The B&G Report - Volvo Ocean Race - Leg 7 Preview

by Mark Chisnell on 19 May 2015 Top Volvo Ocean Race correspondent, navigator and sailing analyst, Mark Chisnell writes a regular report for B&G on the current race and trends he sees developing. This week he previews Leg 7.

Leg 7 Preview – A Classic Stage

Leg 7 from Newport, Rhode Island to Lisbon, the capital of Portugal is just 2,800 miles and this trans-Atlantic crossing is to ocean racing what L’Alpe d’Huez is to the Tour de France – a classic. The whole idea of racing yachts across oceans started back in 1905, when the hard-driving, three time America’s Cup winner, Charlie Barr, won the Kaiser’s Cup on the schooner Atlantic. He did the crossing in just over 12 days – which is no disgrace in a monohull even now ­– but I think our fleet will manage it a little quicker.

Riders of the Storm Track

In all the leg previews so far we’ve featured the idea of crossing or transiting along climate zones. This is the last chance I’ll get before we quit open ocean racing for the coastal variety, but I don’t see any reason to do it differently this time. The start lies firmly in the storm track, the belt of east-going low pressure systems that would normally – along with the Gulf Stream – dominate the opening tactics of Leg 7.

The low pressure systems and the Gulf Stream are both headed for Europe, just like the boats, and ought to promise a fast ride east for the first half of the course. Just like the Southern Ocean, only in the North Atlantic and often just as cold, or even colder. Sounds great, huh?

Ice, Ice Baby

Before we look at the actual forecast (and come crashing back to earth), it’s worth noting that the Race Officials have set up some exclusion zones, in particular an ice limit line that will mark the northern boundary of the race course. The idea of the ice limit is to keep them away from the Grand Banks. This is where the cold water of the Labrador Current – which carries the ice down from the Arctic – meets the warm water of the Gulf Stream. It’s notorious for fog and bad storms, as well as icebergs. In fact, The Perfect Storm of movie and book fame happened right here.

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