Volvo Ocean Race - Bitter pill for Team Alvimedica
by Volvo Ocean Race on 25 Apr 2015
Team Alvimedica - Volvo Ocean Race 2015 Amory Ross / Team Alvimedica
2014 - 15 Volvo Ocean Race - A bitter pill for Alvimedica delivered with the 1300 UTC skeds. As mentioned in the 0400 UTC Watch Log, Team Alvimedica and Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing were protecting the left side of the fleet by using the localised wind shifts to tack to the north.
At 0600UTC Team Alvimedica tacked making a firm move to the north, meanwhile the rest of the fleet were still on port heading east.
Ian Walker on the Emirati boat made the more conservative call to stick with the pack and was one of the last boats to tack north, trying to minimise the damage from the shifting right wind.
By this time Mapfre had made four well-placed tacks putting them right next to Abu Dhabi.
Team Brunel, Dongfeng Race Team and Team SCA held tight while all the other three played the shifts, making only one well-timed tack as the furthest east boats.
They currently lead the fleet north in six - seven kts with the girls on SCA at the centre of a 6nm wide sandwich between Charles Caudrelier's Dongfeng and Bouwe Bekking on Team Brunel.
Mapfre are just to the south-west of Dongfeng separated by 2nm and Abu Dhabi 5.5nm south of them.
Charlie Enright on Alvimedica had to face the tough news in with the midday position report, as him and navigator Will Oxley realised the results of their joust north. They were positioned 40nm due east of the pack which has now increased to over 50 nm.
This, with the knowledge they were sailing into a weather system with a veering right wind, was hard news to break to the crew. Will Oxley remained positive when asked what they should do now, and replied with ‘we keep doing what we are doing.’
As the boats are all over the lay line to the eastern tip of South America this next part of the leg is predicted to turn into a reach all they can hope for is the extra distance sailed by everyone else will convert into a loss by the time the get back in line.
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