Leg 4

[OYSTR 1]

Looks like Puma have decided to turn back

[Guest]

 

 

 

Day 4 - The Japanese way

 

 

 

The very northerly course adopted by the Volvo Ocean Race fleet is somewhat surprising! Still in the wake of the New Zealanders, Groupama 4 is not closing on the goal: over 100° from the usual heading and 300 miles above the direct route… However, there's no other way out just now: you have to gain ground to the North-East to latch back onto the normal monsoon system.

 

 

 

“We're in a state of uncertainty because the weather models aren't very clear! As such we're having to make do with the wind we have. This Thursday morning for example, we've had 25-30 knots of south-westerly wind, which wasn't forecast at all. It's very complicated to form a strategy as it's likely that the island of Taiwan, which has some sizeable land masses, has severely disrupted the monsoon. As such there is very little isobaric gradient right the way around. Gradually, between now and Friday evening, we're going to shift our course round towards New Zealand, but prior to that, we'll have to link back up with a steady air flow. We are beneath the tropics and fortunately the skies are overcast, which isn't unpleasant as it's very hot. However, we're making the most of it to recover from the fatigue of the South China Sea, because it was very difficult to sleep with messy waves since we left Sanya,” explained Charles Caudrelier at noon this Thursday.

 

Letters from Iwo Jima

 

It's towards this island lost in the middle of the North Pacific that the bows are currently heading: Iwo Jima was one of the last points of entrenchment of the Empire of the Rising Sun's army back in February 1945 when battling against the American armada. This confetti of Japanese islands marks the western limit of the anticyclone responsible for dishing out easterly tradewinds… For the time being, it's the islands of Ishigaki which the fleet will have to negotiate, followed by the Okinawa archipelago, which is sure to mark the breaking point in this rather atypical course. As such, there are still nearly 300 miles to go with the wind on the nose for Franck Cammas and his men. Groupama 4, which has really cut a dash through the tricky passage to the South of Taiwan, is managing to keep up with the steady pace set by Camper, which is the true leader given the route imposed by the weather.

 

“There was a lot of current in the South China Sea and I dread to think what it must be like when there's 40 knots of wind! Right now, we're not doing too badly as the boat hasn't suffered any damage and we're happy with our positioning as we prepare to launch into a long session of reaching in 24 to 30 hours' time. Right now, to the great despair of our New Zealanders onboard, we're distancing ourselves from Auckland… However, there's no way out from the direct route which passes close to the Philippines as there's very little wind in this zone: as such our goal is to latch onto the easterly tradewinds which are blowing a long way offshore of Taiwan and for now we're still on a beat to the North-East on starboard tack.”

 

No man's sea…

 

Around the Luzon Strait the situation is very complicated as the light southerly airs aren't managing to hold their own, transforming the direct course into a no-through road. The Spanish tried to close on it last night, but quickly understood that this solitary option was going to hit a wall. Their move to reposition themselves in the North caused them to cross paths with the Americans, who have really made a great comeback after their delayed departure from China. However, just ten miles shy of Sanya and Abu Dhabi, Telefonica and Puma got trapped by a windless zone for a good hour. Ken Read managed to hotfoot it North but Iker Martinez took a lot longer to extract himself from the resulting gloop! As such nobody's going to tempt fate with a course near the Philippines now so the routing is taking the crews towards Japan instead…

 

Taiwan has witnessed the fracturing of the fleet then and though the boats are heading roughly the same way, they're now split into four groups: Camper is sticking to her guns in her position as true leader, very gradually extending her lead in relation to her direct rival, Groupama 4, which is proving to be a little less at ease sailing into the wind, but is still keeping her hand in thanks to her position to windward of the New Zealanders. Abu Dhabi and Sanya (polled as leaders because they're closer to the finish) are in reality around fifty miles to the South-West of Camper, whilst Puma is continuing to strike out on her own along the coast of the Republic of China, formerly known as Nationalist China, but now commonly referred to as Taiwan. As for Telefonica, she's in a rather difficult patch which could cost her very dearly for the next stage of the race… As such this is a very important stage of the race being played out this Thursday evening and we'll have to wait till the weekend to have a clearer idea of the true hierarchy at the end of this Luzon lesson: there's no Supreme Leader just a guiding line!

[Guest]

CAMPER led the race for new breeze on Thursday that will allow the six Volvo Ocean Race teams to finally turn south towards Auckland rather than sailing away from it.

 

Instead of flying south once clear of the Luzon Strait, a cold front blocking the path to Auckland has forced the fleet to sail a north easterly course away from their destination.

 

The fleet’s best hope of pointing their bows south towards New Zealand is likely to be northerly winds from a new high pressure system developing over China and forecast to sweep east over the fleet in the next few days.

 

Mike Sanderson’s Team Sanya occupied the top spot at the 1300 UTC position update due to their position to the south of the fleet but Chris Nicholson’s fourth-placed CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand out to the north east look best positioned to capitalise when the wind begins to shift north.

 

“We’re hoping we only need to go north for another 60 miles,” CAMPER navigator Will Oxley said. “We know being east is generally better and there are no trade winds right now so we’re using the opportunity to stay in breeze.

 

“In the short term it’s better to be east and north of the fleet, but in the long term east is where you want to be. We want to maintain our lead.”

 

“Unfortunately that means tacking upwind and going north, which seems ridiculous and it’s pretty hard to convince people, but all of the models are showing it’s the right thing to do.

 

While confident of their hold on the fleet, Oxley said once into the reaching conditions in the trades they expected to have to fight to hold off Franck Cammas’ third-placed Groupama sailing team.

 

“We feel good against Groupama right now but they are very fast reaching and we know we are going to have to be in a different part of the ocean to beat them,” he added. “If we’re in the same piece of the ocean reaching down through the north Pacific the grim reality is they will be about a knot faster.”

 

Equally confident of their position were Groupama, who were also taking comfort in seeing overall race leaders Team Telefónica relegated to the fifth after a costly decision to briefly head south after passing Taiwan.

 

“We are glad to see Telefónica there,” Groupama watch captain Charles Caudrelier said. “We aren’t so worried about them because we don’t really see what they could do in the next hours. We are rather satisfied with our position and quite happy to see them away.”

 

The mood was less than upbeat on Telefónica as they found themselves struggling in lighter breeze than their rivals after their southerly gambit failed.

 

“We wanted to go east right after the Strait of Luzon but the wind was unstable so we headed south on what we thought was the quicker route,” explained skipper Iker Martínez.

 

“But after an hour and a half we saw the others in the north had more than 20 knots of wind while we only had light breeze. We tacked back to the north to pick up the same breeze but we lost it quickly.”

 

Telefónica left Sanya ahead of the fleet after winning the first stage of Leg 4 but have yet to find the form that has seen them take victory in all three offshore legs so far.

 

“It’s been a tough day for us,” Martínez added. “We see that the others doing well and here we are with little wind. We haven’t been very lucky but I hope that will change. If not, the difference will be too big.”

 

Ken Read’s sixth placed PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG had managed to re-connect with the fleet around the tip Taiwan but were then forced to the north by the prevailing breezes.

 

Navigator Tom Addis said the PUMA crew had got little chance to sleep over the last 24 hours but were in good spirits and nervously hoping their northerly investment would pay off.

 

“We are sailing in about 14 knots of breeze from the east and have a good current with us right now,” Addis said. “We expect to be able to start to head east in the next 24 hours and we want to be the furthest east boat by the time the fleet turns south.

 

Addis said the crew had been understanding about the call to go north when the finish line lay to the south.

 

“Everyone here understands the situation and gets that Ken and I have agonised long and hard about the best option to get us to Auckland,” he said.

 

“We would have liked to have got more north and east like Groupama and CAMPER but we see an opportunity in the north to go east quickly that could set us up for the long run south.

 

“For sure we are apprehensive. Right now it’s expensive, painful, nerve wracking and all those negative things.

 

The fleet still has more than 4,500 nautical miles left to sail before reaching the Leg 4 finish line in Auckland, New Zealand.

[Guest]

Tracker's 72hr wind forecast looks good

[Guest Rocket]

If the Puma guys are in good spirits they need to test their water tanks. Camper has pretty much nailed this leg to date - big ups to them. Wonder what happens when we get back into the reaching game - hope we don't get the ol deja vu...

[Guest]

Ive been away for half a day and it feels like I have missed out on all of the action.

 

 

“It’s been a bizarre day of racing today,” said Ian Walker, skipper of Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing’s Azzam. “Anybody looking at our tracks on the computer must think the navigators have gone mad – or that we do not know the way to Auckland. The route we are taking is so far off the scale of any historical routes it isn’t funny.”

 

Walker is referring to the need to get east in order to gain a much faster angle when they finally turn southeast to Auckland.

 

Walker’s navigator Jules Salter explains that the fleet is heading northeast to pick up a surge off China which will then translate into the longed for trade winds. Salter says that earlier today, there was a barrier to this. Around the bottom of Taiwan was an old weather system, which was stuck in the way. It was possible to sail downwind on one side of it with quite good breeze, or upwind on the other side.

 

“The key today has been trying to get as far east or northeast as we can using that old weather system before it fully decays and then finding a really nice time to cross over it and to get into the new breeze,” Salter explained. However, it is likely to be another 20 hours or so before the fleet tacks on to port for the long haul down to New Zealand.

 

Once into the new breeze, there will always be one or two light spots ahead, which will give hope to those further back in the fleet and opportunities to get back in the mix. It will be interesting to see how the fleet shapes up once they reach the position where they can tack on to port and start heading southeast towards New Zealand.

 

Tonight at 2200 UTC, five of the six-boat fleet could be covered by a pocket handkerchief, with just 36 nautical miles (nm) lateral separation between CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand (Chris Nicholson/AUS) in the north from Mike Sanderson’s Team Sanya in the south.

 

Ken Read/USA and sixth-placed PUMA’s Mar Mostro powered by BERG, who broke away from the pack soon after leaving the Luzon Strait yesterday is now over 100 nm north of Team Sanya. Today the crew has been in sight of both Taiwan and the southernmost Japanese islands, which seemed very strange to the crew racing on a leg to Auckland, New Zealand.

 

Spirits are low on the overall leader, Telefónica (Iker Martínez/ESP), in fifth place. They were the only team to head south after the Luzon Strait, a move that later proved disastrous. When the door to the south closed, they cut their losses and tacked to re-join the fleet, a move that they are now paying for dearly. “It’s been a very tough day,” said João Signorini. “We haven’t really found our pace. It is very tricky here, but we are doing our best,” he said.

 

Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing are, however, upbeat and enjoying their spell near the top of the leader board. “In essence, spirits are high onboard Azzam,” wrote Ian Walker earlier this evening. “This morning we were staring at big overnight losses to the fleet, and tonight we are in a solid third place. What a difference a day makes.” At 2200 tonight, the situation had improved further as the team rose up the order to take second place.

[Guest]

“Here we are, pointing at Japan in order to get to Auckland,” wrote Diego Fructuoso, media crewmember from fifth-placed Telefónica (Iker Martínez/ESP). Clearly it’s going to be another tough day for all teams psychologically, heading upwind and away from the finish in New Zealand.

 

While the rest of the fleet, led by CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand (Chris Nicholson/AUS) is keeping in close contact and making as much easting as they can, PUMA’s Mar Mostro (Ken Read/USA) continues to race alone, heading north and surrounded by Japanese islands and volcanic summits.

 

The team plans to connect with the western edge of a slow-moving cold front and, if it works, they could be a serious threat to the leaderboard. However, the move does not come without significant risk. If the cold front does not move east as quickly as the team expects, they will have no choice other than to start sailing east in less than good conditions in order to minimise their loss.

 

At 1000 UTC today, the five teams who have chosen the easterly course are racing in variable conditions under a grey sky, flying J1 headsails and full mainsails in 16 knots of breeze from the east northeast, with a small low-pressure just behind them.

 

Thunderstorms and light patches have led to this group putting in multiple tacks in order to keep in the breeze that is swinging 30 degrees at a time. On Groupama (Franck Cammas/FRA), the crew reported a sixth tack within the space of two hours.

 

“It’s been an hour since we last tacked. However, the colour of the sky and a scan of the GRIB file clearly show that the road to the trade winds is full of pitfalls,” wrote MCM, Yann Riou.

 

Groupama 4 has CAMPER in sight. As the skies clear they can see they are on the same port tack. Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing (Ian Walker/GBR) has Groupama 4 and CAMPER just a little above their line and further to the east, while Team Sanya (Mike Sanderson/NZL) is the furthest south of the pack.

[SloopJohnB 322]

Is Kenny in this race?

 

Or did get a different set of Sailing Instructions.

[Guest]

he main pack of five boats led by CAMPER continued to weave their way east in search of trade wind sailing on Friday, as lone wolf PUMA Ocean Racing pinned everything on the arrival of a northerly breeze in the coming days.

 

PUMA’s radical northerly route has seen them closing in on Japan rather than the Leg 4 destination of Auckland but Ken Read’s crew could be the first to benefit from the fresh breeze expected to sweep across the fleet over the weekend.

 

Andrew Cape, navigator on Iker Martínez’s fifth placed Team Telefónica, believes PUMA are far from out of contention on this leg having made their breakaway move after being close to the Spanish overall race leaders the previous day.

 

“They were next to us yesterday when we were in the light winds,” Cape said. “They chose to go north to await the breeze and, it’s interesting, once they get the breeze they are looking for they will be on course and going quite well, but they have some catching up to do.”

 

Cape said that the fleet’s north easterly track towards the trade winds could continue for a good while yet making the current Distance To Finish rankings meaningless at the moment.

 

“It’s all about your positioning in relation to the coming breeze,” he said. “There’s still a lot of things to be ironed out but we are just doing the best with what we’ve got.

 

“With the low pressure situation off Japan everyone has chosen to go north away from the rhumb line to wait until the trade winds are established again which could mean we have to sail another thousand miles east.

 

Cape acknowledged that to be racing away from the finish line must appear counterintuitive to the casual outside observer of the race.

 

“It looks pretty stupid and is really pretty stupid but it’s the best way to get to New Zealand, unfortunately,” he said.

 

PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG have been picking their way through a myriad of tiny Japanese islands and had to delay their first turn east to clear a newly formed volcanic island but are now heading east parallel with the fleet.

 

“When we finally found the penultimate shift to start our long trek east, we had to wait for five miles to avoid tacking through a microscopic volcanic summit called Taisho To -- only two years old,” wrote PUMA MCM Amory Ross.

 

“By any measure we are still doing the right thing for our particular set of circumstances,” Ross said. “Tom (Addis, navigator) and Ken (Read, skipper) have worked tirelessly to decode the forecasts. The computer models don’t tend to lie.

 

“So we will just have to wait this one out and see what happens,” Ross concluded.

 

Franck Cammas, skipper of second-placed Groupama sailing team said his main focus was on getting east as quickly as possible to be well positioned against the fleet when the breeze became more favourable.

 

“At some point the wind will come from the north,” Cammas said. “We don’t want to be too south to be amongst the first to get it.

 

“All the fleet except PUMA are following an average route east. PUMA went north to look for that new wind before the other ones. It may pay tomorrow or after tomorrow but, they have surely invested a lot.”

 

With reaching conditions still to come in the still more than 4,500 nautical miles to Auckland, which could favour the French boat and help them close down CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand, Cammas said he was happy with second place at this point.

 

“We feel comfortable reaching, especially compared to CAMPER,” he said. “We are happy not to be far from them. The good reaching boats for example Telefónica are still a bit behind and that’s not a bad thing either.

 

“Traps must be avoided, though, and yes if we manage to stay in touch with CAMPER we will be delighted to be in that position when we reach more stable winds which should favour us.”

 

While happy to have regained the lead on their homecoming leg, CAMPER have been unable to shake off second-placed Groupama who are in clear view on the horizon.



 

“Herein lay the first frustration of today,” wrote MCM Hamish Hooper in his report from the boat. “As severely frustrating as a mosquito in your ear, is the small green dot of Groupama on the horizon. Again, like a mosquito, they are unlikely to go away easily.”

[Guest]

[Guest]

The road towards Auckland appears to be cutting through the fields! The fleet is making virtually no progress towards the goal and is distancing itself more and more from the Chinese and Japanese coasts, bound for Iwo Jima. The very shifty easterly breeze, with substantial squalls and rain showers, is making life very unpleasant for Franck Cammas and his crew, in what is a tropical heat. Groupama 4 will have to wait until the weekend before she can stand a chance of really going for it in a new northerly air flow.

 

The whole fleet is positioning its pawns on the vast Pacific chessboard: to avoid the spells of calm which are holding sway offshore of the Philippines, to go and hunt down the tradewinds which are taking their time to settle into position and to hook onto a front which is dropping down from Japan this weekend. It's a complex game and the current plan is to avoid being surrounded by the band of cloud stretching out offshore of Okinawa. The fleet will have to ensure they protect the North of the playing field in view of a fresh wind due to hit the zone on Saturday, keep an eye on any moves pulled by their adversaries so as to be prepared for the possibility of an imminent dive down to the South-East, as well as anticipate the trajectory of any pursuers, though the latter have been pretty scattered about the race zone since Taiwan... Groupama 4 has opted to favour a course towards the East in the wake of the New Zealand leaders who, despite the ease of this Botin design when sailing into the wind, haven't managed to open up a lead and are just 6 miles ahead of the French boat.

 

"We're still close-hauled! In a changeable wind with some meaty squalls: the stable breeze is something we're not expecting to see before Saturday afternoon or evening... At that point we'll finally be able to plunge down towards the South-East. Tomorrow, the wind is set to shift round to the North-West before clocking round to the North-East. At that point it will carry us to the latitude of the easterly tradewinds, which are fairly strong, some 400 miles to the South of us! For the time being, we have a very variable breeze which is oscillating from the South-East to the North-East. We're awaiting a front which is dropping in from Japan, that will bring a more stable wind: that should enable us to hook back up with the tradewinds", commented Franck Cammas during a radio session with Race HQ at the Volvo Ocean Race.

 

A cheeky Japanese monsoon

 

There's been a major meteorological upset over the North Pacific: a very large subtropical depression (962 hPa) is extending away from Japan towards the East, with another depression replacing it this weekend over the Empire of the Rising Sun, whilst a third system is rolling across from China at the start of next week! This succession of very pronounced disruptions which are due to affect 35° North, won't hit the fleet, which are sailing 600 miles further South, along the Tropic of Cancer. However, these systems are messing up the usual system, by pushing back the anticyclone which is generating tradewinds which are a lot further towards the centre of the ocean. In meteorological terms it's a very unstable zone, which has settled across the route of the VO-70s, causing a highly variable breeze due to a small isobaric gradient. In this way, the north-easterly breeze on Thursday, gave way to a south-easterly flow this Friday morning, whilst a front is on its way with some north-westerly wind on Saturday...

 

"Given that the weather forecasts have seldom been accurate over recent days, we've drawn up a strategy focused largely on statistics, causing us to favour the tack which takes us closer to the goal since we passed Taiwan and right now we're gaining ground to the East. As the fresh breeze will roll in from the North, it's better to be to windward of the fleet. Aside from Puma, who's headed North to make headway at the forward edge of this front, everyone is roughly following the same plan. We're happy to be in contact with Camper. Its crew are fearful of us on a reach, so conditions are likely to favour us this weekend..."

 

The easterly monsoon has also been pushed very low, to around 15°N, and there is still a great deal of uncertainty about the upcoming transition between the northerly system pushing through on Saturday and the entry into the tradewinds. As such Franck Cammas and his men are opting to cover as much ground as possible in the East so they can at least have a nice, open angle with which to intercept the easterly air flow, which is blowing around the Mariana archipelago. This trajectory isn't doing a lot to improve their ability to make headway towards Auckland. Indeed it's surprising to note that in the space of 48 hours, Groupama 4 has covered 450 miles across the water and just 170 miles VMG towards the goal!

 

The rapier thrust by the Americans

 

Though Camper and Groupama 4 have been stuck together like glue and have performed a large number of tack changes to remain on this route out to the East, behind them, the chasing pack looks to be trying a few different options. The Chinese boat has opted to shift further South, whilst the Emirati boat has repositioned itself further North, as has the Iberian boat. Logically, Telefonica will be the first of the group to accelerate in the expected new north-westerly breeze, but she will only be able to make up a small part of her 70-mile deficit in relation to the leader. However, she should be able to pile the pressure on Abu Dhabi, which has amassed a delta of around forty miles, and the rhythm will pick up with 15 to 20 knots of northerly breeze on Saturday.

 

As for Puma, she'll be able to roar along since she's 150 miles further North than the rest of the fleet. The front that she'll be the first to hit this Friday evening, is still steadier, at nearly 25 knots. The American boat, which is 240 miles stray of the leader, should be able to make up half her deficit and retain a favourable northern position for her entry into the tradewinds. It won't be enough to worry the Spanish, and even less so the New Zealanders and the French! However, the true hierarchy is only really likely to establish itself once the frontrunners have traversed the transition zone and hooked onto the easterly tradewinds at the end of this weekend beside the Mariana Islands...

 

Position of the competitors in the Volvo Ocean Race on the fourth leg from Sanya - Auckland at 1600 UTC on 24/02/2012

[Guest]

[Guest]

While PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG and Ken Read/USA headed northeast alone, with none of the fleet within 165 nautical miles (nm) and the Japanese islands of Okinawa and Tanega Shima as their nearest landmarks, the rest of the fleet was enjoying some fast sailing as speeds hit 18 knots earlier this evening.

 

Despite torrential downpours, Franck Cammas/FRA and Groupama 4 have the pedal right down and have kept up their relentless pursuit of CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand (Chris Nicholson/AUS). The French team, part of the main pack of five boats that are keeping close company, is 24 nm to port of CAMPER, where until 1900 UTC tonight they had more wind and were sailing two knots faster than any of the other teams. But, at the 2200 UTC position report, Groupama’s speed had dropped and CAMPER was sailing fastest with the French boat lagging four miles.

 

“If I ever say I want to do this race again, you are allowed to kill me,” uttered Groupama 4’s bowman and boat captain Martin Krite, his face ravaged and his eyes dark with tiredness. He is only half-serious, but this leg just doesn’t seem to be getting any easier, nor is it getting much shorter.

 

The fickle wind is causing speeds to race up and down depending where on the ocean each boat is positioned. In the three hours to 2200 UTC third-placed Team Sanya (Mike Sanderson/NZL) averaged 13.2 knots, while fourth placed Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing (Ian Walker/GBR), following a similar course to Groupama 4, only managed 9.2. Team Telefónica faired a little better at 11.9 and was the backmarker of the main pack having altered to an east southeast course between 1900 and 2200 tonight, while the ‘go it alone team’ on PUMA ‘s Mar Mostro were in a completely different weather pattern and making 15.2 knots.

 

It is still very possible that PUMA’s tactic will shake up the leader board and navigator Tom Addis and skipper Ken Read are working tirelessly to decode the forecasts, but at 2200 UTC tonight, CAMPER was still top of the table.

 

“It has been a sleepless couple of days, a tough leg, and even tougher race, and nobody has given up an inch of effort or enthusiasm. I am happy to slug it out up here along with these 10 guys, even if it is the Volvo Ocean Race in solidarity”, summed up PUMA’s media crewmember Amory Ross.

[Guest]

The next 12 hours are crucial for Puma as they are in the better pressure they were looking for, but was it worth the 200nm they lost to get it?

[Guest]

Hamish Hooper blogs from on-board CAMPER

 

I just couldn’t go past the M&M’s again- as much as I tried. At least I can now accept it and it won’t be a dilemma anymore.

 

Still we are heading east- more and more east. But the slight, ever so slight hint of positivity is we are actually heading 2 degrees south of east! I’ll take that as literally a step in the right direction.

 

Oh wait a minute- I spoke to soon, we just gybed north again…the torture.

 

Apparently if things happen as expected we could be on this gybe for the next few thousand miles once the wind hopefully clocks around.

 

We just hope we get more breeze than we have now to hasten things up a bit.

 

It’s now only 9 knots, but we are managing to maintain nearly 10 knots of boat speed. For the first time this leg we are in nice warm sunshine, blue skies and turquoise sea. Animal had to ask this morning what that big warm glowing circle in the sky was again and why it is still rising off our bow and not our port side.

 

As usual the deck is a bit of a Chinese laundry drying everything out.

 

Nico, Will and Stu are spending long hours in the nav station deciphering each sked and weather report that comes in, trying to pick a near impossible path to Auckland as well as keeping one eye on what the other boats are doing. The big question of the last few days was where on earth Puma were heading. My good friend and fellow MCM Amory Ross mentioned he was wanting to go skiing in Japan, but didn’t think he meant in the middle of a leg…

 

As it turns out they have finally turned east and Will thinks there is potential for credible method to their seeming madness. Time will tell.

 

Now the conditions on board are more settled Chuny has given himself a wash and full spa treatment with wet wipes and very fragrant moisturizer- lavender if my nose serves me right. Trae just came down below and asked what that bloody awful smell was.

 

A big bit of excitement for all of the guys this morning was the rugby report we got sent through and my recycled commentary of the climatic last play of the match of the first Super XV rugby game- Auckland Blues vs. Canterbury Crusaders. It sounds like the Blues were robbed, 19-18. Stu was happy though, he couldn’t lose either way having been born in Christchurch and lives in Auckland.

Stu loves Auckland and Piri Weepu too.

 

The thing Stu loves most about Auckland is that his family live there (obviously) and the proximity to a fantastic international airport when he needs to get away…

(For work obviously).

 

GOLDEN QUOTES:

 

“The dark side of me is enjoying sharing a small fraction of a taste of what it is like to actually be in the Volvo Ocean Race with some of its employees who have to be up in the middle of the night connecting us with the media back home in New Zealand.” CHRIS NICHOLSON

 

“We are still not heading to New Zealand but at least its not raining” ANDY MCLEAN

[Guest]

[Guest]

Whos gamble out of Telefonica and Camper is going to work?

[Guest]

[Guest]

This is turning out to be a great leg tactically as its co close between the boats still. Puma look like they will come up short, but it will be close as everyone still battles to get into the trade winds.

[Guest]

Groupama sailing team took up a strong position to the east of the fleet on Sunday, after a radical move that could give the French team a real advantage on Leg 4.

 

On a cold, dark day, heavy with rain, Franck Cammas' Groupama 4, the green mosquito that has been buzzing in the ears of leg leaders CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand for days, broke away at around 0100 UTC -- a move CAMPER chose not to follow.

 

The key to the leg will likely be how the teams cross a windless zone to reach the northeast trade winds, which will take them swiftly towards the finish in Auckland.

 

“We prefer to go away from this light wind area, but we won’t be able to entirely avoid it and will have to go through calm areas before we reach the trades,” Cammas explained.

 

Groupama may now have the edge over PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG, 27 nautical miles (nm) to their north, as well as the rest of the fleet, including CAMPER, 103 nm to their south, all of whom have very unstable wind.

 

On board CAMPER, all is silent, except for the drumming of rain on the deck as the crew contemplates the anxious feeling that the fleet is roaring up behind.

 

“It’s really hard to know right now just how we are doing against the other boats, until we manage to get into the established northeast trade winds and turn towards home,” wrote CAMPER’s MCM Hamish Hooper. "The team studies the three-hourly position reports intently, working out the speeds and positions of the opposition, all the time hoping they are not doing better for too long. It’s a nervous time for skipper Chris Nicholson."

 

Meanwhile, PUMA have concluded their lonely detour to the north, which has brought them back within range of the fleet just 28 nm to the north of Groupama 4.

 

"The important thing is that PUMA has some swagger back," wrote MCM Amory Ross. "The guys are smiling, spirits are high, and we’ve mostly forgotten the last week of torture in favor of more recent reaching pleasantries. I say mostly because everyone owns some lingering bumps and bruises we tend to revisit now and again."

 

Skipper Ken Read came up with an original way of describing the relief on board at being back with the fleet.

 

“I think I have a splinter in my right hand,” Read said. “The term ‘touch wood’ has been used more times than I have ever heard. The little piece of wood mounted in the nav table is nearly worn out. The sentence, ‘if it works the way it is supposed to, we will be ok – touch wood’, has been used a thousand times.”

 

Overall leaders Team Telefónica, placed second on the leg leaderboard, are over 161 nm south of PUMA. Their position near the top is distorted by their position as the furthest boat to the south. However, Navigator Andrew Cape says it’s not all over yet.

 

“Without doubt we’re still looking at the number one position here," he said. "It’s not over, we’re not in the gutter being kicked in the head. We have our heads held high, a lot of fight left in us and a long way to go.”

 

According to skipper Mike Sanderson, fourth placed Team Sanya are not on the ‘front row of the grid’ either. “I can’t really blame our further loss on performance, although being behind in the first place has caused us to get held up in between two weather systems,” Sanderson said.

 

The new reaching conditions expected in about 48 hours will not suit Team Sanya, who will be hoping for a ‘restart’ in the doldrums area around the Solomon Islands. Their spirits, however, were lifted today by the appearance of a pod of dolphins hunting tuna and an eight-metre whale shark, whose body was just visible with a big dorsal fin breaking the surface.

 

Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing are in fifth, tracing the wake of Groupama 4. “We’re pretty much in the hunt, but we’ve had a tough 24 hours,” explained bowman Justin Slattery. “When we start heading south and we get those blue skies, I think it will lift our moods considerably."

 

The fleet is separated by a weakening cold front, which is causing cloudiness and unstable breeze. While everything is looking good for PUMA and Groupama in the north, it could be a much more painful transition to the trade winds with a less favourable angle for Telefónica and CAMPER who are stuck in the centre of the front.

 

On the 1300 UTC leader board today, CAMPER showed a slim margin of 13.9 nm over Telefónica, although their real threat could be from PUMA and Groupama in the north. The current leg placings are distorted by the distance to finish calculation and it will not become clear who the winners and losers are until the transition into the trade winds is complete, which will be Tuesday at the earliest.