Ken Read’s Puma and Iker Martínez’s Team Telefónica have been engaged in a day-long drag race for the lead, as the Volvo Ocean Race fleet rapidly approach the tactical nightmare of the Doldrums.
Remarkably, after nine days and approaching 2,000 nautical miles of racing on the 6500nm first leg, there was virtually nothing to choose between the two leading boats. The are heading towards a rounding mark off Fernando an island 190nm from the Brazilian coast.
Read had held a tenuous three-mile advantage at the 1000 UTC position report today, a margin which as the breeze ramped up steadily from 15 to 20 knots during the day, Martínez steadily ground down to zero.
By the 1300 UTC report, Team Telefónica were ahead -- but by a just half a nautical mile.
Unwilling to be broken by the Spanish charge, Read urged his American crew into a fight back with the 1600 UTC showing that in the previous three hours Puma had matched Telefónica almost identically mile-for-mile.
With the battle for the lead so close, both teams were focusing in on achieving the fastest possible transition through the Doldrums, which they were expected to reach around midnight UTC.
On board Puma however, Read acknowledged that it was looking increasingly likely that the Spanish crews’ positioning would give them the lead into the Doldrums.
'Telefónica have a little better angle coming in right now,' he said. 'Over the last few days they have eaten away at our lead and I wouldn’t be surprised if they were actually first into the Doldrums. We’re a little frustrated because we really liked our line and Telefónica’s line is proving to be a little better right now.'
By 1700 UTC both boats had slowed to just below 20 knots and Telefónica had pulled out a lead of almost five nautical miles.
Xabi Fernandez onboard Team Telefonica during leg 1 of the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12, from Alicante, Spain to Cape Town, South Africa. - Diego Fructuoso -Team Telefónica-Volvo Ocean Race Click Here to view large photo
Telefónica’s navigator, Andrew Cape said that given the fact that they had taken and lost the lead several times previously on this leg, there had been little celebration on board when they overtook Puma .
'We have positioned ourselves a little further to the west and we are very happy with the way that is working out. But we will have to see. It is so close. We expect to be very much together with Puma when we reach the Doldrums.'
At the 1900 UTC position report, Puma had pulled back a single mile on Telefónica and extended their lead on third place CAMPER with Emirates team New Zealand to 160 nautical miles, with fourth placed Groupama were a further 180 miles adrift.
Transportation cradle being assembled in Lisbon, Portugal for the shipping of Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing where their Volvo Open 70 will be packed and loaded onto a container ship to Cape Town, missing Leg 1 of the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12, from Alicante, Spain to Cape Town, South Africa. - Nick Dana-Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing -Volvo Ocean Race Click Here to view large photo
Volvo Ocean Race fleet positions as at 2030hrs on 14 November - PredictWind.com
Volvo Ocean Race wind data for Puma (leading) and Groupama (trailing) as at 2030hrs on 14 November - PredictWind.com
Volvo Ocean Race Groupama projected track to reach rounding mark off Brazil in best possible time as at 2030hrs on 14 November. Shows that she has to move over into the wake of the three yachts ahead of her, and then head for the mark. - PredictWind.com
Photographs are copyright by law. If you wish to use or buy a photograph you must contact the photographer directly (there is a hyperlink in most cases to their website, or do a Google search.) with your request.
Please do not contact
Sail-World.com
as we cannot give permission for use of other photographer’s images.
Customised news feeds -Marine Industry companies, Clubs and Associations have their own customised version of our news feed on their website. Look_here_to_see_examples
