Pirates close on Melbourne

by Sail-World Melbourne on 23 Jan 2006 American Paul Cayard and his Volvo Ocean racer Pirates of the Caribbean crew sailed into Port Phillip Bay, 40 miles from the Leg Two finish of the 2005-2006 race just before 8pm, local time ( 0700 UTC) Monday.

With a strong 20-25 knot southerly, the V70, sailing with two reefs, square ran into the rip and gybed to starboard. While there was some light chop and plenty of whitecaps. There was no swell so it was a safe entry into Port Phillip.

There was a lot of ocean freighter traffic at the time and the Melbourne Pilot Boats were hovering. The Pirates tracked north following a container ship, the MSC Dimesc-Didem as she set sail for the Mornington turning mark, 20 miles up the Bay.

A beautiful Melbourne evening after another hot day, with just slight cloud cover.

In contrast to the arrival of Leg winner ABN Amro One, there was no greeting fleet as the Pirates entered the bay.

Geelong Photographer Teri Dodds has been waiting for the Pirates for the last few hours ans has just beamed these images through.

Teri will at Skandia Geelong Week from Wednesday, you will find her images at www.teridodds.com