Volvo OR- Like chess only wetter

by Lizzie Green on 14 May 2006 As the Volvo Ocean Race fleet dodges beneath Nova Scotia today, the crews are being punished for the third day of upwind sailing in the icy conditions. Despite the hardships, the teams are all pushing as hard as each other and the competition is hotting up as some teams tack up the coast of Nova Scotia while others stay on port tack sailing on a south east course.

Simon Fisher, onboard fourth placed ABN AMRO TWO (Sebastien Josse) explained today how it felt to be sailing a Volvo Open 70 where he was, 'Downstairs in the navstation it has reached about eight on the Richter scale as everything shakes and bangs as we crash over the top of the bigger waves. I am forced to hang on, as I try and stare at the computer display that is shaking around in front of me.'

Trying to sleep in these conditions is near impossible Fisher commented but at least in his sleeping bag he’s warm, 'On deck and down below is now bitterly cold as we tack our way round Cape Sable, Nova Scotia. With the sea temperature at only five degrees it is hard work moving the sails around on deck every time we tack. However everyone attacks them with full enthusiasm as much of the fleet is still within eyesight, matching each other move for move - just like chess only wetter!'

On the first night out Mike Sanderson (ABN AMRO ONE) commented on how much rubbish and debris is in the water around New York and as the yachts pounded their way north east yesterday many where reporting catching fish on their foils but today the crew of Brunel (Matt Humpheries) got caught up in something else.

Gareth Cooke retold the story this afternoon, 'Two maritime professions went head to head last night. It was the Brunel crew versus the local crab fisherman and the result was a draw. Twice we picked up crab pots during darkness and we are left with a small souvenir embedded in our port canard that will limit the amount we can pull our board up until we can sort it out when conditions allow in a few hours. At the moment though it is not hindering our progress.'

At 1600 GMT Brasil 1 (Torben Grael) has fallen from second to fifth, losing twelve nautical miles to the leader in the last six hours due to team decidin to not tack up the coast of Nova Scotia. Brunel and movistar (Bouwe Bekking) are also staying put on port tack following the Brazilian’s lead.

Race leader ABN AMRO ONE (Mike Sanderson), Ericsson Racing Team (Neal McDonald), Pirates of the Caribbean (Paul Cayard) and ABN AMRO TWO have all have another idea and have tacked back onto starboard, heading into north easterly winds of between 19 and 23 knots up the coast.

Ericsson Racing Team has swapped places with Brasil 1 and moved from fifth this morning to currently second only six nautical miles behind the leader, due to the fleet splitting into two groups.

The wind looks set to stay at the 30 knot mark for the next day at least, but the fleet is heading east towards high pressure and lighter winds, which should allow even more tactics to come into play. For the moment the crews will have to hang on as the sea state rises to five metre waves and the temperature drops to freezing conditions.

LEG SEVEN DAY 03, 13.05.06, 1600 GMT POSITION REPORT

Leg Position	Yacht	Latitude	Longitude	DTF	SMG	24 Hour Run	24 Hour Speed	DTL	DTL-C	Projected Leg Points	Scoring Gate Points	Total Projected Leg Points	ETA	Projected Overall Race Points	Projected Position Overall
1	ABN1	43 05.54N	064 23.98W	02578	07.8	242	10.1	00000	+00000	7.0	0	7.0	24/05/06 __:__:__	77.5	1
2	ERIC	43 16.19N	064 41.16W	02584	07.8	242	10.1	00006	+00005	6.0	0	6.0	24/05/06 __:__:__	40.5	6
3	POTC	43 00.40N	064 37.22W	02589	07.8	235	09.8	00011	-00004	5.0	0	5.0	24/05/06 __:__:__	52.5	2
4	ABN2	43 26.52N	064 59.05W	02591	06.5	237	09.9	00013	-00003	4.0	0	4.0	24/05/06 __:__:__	46.0	4
5	BRA1	42 26.97N	064 23.18W	02596	11.1	229	09.6	00018	-00012	3.0	0	3.0	24/05/06 __:__:__	45.0	5
6	AUS1	42 41.27N	064 51.80W	02607	09.8	215	09.0	00029	-00012	2.0	0	2.0	25/05/06 __:__:__	4.5	7
7	MOVI	42 56.72N	065 20.62W	02619	07.1	239	10.0	00041	-00003	1.0	0	1.0	25/05/06 __:__:__	48.0	3