Team SCA holds reduced lead after Coast of Death in Volvo Ocean Race
by Richard Gladwell/Sail-World.com NZL on 10 Jun 2015
June 09, 2015. Team Vestas Wind passing by Costa da Morte - Coast of Death - in Spanish waters during Leg 8 to Lisbon. Ainhoa Sanchez/Volvo Ocean Race
The womens crew of Team SCA have held their lead as the fleet sails across the Bay of Biscay in winds of 28kts.
The westerly group of the fleet have now tacked onto port with Team SCA leading Vestas Wind followed by Team Alvimedica and Dong Feng at the 1843UTC Sked on June 9, 2015.
The second group comprising Abu Dhabi, Team Brunel and Mapfre are still on starboard with the key question being as to who will be ahead when the fleet crosses.
That won't be known until the next sked around 2145hrs on June 9, 2015 UTC
On the course routing from Predictwind Team SCA still lead and are expected to finish around 1900hrs UTC on June 10, 2015, with just 24 hours to sail from the 1843UTC sked.
Behind Team SCA the second placed boat is still Team Vestas Wind who is just over an hour astern of Team SCA.
Vestas Wind is, on the route projections 40minutes ahead of the leader of the other group, Abu Dhabi.
The distance to finish projections from Volvo Ocean Race show that Team SCA holds a 7.5nm lead over Abu Dhabi, with Mapfre a mile further back and Team Vestas Wind 9.5nm off the race leader. That Great Circle route calculation is based solely on distance to finish and ignores the fact that the boats cannot sail directly into the wind, have to tack, and takes no account of the weather expected to be encountered along the way.
The Predictwind routing takes all these factors into account, and the outcome is a time to finish, rather than a distance to be sailed.
Earlier the fleet exited from the Spanish Coast, known as the Coast of Death, largely without reported incident.
Winds are expected to ease from 28kts average (40kt gusts) down to 17kts average at the finish. Seas will also reduce as the boats close in progressively on the French coast
About Predictwind:
Developed by former Olympian, Jon Bilger (470, 1992), Predictwind application was used by the Swiss team Alinghi to win the 2003 and 2007 America's Cups, and has become the leading wind system used by racing and recreational sailors around the world. It is available on a subscription basis and also with a free forecast option.
A mobile app for Android and iPhone is available and www.predictwind.com!PredictWind is available for download
Real time local wind observations have been added as further functionality.
You can check the weather anywhere in the world, and get a five-day forecast, plus a variety of other features and functions of www.predictwind.com!PredictWind. The app is synchronised with your PC so that your latest set of locations are always available without resetting each time you change a device
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