When you're hot you're hot- Dongfeng leads Volvo Ocean Race fleet east
by Sail-World.com on 10 Feb 2015
February 8, 2015. Leg 4 to Auckland onboard Team SCA. Day 0 at nightfall. The team head out of Sanya ahead of Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing. Anna-Lena Elled/Team SCA
Dongfeng won leg 3 to China, won the inshore race, led the Volvo Ocean Race fleet out of Sanya Bay and is now leading Leg 4.
From Dongfeng in the lead to Team SCA at the back, it’s just a very uncomfortable upwind bash to the Luzon Strait, lying between Taiwan and the Philippines. The next waypoint at Dai Island is some 300 nm away.
The rest of the instructions from Race Control just read as follows:
Race Control: Philippines Waypoint to starboard— Dai Island (Solomon’s) to starboard — Santa Ana Island (Solomon’s) to starboard — Auckland Finish.
Abu Dhabi is just 2.8 nm behind Dongfeng who have recovered well after ripping a sail during a change, their first self-induced breakage they have suffered from since leaving Alicante.
The Spanish entry is now in third position just 3nm behind Abu Dhabi.
The appear not be be any big shifts or any real change in the conditions only that the wind is due to increase as day breaks on the fleet. It’s because of the NNE winds that will accelerate round the northern tip of the Philippines.
The rest of the fleet is in the mix and very much in striking distance. Just one small set back will really hurt the leaders.
Yesterday, Will Oxley briefed his team to think of this first part of the leg as 1 x Sydney to Hobart on the nose and just as uncomfortable, but without a beer in the Customs House at the end.
It is blowing 33 plus knots over the deck in apparent wind and is set to get up higher. Halfway now with just one more day of pounding before they can crack sheets a little and put some southing on the compass.
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