Volvo Ocean Race – Intense battle along the coast + Video

by Volvo Ocean Race on 10 Jun 2015

Onboard Dongfeng Race Team – Just passed Cape Finisterre, 33 knts of wind and gusty. Eric Peron, Thomas Rouxel and Charles Caudrelier on watch - Leg 8 to Lorient – Volvo Ocean Race 2015 Yann Riou / Dongfeng Race Team

Volvo Ocean Race – The day started with a split on the fleet as the seven boats sailed past Costa da Morte.

At 0800 UTC, MAPFRE tacked east first. “The coastal option seems to be the most certain one – there is no wind in the middle and the other option takes you 200 miles away from land,” blogged their Onboard Reporter Francisco Vignale.

30 minutes after, Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing tacked east right behind Team Brunel. “We’re trying to get windward advantage prepping for our long beat north where it could be key. Using the headlands to block the sea state and go a little bit faster around these guys though they’re now doing the same thing,” wrote OBR Matt Knighton.

With these three boats tacking along the Galician coast, the westerly pack led by Team SCA charged north, Team Vestas Wind in second place followed by Team Alvimedica and Dongfeng Race Team.

Around 1300 UTC - just four nautical miles off the coast of La Coruña in Spain - the easterly pack tacked to beat north, with the Emirati boat set to windward of the Dutch crew.

At 1730 UTC, Sam Davies’ crew tacked east and the ones chasing them tacked too. Will the westerly pack cross ahead of the other guys? Will the easterly pack have a chance to gain more miles on Team SCA and Team Vestas Wind? Keep your eyes on the tracker tonight!

During this intense battle along the coast, Bouwe Bekking’s crew suffered a damage on their J2 sail, their weapon of choice. It blew out along the inside of the leech-reinforcing strip. If the wind gets lighter, this sail might be very well needed.

Overall, today was a tough day for the crews. The Bay of Biscay welcomed them with 35 to 40 knots of breeze and four-metre (13-foot) waves. Check our video and photo galleries for the stunning images captured today a long the ‘Costa da Morte’, the Coast of Death.

Read Mark Chisnell's report for B&G as the short 647nm sprint from Lisbon to Lorient is half-way over HERE.

Leader: Team SCA
Wind speed: 27.9 knots
Boat speed SOG (15 mins): 11.6 knots
Wind direction: 48º - 60º
Lowest boat speed: SCA (8 knots)
Highest boat speed: ADOR (11.8 knots)
Lowest wind speed: VEST (28.5 knots)
Highest wind speed: TBRU (31.2 knots)