Leg two updates

[Guest]

Once again heres the thread for all of the updates. As I didnt watch all of the inshore start, heres a video to explain what happened. The start was very messy and the boat that got the best start lead everyone out to sea.

 

http://www.youtube.com/user/volvooceanr ... pmnI11INHY

[Guest]

a bit more about the weather from volvo. Mike Sanderson said this morning that they stand a real chance of doing well in this leg because of this legs navigation minefield.

 

The six-strong fleet, which started Leg 2 of the Volvo Ocean Race earlier today, is making painfully slow progress towards the Cape of Good Hope approximately 17 nautical miles (nm) south-southeast of the fleet. The first night at sea, after a hectic stopover in Cape Town, looks set to be spent inching along the coast, just four nm from the shoreline, in little or no breeze.

 

At 1900 UTC tonight, race leader Telefónica (Iker Martínez/ESP) leads Franck Cammas/FRA (Groupama 4) and the chasing pack by 0.20 nm, the slimmest of margins and in the most difficult conditions, almost no wind at all and with boat speeds of less than two knots.

 

However, once clear of the Cape, the teams should be able to crack sheets and enjoy some quicker reaching conditions, although the Wind Gods will be testing the fleet with a complex set of weather and currents and Leg 2 will be no walk in the park.

 

The Agulhas current, which runs south down the eastern coast of South Africa, meets the cold water of the Beneguela current and turns back on itself about one kilometre east of the Cape of Good Hope. The result, the shallow area of the Agulhas Bank, is a notoriously rough piece of water to be negotiated. Here, the westerly winds along the African coast collide with the typical three - five knot easterly Agulhas current and can potentially produce boat-breaking conditions. By hugging the coast, the worse effects could be avoided.

 

Two of six teams in the fleet stepped new masts for this leg having dismasted on Leg 1 and both Ian Walker/GBR (Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing’s Azzam) and Ken Read/USA (PUMA’s Mar Mostro) will be cautious of the conditions they expect to find here.

 

Speaking earlier today, skipper of Team Sanya, Mike Sanderson/NZL said, “It’s looking like the issue is going to be sea state rather than wind speed. Down by Cape Agulhas there are still three - four metre waves but only 20 knots of wind.

 

“One of the things about 20 knots of wind is that the boats are already going as fast as they can go upwind, so it’s almost worse because you want to sail upwind at 13 knots but if there’s a leftover sea state left over from the big low out there we could be launching off some beauties.

 

“Although we were cautious even when we ran into something [the boat was seriously damaged in the early part of Leg 1 and retired], I think the fleet is very conscious of getting through these first couple of days. I think you might even see a whole new level of people buttoning off,” Sanderson said.

[Guest]

From Groupama. Im going to chase the other blogs and websites up shortly to see what other info I can find.

 

The start of the second leg of the Volvo Ocean Race began at 1300 UTC this Sunday off Cape Town for a sprint of around 4,500 miles across the Indian Ocean. However, before entering this feared ocean, the six VO-70s will have to round the Cape of Good Hope and then that of the Agulhas!

 

Groupama 4 got off to a good start to windward of the fleet, however Abu Dhabi was fast at the middle of the start line and took control on the first downwind leg which began in the very light airs caused by the effects of land. However, the breeze gradually picked up to reach nearly fifteen knots and the six boats really accelerated under gennaker and full mainsail. Behind the Emirati crew, Franck Cammas and his men were second to round the first mark of this preliminary course, out of a total of four. Unfortunately, the furling of the immense downwind sail wasn't completed fully and the skipper of Groupama 4 saw himself forced to stall the boat's progress to dump the sail.

 

Dropping two places in what ultimately proved to be a quick manoeuvre, the French boat was continuing on her way in the wake of the Emiratis, the New Zealanders and the Americans, whilst Sanya and Telefonica were already trailing. Basically, the hierarchy and the separation between the boats didn't alter much during this course which favours tacks with just slightly eased sheets. At the end of this tour around the bay of Cape Town which Abu Dhabi completed in 39'26, Groupama 4 was fourth 2'28 astern, behind Camper (1'32 astern of the leader) and Puma (2'00 astern of the leader), whilst Sanya and Telefonica were over a minute shy of the French boat.

 

On a beat towards the Cape of Good Hope

 

In a southerly wind, the six boats are on a beat now to hunt down the Cape of Good Hope and then that of the Agulhas, which marks the entrance into the Indian Ocean, around 120 miles out of Cape Town. Wisely, Franck Cammas and his crew tacked inshore immediately after rounding the final course mark in a bid to hunt down a favourable breeze: a few minutes later they crossed in front of the Americans on Puma! As such they moved up into third place, just a few boat lengths astern of Abu Dhabi and Camper after an hour of racing...

 

This preliminary tour was but an introduction though prior to what is scheduled to be a lively afternoon and above all a lively old night! Indeed, around twenty knots of southerly breeze is joining forces with a long westerly swell and at the approach of the Cape of Good Hope, the sea will become very rough to heavy due to the current from the Agulhas. This oceanographic phenomenon is due to the arrival of warm water from Madagascar and this current can exceed three knots on the surface! Furthermore, it comes up against a current of cold water coming from the Atlantic and the seas become extremely chaotic right the way down the tip of South Africa.

 

A minimum to be rounded

 

As was the case during the start of the first leg in Alicante, the first night at sea for this second oceanic course promises to be very tricky. In addition, a low has formed offshore of Port Elizabeth and the six VO-70s will have to deal with some very shifty winds down the African coast: the breeze will progressively clock round to the south-west and then West, easing to less than ten knots... After a boisterous introduction to proceedings which will last until the early hours of tomorrow, the crews will have a lot of work on deck adapting the sail area. They'll also be sailing into the Agulhas current which can switch from a few tenths of a knots to three knots depending on where they are. As such the navigators will have to keep an eye on the water temperature whilst the helmsmen struggle to get their hulls to slice through the short, messy chop.

 

Tuesday will be the most complicated day though as the minimum associated with the depression will disintegrate to give way to a transition zone with variable, light winds, before returning to a steady easterly flow (and hence on the nose) generated by a vast zone of high pressure to the South of Madagascar. As a result there will be a lot of upwind sailing on the cards as far as the large African island, in over twenty knots of breeze. Once again the rigs will be under considerable pressure... Of note finally is that, as planned, Laurent Pagès is replacing Erwan Israël as helmsman-trimmer aboard Groupama 4.

 

Risk of piracy

 

To deal with the risk of piracy off the coast of Somalia, Race Director Jack Lloyd has published this press release revealing a cut in the transmission of positions during this second leg.

"With the risk of piracy being of increasing concern in the Indian Ocean, race management has opted to apply an anti-piracy plan to the system for tracking the boats on the cartography during the next leg of the Volvo Ocean Race. In this way, the six crews will be tracked on the cartography until they reach a secret point in the Indian Ocean, at which point they will switch to `furtive' mode. Designed to ensure the sailors' safety, race director Jack Lloyd, hasn't revealed at what point the system for tracking the boats on the cartography will switch to `stealth' mode, where solely the distance from the leader will be revealed. Normal service will be resumed on the cartography after just a few days. The six Volvo Open 70s will have to make for an initial secret port where they will be loaded onto a ship protected by armed guards, transported to a second secret port and then take a second race start bound for Abu Dhabi. Only at this point will all the information as regards the positions of the six crews be accessible once again."

[Guest]

Well its time for my first tracker update as theres some action to report about. Key standout so far would have to be Sanya who have the slowest boat in the fleet, but have made some good tactical decisions to hold onto 3rd as they get around the cape.

 

 

Camper were the first boat to try something different as they headed out west where there was a bit more pressure and have been able to sail around the fleet (even though the tracker has groupama leading?) Telefonica have slipped back to last early on in this mine field where anything could happen. Even though the boats are in 5-10kts of wind at the moment, that is going to completely die over the next 6-9 hours and the boats could find themselves parked up again and going nowhere.

[Guest]

Nice to see Telefonica and Puma at the right end of the fleet!

[Guest]

The boats have had to navigate minefields and they are doing well unless your on the Spanish boat. Team Sanya have been the pick of the boats so far and made have good decisions and have avoided a few wholes except for the one that they seem to be in and lie in fourth. Groupama and Camper have been the best at navigation so far and hopefully that is a good sign if your fans of those teams. The whole fleet are in the middle of no wind, but that will change in 6 hours as the wind fills in and will hit over 35kts over the next 3 days. When you wake up the boats will be doing more than 1kt boat speed

 

Ill do the first day summary tomorrow morning when I wake up as I will have all the info from volvo and the boats

[Guest]

The opening night of Leg 2 of the Volvo Ocean Race proved to be a frustrating one for the crews with very little progress made. The fleet is firmly stuck between the rocky South African coast and two low-pressure systems, which have resulted in little or no wind at all. At one stage overnight, overall race leader Telefónica (Iker Martínez/ESP) was forced to anchor to avoid being swept backwards by the powerful current.

 

The weather situation continues to be very unstable and the breeze is set to become even lighter over the next 20 hours. The fleet has missed the first low-pressure system and the second low, which could produce good breeze, will not evolve fully until at least tomorrow afternoon. The painful waiting game will continue at least until then.

 

The fleet is currently 20 nautical miles (nm) southeast of the Cape of Good Hope and Ian Walker/GBR, skipper of Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing’s Azzam says he spent about 10 hours bobbing up and down looking at the notorious Cape of Good Hope overnight.

 

“Our main concern has been to not get swept up onto the rocks in the swell as we sit here in no wind,” Ian Walker wrote early this morning. “It has been a very real concern, as we have been unable to sail on port tack away from the shore as this puts us directly bow on to the waves and we get pushed backwards,” he explained.

 

The leading pair, Groupama 4 (Franck Cammas/FRA) and CAMPER (Chris Nicholson/AUS) now have approximately 12 knots of wind, while the remaining four have less than 10 knots. The fleet is split 17nm first to last.

 

Decisions will need to be made tomorrow whether to go south and seek the new low forming to the southwest, if there is enough wind to do so, or go east in the hope of meeting another low forming to the northeast. Either option carries a risk and there is no clear strategy as yet.

 

As Will Oxley, navigator of CAMPER said this morning, “With the wind like it is right now, we might be having Christmas in Africa yet.”

[Guest]

Last of the PR releases. Its sounds like it was painful overnight untill the new fron of 15 kts kicked in allowing the boats to move again.

 

Tonight at 1900 UTC, the Volvo Ocean Race fleet remains tightly bunched, with no clear strategy at this stage of the 5,430 nautical mile (nm) leg from Cape Town to Abu Dhabi. The decision to split from the pack and take the low road to the south has yet to be taken and, as always, the weather Gods are in control. It will be conservative sailing until the crews are forced to declare their plans, perhaps overnight, or tomorrow morning.

 

“Our weather strategy is in pieces now as the fleet has failed to catch the low pressure as planned and I suspect we will all sit waiting for a new westerly wind to pick us up in the next day or two,” explained Ian Walker/GBR, skipper of Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing’s Azzam earlier today.

 

Onboard Sanya Lan, skipper Mike Sanderson/NZL and his Norwegian navigator Aksel Magdahl are closely huddled, considering the dilemma of adopting a more southerly route or continuing to hug the African coast before hooking into a little low-pressure system and then charging south. “Fingers crossed we aren’t parked for as long as last night,” Sanderson said hopefully.

 

However, in contrast to the last 24 hours, the sentence of no wind has been lifted and the frustrating drifting conditions have been replaced by a positive southwesterly breeze, allowing the six teams to crack sheets and reach nicely at between 16 and 17.5 knots.

 

Groupama 4 (Franck Cammas/FRA) leads the field by just over one mile from CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand (Chris Nicholson/AUS), however this pair are only 17 nm offshore and the chasing pack is seven miles to leeward. Overall race leader, Telefónica (Iker Martínez/ESP) is 21 nm astern in sixth place, but has gained four miles over the past three hours, while Azzam records the highest average speed of 12.9 knots.

[Guest]

from Groupama and Sanya

 

 

Groupama 4 : Eye of the needle

 

 

 

As the Volvo fleet passed the Agulhas Cape, Groupama 4 was still leading the fleet, despite the fact that the weather forecasts from the previous day certainly weren't mirrored on the water! Franck Cammas and his men made the break during the calm conditions of last night and are well placed to open up their lead along the South African coast.

 

 

 

It was at around 1315 (UTC) that Groupama 4 passed in front of the Agulhas Cape and thus entered the Indian Ocean as leader of the Volvo Ocean Race after 24 hours of rather atypical racing, since the rough weather expected during last night has given way to a succession of calm conditions! Indeed, once Cape Town was astern of them, the southerly wind dissipated to barely nothing twenty miles later, to become virtually non-existent at nightfall… At midnight, the VO-70 was still at the foot of the Cape of Good Hope, less than thirty miles from the start port in this second leg. Thanks to their (overly) long experience of light airs which they accumulated between Alicante and Cape Town, Franck Cammas and his men were able to slip along slightly more quickly as they were able to traverse Valsbaai bay once the southerly wind began to show signs of life once more.

 

Weather vagaries

 

Basically, the navigators were struggling to anticipate this unforeseen weather change linked to the shifting of a low offshore of Port Elizabeth. And though the New Zealanders on Camper were the only ones to remain in Groupama 4's wake, there was increasing separation between the leaders in the overall standing. The Spanish on Telefonica even saw themselves forced to drop anchor so as not to drift backwards! The rest of the night proved no more dynamic: between one and two knots of boat speed until daybreak… Boosted by their position as leader, Franck Cammas and his crew were the first to power up midway through the morning this Monday, shadowed by the New Zealanders, then the Americans on Puma four miles back, whilst Sanya, Abu Dhabi and Telefonica were relegated to between 9 and 20 miles astern…

 

By early afternoon, the wind was blowing up again with a SSW'ly breeze of around ten knots. Although the evolution in the weather over the coming hours is set to slightly favour the leaders, there's a risk that the same may not be true tomorrow, Tuesday, once the frontrunners approach a minimum associated with a depression, whose fluctuations appear to be rather random to say the least! Oscillating along the fleet's route offshore of Port Elizabeth, this system is tending to fill in on itself on site, leaving behind it a shapeless magma of evanescent breeze… The road to Madagascar appears to be peppered with pitfalls that are hard to predict and anything can happen on this second day of racing whilst barely 120 miles have been covered over the past 24 hours.

 

Weaving towards the Agulhas

 

With the current from the Agulhas running along the South African coast from the Indian Ocean to the Atlantic (and hence against them), which can reach over three knots, the navigation after the Agulhas Cape is likely to be pretty complicated. Indeed the breeze won't be very steady tonight and a moderate easterly breeze (headwind) could even form along the South African coast from noon on Tuesday! The next 600 miles are very uncertain then and they will probably have to weave their way along in very shifty winds until they finally reach the Mascareignes High centred between Kerguelen and Madagascar. A tradewind breeze of around twenty knots of northerly, then north-easterly will stabilise and it is practically a done deal that the first to enter the zone bordering the high pressure will reap the rewards. Groupama 4's pole position the day after the race start in Cape Town is a good point which Franck Cammas and his crew will endeavour to maintain whilst trying to extend their lead over their rivals…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NEAR PERFECT CONDITIONS

Mike’s Blog, Day Two of Leg Two

Monday 12th December 2011

As I said to the boys on deck “If you aren’t enjoying this afternoon’s yachting then you are in the wrong game!!” What a contrast to the first 24 hours for us on Leg One and even last night flopping around in no wind. Right now it’s beautifully sunny, warm enough on deck in just a light jacket and, most importantly, we are blasting along at between 17 and 20 knots, just " champagne sailing" as we have called it over the years.

Tonight is looking like another minefield of a night, but right now we are blissfully in denial when on deck and are just enjoying the yachting. Down below in nav world, Aksel and I have a slightly larger dilemma coming up with regards to the big picture of adopting a more Southerly route or if to hug the African coast for the next couple of days before hooking onto a little low pressure system and then charging South. A lot of it will depend on how we get through tonight’s light airs, fingers crossed we aren’t parked for as long as last night!!

The guys are all settling back into life on board, for us it has been a while since we really have spent some time racing the boat. We did the Rolex Fastnet Race back in August, the Volvo Ocean Race test Leg Zero in the beginning of October(which I had to miss due to my appendix op) and apart from that all we have had is day one of Leg One!! So yes we are really excited to be back.

I have to say also that during the month watching the other guys race, my belief in if we could ever be in the mix was starting to really worry me. All the time we sail in close proximity to the new boats we see them with a nice little speed edge, but being back out here with some ocean room a small glimmer of light sneaks back in there that there should be enough other variables that from time to time if we do a good job for us to get amongst it. Right now we are hanging on with “the skin of our teeth” as my Dad always says. We are a bunch of fighters here on the mighty Sanya Lan and so hang on whenever possible we will!

Time for me to go back to enjoying the yachting. More often then not when it’s plain sailing like this is when I choose to catch up on some sleep, but right now a little “blasting in the sun” might just be what’s deserved after the month we have had.

Big hugs from all the boys to all of our loved ones, and thanks for checking in on us.

Talk soon

Mike

[Guest]

A little out of date, but heres one from camper

 

Hamish Hooper blogs from sea on Day 1 of Leg 2 of the Volvo Ocean Race

 

 

 

Goodbye Cape Town, thanks for having us and showing us such a great time!

 

Almost exactly two weeks from when we pulled into the dock at the end of leg 1 to an amazing welcome reception, we cast off the lines to begin leg 2.

 

The two weeks seemed to go in the blink of an eye – as it always does when you get comfortable in such a nice place.

 

While the sailing team had a few days off, the legendary CAMPER shore crew was working almost around the clock under the guidance of their wise and wonderful leader Coxy. The pride that each of them takes in their work and the boat is always astounding. So once CAMPER was splashed back into the water she looked near new and raring to go.

 

Much like the sailing crew today… compared to how they looked two weeks ago. They’re freshly shaven, and the missing kilograms are all but right back where they were in Alicante.

 

Within minutes of reluctantly stepping on the boat and saying the emotional goodbyes to loved ones on the dock the guys seem to just flick a switch and focus swings entirely to racing and looking forward to doing all they possibly can to reach the next port ahead of all the other boats.

 

The in-port part of the start was all on seeing up to 20 knots and racing up, down and all aound before rounding the final mark and setting off along the coast toward the Cape of Good Hope.

 

With each mile the wind began to ease and the fleet was slowed to a stand still off the beautiful Hout Bay for several hours.

 

Sailing these boats fast is exhilarating, sailing them in next no wind is pretty exciting too.

 

As I looked up at the instruments and see we were doing 0.00 knots, I raise the potentially inappropriate point that sailing is a little similar to cricket in that there is such variation in the sport. Blasting along in these boats is like a game of 20/20 cricket, fast and furious. Delicately nursing a VO70 in next to no wind is like test match cricket – slow and calculated.

 

One thing I learnt today on deck is that there aren’t too many other test cricket fans on board. Speaking of which, I wonder if the Black Caps have beaten the Aussies yet? I hope so or Will Oxley will be sure to get his usual 10 cents of gloating in… again. But at least we can shut him up by simply saying three words, “Rugby World Cup”

 

With only a matter of hours gone so far in this leg, there have alreay been and will continue to be vital decisions to be made as this leg is shaping up to be a very tricky one with all the usual pitfalls and then some.

 

Asking Will about what the weather models are showing for this leg, his reply, “With the wind like it is right now, we might be having Christmas in Africa yet.”

[Guest]

Looking back over the last 12 hours it has been an interesting race with tactics playing a huge role in trying to avoid as many holes as possible. Sanya with the slowest boat have done a great job of mixing it with the version 4s, however as the wind has increased over the last 10 hours they have lost a little bit of ground but its encouraging for them. If they stand a chance of doing better than their goal of not finishing last in each leg, then this is one that they can target.

 

With the boats being parked up yesterday arvo for 9 hours it meant that they are not able to catch the weather system that they had all planed to so the crews will be looking at either catching a new system that is filling in with a lot of pressure from the north west or running into a easterly that is approaching them. It is going to be painfully slow over the next 24 to 30 hours as there is no pressure where the boats are, but when it fills in there is a chance that they could hit winds of 30+kts which is what we all want to see.

 

As it will be painfully slow this will be my last update untill I have recovered from eating far to much at a staff buffet lunch In the meantime there are two updates from me. 1 being the tracker update and the other a weather update to give a better image to what I was talking about in 24 hours time.

[Guest]

Camper have taken the lead by a few hundred meters. Its going to be a mine field for the next 20 odd hours so if they navigate well they could extend the lead.

[Guest]

heres a video of some photos from some of the action from leg 2. I think some of you might laugh at the music that I put with it

 

[Guest]

Camper have extended their lead in the last 3 hours, but its still painfully slow going. Theres still not to much to do for the boats except trying to avoid holes and wait for the weather fronts to kick in.

[Guest]

Groupama have dropped a place and lost ground as they head south. Everyone else is still heading in same direction. However they have hit some wind sonner than I thought and are up to 8-9 kts and going nicely.

[Guest]

Shadowing each other overnight CAMPER and Groupama maintained a close quarter tussle within about one mile overnight, averaging around eight knots of boat speed and covering just over 200 nautical miles.

 

It was CAMPER who came out on top as the sun rose this morning, averaging 10 knots and leading PUMA by 4.6 nautical miles and Groupama sailing team by 4.7 nm at 0700 UTC today.

 

Chris Nicholson’s team made their move just before sunset last night, when they upped the ante by switching to a larger code zero headsail.

 

CAMPER with Emirates New Zealand navigator Will Oxley said there were plenty of opportunities for the lead to continue to change hands as the weather promised to be anything but stable over the next 24 hours.

 

“This leg is looking like a minefield, loads of very light and tricky weather patterns to negotiate,’’ he said. “We just need to remain alert and focused on the job of getting to our destination first.”

 

CAMPER Media Crew Member Hamish Hooper reported that there had been a change in mood on board the red boat. He said he couldn’t quite put his finger on exactly what the change was, but it was definitely positive.

 

“Nothing specific has been worked on by the team, it’s definitely not over confidence, as there is no reason for it or anything like that just because we are at the sharp end of the fleet right now, but more a quiet focused intensity and unity, which is growing in the crew,’’ he said.

 

On board Groupama 4 the team reported near ideal racing with a flat sea and a reaching breeze until, as the depth of the night set in, the wind eased and CAMPER rolled them.

 

At 0530 UTC today Groupama Media Crew Member Yann Riou reported that the wind was building as the sun was rising and so was the team’s plan of attack – especially with big tactical decisions set to be made today.

 

“Things can happen today in terms of route decision,’’ he said, not giving much away.

 

Team Sanya have slipped behind by nine miles but remain in fourth, followed by Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing and Team Telefónica.

[Guest]

Bored.

 

But just had this scoop...

 

Team Telefonica get the last laugh as tomorrow the trackers get turned off as the boats race to the secret destination which is back to Cape Town to get on a ship for a leisurely cruise to the Middle East.

 

Bored, bring back the Medcup.

[Guest]

Overnight Groupama have taken the lead and extended on it by going closer into shore. The question for the boats now is when to do next and went to cross the Agulhas Current. more info to come on that.

[Guest]

its a little out of date now, but it gives you some insights into what the crews have been doing over night.

 

 

Leg 2 : Cape Town - Abu Dhabi

Day 3 - Groupama 4 side by side

 

 

 

Whilst the rhythm has continued to be fairly slow since Sunday's start from Cape Town at 1300 UTC, Groupama 4 and her rivals were on a beat this Tuesday morning before the wind gradually settled in the South, barely dishing out ten knots. Although the sailing conditions remain calm, there is some work on deck as they try to skirt around the South African coast!

 

 

 

A little over 300 miles in 48 hours! At this pace, the second leg between Cape Town and Abu Dhabi is promising to be particularly laborious… Indeed, for the time being, the weather forecast isn't quite living up to the reality on the water: no sign of the strong southerly breeze after kick-off, but rather an extended calm spell, no depression generating westerly breeze but rather some light easterly airs offshore of Mosselbaai. And still they have the Agulhas current on the nose, which made the tack choices even trickier when a beat was called for in the middle of last night. In order to adapt to a breeze shifting between a few knots to a dozen at the mercy of the various bays that need traversing, there are some regular sail changes on the cards. Indeed the six VO-70s are involved in a real coastal course right now, the majority of which is within a few boat lengths of each other…

 

“It's been very, very calm since the start night: there are quite a few wind holes and you have to put in a lot of manœuvres. For the time being there isn't too much of a swell, but there is going to be some from tonight. It's exciting but tense for the nerves because we're constantly comparing ourselves against our rivals: it's intense! There aren't really any weather options right now, but that could change once we pass in front of Port Elizabeth on Wednesday morning: right now, we're all on the same trajectory… we're coming off more or less well after the pitfalls strewn along the coast” indicated Franck Cammas at the noon videoconference today.

 

Downwind conditions around the corner

 

If all goes to plan, the breeze is set to kick back in late tonight or the early hours, providing downwind sailing with a well-established breeze: as such we'll have to choose the right moment to gybe, as there are quite a few strategic possibilities and it's likely that the fleet will break apart. Franck Cammas hadn't yet set a target for the optimum trajectory to be taken tomorrow. This afternoon, there was still a light southerly air flow blowing offshore of Seal Point, Cape Saint Francis, in the particularly ‘fishy' waters with an abundance of sea-lions.

 

“There are some fairly quick changes amidst the tack changes and light airs scattered about the course: Puma must be leading by now and we're back in contact with Camper. This morning, we attempted a little offshore option, but it didn't come off! And Sanya is now within sight with four of us within 500 metres of each other… It's like a regatta along the African coast. It's very interesting to be side by side and it would seem as if we're at ease the minute there's a bit of breeze and Camper is pretty quick in the light airs upwind. We're waiting for the wind, which should pick up from Wednesday.”

 

Still on the coast

 

The weather configuration is fairly complicated offshore of Port Elizabeth, with several barometric minima fluctuating around this entrance to the Indian Ocean. It should be highlighted that the weather can change very quickly in this zone as there are considerable thermal contrasts with the Agulhas current, which involves hot water from the Mozambique Channel, the Mascareignes High to the North of Kerguelen, the icy landforms of Lesotho and bursts of heat from the subtropical zones of Swaziland! What can result is a multitude of heat bubbles combining with the cold zones on a warm Indian Ocean to the East and a cold Atlantic to the West… As such mini depressions and skies laden with storm clouds will form a backdrop as the fleet progress towards Madagascar.

 

And though the situation will become clearer by the end of the week, the tactical choices aren't going to be easy over the coming hours with the arrival of a westerly wind of over twenty knots linked to the passage of a depression over the Forties, which will compress the anticyclone beneath the large African island. The transition zone between this new downwind pattern and the high pressure of the north-easterly tradewinds will be very tricky to contend with in very hard seas due to the Agulhas current… That just about sums up the current dilemma: which trajectory is required to round this high risk barrier? For the moment though, the most important thing is to remain in contact with the fleet, getting as far along the South African coast as possible so as to avoid the current on the nose.

[Guest]

A bit about the current

 

 

Navigator Will Oxley confessed to having had very little sleep while the CAMPER crew picked their way through way through the minefield of wind holes and adverse current close to the shoreline.

 

“I got a couple of hours of sleep last night and about an hour and a half the night before,’’ he said. “I find I’m doing some of my jobs between micro sleeps – not sure if one minute has passed or five minutes since I started a task. That’s when you know you have to get some proper rest.”

 

Oxley admits the route the fleet is taking so far on this leg is unknown territory for him but says the benign conditions of the first two days could soon come to an end in the next 24 hours as the fleet face the opposing forces of strong westerly winds and the notorious Agulhas Current.

 

“It’s pretty unusual to be tacking down this South African coast. I have certainly never done it,’’ he said. “There is a whole series of lows around Africa right now and we are expecting one to come off the land and out on to the water.

 

“If you are on the back of it you have a south westerly wind which could be 30 to 35 knots. Then you have a current that is opposing it and that could mean six metre waves, which would be pretty unpleasant.

 

“The Agulhas is notorious for that sort of sea state as soon as the breeze comes up – and we will try to avoid it.”

 

The fleet is expected to start to feel the first Agulhas effects on Wednesday, before which the skippers and navigators will have hoped to work out the narrowest crossing point to avoid sailing in these potentially boat-breaking conditions any longer than necessary.

 

Once safely through the Agulhas the fleet could be in for some high speed sailing as two low pressure systems merge south-east of Africa creating a 35 to 40 knot westerly wind high-speed superhighway across the Indian Ocean.

 

This front is predicted to move easterly in conjunction with the fleet and could create the opportunity for an IWC Schaffhausen 24 hour Speed Record Challenge attempt.

 

The latest weather synopsis is creating sense of urgency for fifth placed Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing and tail enders Team Telefónica who will have to fight hard to close down the leaders as they head towards the powerful low, or run the risk being left behind.

 

 

 

and a newer volvo release explaining it a bit more

 

As night falls on the Volvo Ocean Race fleet, the notorious Agulhas current will come into play. Thirty-knot winds will whip six-metre waves into a hurling mass, caused by the wind blowing against the direction of the current. And it’s much more difficult when it’s dark.

 

The crews will not have time to acclimatise to the sea state during daylight hours. The boats will be on a fast reach, leaping off waves that the helmsmen can barely see, helped only by the light of a big moon and clear skies. It will be essential to play the waves, but these could be boat-breaking conditions.

 

Ken Read will be very aware of what can happen. It was on this leg in the 2008-09 race, which took the fleet from Cape Town to Cochin in India that PUMA’s Il Mostro launched off a wave and landed with a sickening thud, damaging the main longitudinal frame. Ian Walker also ran into trouble on this leg previously when his boat, Green Dragon broke her steering gear and crashed into a horrendous Chinese gybe and, later, when a 50-knot gust ripped through the fleet, her boom snapped.

 

All this to look forward to tonight, meanwhile the past 12 hours or so have been very complicated. The fleet has continued to be in sight of each other, as they tacked down the coast of South Africa, something very unusual and unexpected in this race.

 

Coastal navigation requires constant input from the navigators, who have had very little sleep so far, just catnapping between taking bearings and assessing their boat’s performance against those closest to them. However, according to Will Oxley, navigator of CAMPER (Chris Nicholson/AUS), who was in the lead earlier today, it is much less stressful when you know where the opposition is, and a lot more fun as the crew of Groupama 4 (Franck Cammas/FRA) has discovered after their lonely race during leg one.

 

At 1600 UTC this afternoon, Groupama 4 became the new leader from Team Sanya (Mike Sanderson/NZL) and PUMA’s Mar Mostro and held onto her lead at 1900 UTC tonight. CAMPER moved back up to second place, relegating PUMA’s Mar Mostro to third. Team Sanya is now the back marker, having lost 28 nm by being becalmed in torrential rain.

 

 

 

 

and for any academics out there, here is a article on the currents

 

http://oceancurrents.rsmas.miami.edu/in ... ulhas.html