC) and it's becoming hard to image a reversal in the situation. However, the same cannot be said of the other pretenders to the podium: the Spanish, Americans and New Zealanders haven't yet done with tearing each other to pieces! All the same, it's a very long day ahead for the French team, who will have to watch that they don't break anything and ensure they use conservative tactics to get around Cape Reinga and for the whole of the descent towards the Hauraki Gulf.