Volvo Ocean Race 2014-15 - Riding the escalator

by Team Brunel on 27 Oct 2014 Volvo Ocean Race 2014-15 - Ever walked to a parking garage with a bag full of groceries? You could opt to take the nearest stairs, but you could also 'invest' in walking a bit further and taking the escalator. After all, the detour might save you time in the long run.

This is the sort of decision that Team Brunel navigator Andrew Cape has to take. We passed the island of Fernando de Noronha off the coast of Brazil yesterday and now we have to get to Cape Town as quickly as we can. And, if possible, faster than the current lead boat Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing. The shortest route is to sail in a straight line to South Africa. You could compare this option with taking the stairs to the car park. There’s a big chance that the team will arrive in Cape Town puffing and panting. Because this route includes a semi-permanent area of high atmospheric pressure called the St. Helena high – a huge stretch of ocean with high temperatures and hardly a breath of wind.

And so the teams are 'taking the escalator' to Cape Town. They are sailing on a long curve along the coast of South America and then proceeding to South Africa via the Southern Ocean. And the further south you sail, the faster the escalator moves, so the faster you can sail. But how far out of your way are you going to go? And what is the perfect balance?

Skipper Bekking is keeping his cards close to his chest, but he does have this to say: 'Right now we’re focusing most of all on Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing.' Is the skipper playing a dangerous game? The five boats behind us can just take the stairs. 'That’s the risk of being in front,' says Bekking. Another 13 days and we’ll arrive at the finish in Cape Event website