Volvo Race - Helmets and goggles are back on

by Volvo event media on 25 Nov 2008
The eight-strong Volvo Ocean Race fleet is cracking along now at a steady 20 knots, broad reaching in the southeast trade winds and clicking off the miles towards the finish in Cochin. The helmets and goggles are back on as the waves crash over the boat, but the motion is better and the water is warmer.

'It is pretty hard to move around down below as the boat shudders and shakes, but there is no violent slamming motion that you get jumping waves downwind or the abrupt deceleration of nosedives,' says Green Dragon skipper, Ian Walker/GBR.

The teams are lining up for the Doldrums lottery, just over a day a way, and the direct route to Cochin is blocked by a windless area the size of Spain. Will the fleet go through it or around it? Ian Walker explains the position: 'Ericsson 4 (Torben Grael/BRA) seems to have had a change of heart and has dived north for a more direct crossing near Diego Garcia. The Telefónicas are out west, with PUMA (Ken Read/USA) in the middle near the Ericsson boats. We are holding the eastern flank, while Delta Lloyd (Roberto Bermudez/ESP) and Team Russia (Andreas Hanakamp/AUT) further east and behind.'

Walker says it is not too late for the fleet to change its mind and this is what the Green Dragons are trying to decide now. Walker thinks that there looks to be better wind to the east, but it means sailing more miles. Going direct (in the west) is very appealing, but looks easier for the leaders than those behind as the Doldrums are expanding in this area. With such a tight race, even a few hours of no wind could make the difference between first and fifth place.

Since losing their port daggerboard yesterday, life for Bouwe Bekking/NED and his men racing Telefónica Blue has become a whole lot tougher. 'We have had the rug pulled out from under us somewhat,' says navigator Simon Fisher/GBR.

'The reaching that we were so looking forward to during the previous days, as we felt we would be in good shape to make gains, has now become an exercise in damage limitation,' he says.

Rather than eagerly awaiting the position reports to see if his team has gained, Fisher now awaits them grimly, hoping that the loss in miles is not going to be too great. Bouwe Bekking reckons that the damage was caused by a collision with an object. Now, the boat is not easy to steer, as there is nothing to prevent her from slipping sideways. The normally straight ‘rooster tail’ wake from the back of the boat is now a zigzag all over the ocean.

Towards the back of the fleet, the crew of Delta Lloyd is in sight of the Russians. Instead of racing a blip on the computer, they can see the boat, which is just ahead and to leeward. 'Everyone is fired up,' says navigator Matt Gregory from the USA. 'Racing a ‘real’ boat’, that you can see with your own eyes, brings out the intensity in everyone onboard,' he says.

At 13:00 GMT today, with 1415 nm to run to the finish, it was still an all-Ericsson show, but with Ericsson 4 (Torben Grael/BRA) regaining the lead from Ericsson 3 (Anders Lewander/SWE) although only by five miles. PUMA and Telefónica Blue had swapped places, with PUMA now in third place, 44 nm behind the leaders. The order of the chasing pack has not changed over the last 24 hours, and although the top five boats have made small gains, the bottom three boats have all lost miles to the leader over the previous three hours.

Speeds are all around the 20-knot mark, with Ericsson 4 achieving the highest 24-hour run of 479 nm. The computers are predicting an arrival date of 18 November for the leader, but this will undoubtedly change once the fleet becomes embedded in the Doldrums. The picture should be clearer in the next day or so.

Volvo Ocean Race Positions - Leg Two, Monday, Day 10: 1300 GMT

1 Ericsson 4 SWE (Torben Grael/BRA) DTF 1415
2 Ericsson 3 SWE (Anders Lewander/SWE) +5
3 PUMA Racing Team USA (Ken Read/USA) +44
4 Telefónica Blue ESP (Bouwe Bekking/NED) +51
5 Green Dragon IRL/CHN (Ian Walker/GBR) +72
6 Telefónica Black ESP (Fernando Echávarri/ESP) +117
7 Team Russia RUS (Andreas Hanakamp/AUT) +198
8 Delta Lloyd IRL (Roberto Bermudez/ESP) +214