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Leg 3


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It’s been upwind all the way since the start of Leg 3, Stage 2 from the Maldives on Sunday, although this is set to change in a day or two once the tightly-packed fleet is free of the wind shadow caused by Sri Lanka, 200 nm to their north.

 

PUMA’s Mar Mostro, with Ken Read (USA) in charge made small gains on the entire six-boat fleet overnight and retains her lead at 1000 UTC this morning, although the fleet continues to be in close contact and boat speed is key in this drag race to the east. Less than three miles separate the first three boats, although the lateral spread of the fleet, now 10 nm, is significant.

 

Iker Martínez (ESP) has positioned Telefónica in the prime northerly position and moved up to fourth place this morning, while Mike Sanderson (NZL), now in sixth, fights to keep pace with the newer race boats and has been forced to sail a freer, more southerly course on Sanya in order to do so. Five degrees difference in wind angle can make a huge difference and Sanya’s position in the south is probably not be the one Sanderson would have chosen had he had a faster boat.

 

There will be at least another day of upwind sailing before the teams can free off and see speeds rocket in the pressure generated by the breeze from the eastern side of Sri Lanka. But, by Thursday, it will be back on the wind for the approach to the notorious Malacca Strait, around 1000 nm east, and the sweet spot will be in the north.

 

The crew of Telefónica has now completed the repairs to their Code Zero sail. Trying to tame the 500 square metres of sail inside the boat in order to do so was a big operation.

 

“To fix the sail was very easy - the worst bit was getting the sail down below," said Jordi Calafat. "It’s one of the heaviest and biggest sails. Normally we keep it on the windward side, but we had to take it down below. The damage was to one of the corners of the sail so we stitched it by hand. We put a new plate in and off we go.

 

“I think the repair will hold, fingers crossed it won’t be a problem. Everything else is fine, and we’re back at full speed. At the moment we’re overtaking Abu Dhabi – it’s all good.

 

"Right now we are sailing with a full main and J1. We have 13 knots of wind, a true wind angle of 80 degrees, and we’re doing 15 knots of boat speed. It’s very gusty. Overnight we had very good conditions for sleep so everyone is rested.”

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Its been a good night for Camper despite still sitting in 2nd.

 

 

For the next 1,000 nautical miles, the Volvo Open 70 fleet will be on port tack in a drag race that is taking the fleet across the southern tip of Sri Lanka and into the Bay of Bengal towards the waypoint at Pulau We and the entrance of the Malacca Strait, nine miles off the northernmost tip of Sumatra.

 

The landmass of Sri Lanka is continuing to produce a wind shadow, which has slowed the fleet, but once clear of the island and out across the Bay of Bengal, about 125 miles to east of the fleet, the breeze will pick up and the charge towards the barn door will begin in earnest.

 

There is little in the way of tactics that can be deployed at this stage of the game to gain an edge and the racing continues to be largely a drag race where boat handling and sail choice are the deciding components. However, late this afternoon at 1525 UTC, Mike Sanderson (NZL) made a tactical decision to ditch the south, take a hitch to the north, and get back in the mix.

 

Sanderson had little to lose in crossing behind the fleet and clawing his way up for half an hour or so before tacking back onto port. When the fleet hardens up on to the wind again in the approach to Pulau We, the north will be the strong position. “We have a slight speed deficit on the new boats,” explained Sanderson today. His tactic is to stay in touch as best he can before the fleet reaches the Malacca Strait, where he hopes there will be a ‘restart’ of sorts.

 

CAMPER (Chris Nicholson/AUS) remains the most northerly of the fleet in a lateral split of some 12 nautical miles (nm), eight miles to weather of third-placed Groupama 4 (Franck Cammas/FRA). Nicholson is staying on top of his game by sailing CAMPER as if it were an Olympic dinghy, with a tweak here and a trim there. “You can hear our winches going non-stop on deck all the time, 24-hours a day,” he says.

 

Meanwhile, leg leader Read and his men had a lucky escape with PUMA’s Mar Mostro after a brief encounter with a boat fishing with a long net earlier today, fortunately during daylight hours. “We probably lost a quarter mile to all the troops around us, but had that happened at night, we would still be floundering around inside the net,” explained Read. Mar Mostro leads CAMPER by 1.40 nm.

 

Three miles behind, the largely French crew of third-placed Groupama 4 are feeling rather smug. “Nice fight,” said Cammas. “Rather satisfying in terms of speed,” he added, both pleased and relieved that his boat is shaping up well against strong opposition.

 

Conversely fifth-placed Ian Walker (GBR) and Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing’s Azzam is struggling to compete, or even to find the elusive ‘fifth gear’. According to Walker, the team has tried every possible sail configuration to try to match the performance of those around them, but is just not quite achieving it. It is frustrating for the British skipper although the team is enjoying sparring with overall leader Team Telefónica (Iker Martínez/ESP) who at 1900 UTC this evening had just rolled over the black boat to take up fourth place.

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Down to only three tabs :D :D :D

 

Oh and Camper are sailing very well at the moment. This is my last update untill ive finished cleaning my car(could take 4 hours)

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It must be dirty.

 

2hours max for me to clean 2 cars.

 

oh its dirty allright. I was going to clean it before christmas but decided agaisnt it as I was just about to travel a couple of thousands of kms and get it dirtier. Now I have the problem of cleaning dried egg, sunblock as well as dealing to a little bit of rust on the car. All in all it could ntake 3-4 hours to clean this one inside and out. Heres hoping my wax and car wash can remove the crap on it....go Maguires

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It must be dirty.

 

2hours max for me to clean 2 cars.

 

oh its dirty allright. I was going to clean it before christmas but decided agaisnt it as I was just about to travel a couple of thousands of kms and get it dirtier. Now I have the problem of cleaning dried egg, sunblock as well as dealing to a little bit of rust on the car. All in all it could ntake 3-4 hours to clean this one inside and out. Heres hoping my wax and car wash can remove the crap on it....go Maguires

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Intersting manouvre by Telefonica.

 

Will they mow down Camper again???? :shock:

 

Not yet. Telefonica are not as good as camper at this wind angle so there fine for now. The battle will begin once they have finished this drag race and started to go through the straights. If the data is to be believed as well telefonica are sailing at an angle that makes no sense @ 21 degrees off the wind.

 

In other news

 

I worked out that back in my yuppie days I spent more on having my car cleaned per year than I now spend on a car.

Stephen don't do it!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

I only clean my car every 4 months and boy does it need it by then. What makes this clean even worse is that it has tree sap all over it and will need a plastic scrapper to remove it :( Im just up to the waxing part or the clean now.........

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Camper are doing a great job to windward of the fleet and are in the strongest of positions out of all of the boats. Lets hope they can continue it over night.

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Puma while leading the race even have time to go fishing :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

 

Speaking of fishing....im off once this next pr comes through as im up at 5 to go and catch me lunch and dinner with my new lucanus jigs :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:

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PUMA and CAMPER were sweating over minimal gains and losses at the head of the fleet on Leg 3 on Tuesday, with no let-up in the furious workrate among the fleet despite sweltering conditions and the prospect of far bigger changes in fortune to come.

 

A perfectly executed tack north overnight from CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand put around 12 nautical miles of lateral separation between them and leg leaders PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG.

 

At the 1300 UTC position report on day 3 of the second stage of Leg 3, PUMA held a 2.3 nautical mile advantage but CAMPER were confident they could still cash in on their more northerly position, with the only question being when to make their move.

 

“We’re only talking small changes, but there’s quite a battle being waged here to hold onto the lead at the moment,” said CAMPER skipper Chris Nicholson.

 

“It’s just a neck and neck race to the east at the moment. We have some leverage -- it’s just a tricky situation for us when to use it.”

 

The determination of the teams to squeeze out tiny advantages this early in the 3,051 nautical mile leg is notable given that far greater gains and losses are likely when the fleet gets into the Malacca Strait and beyond.

 

“They are small gains, because when we think what’s ahead in the Malacca Strait and the South China Sea, there’s going to be enormous gains and losses, but this is where the game’s at at the moment and it’s neck and neck,” Nicholson said.

 

Apart from PUMA, the main concern for Nicholson will be the sight of Team Telefónica making the biggest gains as they recover from the sail damage they suffered on Sunday.

 

Telefónica, who lead the overall standings by seven points from CAMPER, were the fastest boat at the 1300 report, still 16.3nm behind the leaders but pushing hard for the most northerly position.

 

Telefónica skipper Iker Martínez said his team were looking for long-term gains rather than a short-term advantage.

 

“We know that the lost miles to the finish will be important but we’re hoping that it will be better for us when we arrive at the Malacca Strait within the next two days,” he said.

 

“It was a decision based on looking ahead two days rather than for here today. Now we have a little bit more wind and now we are pointing where we want to go. We’re working hard to catch up the boats in front and reduce the gap so that when we reach the unstable conditions in the Malacca Strait we can get closer.”

 

To the south, Groupama sailing team were just behind PUMA, followed by Abu Dhabi and Team Sanya.

 

While the consistent 10-15 knots breeze and warm waters have been ideal to power the six Volvo Open 70s towards the Malacca Strait, life below decks grows more uncomfortable with every day as temperatures rocket.

 

“On deck it’s shorts, t-shirts and sunshine and we’re sailing along in beautiful conditions but it’s very hot, sweltering heat at the moment,” said Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing bowman Justin Slattery.

 

“It’s hot and sticky down below. It’s difficult to get rest off watch because of the heat. If you’re off watch you’re in your bunk. If you can’t sleep you’re on the rail or you stay in your bunk – there’s not much of a choice.”

 

“On deck it’s wet when you do a sail change,” added PUMA bowman Casey Smith. “Of course, as soon as you put your wet weather gear on you sweat horribly, so you’re going to get wet either way, from sweat or from salt water.”

 

With just 20.5 nautical miles separating PUMA from six-placed Sanya, each of the teams have been pouring their energy into squeezing every last bit of boat speed from their yachts, desperately trying to get the upper hand on their opponents.

 

“It’s a meticulous job, with slightly open angles and a little bit of speed in the shifts,” Groupama sailing team watch leader Damian Foxall said. “Every 10th of a knot, every shift is important.”

 

The teams are expected to reach the Malacca Strait, the narrow body of water between Sumatra and Singapore, within the next two days.

 

“Getting around the corner of Sumatra is one thing but the Malacca Strait is a whole different animal,” PUMA bowman Smith added. “Right now it’s just about staying in the pack and making sure when opportunities come you take them.”

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CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand are in a strong position as the fleet heads out across the Bay of Bengal, after Chris Nicholson (AUS) took the opportunity of a cloud line, which produced a 60-degree favourable wind shift, to tack north.

 

CAMPER is now the most northerly boat and to weather of the fleet, just 0.9 nautical miles behind leg leader PUMA’s Mar Mostro (Ken Read/USA). This position will give Nicholson’s team a good angle into the entrance of the Malacca Strait, where an area of light wind exists and where the wind nearly always shifts to the east.

 

Nicholson is clearly using every weapon he has in his armoury to improve his position. It was a quick and decisive call to make, with very little time to move the sail stack to the new windward side. He is now in the position to decide when, on this part of the leg, to cash in his leverage and translate it to distance ahead, rolling over PUMA’s Mar Mostro and third-placed Groupama 4 (Franck Cammas/FRA) in the process.

 

“If it plays out as it should, the 10 miles of leverage that we have we should be able to convert into a couple of miles of lead in 900 miles’ time,” Nicholson said. Anything can of course happen between today and reaching the entrance of the Malacca Strait in two days’ time, however Nicholson is confident that his position is the one to be in.

 

PUMA’s Mar Mostro and Groupama 4 continue to follow a straight-line course with little or no deviation so far. Both Read and Cammas are intent on sailing as fast as possible towards Sumatra and only climbing upwind at the last minute, when the wind direction changes. They do, however, have to time this manoeuvre to perfection to avoid the light easterly wind that normally lurks over the Pulau We region.

 

The most southerly team, fourth-placed Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing with Ian Walker (GBR) are still in touch, just 10.70 nm behind Groupama 4, while in fifth place, overall leader Iker Martínez/ESP also took Telefónica up overnight, a hard decision to take, as it meant not sailing the direct line to Pulau We.

 

“We know that the lost miles to the finish will be important, but we’re hoping that it will be better for us when we arrive at the Malacca Strait in two days’ time,” explains the skipper.

 

Now in more wind, Telefónica is 17 nm astern of PUMA’s Mar Mostro and Martínez is able to steer in the direction he wants to go. “We are working hard to catch up to the boats in front and reduce the gap so that when we reach the unstable conditions in the Malacca Strait, we can get closer,” he said.

 

In sixth position, Mike Sanderson and his men on board Sanya have lost two miles in the last three hours.

 

Sailing conditions on the racecourse are near to perfect with warm air, warm sea and a relatively clear night sky lit by countless stars. Even the occasional downpour from a squall has been a welcome interlude allowing sweating bodies to be refreshed. However, the threat of fishermen using very long nets and lines is becoming more of a worry. Once entangled in a net, many precious miles are lost getting free.

 

“This morning has been all about playing ‘spot the fishing boat and its nets’, writes Hamish Hooper from on board CAMPER. “Remarkable, as these small, 30-foot barely seaworthy boats are about 300 miles from the closest land in Sri Lanka. There have been quite a few of them, so it’s eye to the horizon constantly,” he says.

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Guest Crafty 1
“This morning has been all about playing ‘spot the fishing boat and its nets’, writes Hamish Hooper from on board CAMPER. “Remarkable, as these small, 30-foot barely seaworthy boats are about 300 miles from the closest land in Sri Lanka. There have been quite a few of them, so it’s eye to the horizon constantly,” he says.

 

:shh: :shh: don't tell the VOR sailors. :eh: the sponsors, :eh: nor the Marketing guru this... But there are people out in the ocean doing it harder than these pussies on their million dollar floating bill boards.

 

Poor old hamish having to keep a look out in case he hit a poor old fisherman?... should'nt that be ... "What are these idiots doing sailing through our fishing grounds!" :twisted:

 

Round the world easy! - 300NM off shore in a dodgy punt fishing for you life!.... Priceless.

 

Why are'nt the camper or puma marketing guru's out there Sponsoring these brave and intrepid Punters? after all they are doing a similar thing but just not "showing off" by blasting into a port trying to look like hero's.

 

Keep up the good work SC.

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I think its finally time to have some breakfast after a dismal fishing day. On better news Camper have had a great 12 hour period and are looking very good if they can point just a little higher. Telefonica are also looking very good where as puma and groupama need the wind to swing or they could get hurt in several days time.

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Leg 3

Report: 25/01/2012 1:03:27 UTC

 

It’s neck and neck for the leading pair racing in Stage 2 of Volvo Ocean Race Leg 3 to Sanya. PUMA’s Mar Mostro with Ken Read (USA) has CAMPER (Chris Nicholson/NZL), nipping at her heels like a tiresome terrier, 3.4 nautical miles (nm) astern and to windward. Nicholson is fully fired up to snatch whatever opportunities he can to take the red boat into the lead. Nip and tuck, a game of chess, it’s as close as it can be for these two teams.

 

“We’ve been hanging on and the skeds [position reports] have been so close, probably the closest I’ve ever seen,” Nicholson said earlier today.

 

According to the Australian skipper there is the potential for the rest of the fleet to move further to the north of CAMPER, as Telefónica (Iker Martínez/ESP) has already done, and the crew of CAMPER has made the conscious decision to sail a little lower and faster to make small gains and protect their position. Nicholson expects to see both PUMA’s Mar Mostro and third-placed Groupama 4 (Franck Cammas/FRA) sail lower and faster as a reaction. “No one will want to let us get to the east of them, because getting east puts us closer to Indonesia,” he explained.

 

PUMA’s Mar Mostro is holding off the attack from CAMPER for the third day running. “It’s nice to know the boat is up to speed and we’re going along just nicely,” Mar Mostro’s bowman, Casey Smith/AUS confirms. “Getting round the corner of Sumatra is one thing, but the Malacca Strait is a whole different animal.”

 

The crew of Groupama 4, in third, are happy to have PUMA’s Mar Mostro as their pacemaker. “It’s a meticulous job with slightly open angles and little bit of speed in the wind shifts,” said helmsman/trimmer Damian Foxall/IRE of the action on the racecourse. “Every 10th of a knot, every shift is important.”

 

The 3,000 nm second stage of Leg 3 from the Maldives to Sanya in China is providing some exhilarating straight-line sailing in near perfect conditions for the six-boat fleet as they close in on the waypoint of Pulau Weh, situated at the northern entrance to the Malacca Strait between Sumatra and Singapore.

 

Many of the boats have yet to put in a tack since the start last Sunday, bowling along on port at an even 12.5 knots. Even the cloud activity has been less than expected and for once the weather gods seem to be smiling on the fleet.

 

“There’s nothing too complicated going on,” said Ian Walker (GBR), skipper of Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing’s black yacht Azzam in fourth place, 16.8 nm behind the leader. Essentially we’re just pointing straight at the target and we only have minor decisions to make as to whether we chose the high side or the low side.” That decision will, according to Walker, depend on what he thinks the wind will do further down the track. He expects a period of 12 to 24 hours of lifting wind before it heads back in the final approach to Pulau We.

 

The fleet is now split over 25 nm from first to sixth place, and a lateral divide of 22 nm. On board fifth-placed Telefónica, the crew is happy with their speed. “We have two days more with these conditions until we reach the Malacca Strait and we hope to catch up during this time. The truth is, the boat speed is good, so it is likely we will reel them in,” wrote MCM Diego Fructuoso.

 

Meanwhile, Mike Sanderson (NZL), who currently fills the sixth spot with Sanya, is hoping for a parking lot in the Malacca Strait. “All our efforts at the moment are to just try to stay close enough to the fleet,” he said. Although the team is now a shade over 25 nm adrift. This leg concludes in the team’s homeport where they are sure of a huge welcome regardless of their finishing position.

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Interesting tactics from Camper here as they have lost windward gauge for speed and have left Telefonica on their own to the north of the fleet. This sparing will come to a end in several days and we will see who comes out on top. At the moment my money is on Camper with Telefonica a very close second.

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Guest Crafty 1
Puma while leading the race even have time to go fishing :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

 

Speaking of fishing....im off once this next pr comes through as im up at 5 to go and catch me lunch and dinner with my new lucanus jigs :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:

 

 

Hey SC Hate to burst you bubble but those Lucanus (Ohhh! Luc anus sounds dodgy) are crap which is why if you go into MtSmart marine and look in the fishing section bargin bins (on the left) you will see they are very very cheap.

 

A good mate of mine is a fishing charter operator on the gulf and has consined his to the bin.

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