Leg One updates

[Guest]

the updates are coming thick and fast now. still nothing about Abu Dhabi though.

 

 

Hamish Hooper

CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand

07-11-2011 06:24:50

Riding a bucking rodeo bronco

 

It was another very bumpy ride today with winds general on the nose around 30 knots at times reaching up to 40 knots.

 

These boats are a pretty wild ride in conditions like that, well heeled over, riding up and down waves like on a prize rodeo bronco.

 

It is a very hard task just to move around on deck and perhaps even more so down below where a slip of a foot or hand can send you falling very hard to the floor a long way below. It pays to move around with caution, but sometimes even caution doesn’t save you as I discovered trying to cook lunch in the galley. One second I was over the kettles waiting for them to boil, the next as if I hadn’t moved, but the boat had moved from below me, I hit the floor hard and was languishing saturated in the bilge full of water… Again that question pops to mind, “What am I doing here?”

 

Despite this somewhat low point of my day, all of my effort in the galley was not lost on the crew, who were pretty elated to have a nice hot meal of freeze dry nachos after the 24 hours they had been through… There are a lot of very tired, and sore red eyes around today.

 

The high point for sure was reaching Gibraltar ahead of the somewhat diminished fleet after hearing Sanya had also suspended racing.

 

The sea state had eased remarkably; breeze had dropped to a far more manageable but patchy 10 – 15 knots.

 

The shipping traffic is always a worry trying to negotiate through, so there was still a heightened level of alert on deck.

 

There is some satisfaction on board having left The Med in the lead but also the grounding prospect that there is a long long way to go in this leg.

 

“From the sublime to the ridiculous- 38 knots to 5 knots” is how our Navigator Will Oxley describes the transition from what we saw before Gibraltar and what we are facing after.

 

“The next challenge is the big area of light winds ahead, and how best to negotiate through these to hook into the favorable trade winds and remain in the lead”

 

Nervous times ahead, but then when are there not nervous times prior to crossing the finish line- I’m pretty certain there aren’t any.

[Guest]

Its now official (well has been for several hours)

 

Team Sanya, the Volvo Ocean Race’s first-ever Chinese entry, have announced their official retirement from Leg 1, after sustaining serious damage to the bow of their boat, soon after leaving Alicante, Spain for Cape Town, South Africa.

 

Mike Sanderson, CEO and skipper of Team Sanya, today elaborated on the events at sea on Sunday November 6 and reiterated the team’s intention to get back in the race as quickly as possible.

 

“We were very happy with our progress, managing the big breeze and waves very nicely. We were not pushing 100 per cent and had decided to throttle back a knot or so given the conditions; we felt we were in a comfortable zone.

 

“We suddenly felt a very odd lurch, like dragging the keel through soft mud. We could hear the noise of water coming into the bow. The watertight doors were already shut thankfully.

 

“We got everyone up and into lifejackets. For sure if the watertight doors had not been shut, we would have been sunk. We got the pumps going but they were not really making much difference. After a time, our situation stabilized and we suspended racing and headed to the nearest port.”

 

Sanderson says Team Sanya now face a major logistical challenge to get their boat to Cape Town and effect repairs before the in-port racing and the start of Leg 2 to Abu Dhabi.

 

“We need to take the time to do some serious thinking and planning, assessing the logistical options and making the right choices that get us back in the race as soon as possible. We need to repair the hull perfectly; a rush job is not an option.

 

“The repair is no small task. We have to chop out a large section of the boat and replace it – normally a two to three week job, we will have to shoehorn it into seven days. But this is the Volvo Ocean Race and we will do what we have to do to make it happen.”

 

“Our worst-case scenario is that we ship to Cape Town but are not able to fix it in time, meaning we are late starting from Cape Town and consequently miss the ship from our stop point during the second leg.”

 

In an unrelated incident, bowman Andy Meiklejohn sustained an injury during a sail change in the extremely rough conditions on the first night. Once ashore an assessment at the local hospital confirmed Meiklejohn had broken his foot.

 

Commenting on Meiklejohn’s injury, Sanderson said:

 

“Andy is now in the process of receiving medical advice and will be treated as soon as possible. He is an extremely pivotal team member and will be sorely missed while he is off. We will assess his recovery time and look at our options for a replacement should we need one.”

 

Sanderson summed up the disappointment that he and the entire Sanya team were feeling after the retirement and reiterated their commitment to return to racing as soon as possible.

 

“From a personal point of view I have never before retired from a Whitbread or Volvo leg and so it’s a pretty sad moment. We were very comfortable with how we were sailing and so it’s extremely disappointing for the guys.”

 

“As a team, we can still absolutely achieve everything we have set out to do – win some podium positions and take a few scalps from the other teams – and we fully intend to do that still.

 

“We have a great bunch of guys here and I have absolute confidence that we will get back on the race track as soon as we possibly can. For now it’s a full frenzy of activity to get our Sanya Lan race boat on a ship this Friday and turn a boat building job of two to three weeks into seven days!”

 

Team Sanya will release their shipping route and departure and arrival dates as soon as that information is confirmed.

[Guest]

Heres some more info

 

Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing were working to get their stricken boat back in the water and take advantage of an unexpected opportunity to make up ground on the four teams still racing in Leg 1 of the Volvo Ocean Race on Monday.

 

While Team Sanya were forced to look ahead to Cape Town because of the extent of the damage to the boat´s hull, there was still plenty at stake for Abu Dhabi, who were hoping to be back in the race within the next couple of days after their mast broke -- an experience described by young Emirati crewmember Adil Khalid as the scariest in his life.

 

CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand led the four-boat fleet out of the Mediterranean, through the Strait of Gibraltar to the Atlantic, followed by Team Telefónica, Groupama sailing team and PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG.

 

After being slammed around for that first 24 hours by winds up to 80 kph, they were hit by the opposite problem and the four boats were forced to go looking for wind to the west – a search that was proving tricky at 1300 UTC on Monday.

 

"The next few days will be a big mess," Groupama navigator Jean-Luc Nélias said by Inmarsat satellite phone from the boat. "The winds are sure to be light, there are no trade winds and it will be very painful to reach the Doldrums.

 

Ken Read, skipper on PUMA's Mar Mostro, echoed that feeling: "There are no real trade winds out here so we are going to most likely look elsewhere for wind in order to get south."

 

Telefónica skipper Iker Martínez tried to look on the bright side.

 

"There's very little breeze and we are trying to fill the sails but with only momentary success," he said. "The good thing is that we have all been able to sleep a bit and to eat well. We are starting to work up a routine according to the watches and to eat at night. All good down here and everyone's in a good mood."

 

After looking like the best they could hope for from Leg 1 would be five points for sixth place, Abu Dhabi are now gunning for 10 points for fifth, given that Sanya's best hope is to ship their damaged boat to Cape Town in time for Leg 2.

 

If they are fortunate with the weather in the Mediterranean and pick up stronger winds in the Atlantic, they may even get closer to their rivals than they thought possible when they headed back towards Alicante on Saturday.

 

On Monday, they were working to get the replacement mast fitted a race against time.

 

"I don't think anyone is expecting us to launch out of here and take three or four days off the other guys," said Ian Walker, skipper of Abu Dhabi's Azzam. "But having said that the weather is a funny thing and we have seen it before in other races where people stop or start late and actually benefit from the weather.

 

"Right now the weather is not looking particularly kind for us so we will just do what we always do and get there as quick as we can."

 

While Abu Dhabi were preparing to return to the race, Sanya had their eyes turned towards Cape Town and getting a quick repair done before the second in-port race on December 10 and the start of Leg 2 a day later.

 

"As it stands right now we are 100 per cent focused on getting to Cape Town," skipper Mike Sanderson said.

 

The mood in the Abu Dhabi camp was very different from Saturday, when the breakage took place.

 

"It was the scariest day of my life for sure," said Khalid, who was chosen from more than 120 hopefuls to be the first ever Emirati to compete in the Volvo Ocean Race.

 

"Being out at sea, in the dead of night, and having that happen... We were well drilled for the situation and behaved so calmly and professionally. However, your heart is beating really fast and you thank god everyone is safe."

[Guest]

from Pumas media guy.

 

Difficult Conditions

 

The upwind pounding on PUMA Ocean Racing’s “Mar Mostro” has continued, and it’s quickly gone from being an exciting introduction, to an annoying nuisance. Down below is an obstacle course of miscellaneous goods and even walking can prove difficult. All 11 food bags (26-28 kg each), personal gear, hardware, some sails, and people—it’s all in shambles on the high side and it makes finding something you want nearly impossible. If you do find it, by then it’s usually time to tack (a 20 minute process) and all of the gear moves to the other side and it takes another 45 minutes to find it again.

 

The conditions are exhausting. Sails on the floor, bags in our bunks, us on the sails. Just to get to my computer I had to carefully high-step three significantly larger-than-me individuals. Were it not for the absolute fatigue of being on one of these boats in these conditions, nobody would find time to rest [just now beside me I got a noticeably drained “I really need to sleep,” from Jono Swain].

 

With Abu Dhabi’s unfortunate dismasting there are only five of us left out here and we remain the furthest north, quite a few miles east of the leaders. We’ve been carefully playing the shoreline, opting to sail in flatter seas and setup well for a late approach to the Straights of Gibraltar, which we’ll be passing through sometime tonight. It’s one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes and it’s going to be a long and cautious eve. We’ve been sailing in 20-30 knots of wind for the past day or so and that’s supposed to hold until we’re through and out of the Med, when it’s forecasted to drop rapidly. The waves have been short and steep.

 

We’re all tired, very wet, and only one day into this race. Exactly what I signed up for!

 

Amory Ross

PUMA MCM

[Guest]

The lottery continues and we wont know untill the westerly wind kicks in as to who has gained and lost.

 

Tonight at 2200 GMT, the Volvo Ocean Race fleet is heading west, wriggling down the coast of Africa seeking the much-desired, but as yet non-existent trade winds. Although the light airs are only topping out at around 10 knots, the teams are still able to benefit as they observe closely the performance of their immediate opposition.

 

For much of today, the fleet has been on opposite tacks, although heading in the same general direction. Telefónica with Spanish skipper Iker Martinez and PUMA’s Mar Mostro with Ken Read/USA in charge have opted for a more offshore track, anticipating the wind filling in from the north, while new leader tonight, Franck Cammas/FRA (Groupama 4) and Chris Nicholson/AUS (CAMPER) have chosen to keep closer to the African coast.

 

Progress is painfully slow, although in the last three hours Groupama 4 has averaged the best speed of 6.7 knots; while the rest of the fleet has only managed three and a half to four knots.

 

The crew Mar Mostro, who are busy drying out their gear, resting and eating – the first time since the start of the race from Alicante on Saturday, appreciates the bonus of little or no wind at least for the moment. Boots have been swapped for sailing shoes, but this may only be a temporary solution as forecasts indicate that the breeze will increase tonight and then two additional cold fronts could bring breeze of 20-30 knots and yet more upwind boat-beating conditions.

 

Changes to the leader board this evening have seen Groupama 4 take the lead for the first time with Telefónica moving into second position. But the fleet remains tight and is only split by a fraction over nine nautical miles from first place to fourth and each team is waiting anxiously to see what the weather Gods will dish out in the next 12 hours.

[Guest]

Leg 1, Day 3

7 November 2011

By: Ken Read, Skipper, PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG

This feels like groundhog day, reminding me of the famous movie with Bill Murray. We leave Alicante in a frenzy of activity, settle into a first night beating (literally and figuratively), and now we’re outside the Med with all the boats pretty much lined up for a post-Med drag race in light and flukey conditions. The only difference between this race and the last race is that there are no real trade winds out here, so we are most likely going to look elsewhere for wind in order to get south.

The fact is that this really feels the same onboard as well. Of course there are several new characters here on this fine yacht, but all in all we are ready for this and ready to put some miles between us and the start. Our routines have begun and I think everyone is glad to have put the Mediterranean and its really crappy weather behind us.

 

Windy conditions greet PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG during morning 2 of Leg 1 of the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12, from Alicanteto Cape Town. Photo copyright Amory Ross / Puma Ocean Racing

First things first – I can’t imagine the hardship for the Abu Dhabi and Sanya teams. After all of that effort, then things come to a halt so quickly and abruptly. We do know that Abu Dhabi’s rig fell over the side as we were told by VOR shortly after. We still don’t know what happened to Sanya, but they haven’t been going anywhere on the position reports for the better part of a day. Maybe that means they are fixing something and re-joining the race…you probably know but I don’t!

 

When Abu Dhabi’s rig came down it was a bizarre scene. Night time. We had been beating in quite a bit of breeze. All five of the front runners where bunched up with Abu Dhabi just a mile or so behind when the wind went from 30 knots to 8 under a famous point named Cabo de Gata. The problem is, all of the leftover seas from the 30 knots were still there, so it made for an ugly mixed thrashing. We reluctantly put up bigger sails, knowing that the wind was going to start up soon after the point again, but we had to keep moving and we very cautiously went ahead. The seas were straight into us and horrendous, wrapping around the point. We snapped the wind instruments off the top of our spar and didn’t have any instruments for a day and a half in plenty of wind (don’t know exactly how much, but combined with 3-4 meter breaking seas it was quite a opening act for this VOR). We could see the running lights on Abu Dhabi’s mast one moment, and they were gone the next. We assumed they broke something, but never in a million years would we have guessed something so serious.

 

Thankfully it sounds as if no one was hurt, but our hearts go out to the Abu Dhabi team who had worked so hard to get to Leg 1 as a really solid group. And, I would be remiss if I didn’t chime in that there is officially a curse for winning the first In-Port Race in the Volvo, which Abu Dhabi did. Two races ago Ericsson won the first In-Port only to have keel ram problems and limped into Cape Horn. Last edition, Telefonica Blue won the first In-Port only to break part of their rudder assembly about an hour into the race and had to go in to port to fix it. Now Abu Dhabi. To all in this next VOR, DON’T WIN THE FIRST IN-PORT RACE!

 

So we are finally back in the ocean – what we were built for. All four boats remaining are surely a bit lonely without our other two broken companions, but we are in sight of each other this morning of Day 3, which I guess isn’t a shock to anyone. You can also feel that people are starting to get itchy about sailing their own leg for the next couple days because there will be tons of mine fields out here trying to get to Fernando de Noronha.

 

Wrapping up, I have to give my huge thanks to the entire PUMA and BERG families for all of their support, as well as a massive thanks to our shore team and immediate families. All of the support has been amazing, and it was brutal to actually leave the dock. I received a last minute phone call from my daughter, Tory, after her mom woke her up back in Pomfret, Connecticut. For some reason she didn’t sound really thrilled to speak to me…ahh the life of a 15-year-old boarding school student at 6 am!

[Guest]

It only took me several days, but ive discovered some video that you have proberly already seen. heres the update from yesterday.

 

[Guest]

Not sure how you found it...

 

...but in the tracker if yoiu click on the camera icon (circled in yellow) then on the yacht tracks there are little squares... when you mouse over these there is content off the boats including links to videos etc.

 

[Guest]

Not sure how you found it...

 

...but in the tracker if yoiu click on the camera icon (circled in yellow) then on the yacht tracks there are little squares... when you mouse over these there is content off the boats including links to videos etc.

 

[attachment=0]Volvo tracker 1.jpg[/attachment]

 

very sneaky of them. Ill have to keep a eye out for it. I ws wondering what was happening to all of the mcm updates and you just found them for me

[RushMan 31]

Not sure how you found it...

 

...but in the tracker if yoiu click on the camera icon (circled in yellow) then on the yacht tracks there are little squares... when you mouse over these there is content off the boats including links to videos etc.

 

[attachment=0]Volvo tracker 1.jpg[/attachment]

 

Where does one find this tracker with the camera icon option?

 

The tracker I am looking at does not have this tool bar at the top, or does it?

[Guest]

http://www.volvooceanrace.com/en/racetracker/rdc.html

[RushMan 31]

That's what I have saved in my bookmarks except without the toolbar (might be an iPad issue then)

[Guest]

And it looks like the move west for Telefonica and Puma has paid for them as they have taken off and have nearly hit double digits again. Camper and groupama are struggling in the light stuff.

[Guest]

Do ya thunk the Camper naviguesser has been in two minds?

[Guest]

Do ya thunk the Camper naviguesser has been in two minds?

 

I think they have been. they might come out better than groupama though, but its definitely a setback for them. The have discovered where they want to go now it looks like.

[Guest]

Don't write Groupama off... they may be going slower but they are heading south. Telfonica and Puma are going fast but westwards, and the forecast is for strong southerlies out where they are heading... but Groupama MAY get into downwind sailing soon...

[Guest]

Don't write Groupama off... they may be going slower but they are heading south. Telfonica and Puma are going fast but westwards, and the forecast is for strong southerlies out where they are heading... but Groupama MAY get into downwind sailing soon...

 

Your right and they have just hit it and gone flying, while Camper is being left behind. Im having to change to data image now as there is to much separation between the boats.

[chic014 0]

That true wind angle is annoying me still. They've put up a degrees sign but i don't think 5 degrees is correct

[Guest]

if anyone is still awake here is the first Volvo update for the day

 

The fleet has shown its hand and decisions have been made from which there will be no going back. Franck Cammas/FRA has made a bold move to take Groupama rock-hopping just eight nautical miles off the Moroccan coast, while Chris Nicholson/AUS (CAMPER) changed tactics overnight and paid a high price to join Telefónica (Iker Martinez/ESP) and Kenny Read’s PUMA Mar Mostro in the west. She is now 25 nautical miles (nm) behind Telefónica who still leads the field.

 

Cammas’s decision to split from the pack is risky. It is unusual to have such a defined split in the fleet, and Cammas is clearly confident in his choice. However, there is now no return for Cammas. He has made his decision and to change would be very costly indeed. His plan will be to pick up some thermal driving breeze from heat of the coast.

 

Overnight, the teams have had to work hard to keep their boats moving, spending most of the night in little or no wind and sailing at speeds more usually found in an Optimist dinghy competition rather than onboard the usually super quick Volvo Open 70.

 

The boats have been eerily quiet, except for the slatting of sails and the gentle lapping of sea on the carbon-fibre hull, conditions that demand full concentration when trimming the sails or driving the boat, and create plenty of headaches for navigators.

 

CAMPER’s skipper Chris Nicholson advises that, in these frustrating, drifting conditions, it is vital always to keep the boat moving. Although the Volvo Open 70s are easily able to cover nearly 600 nautical miles in a day, when they stop they are difficult to get moving again. Nicholson says, “Even if you are not going in the direction you want, just keep the boat moving and eventually you will find the direction you need.”

 

Things improved for the boats in the west very early this morning and patience was rewarded when, at around 0245 GMT this morning, the breeze kicked in for PUMA’s Mar Mostro (Kenny Read/USA). CAMPER also reported that the ‘gas burners’ had been turned on at 0500 and at last the boats are moving again, although it is still upwind sailing.

 

At 1000 GMT today Telefónica led the field by 3.40 nautical miles ahead of PUMA’s Mar Mostro who has swapped places with Groupama 4 and moved up fleet to stand second. CAMPER is in fourth position, 25 nm adrift of the leader and paying the predicted high price for heading west, but achieving the highest average speed of 14.2 knots.

 

A pattern of sailing, sleeping and eating is beginning to fall into place after the rigours of the first 36 hours. The mood in the fleet is general good and everyone is settling in now for the long haul to Cape Town.

Meanwhile, back in Alicante, Ian Walker and his team from Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing are making good progress and have stepped their replacement rig. They expect to go sailing today to tune it up and return to the point where they suspended racing sometime tomorrow. The news for Mike Sanderson’s Team Sanya is less promising and the boat is likely to be heading to Cape Town by ship in order to make repairs to the bow section.

[Atom Ant 0]

Do you ever sleep? Am enjoying your enthusiasm by the way