Volvo Ocean Race- Three way alley-brawl on final day of Leg 2
by Richard Gladwell/Sail-World.com/nz on 12 Dec 2014
December 10, 2014. Leg 2 onboard Team SCA. Sunset watch on day 22. Ironically, because of time differences, this is our lunch time. Corinna Halloran / Team SCA
Less than a day remains on Leg 2 of the Volvo Ocean Race, with the leading three boats looking set to make a serious race of it right to the finish line in Abu Dhabi.
According to the latest projects from the routing function of
Predictwind the two leading boats, Dongfeng Race Team and Team Brunel will be a minute apart at the finish line.
The third boat, Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing has made big inroads into the lead of the other two boats but at the 0640hrs GMT sked was 90 minutes back off the lead.
However as Skipper Ian Walker, an Olympic Silver medalist, noted earlier in many ways it is an advantage to be the trailing and attacking boat - particularly with the two lead boats locked closely together.
The intrigue over the final 250nm will be the tactics from the lead boats - do they compete with each other for first and second, and risk letting Abu Dhabi slide through for their second leg win? Or, do they accept that one of them will finish first and the other second, however in the Big Picture it may be better to keep Abu Dhabi back in third place overall.
The on board reports from Abu Dhabi's On Board Reporter Matt Knighton, have told the story of the latter part of the Leg
Day 23 2300_141211_ADO_Knighton
If you could’ve seen all eight faces on Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing when the 1300 position report arrived today you would’ve see sixteen eyes wide open with anxiousness turn into eight broad smiles of elation. The tension of the past three days disappeared…we sailed twenty miles further than the leaders and were drawing even to get back in the race! Seriously, people (namely Adil) did a few dance moves on deck.
After the previous day’s skeds, our routings hadn’t been optimistic -- it seemed increasingly likely we would need a miracle from Mother Nature to survive. However, as the sun came up and we split closer to the Omani coast - that’s exactly what happened.
Ian, Justin, and Adil were on the bow of Azzam, elbows propped up on the stack of sails staring over the flat water when the wind started to fill in. It was much more than anticipated – 9 knots. You always assume it’s a just a quick gust that soon will die out. This one held for the next 11 hours.
It was as if Adil had called up the local wind machine. He predicted that at 0900 we would get the sea breeze as we drew closer to shore. Sure enough, we could’ve set our watches to it.
There were no waves on the water, just sea breeze and a solid gradient from the east shooting us along the glassy waters into dusk. After four hours, the position report showed that we had sailed an average of eleven knots to the others three.
Now, there’s a magnificent star show out as that strong wind is beginning to soften. Chuny is on the bow doing what looks like a 70’s dance routine communicating sail trim to Daryl at the helm with hand signals.
Azzam keeps slicing through the water….we’re hoping they’re drifting out there.
Day 22 0400_141210_ADO_Knighton
On the charts, the Gulf of Oman doesn’t show the emotional roller coaster Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing has been on for the past 24 hours. From consistent Monsoon winds to light breezes, from gaining nearly a dozen miles on the leaders to watching them sail away in the next position report, so far when things seem to be improving, they’ve quickly changed.
And we’re expecting more of the same today.
With less than two days to go until our predicted finish in Abu Dhabi we are squeezing every ounce of speed out of Azzam. In the light winds, our whole sail inventory is on the bow and no one is allowed in the back of the boat except the driver. However, Ian is still pacing above deck and below deck. He may even be sleepwalking by this point. Every mile seems to either lift or drain his face as the conditions change.
Less than five minutes ago we sighted Muscat and the mountains of Oman on the bow and SiFi and Ian are hopeful an early morning sea breeze will send us north while the leaders float in the middle of the gulf.
These tactics aren’t a 'last ditch effort. Despite the emotions that rise and fall when every sked comes in, the nav screens really show dozens of possible strategies of how the last few miles of this race play out. The colored spaghetti of multiple routes are back on the screen. There seems to be no consensus on the wind patterns, it’s a matter of playing the cards you’re dealt every few minutes.
Right now the cards we’re dealt is a tack towards shore and our secret local weapon has confirmed this is the right move. On deck, Adil knows the sea breeze will show up in an hour and is optimistic. The roller coaster is headed up, here’s hoping it doesn’t come back down.
Day 21 0500_141209_ADO_Knighton
Adil has been bouncing around the boat for the past 24 hours – a trend that surely will increase as we keep ticking off the miles to Abu Dhabi. He’s been making his specialty Chicken Tikka wraps for everyone, chatting with family and friends back home on the sat phone; he’s even made an agreement with Phil to buy him a bucket of KFC should we arrive a day late!
Hi heart beats for the UAE and one can be sure his proudest moment is only days away: flying the Emirati flag in front of thousands of his fellow countrymen.
This will be his second time arriving into Abu Dhabi with the Volvo Ocean Race after competing in 2011-2012 and he says he wouldn’t miss it.
'No, it was not really a hard decision [to do the race again] because I love sailing. Last time was a great experience for me to be the first Arab to sail the Volvo Ocean Race. At the end of the day I’m doing it for all the people in Abu Dhabi.'
Ian remembers the trials to find an Emirati crewmember for 'Azzam' in 2011 and says he’s seen Adil grow throughout the race.
'When he started with us he’d never sailed offshore before. But he grew a lot during the course of the program and came out of it with a lot of credit. He’s got a good mentality onboard, doesn’t mind trimming or steering for hours on end. He’s a soldier in that sense.'
With two legs almost under his belt in his seconds race around the world, Adil’s one message back home would be to all the kids in the UAE who he hopes to inspire.
'If you’re always dreaming about something, you need to work for it. I achieved a lot of things because I had a dream. You’re going to get there one day, never give up.'
Day 20
When you’ve maxed out the trim and sail at or over 100% of your boat speed and are still bleeding miles each sked, the mood onboard can be a little ripe. For the past 48 hours, every time we get a position report Brunel and Dongfeng have gained a little – they’ve got more wind at a more optimal angle.
We’re past rationalizing our decision to split from them; their gamble towards the east simply paid out more. The good news: they’re only 30 nm ahead.
Driving 'Azzam' hard into building breeze at sunrise, Ian explained, 'It may not seem like it right now, but thirty miles can disappear quite quickly. There’s still 900 miles to go and 450 of that is upwind in light air so anything can happen.' We know he’s not being purely optimistic, the light and shifty air of the Arabian Gulf is an advantage we’re keen to use when the leaders start slowing down.
Still, there were plenty of tense moments last night where the focus of the sailors was being put to the test. As the breeze built and we were forced to sail on the wind, the calm moonlight sailing of the past few nights gave way to the sound of the main sheet being eased and trimmed time and again. With one man in the nav station running numbers, often the deck was short handed with only three guys up – each one with eyes focused on the wind direction while 'Azzam' heeled over to what felt like a near vertical incline in 15 knots.
'We’ll do our best to stay with them for now', Ian added; his motivation and optimism has been evident and affects us all. 'Once they hit the light air ahead we’ll come crashing in as the compression begins.'
Day 19 1500_141207_ADO_Knighton
'C’mon wind…', Ian muttered while patiently but intently stared at the red numbers on the mast for the slightest change. His eyes are squinted, not because of the fading sunlight on the horizon but because he’s looking ahead for signs on the water.
We need a lift – a shift in the wind rotating to the right – to help us gain speed and have a chance of catching Brunel and Dongfeng.
It’s been a battle all day; seemingly bleeding miles to the two teams to windward. Finally, on the latest sked before sunset, the first signs of optimism: we sailed 10 miles further. Ian did his familiar six-or-so trips up and back from the nav station reporting all the details from the position report to all us on deck. This was a good sign in itself; usually if a sked was bad he goes down below and doesn’t come up. We’re on the mend.
But for how long? Brunel and Dongfeng have wind that is arcing them at a faster angle. There is still plenty of race track left: a reaching drag race to Oman, then the light air winds of the Straight of Hormuz, and finally the unpredictable Arabian Gulf as we close in on Abu Dhabi. But with the last Leg being decided by 15 minutes, and the top three teams again vying for the prize, we can’t afford to bleed any more.
C’mon wind.
The reports from Volvo Ocean Race Control tell a similar story:
Latest position report: 0730 UTC
Leader: TBRU
Wind speed: 4 knots
Boat speed SOG (15 mins): 5 knots
Wind direction: 211º to 4º
Lowest boat speed: ALVI (2,4 knots)
Highest boat speed: SCA (5 knots)
Lowest wind speed: SCA, DFG, ADOR (3 knots)
Highest wind speed: MAPF (10 knots)
Another solid night with very light wind for Team Brunel and Dongfeng Race Team, ahead of the fleet.
The Dutch boat is still in the lead... but the Chinese one is close by. The difference between them both is as thin and fragile as crystal with 1.4 nautical miles (nm).
A crystal ball – that’s exactly what the navigators would have loved to have last night. A crystal ball to know where the gusts and the few puffs of breeze were, trapped in the Gulf and its light air.
There is no wizard onboard Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing, still in third position, but they do have a secret weapon. Local sailor Adil Khalid grew up in the Emirates.
'It was as if Adil had called up the local wind machine,' blogged their Onboard Reporter Matt Knighton. 'He predicted that at 0900 we would get the sea breeze as we drew closer to shore. Sure enough, we could’ve set our watches to it.
'It was much more than anticipated – 9 knots. You always assume it’s a just a quick gust that soon will die out. This one held for the next 11 hours.'
The Azzam boat has been sailing close to the shore and is now 10.7nm behind Team Brunel. For the three leaders, the tactic consists on tacking and chasing small puffs.
At the back of the fleet the fight for the fourth place continues. The Team Alvimedica guys have done their best to defend their position at night, despite drifting for a couple of hours.
MAPFRE’s strategy is clear: to sail as close as possible to the Omani coast. And by close, we mean as close as a mile... The Spanish team is now the fastest of the fleet, doing 10 knots. The red boat is just 3nm behind Team Alvimedica.
Meanwhile, the Team SCA girls continue their slow and rather unlucky approach of the Arabian Sea, doing 5 knots, 311nm from the leader.
Today the leading trio will sail past the Musandam Peninsula, a range of high mountains creating flat glazy seas in their shadow – 'a rugged coast line that resembles glazier-carved coasts of polar regions.'
They should turn west later on, and head for the final sprint to Abu Dhabi.
Latest Estimated Time of Arrival (calculated at 0700 UTC today) has the leading boats arriving at 0300 UTC on Saturday December 13.
December 11, 2014, 1900 UTC
Leader: TBRU
Wind Speed: 2-9 knots
Boat speed SOG (15 mins): 1-12 knots
Wind direction: 42º to 236º
Lowest boat speed: ALVI, MAPF (1 knot)
Highest boat speed: TBRU, DFRT (12 knots)
Lowest wind speed: ALVI, MAPF (2 knots)
Highest wind speed: TBRU, DFRT (9 knots)
At 0940 UTC this morning, Dongfeng Race Team and Team Brunel, the first two boats of the fleet, tacked to point west to the Strait of Hormuz.
At 1600 UTC, Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing, in third, gybed to point west - and the front three are now just 100nm south of the Strait.
It's close racing, and the Emirati boat has closed the gap from 17nm at around midday, to 8nm now.
Meanwhile, in mid-fleet, Alvimedica and MAPFRE find themselves in something of a drag race. There's been compression throughout the day, and MAPFRE has gained some valuable miles over their Turkish-American rivals.
December 11, 2014 0700 UTC
Leader: TBRU
Wind Speed: 3 knots
Boat speed SOG (15 mins): 4 knots
Wind direction: 280º to 46º
Lowest boat speed: TBRU (2,4 knots)
Highest boat speed: ALVI (11,6 knots)
Lowest wind speed: TBRU, DFG, ADOR (3 knots)
Highest wind speed: MAPF (13 knots)
For the leading boats, the wind has diminished during the night as they have approached the Omani shoreline. The only option then has been to sail as close as possible to the shore, trying to catch as much breeze as they can.
Nevertheless, the night has been tough and full of light winds - almost zero wind, at times.
'The wind was already not very strong, but it has completely stopped, we advance at 0.8 knots,' writes Dongfeng OBR Yann Riou.
Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing has been sailing as close as 7.30nm to the coast of Muscat, searching for breeze flowing from the Arabian Peninsula. Hopefully the frustration of the night will disappear for the leading pack as a northeasterly – easterly breeze develops late in the morning along the Omani coast. That could reach anywhere from 10 to 16 knots.
For the trailing boats, Team Alvimedica, MAPFRE and Team SCA, the wind will diminish as well as they head for the light winds in the Sea of Oman later tonight.
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