Volvo Ocean Race 2014-15 - Latest position report- 0600 UTC, Oct. 31

by Volvo Ocean Race on 31 Oct 2014 Volvo Ocean Race 2014-15 - Leader: Dongfeng Race Team, Wind Speed: 16 to 126 knots, Boat speed SOG (15 minutes): 16 to 25 knots, Wind direction: 164º-192º.

Lowest boat speed: Mapfre (11.7 knots)
Highest boat speed: Team Alvimedica (20.9 knots)
Lowest wind speed: Team SCA (16 knots)
Highest wind speed: Team Alvimedica (26 knots)

Like in the old English tale of Robin Hood, it’s a case of taking from the rich and giving to the poor. That is what we have been seeing over the last few days.

More wind just behind the leaders has allowed the middle, poorer pack to catch the rich leaders. Unfortunately for the most needy, Team SCA and MAPFRE, the handouts didn’t stretch that far down the queue and they have received no goodies in the form of strong breezes.

The fleet spread is now 490nm from first to seventh.

Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing has been robbed from both sides. Team Brunel and Team Vestas Wind from the west of them, and now Dongfeng Race Team from the east, are creeping up to pick their pocket in nautical miles.

The leaders have given each other a great opportunity to test their sail combinations. Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing have reported that the boats are so close they can see when Team Brunel change a sail and can assess their relative speeds. All good learning for the race ahead.

The challenge for this log is that once a sentence is finished, the race situation, especially at the head of the fleet, can so rapidly change.

Think of the one bird in a huge flock of starlings that flinches first to change direction or something that startles a herd of impala.

Today is Halloween and the scene is set, what will spook the fleet? Who will be the first boat to lose their nerve and gybe? Could it be the American skipper Charlie Enright who has come to trick-or-treat the fleet to the east?

Should one boat gybe, then that is all the rest need to see to turn too.

The reason for the stand-off is they are trying to maximize the good shift they are in now. The fleet would not gybe if the ice exclusion were not there. They all have to go soon or they will stray into the exclusion zone.

After the fleet has passed ice exclusion zone, they will dive south again. It’s going to get Event website