Repair time for Volvo fleet as Trade Winds set in

by Cameron Kelleher on 24 Nov 2008
Trade winds and a rise in temperature bring relief from the rock and roll of the Southern Ocean and music to the ears of the handymen on board – the boat builders, sail makers and electricians.

For the past few 24 hours, while those above deck slap on the sunscreen, trim sails and keep a weather eye on wind holes, the unsung heroes below have been rummaging through their tool kits and doing their best impressions of Bob The Builder.

It was hammer time for Telefonica Blue as Bouwe Bekking’s pursuit of the Ericsson duo was temporarily halted this afternoon by a broken daggerboard.

'We were going so nicely, and all of a sudden a big bang changed everything,' Bekking wrote. 'We snapped of one of our daggerboards (side boards) which prevent the boat sliding sideways.

'We completely destroyed it and had to stop the boat for 45 minutes, even worse the little speed we did was on the wrong tack, sailing away from India. Hammers, chisels, hacksaws, everything was out.

'We lowered Pepe (Ribes) in the water, to get rid of all the bits and pieces, so that we could lift the board up again. We are now underway again, but way slower than we would like.'

The repair bill? Ten miles.

'We can certainly feel the other boats.’

By the 16:00 GMT Position Report, Telefonica Blue had recovered from their setback and were on the scent of the leading Ericsson duo once again albeit at +34 miles Distance to leader (DTL). The Nordics on Ericsson 3 held a one-mile advantage over Torben Grael’s Ericsson 4.

Ericsson 3 skipper Lewander said: 'We can’t see the opposition but certainly feel their close appearance. I have just been off watch relaxing from the hunt we feel from the other boats. We are in the lead, and the routing has us all in a main and jib setup with fast steady momentum and rhythm here in the trade winds of the Indian Ocean.'

The battle rages for fourth between PUMA (+37) and Green Dragon (+52), who are still contemplating a fix for their broken boom. 'It will be a combination of mainsail battens, glue and carbon and anything else I can find to chuck at it. It will look ugly but if it holds, I’ll be stoked,' says Mr Fixit (Tom Braidwood).

The third group is headed by Telefonica Black (+97) while Team Russia (+138) and Delta Lloyd (+157) continue to leak miles at the tail.

Meanwhile, in the Volvo Open 70 repair shops, the beat goes on. On Ericsson 3, repairs to the radar are on Media Crew Member Gustav Morin’s radar. 'Sailing in 10 knots of wind and almost flat water is a golden opportunity to fix everything that needs to be fixed. Everyone is moving around like hard working ants,' he reported.

'Mange (Magnus Olsson) and Jens (Dolmer) have taken the task to try and repair the radar, not very easy, I can tell you that. Mange thinks they have a 20 per cent chance of making it work.

'So far they have been working on it for six hours. First time they tried to put the electricity on we heard a big bang. Next time smoke started to come out of it. But they are not giving up, even though the odds probably are even higher than they were from the start.'

On Delta Lloyd, there was a dirty job and someone had to do it. The task in question is clearing the 'toxic waste site' in the forward bulk head. Navigator Matt Gregory takes up the story …

'The door from our living compartment into the bow compartment is only two feet square; just big enough for a person to climb into. We use this area for storing trash.

'Two days ago I noticed two guys making a tremendous commotion in the front of the boat. When I looked up, they said ‘Hey Matt, get up here. You have to see this’

'The sight I saw was horrible. The three trash bags that we stored in the bow from the first five days of Leg 2 had exploded in the bow of the boat. Left over food, empty freeze dry packages, tea bags, toilet paper, and candy wrappers were plastered to the walls and ceiling of the bow.

'From the extreme motion of the boat, this concoction had been shaken around for three days. The smell was bad. Real bad. In a couple more days we will be in 100+ degree heat. This is a project that we could not put off until India. ‘Dutch’ Ed (Lierde) and ‘Media Man’ Sander (Pluijin) were the brave souls that volunteered to clean it up.

'Ninety minutes later Sander and Ed emerged. I assume that both will suffer from post traumatic stress syndrome for the remainder of the race. We’ll keep the door shut until we get to India. I’m sure that seven days of sailing in tropical conditions will turn whatever is still up there into a biology experiment. I’m also sure that I’m going to pretend that that part of the boat does not exist.'

Speaking of odours, the sunnier climes have meant a chance for some personal hygiene – a rarity so far on this leg.

'With light airs came heavy smells, the combination of Oder-de-Volvo-Sailor and bilge musk was overpowering,' a squeaky clean Mark Covell writes from a newly pristine Team Russian boat Kosatka.

'I was one of the first to half fill a bucket with some water, sea soap and a sponge. Strip butt naked on the stern quarter and scrape the last seven days highs and lows from my soft, broiled hide.

'We also had done pretty well everything to get Kosatka dry and fresh again. The next level would have been to put scented candles below and sprinkle fresh rose petals and cherry blossoms over her decks. Yes, I know this is the Volvo Ocean Race, with the Toughest Stains at Sea, Life at the Extreme Clean, but we just couldn’t get hold of freeze dried Cherry Blossoms.'

Next up for the fleet is the brick wall of the Doldrums where anything can happen to the wind – and usually does.

'Three more days of fast reaching and then the casino of the Doldrums will start again, only this time we can’t use any previous information learned from the past, and it will be interesting to see how we are all going to tackle this obstruction, there will be sure different opinions for sure,' said Bekking.

On Telefonica sister ship, skipper Fernando Echavarri is equally mindful of the tricks the Doldrums can play on mind and machine.

'Right now I’m preparing the tactics and strategy with (navigator) Roger Nilson. There is still a long way to go and a lot to be decided. We have two of the crew repairing the A3 day and night in preparation for the Doldrums ahead.'

Also with the Doldrums in mind, Green Dragon skipper Ian Walker has placed an order with his team’s support crew.

Sent via the Volvo Ocean Race Duty Officer and marked 'reading material' it, contained a plea … 'Can someone please send us something to read before we die of boredom in the trade winds.

'Suggestions, sports reports/results (rugby, football, cricket), news – home and abroad, potted history of India/Cochin, tourist guide to Cochin and surrounding area, Scuttlebutt excluding any VOR news of course), Hindu correspondence course (only joking on that one).'

Rugby results were also much sought-after on Kosatka. Skipper Andreas Hanakamp, whose on-board handymen had been grappling with the electrics for most on this leg, described how their attentions had turned to the SSB (Single Side Band) long-distance radio.

'On this leg our technical issues seem to be dominated by electrics … after getting electrocuted when touching anything in the nav station its now the SSB not wanting to get switched off, no matter what you do unless cutting the main power supply to the amplifier,' Andreas Hanakamp wrote.

'Why the SSB? Because all the Anglo-Saxons on board got very nervous about some rugby match yesterday and there was hope that BBC world service would broadcast it.'

Avid rugby fans like Media Crew Member Mark Covell needn’t have bothered as the results will show that England suffered a record home drubbing to South Africa yesterday.

Bragging rights to Cape Town’s Mike Joubert and Cam Wills on Kosatka then.