Volvo Ocean Racers straighten up and head for Rio
by Richard Gladwell, Sail-World.com on 25 Mar 2009
Phil Jameson at the clew of the spinnaker, onboard Ericsson 4, on leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race, from Qingdao to Rio de Janeiro Guy Salter/Ericsson 4/Volvo Ocean Race
http://www.volvoceanrace.org
Latest position reports and weather data would seem to have put an end to the suspense for leading crews in the Volvo Ocean Race
With 354nm left to sail, Ericsson 3 should take the leg by a margin of 70-80nm from Ericsson 4, with Puma Racing about 140-150nm astern.
The finish is projected between 0300hrs and 0600hrs UTC on 26 March in Rio de Janeiro or 1600hrs to 1900hrs NZT on the same day. As we write the leaders should be enjoying a spinnaker run in a marvelous 15kt SE breeze.
As we noted yesterday, aboard the Volvo racers the navigators are using the same navigation software from www.iexpedition.org!Expedition as we are running at Sail-World, the navigators only have one source of weather data, supplied by the race organisers to all yachts, but we have two sources from www.predictwind.com!PredictWind. We have based the current prognosis on wind information from a single source, as the second source is not currently updated, however the courses projected are close to the shortest distance to Rio and look credible.
Although winds remain light in the race area as of 0700hrs (NZT) this morning, the breeze is expected to fill in to around 10-15kts, and Ericsson 3 should carry this breeze through to the finish, with a spinnaker run all the way to Rio.
Astern Ericsson 4 and Puma Racing get a sniff of the same breeze for a while, but then it drops to 5kts about 0400hrs NZT (1500hrs UTC) for Puma racing, dropping her off the pace a little, ahead of an advancing 20 easterly wind, which unfortunately never really arrives for the US entry and she is finishes the leg in 5-10 knt winds, according to the current weather data.
The only real unknown at this stage is weather the wind will build more quickly than expected and be more solid for the rest of the course. If so the finish time will reduce significantly.
Below: At 0400hrs (NZT) on 25 March (1500hrs UTC) we see more of the same with light and variable winds all the way to Rio . However the Expedition model reads the PredictWind data and see that winds are going to strengthen and steady in direction later in the day and projects a more direct course to Rio.
Below: At 0400hrs (NZT) on 25 March (1500hrs UTC) the Expedition model reads the PredictWind data and sees that winds are going to strengthen and steady in direction later in the day and projects a more direct course to Rio.
Below: On what should be their last day at sea we see the positions and winds at 1000hrs NZT on 26 March 2100hrs UTC on 25 March. Ericsson 3 has managed to build a good lead in the light but steady breeze. To the right there is the advancing stronger wind system which never quite gets to the most right hand yacht, Puma Racing. However if this system did accelerate, then we could see some changes in this prognosis.
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The images used in this story have been generated by www.iexpedition.org!Expedition which is a tactical and navigation software application which has been developed by veteran Volvo Ocean Race navigator and Whitbread winner, physicist Nick White, initially for his use in the 2001-2 Volvo Ocean Race with Team News Corp and the Stars & Stripes Americas Cup team.
Since then, www.iexpedition.org!Expedition has been continually refined by a core group of world-renowned navigators and two-time America’s Cup winning navigator Peter Isler has consulted closely in the development of the system. Expedition supports more instrument systems, is easier to use and has the most powerful and useful functions for the racing navigator.
Expedition is now has PredictWind integrated into the application as an option for PredictWind subscribers.
The wind data and prognosis used to produce these images also uses software developed by www.predictwind.com!PredictWind, an application developed by Jon Bilger a top NZ youth and Olympic sailor who turned his hand to wind and weather prediction, and helped Alinghi to their outstanding victories in the last two America's Cups.
Now that same technology is available to the weekend sailing and club racers, the cruising fraternity or professional sailors around the world. Select any region in the world of interest to you and www.predictwind.com!PredictWind will monitor the area for you and provide updated predictions on demand.
PredictWind is a subscription system, with a number of options. While some may feel the wind is free, the ability to get a five day detailed wind forecast for an area of interest creates great peace of mind, allowing forward planning and decision making to be made with some certainty. The time and money saved through being able to work with a high degree of confidence, is more than offset by the relatively small cost of the subscription.
But don't take our word for it, get www.predictwind.com!PredictWind now and have a 30 day trial for free, and see for yourself.
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