ABN Amro One inside Heads

by Rob Kothe on 21 Jan 2006 Ten miles in three hours, torturous conditions for the ABN Amro One crew as they watch their lead evaporating in the baking sun. Now just 25 miles ahead, Mike Sanderson and his team have been searching anxiously for the afternoon seabreeze to keep them ahead of the young Turks on Amro Two.

At last they have made a gain, stretching thier lead to 31 miles, ABN Amro One sailed through into Melbourne’s Port Phillip Bay just on 14:00. She hugged the Point Nepean shore and is now passing Portsea in the South Channel.

Conditions remained soft, but she has been able to hoist a large white spinnaker in the 8-10 knot southerly as she heads north towards the Mornington turning mark, before heading towards the Melbourne finishing line, now 40 miles away.

It is a matter of Channel Mark No. 20 to port and a buoy off Mornington to Port before heading to the finish off Williamstown, at the junction of the Williamstown and Port Melbourne Channels.

With her, there is a flotilla of around 40 boats, churning white water as they follow her for the last part of this 6000 mile second leg in the 2005-2006 Volvo Ocean Race.

Victorian yachting photographer Teri Dodds was shore-side as she started up the Bay.

Just on 18:00 Melbourne time ABN Amro One was 25 miles from the finish, 27 miles ahead of ABN Amro Two, movistar is 151 miles from Melbourne and she will finish tomorrow.


Here is the latest sked

Team Latitude Longitude DTF DTL DTLC CMG SMG VMG ETA
ABN AMRO ONE 38 13.01S 144 56.01E 25 0 0 72 4.4 13.4 10:17 UTC
21-01-06

ABN AMRO TWO 38 23.01S 144 28.02E 52 27 7 55 7.6 13.3 13:54 UTC
21-01-06

movistar 38 52.02S 142 32.02E 151 126 7 49 9.1 13.1 00:41 UTC
22-01-06

Pirates of the Caribbean 40 41.03S 134 46.09E 523 498 13 97 10.1 12.3 01:32 UTC
23-01-06

ING Real Estate Brunel 38 10.01S 124 56.02E 977 952 31 88 16.1 11.3 21:35 UTC
24-01-06

Brasil 1 35 59.02S 98 2.04E 2317 2292 2 77 6.2 8.3 21:50 UTC
01-02-06

Ericsson Racing Team DNF DNF DNF DNF DNF DNF DNF DNF DNF