Volvo Ocean Race - A nightmare for sailors

by Team Brunel on 24 Oct 2014 Volvo Ocean Race 2014-15, Onboard Team Brunel. 'At this rate, it will take a century before we get to Cape Town,' sighs Jens Dolmer, standing on the bow. He is trying in vain to push the flapping foresail outwards. There is hardly a breath of wind. In the distance, the sun is sinking into the ocean. 'Cape Town is still 4,200 miles away and right now we’re only making one knot. At this speed it will take another 175 days before we arrive in Cape Town. We’re parked in the Doldrums.'

If you already know what the Doldrums are, you should carry on reading at (2). If not, carry on here. Everywhere on Earth there are areas of high and low atmospheric pressure. An area of high pressure is caused by a surplus of air while an area of low pressure is caused by a shortage of air. To establish equilibrium, the air moves from the high-pressure area to the low-pressure area. You might expect the air, or wind, to stream in a straight line from the high-pressure area to the low-pressure area, but, owing to the rotation of the planet, everything that moves on Earth deviates from its course - to the right in the northern hemisphere and to the left in the southern hemisphere. This is called the Coriolis Effect.

This also applies to the winds in the Atlantic Ocean, for example. Above the Equator, there is a major wind current rotating clockwise; below the Equator there is a major wind current rotating anti-clockwise. These are the so-called trade winds. These two large wind currents converge at the Equator, resulting in an area approximately 360 nautical miles wide in which the weather varies considerably. The wind can come from every angle and varies in strength. Sometimes there is no wind at all. This area is officially called the Intertropical Convergence Zone, but is commonly referred to as the Doldrums. It’s a challenge for every navigator, and sometimes even a nightmare.

(2) So you know exactly what the Doldrums are. You don’t need a lot of muscle here. Everything comes down to your abilities as a navigator. Since the start in Alicante, Andrew Cape has been busy choosing the right position, and his most important decision is to find the best place from which to cross the Doldrums. 'The biggest gains and losses are made while crossing the Doldrums!' says Bouwe Bekking.

Jens is still fighting with the flapping sail on the foredeck. Team Brunel has just officially entered the Doldrums. Tension is high as we see our immediate competitor Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing sailing in exactly the opposite direction. 'It’s every man for himself!' Andrew Cape stares intently at his monitor and takes a gulp of coffee. 'I’ll need a lot of caffeine tonight.' All sorts of weather maps flicker across the computer screen. Where is that gap in the Doldrums? Where is that single breath of wind? What are the other boats doing? And, most of all, what is Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing doing?

After a few hours of bobbing about, to his dismay Cape sees Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing start to move on his radar screen. 'They got the wind first!' Not much later, we start to move too. The two lead boats slip quite smoothly through the first area of the Doldrums in the dead of night. The last five boats are becalmed there for hours longer and are swallowed up in the Doldrums. But Cape says this is not a time for euphoria: 'The finish is in Cape Town. Then I’ll celebrate!' Team Brunel website