Bouwe Bekking previews Leg 4 of the Volvo Ocean Race

by KPMS on 16 Jan 2009
The Volvo Ocean Race 2008-09 fleet is getting ready to face Leg 4 starting out from Singapore next Sunday. The Leg takes them 2,500 miles north, where they must overcome the tough and uncomfortable upwind sailing of the China Sea while fighting against currents and a steady drop in temperatures that will dive well below zero degrees. After adding another three points to the basket of Telefonica Blue last week in the in-port race, Bouwe Bekking reflects on this new challenge.

This is the third unknown leg for the VOR crews. But unknown doesn't mean the teams will leave the dock of Sentosa Island without knowing what to expect.

Bouwe Bekking gives us a preview of the environment they expect to face: 'There is a permanent high pressure system over Mongolia, which is extremely strong in the winter, with readings of 1055 millibar. Then there is a low pressure system to the east over the ocean, and this creates very strong Northeast trade winds. That means that since Qingdao lies Northeast of Singapore, this will be a predominantly upwind leg.'

That's exactly what all the forecasts say: 'predominantly upwind leg.' In theory, a nightmare for the sailors and their racing machines. 'It is going to be tough, but it gets blown up a bit, like all the talk about pirates,' Bouwe explains. 'In general, nobody likes to go upwind for such a long time. I think we will be just fine as long as we go in the right direction. The speeds are all similar, so the team that doesn't have downtime and goes in the right direction will win, it's very 'simple'.'

The Telefonica Blue team is basing their work on a forecast of medium to high breezes. 'It looks like we'll be going upwind in 10-15 knots for the first three days, then there should be an increase to 30-35, then it may slack off again,' Bouwe Bekking says. 'We can expect big breeze, and when the current is with us there is chance that we'll get huge, steep waves. If we are lucky there is going to be a front passage in the last 600 miles, which means a change in wind direction going into the finish.'

A quick look at the map shows that the 'road' from Singapore to Qingdao offers several route options. Taiwan is right in the middle like a massive buoy, and the fleet must decide between leaving the island to port or to starboard. What is the right choice?

Not an easy decision, according to Bouwe Bekking: 'That is a very tricky question. Leaving it to port means sailing in a more favourable current, but there's a bigger chance of steep waves in a shorter distance. If you leave it to starboard the current is more likely to be against you and you should have more wind, sometimes too much wind. It's not unusual to see 45 knots of breeze out there and then when you approach the China coast, you are on the right side of a windshift. Not easy to decide...'

The Dutch skipper of Telefonica Blue appoints another option: 'If you are gutsy you sail through the Philippines: less wind, more distance, but you are likely to reach more instead of going upwind.'

This will be the first leg with no scoring gate, which means the teams will have a different approach to achieving the main goal: adding as many points as possible. 'On the last leg we always said it was important to gain maximum points at the scoring waypoint, as we knew the Malacca Strait was going to be a tricky place. Here we always have to keep in mind that we want to be first at the finish, it's more of a long range picture.'

The VOR family have enjoyed summer temperatures in Singapore, between 22 and 30ºC last week. The city is close to the Equator -1º 17' North-, but now the fleet have to head North to a cold Qingdao -36º 07' North-, where temperatures touch on -10ºC this time of the year.

That means up to 40ºC difference between the start next Saturday and the arrival, expected on Friday, January 30, although 'I think it will be a tad quicker than that,' Bouwe remarks. Either way, the days spent at sea during this Leg will prove difficult for all teams.

After living in shorts and flip-flops for the last few months, the crews now have to ready their winter clothing. Bouwe explains the clothing evolution for this special leg: 'We'll go from shorts and t-shirts for the first 1,000 miles, to four layers of clothing.' When facing freezing conditions, the sailors add layers over their skin in order to keep their body temperature steady. 'We start with a thin insulate layer, then a slightly thicker layer, then a fleece middle layer, and finally a thick Gore-tex layer, and the foul-weather gear on top of that. Then you've got the three pairs of socks, a fleece balaclava with a neoprene balaclava on top, and a face mask for good measure.'

Doesn't seem like a very attractive situation for those not sailing, but the images sent from onboard are sure to be quite radical. Bouwe, born in the Netherlands but living in Copenhagen with 30 years of extreme sailing under his belt, is used to sailing in cold environments. 'I feel confident as I have been sailing many times in cold, nasty weather and know what to expect.'

However, should you ask him about this next leg, Bouwe will give you a sincere answer: 'I don't really see a point in going to a harbour where it is extremely cold and everything becomes a hassle. Working on the boat will be nearly impossible and practice sailing and in-port racing over there will just not be any fun. That said, I think visiting China is really good for our sport as the country has a lot of potential and I'm sure it will have a lot to say about sailing in the future.'

As of Sunday, Bouwe Bekking will continue writing his daily reports from onboard Telefonica Blue, exclusive stories that you can follow by visiting his personal website www.bouwebekking.com