Ripped sails and Chinese Gybes as Volvo head South

by Volvo Media on 28 Feb 2006 The crew onboard ABN AMRO TWO (Sebastien Josse) have had to deal with the rips in their main sail giving them even more problems. Having fixed a large tear 24 hours ago, other holes are opening up, forcing them to sail with two reefs in, as they battle with the elements.

And Ericsson Racing Team (Neal McDonald) is also having problems at the back, Chinese gybing Ericsson last night. No one was hurt and all they were left with was an awful mess and luckily no broken gear.

Steve Hayles gave a vivid account of how the potentially race ruining event happened, just as they thought they had avoided the drama, 'We got going downwind but could not get the sails trimmed on quick enough which means they have a tendency to make the boat lean the opposite way to normal. When it does this it wants to turn dangerously to leeward and as we hit the bottom of the first wave you could feel that we were going to go out the wrong way.'

'The scariest part was looking up at the boom which was pointing nearly vertical by now and knowing that within seconds the mainsail would gybe uncontrollably. The sail, the ropes attached to it and, more worryingly, the boom come across with such phenomenal power that anyone in the way would be lucky to survive.'

'The problem is magnified massively by the fact that our canting keel is no longer helping to keep us upright, but actually contributing to heeling us over. Combined with tons of kit now on the wrong side, the boat lays over to about 70 degrees and the mess on deck is completely indescribable; everything is on the wrong side, the mainsail is pinned against the runner and every single rope is a tangled heap of spaghetti in the cockpit which is now full of tons of water'

After two hours the crew had sorted out the mess and they resumed hurtling towards Cape Horn. Steve ended the report aptly, 'A day like today will be hard to forget and although I know we will laugh about it one day, right now it sits as a reminder of how close to edge we are. Suddenly, Life at the extreme doesn't seem like just a catchy slogan.'

Back on the race track ABN AMRO ONE (Mike Sanderson) took the lead from the Black Pearl (Paul Cayard) at 1830 GMT yesterday. The Dutch boat has managed to extend the lead to currently 28 nautical miles. With movistar (Bouwe Bekking) bringing up third a mere ten nautical miles behind the Pirates.

With the large low to the south of the fleet dominating the weather, the boats could be faced with winds of 30, 40, 50 even possibly 60 knots in the next few days as they reach towards Cape Horn. Jennifer Lily assistant race meteorologist explains, 'The focus will go towards crew safety and de-powering the boats, to keep things from breaking. With the front likely to pass the boats before they pass Cape Horn, snow or ice could accumulate on the decks with temperatures near freezing, In addition, the wet conditions combined with the high winds speeds will leave the teams struggling in temperatures that feel colder than -20C, given the wind chill. All these factors only add complications to an already very difficult environment.'

Simon Fisher describes his environment at the back of the fleet by 208 nautical miles, 'We are certainly in the South now, the temperature is now icy cold, the sky is grey and brooding and the waves get steadily bigger each hour. The power of the wind is surprising given the wind strength making two reefs a viable option. At least we are going fast.'

Positions at 16:00 GMT - 27 Feb:

ABN1 ABN AMRO ONE
ABN2 ABN AMRO TWO
BRA1 Brasil 1
ERIC Ericsson Racing Team
MOVI movistar
POTC Pirates of the Caribbean

DTF: distance to finish,
SMG: Speed made good,
DTL: distance to leader,
DTLC: distance to leader change; the difference between the distance from the boat to the leader taken at the time of the last six hour poll, and the distance from the boat to the leader at the previous poll.