Jump to content

Leg 5


Guest

Recommended Posts

BLASTING TOWARDS THE ROARING FORTIES

 

 

With sheets cracked, the six-boat Volvo fleet led by Telefónica (Iker Martínez/ESP) is blast-reaching towards 40 degrees south at speeds of 17 to 18 knots. But, before the sleigh ride of the Roaring Forties towards Cape Horn can begin in earnest, the fleet will have to cross a ridge of high-pressure causing lighter breeze on Tuesday, which will add to the complexity of this leg from Auckland to Itajaí in Brazil.

 

At 6,705 nautical miles (nm), this is the longest leg of the around the world course and according to Stu Bannatyne, co-skipper of second-placed CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand, keeping the boat in one piece in these early stages is an important part of the process of doing well in the leg.

 

As the leaders enter the transition zone, the wind has started to decrease to a more manageable 20 knots and more sail is piled on, however it is a very fine balance as to when to put the pedal hard down and when to throttle back.

 

“When we get 45 knots, or above 35 knots of wind, we are slowing the boat down a bit to get through it in once piece,” said CAMPER’s skipper Chris Nicholson in a radio interview today. “As soon as we have the right amount of sail are up, we are pushing 100 per cent.”

 

“We are trying to get there [to the Roaring 40s] because in those fresh running conditions we have got a good boat and good team. For me, we can’t get there soon enough.”

 

At 1900 UTC, the first five boats were all south of the rhumb line and each had covered over 400 nm in the past 24 hours. Iker Martínez’s Telefónica, the furthest team to the south, led the fleet 60 nm ahead of Mike Sanderson’s Sanya in fifth. Ian Walker’s Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing trailed by 723 nm having restarted the leg earlier today after returning to Auckland briefly to affect repairs.

 

As the transition to the westerly breeze begins, it is likely that the fleet will become more compact before extending in the exhilarating downwind surfing conditions for which this race has always been famous.

Link to post
Share on other sites

And camper suddenly 421 miles behind. Something is wrong.

 

I remember previously that when they changed the waypoint they were referencing to there was a step change in the positions, but I don't think any of those waypoints would give those positions. My bet is that the waypoint they are referencing to is wrong.

Link to post
Share on other sites

It will be interesting to see how much ADOR catches up when the leaders bog down in that ridge which is going to be tracking in the same direction as them.

 

Go hard ADOR I say!

Link to post
Share on other sites
Telefonica must have a bit of iceberg stuck to their sea temperature sensor

 

Maybe they put it in their freezer.

 

Wait - they don't have any freezer on board do they? :lol: :lol:

Link to post
Share on other sites

ROARING FORTIES BECOME SIMPERING SIX KNOTS

 

 

in a complete turnaround from the atrocious conditions the six-boat Volvo Ocean Race fleet has been forced to endure since the start of Leg 5 last Sunday, the famous Roaring Forties have been reduced to a ‘simpering’ six knots as the leading five boats pick their way carefully across a ridge of high-pressure.

 

It’s only likely to be a brief reprieve of 18 hours and the memory of slamming the boat through waves at 20 knots is still fresh in the minds of the crews who are nursing bumps and bruises, some more serious than others. “It’s funny how a day changes,” commented Chris Nicholson, skipper of CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand, currently in fourth.

 

Ken Read’s PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG has been one of the teams worst affected by injury and has had two men off games since the early part of the leg. The latest addition to the PUMA crew, Thomas Johanson, had an inauspicious start to his first Volvo Ocean Race. He was injured on day one having been blindsided by a wave, which washed him across the deck as he was emerging from the hatch and dislocated his shoulder. The onboard medics were able to manipulate the joint and he is now making a good recovery.

 

Read’s other casualty is Casey Smith, who has damaged his back seriously enough for Read to consider making a detour to the Chatham Islands to remove both casualties from the boat. The decision was put off as the patients began to show improvement and Read will reconsider his options in a few days’ time.

 

Although the fire hose conditions have abated, the air and sea temperature are plummeting as the fleet heads beyond 40 degrees south.

 

At 1600 UTC today, Franck Cammas and Groupama 4 relieved Iker Martínez and Telefónica of their pole position and PUMA had risen to second place. By 1900 UTC Groupama 4 had pulled out a slim lead of 2.2 nm over PUMA, with Martínez and Telefónica less than a mile behind. CAMPER in fourth, 12.5 nm behind the Spanish, had Mike Sanderson’s Team Sanya on their coat tails, a shade under 2.5 nm astern. Speeds are slowly dropping and only Sanya and the trailing Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing, who have a deficit of 379 nm to overcome, are managing to average double figures.

 

Once through the ridge, the crews can look forward to the first proper Southern Ocean downwind spinnaker running at around 17 – 25 knots, but right now, there is the opportunity to tidy the boat up, relocate lost gear and clothing and rest tired bodies.

Link to post
Share on other sites

yep its on the main page now.

 

As an aside i reckon AD is going to come very close to catching the front 5 looking at where she is and the weather forecast. Certainly will be a good piece of luck but also good management too.

Link to post
Share on other sites

RACE AGAINST TIME TO REACH FAST LANE TO CAPE HORN

 

 

It is what makes the Volvo Ocean Race so special; the chance to sail in the harsh wastes of the Southern Ocean, where temperatures plummet, waves are as big as a block of flats and howling tailwinds produce mind-blowing downwind sailing. This is what the six-boat fleet is preparing for tonight as they line up to hook into a westerly depression later tonight. But it’s a race against time to reach the fast-moving conveyor belt and to be denied this opportunity, even temporarily, would be a huge disappointment.

 

Already speeds are building to 16 knots as the fleet swings south under the ridge of high-pressure that has been slowing progress for the past two days. Now, down to 45 degrees south, four of the five teams are keeping together, but Iker Martínez and Telefónica have taken a flyer to the south in order to reach the strong breeze earlier. They are now showing in fifth place on the leaderboard, which is calculated on distance to finish.

 

After nearly four days of racing, there has been just one loser, Ian Walker’s Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing in sixth place after returning to Auckland to effect repairs, but even this team could luck-in and re-join the pack if conditions continue to play into their hands.

 

It has been known before, on this leg of the course, for the backmarker to sail around the leading stationary pack and cruise on to win the leg. A comforting thought for Ian Walker, who has reduced his deficit to 264 nm with a runway of 6,126 nm left to cover before the finish in Itajaí, Brazil.

 

There is a fair chance that the fleet will be too slow tonight to catch the low-pressure rolling towards Cape Horn, and be spat out the back into lighter airs. This scenario would play very nicely into Walker’s hands, but it is something almost too awful to contemplate for the leading group, who are ready and waiting for the first real downwind test of the race.

 

“The fast option really looks infernal, a true challenge with lots of cold and unstable winds and a bad sea state,”Groupama’s navigator Jean-Luc Nélias said. “We would follow a low pressure until Cape Horn in winds always above 30 knots. But, on the other hand, if we are too slow tonight, we don’t get to surf that low pressure and we will be back in the transition with lighter winds.”

 

At 1900 UTC, Chris Nicholson and CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand, the most northerly of the fleet, were the new leaders with the slimmest of leads over second placed Groupama 4. Mike Sanderson’s Sanya was in third, 4.6 nm astern of Nicholson, followed by Ken Read with PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG and Telefónica (Iker Martínez/ESP) filling the fourth and fifth slots respectively. It is almost re-start time so close is the fleet, which is split 9.1 nautical miles between first and fifth, but no other teams have followed Telefónica south.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.


×
×
  • Create New...