Volvo Ocean Race Leader - Dongfeng - the right place at the right time

by Rob Kothe and Jedda Murphy on 24 Jan 2015 Volvo Ocean Race 2015 - With a solid 17-20 knots from the north east, reducing the possibility of a distance sapping park up, the likehood of the Leg three leader, the Chinese boat Dongfeng getting the gun in Sanya just 640 nautical miles ahead continues to strengthen.

Dongfeng is 56 miles head of Abu Dhabi, with Alvimedica just seven miles back, holding off Team Brunel with a two mile buffer, thence is MAPFRE another seven miles.

For the VOR fleet the South China Sea is proving to be a pleasant relief from the intense channel racing of the Malacca Strait.

There are still plenty of islands and obstacles to avoid, but the more open sea sailing is allowing the teams to stretch their legs again.

And again, Charles Caudrelier and his Dongfeng crew have placed their boat in the right spot.

At 0200 UTC they were 32 nautical miles to the right of the chasing fleet. From then on the wind has slowly lifted 15º right, enabling them to make good gains as the inside boat.

MAPFRE also tried to make something of the right hand shift by taking a 13nm tack on port before tacking back to follow the fleet. If the shift continues to right on starboard, they will make some gains on the fleet too.

Almost 100nm behind, Team SCA do not have the right shift and have stayed on a 15º header forcing them to sail a lower course than the fleet on starboard.

The last 10 hours have proved that there are plenty of healthy wind shifts on the course and the 16-20 knot monsoon winds can offer some nice gains if the teams can spot them.

The threat to Dongfeng’s lead will come if the fleet splits. There are conflicting options east and west for the fleet.

The question is what tracks the chasing pack will chose. With the distance to Sanya rapidly dropping, it’s highly likely that one boat will go the other way and try their luck.

The closer the boats get from the finish in Sanya in four days, the more likely they’re to make a bold move because better trimming and sail selections won't bridge the gap to the race leaders.