Volvo Ocean Race - Drag racing in the Gulf Stream

by Volvo Ocean Race on 19 May 2015 Volvo Ocean Race - It’s a drag race reaching towards the southeast. And yet as simple as it looks, all boats aligned behind each other, the pressure is on Dongfeng Race Team. The Chinese boat is at the head of the fleet – even though Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing is leading on the dashboard as they are in less distance to the next mark.

Onboard reporter Yann Riou explains:
“The question of the day at the nav station concerns a route choice: go south on a longer but supposedly faster route, or stay on the great circle route. Difficult choice given that the forecast changes almost with every new weather file… so we observe and we do what it takes to delay the deadline, the moment when the choice will be definitive and of no return.”

The highlight of the night? The fleet is now sailing in the Gulf Stream. It’s a huge relief for the crews as the temperature of the water has gone from 8ºC to 23ºC. Hand gloves and beanies are back in the individual bags for now.

But because the Gulf Stream current flows in a different direction than the wind, the sea state is pretty bumpy.

Wind speeds have dropped from 17-23 knots yesterday at 1900 UTC to 12-17 knots.

Leader: ADOR
Wind speed: 13.2 knots
Boat speed SOG (15 mins): 10.3 knots
Wind direction: 38º - 47º
Lowest boat speed: MAPF (10.6 knots)
Highest boat speed: ADOR (11.1 knots)
Lowest wind speed: ALVI (14.9 knots)
Highest wind speed: DFRT (17.1 knots)