Volvo Ocean Race- Reports from on board Leg Leader, Abu Dhabi

by Matt Knighton, OBR, Abu Dhabi OR on 6 Dec 2014 Overall race leader, Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing is leading again on Leg 2 according to the Volvo Ocean Race Control reports and leaderboard

However according to Predictwind calculations and routing projections they could be level pegging for second with Team Brunel, and with Donfeng Race Team in the Leg 2 lead

Here are the latest blogs (unedited) from On Board Reporter Matt Knighton, going back to the time of the Team Vestas Wind terrain closure:




Day 15 1700_141203_ADO_Knighton

The heat and sun may have made the days onboard 'Azzam' longer, but it undoubtedly fueled the motivations of everyone onboard to get to our homeport of Abu Dhabi. As the wind gusts built throughout the day and the sound of water splashing on the bow increased, the miles to go before Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing enters the Arabian Gulf began to tick away faster. For the first time in the leg, the question isn’t 'how long until we’re out of this', it’s 'how soon can we get there?'

Though our chocolate bars have melted and the energy drink is running low, we still like to think of what lies ahead. A subtle optimism has started to take hold and though no one has said it out loud, everyone is thinking about what they’ll do once we arrive in Abu Dhabi:

SiFi: 'Can’t wait to see my family. Alexander (just turned 1 year old) is growing so fast!'

Parko: 'Looking forward to the watersports – going to the cable park, rowing along the Corniche, maybe taking a 49er out for a sail with a couple guys from the team.'

Adil: 'First thing I’m doing is going to get a shave! Then I can’t wait to see my Mom and the rest of my family once they arrive home.'

Justin: 'I’m thinking about going for a paddleboard; sounds awfully nice right now!'

Phil: (laughing) 'Getting off this boat!'

Day 14 0500_141202_ADO_Knighton

Both of the sails up in the air on 'Azzam' are making a rhythmical slapping sound as they search for breeze. Every several seconds they fill enough to stop flapping and send a shudder through the whole hull only to quickly go back to waving around, searching for wind. Below them, we all have found our own space to claim to escape the beating heat of the equatorial sun; a dance that changes every 2 hours when the new watch come on and we need to rotate positions.

Daryl and Justin and the 'on' watch and are taking the brunt of the mid-day sun. This is the worst spot on the boat: driving and trimming in a cockpit with no shade from the sunlight above and a white deck that reflects every ray of light into your eyes. In the light breeze, the two in this position have to have their minds sharp to optimize the boat as it speeds at 4 knots.

In the midst of the silence, Justin breaks. 'Surely this takes more patience than golf…so why is it I can’t complete 18 holes? I think I need to give it a try again.'

The other two crewmembers who are up on deck, in this case SiFi and Chuny, are in the 'front row seats' sitting on the sail stack on the bow. While still in the sunlight (unless you’re clever enough to build a tent), this spot has the added perk of a slight breeze that cools you down. IF you can find shade here, you’re in the secret spot and should not tell anyone.

Then you have the rest of the four guys, down below deck in the shade resting. This is not ideal and might be worse than up on deck because of one decisive factor: there’s no breeze. Everyone is in the bow to maximize weight balance so the bunk fans are out of range. You just get baked. The goal here: minimize your energy expenditure and hope the guys up on deck…find the wind.

Day 13 0500_141201_ADO_Knighton

As the deep blues and purples of the water contrasted the orange streaks in the sky, the sunrise over the Indian Ocean greeted a smiling Adil Khalid on the bow of 'Azzam'. Keeping his body weight forward in light winds, Adil slept on the sail stack last night to help keep our speed up giving him a front row seat to the spectacular light show. However, on this particular morning, under his smile was an intense pride for his country - today, December 2nd, is UAE National Day.

'National Day started in 1971 when the 7 Emirates came together to become the UAE', Adil explains. 'If you look back and see the way Abu Dhabi has changed in 43 years it’s amazing. It’s a great thing for such a small country on the map to have grown so big.'

An accomplished Emirati sailor, this marks Adil’s second trip around the world as a crewmember on Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing. Wearing his traditional garb on-board to help keep cool in the beating heat of the tropics, today he can’t stop talking about the nation-wide party going on back home.

'People even spray paint their cars and their houses with the UAE flag. They celebrate in the streets; the schools have the day off. Everyone enjoys the day. There are parties and fireworks; families come together.'

When asked if he has any special plans for celebrating today with his fellow teammates as they navigate towards their Leg 2 finish in Abu Dhabi, Adil quickly replies, 'Of course, it’s the UAE birthday. For sure I miss being there with my family and friends. Onboard, I’m sure all-day I’ll be talking about my country to the rest of the guys!'

Day 12 0500_141130_ADO_Knighton

Stuck in a flat blue expanse of open blue water with no breeze, Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing is fighting for every inch as the top four teams are clawing their way towards the westerly trade winds to the north. As the tropical low we sailed through two days ago turned south, it left behind in its wake an area of no wind.

A hot, humid, and very sunny area of no wind.

Managing our strategy from the nav station, SiFi and Ian were shocked several days ago when Mapfre, leading at the time, tacked out towards the east. Now there is over a 100-mile split between them and us, Brunel, and Dongfeng in the west. Time will tell which side pays out – we can only imagine they’re expecting eastern winds to fill in first – however, as the sun bears down we’re optimistic that the winds so far have been gracious to our gamble heading due north.

Whomever can reach the next checkpoint around the race imposed 'African Exclusion Zone' will likely stretch out their lead to several dozen miles…if not more.

'Azzam' is dead quiet except for the sounds of fans buzzing, the water maker running, and the hydraulic keel moving from side to side every few minutes. We’re coming up with crazy ideas now to try and make the boat light including eating larger portions of food. Other ideas are too far out there to even mention.

The puffy clouds that have dotted the sky seem to be getting larger and more numerous and with each passing line in the sky we’re hopeful there’ll come more breeze and we’ll be off.

Here we go, tacking again.

Day 11 0500_141129_ADO_Knighton

In the darkness below deck last night, Ian was asleep in his bunk when he was woken with the news of Vestas grounding. In his words he immediately felt 'sick to his stomach'. News spread fast on-board. Up on deck the on-watch was enjoying fast and easy tropic sailing under the bright moonlight. Upon the sharing of the news, their expressions changed. Chuny immediately asked if anyone was hurt – on the email communication we’d received there was no mention of injuries so we did not know.

For the next hour, as the email thread from race control kept coming in with updates on the situation, Ian and SiFi sat quietly in the nav station scanning the charts. First, to lock in the Vestas reported GPS position and second, to assess our own route and make sure we would be safe as well.

Most of the guys on 'Azzam' are close friends with the pros on Vestas and many have raced previous Volvo campaigns together. It seemed the collective conscious was playing through all the contingency plans based on the information we had. How bad is the damage? Where would they be rescued to? They’re in the middle of nowhere. Do they need further assistance?

Ian had his eyes glued to the email screen, reading the news over an over. Chuny was staring at the nav screen in disbelief: to have hit a reef while sailing in fast downwind conditions he was still sure someone was hurt. His fears were relieved minutes later when we heard all were okay.

Our thoughts on Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing continue to be with the welfare of the Vestas crew. We hope for their safe travels and hope they can salvage the boat and return to the race as soon as possible.