Guest Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 With end in sight and only several days everything is on the line for Telefonica, Puma and Camper. Who can claim second overall or will it be decided by an inport race? Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 Telefónica smoked their rivals off the start line and led out into open water as the Volvo Ocean Race fleet set out on the final offshore leg of the 2011-12 event on Sunday -- with Groupama just needing a top-four finish to close out victory. Having dropped to fourth overall following their terrible luck on Leg 8 and a fourth place in Saturday’s Bretagne In-Port Race, Telefónica made their intentions clear right from the starting gun of the 550-mile leg from Lorient to Galway, stretching out an early lead around the 6.5-mile inshore course. PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG were the only team who managed to hang on to Telefónica’s coat tails around the inshore section as the two boats eked out a 60-second advantage. An aggressive start-line manoeuvre from CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand saw them penalised and relegated temporarily to the back of the fleet, but slick crew work saw them pull back to third by the time the fleet rounded the final turning mark. Meanwhile race leaders Groupama, with a 25-point buffer at the top of the leaderboard, opted for a more conservative approach at the back of the pack, safe in the knowledge that the next 48 hours hold fast conditions that suit their boat perfectly. Prior to leaving their home port, Groupama skipper Franck Cammas said he was buoyed by the forecast but still mindful of the capabilities of his team’s rivals. “The conditions are not so bad for our boat for sure, but the routing is very easy, it’s almost straight, and in these conditions all the boats are very fast,” he said. “If we have one issue on our boat we could lose a lot of miles so it’s a little bit stressful in these conditions.” Rather than heading straight to Ireland, the fleet must first sail south 25 miles round the island of Belle Ile, which promises to be a quick run in 15-18 knots of westerly wind. Once round Belle Ile the fleet will get a chance to stretch their legs in south-westerly breeze blowing between 20 and 30 knots – perfect conditions for Volvo Open 70s to hit top speeds. Although just 550 nautical miles long, the leg will throw up some challenges for the fleet and the first will come this evening in the form of an exclusion zone off the north-west tip of France. The teams will most likely pass the zone to the south, having to dodge shipping traffic in big winds and total darkness. A cold front between France and Ireland could make things even more interesting with squalls and small storms to negotiate. Several metres of swell blown across the continental shelf by a powerful low pressure system in the North Atlantic will be yet another challenge for the teams. By late morning on Monday the fleet should be rounding Fastnet Rock, the most southerly tip of Ireland. From there it’s a straight run up to the Aran Islands, a set of three islands marking the entrance to Galway Bay that boast 200-metre tall cliffs. Eiragh lighthouse, at the western end of the Aran Islands, must be left to starboard before the fleet turn east and head for the finish line in Galway Bay. The current ETA for the fleet is 0000 UTC on Tuesday. Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 Live tracker shows Tele going inside the exclusion zone. What are the chances of that being accurate? Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 Camper are doing what they have to do and are leading the fleet in a race that could be over in two days time. Does someone with more technical info know what the penalty would be if Telefonica did go inside the exclusion zone? Link to post Share on other sites
BelowPAR 0 Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 The historical replay tracker also shows a couple of boats attempting to join in the Tour de France, so it cant be all that accurate Link to post Share on other sites
khayyam 77 Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 Live tracker shows Tele going inside the exclusion zone. What are the chances of that being accurate? what's the exclusion zone for? Link to post Share on other sites
chic014 0 Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 Ushant traffic separation scheme. Lots of ships. http://www.black-tides.com/uk/source/oi ... scheme.php Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 Have to confess I'm sitting here with my panties in a bunch hoping that Camper can hold 1st position until the finish line. For gawd's sake can they please at least win one leg? Link to post Share on other sites
khayyam 77 Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 Have to confess I'm sitting here with my panties in a bunch hoping that Camper can hold 1st position until the finish line. For gawd's sake can they please at least win one leg? The forecast doesn't call for any tight reaches, so perhaps they've got a chance.... Link to post Share on other sites
1paulg 17 Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 Be a nice way for them to finish after what has been a pretty gruelling campaign with very competitive boats...they actually deserve a good break,... Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 Don't forget that this is not the last leg. There is one inport race to go after they get to Gallway. Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 Don't forget that this is not the last leg. There is one inport race to go after they get to Gallway. True and with Abu Dhabi slipping further back Camper need to win this to stand a chance of claiming second overall or at least beat Puma and Telefonica. If the order was to go Camper, Groupama, Telefonica/Puma then Camper would almost be guaranteed second overall which is a great achievement. Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 Man I hope they win this one. Go camper Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 TELEFÓNICA LEADS IN HIGH STAKES FINAL SHOOT OUT It has been an intense night on the race-track for the six-boat fleet racing in the final offshore leg of the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12. Telefónica (Iker Martínez/ESP), desperate to put on a good final show after losing the overall lead on the Atlantic Leg 7, is in pole position, but all six are under 16 miles apart and the throttle is fully down. In the past hour, PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG (Ken Read/USA) have pressed CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand (Chris Nicholson/AUS) to take second place, while overall leaders Groupama, are currently in fourth place as the fleet approaches the infamous Fastnet Rock 52 miles ahead, which must be left to port. Overnight, as the fleet close reached across the Western Approaches at 18 – 20 knots, the English Channel produced its worst. Cold and tired crews were miserably huddled on the rail in 25 knots of wind, rainsqualls, fog and shivering cold temperatures in a furious race where no one is prepared to give an inch. As the fleet approaches the coast of Ireland the wind is expected to drop, sending the fleet upwind for a short time before sheets can be cracked. There will be one critical gybe before the fleet can head towards the finish line in Galway later tonight. Speaking from CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand earlier this morning, navigator Will Oxley explained that his team had decided on a very light boat for this leg with a massive stack. “It seems to be working so far. Also our timings on our sail changes have been very good and we seem to be hanging in there,” Oxley said. Looking ahead, the navigator from Australia expects to see teams cutting the corners where there is favourable tide. “People are going to be pushing it, going as close as they can to the bricks. Probably the VMG run and the final gybe into Galway will be significant,” he said. PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG (Ken Read/USA) chose an offshore option mid-afternoon on Sunday in search of more favourable wind angles, closing back with the pack as it converged on the western tip of the shipping exclusion zone set north of Ushant. The top three boats are less than 0.6 nm apart, while Groupama is just two miles off the lead. Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing (Ian Walker/GBR) and Sanya (Mike Sanderson/NZL) are a mile apart, but 15 miles from Telefónica. This is the final full day at sea for the class of 2011-12 and the last appearance offshore in the Volvo Ocean Race for the Volvo Open 70, which is to be replaced by a new one-design 65 from the board of Farr Yacht Design for the 2014-15 Race and beyond. Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 Live coverage on the VOR website now as the boats round the rock. Link to post Share on other sites
ex Elly 197 Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 Camper were fourth round Fastnet rock, but in the last few hours have overtaken the bunch to take the lead. They are sailing faster on the run than the other boats. Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 Man the dicky live tracker on Camper is giving me the shits this morning! What are they? In "Stealth mode"?!!! C'mon fellas!!!! Link to post Share on other sites
Clipper 343 Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 go camper go Link to post Share on other sites
ScottiE 174 Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 so I'm guessing from comments above that the trackers for Camper, Groupama and Telefonica have stopped working. Certainly looks that way when you replay the last hour or so. Either that or the three of them were simultaneously hit by secret US atomic submarines at exactly the same time! Link to post Share on other sites
ScottiE 174 Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 now I'm really confused - the tracker shows Abu Dhabi futher back than they were a few mins ago. Are we sure they are really out there and this is not a random number generator screen that we're looking at? Link to post Share on other sites
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