Slow start as Volvo Ocean Race fleet drifts into Leg 10 to Gothenburg
by Volvo Ocean Race 10 Jun 2018 10:33 PDT
10 June 2018
A slow start to Volvo Ocean Race Leg 10: Cardiff to Gothenburg © Jesus Renedo / Volvo Ocean Race
Light winds combined with an adverse current to force a short postponement before the Volvo Ocean Race fleet departed Cardiff in a slow motion ballet...
The Volvo Ocean Race fleet had a slow start to Leg 10 as a high-pressure system brought bright sunny skies and warm weather but very little breeze to Cardiff on Sunday afternoon.
With nearly no wind at the scheduled 1500 UTC start time, the Race Committee pushed a short postponement to allow the tide to turn, so the strong tidal flow would assist in pushing the fleet out to sea.
The inshore portion of the race start was also cancelled in an effort to get the fleet out of the Bristol Channel before the tide turned again on Sunday evening and the boats would have to fight the current to clear the channel.
The Spanish team MAPFRE led across the starting line in a slow motion ballet, with Team Brunel, Vestas 11th Hour Racing, team AkzoNobel and Dongfeng Race Team alongside them.
Both SHK/Scallywag and Turn the Tide on Plastic found themselves too close to the start line with the current pushing them over early. As they manoeuvred to get room to start on time, Scallywag was penalised for not keeping clear of Turn the Tide on Plastic and needed to offload a penalty turn putting them at the back of the fleet.
Leg 10 is a 1,300 nautical mile sprint – at least it will be once the wind picks up – from Cardiff to Gothenburg, Sweden.
The results of this leg could be critical in determining the overall winner. Skipper Charles Caudrelier's Dongfeng Race Team leads MAPFRE by just one point, with Bouwe Bekking's Team Brunel a further two points adrift.
"We are happy with our position and excited about the next leg," Caudrelier said before leaving the dock.
"It's going to be a very tricky start here in the Bristol Channel," was the view of Xabi Fernández, the skipper of MAPFRE.
"But the team is confident and we just have to sail the best we can. We trust the crew and the boat is fast... Hopefully we start well and enjoy a good coastal race."
After 30 minutes of racing in extremely light winds, MAPFRE was leading Vestas 11th Hour Racing and Team Brunel, while Dongfeng Race Team sacrificed some distance to the leaders to find clear wind nearly half a mile behind their rivals.
Despite the light winds during Sunday's start, the pace is expected to pick up and the ETA into Gothenburg is Thursday night and into Friday.
The mild, sunny weather made for an extremely busy Race Village at Alexandra Head in Cardiff Bay, with crowd numbers pushing well past the projections of local organisers.
www.volvooceanrace.com
Nervy start for Dongfeng as critical Leg 10 gets underway from Cardiff to Gothenburg (from Dongfeng Race Team)
With a one-point overall lead in the Volvo Ocean Race 2017-18, Dongfeng Race Team set sail on the penultimate stage of the race this afternoon – Leg 10 from Cardiff in Wales to Gothenburg in Sweden – looking to beat their two nearest rivals MAPFRE and Team Brunel.
The fleet set sail in almost windless conditions on Cardiff Bay after a short postponement while the tide went slack in the Bristol Channel.
Dongfeng made a safe start in the middle of the line but quickly fell back behind MAPFRE, which is only one point behind the Chinese-flagged team in the ranking and Team Brunel, three points behind.
Drifting in dirty air from the boats ahead, Charles Caudrelier, on the helm on Dongfeng, was the first to tack as the boats made very slow progress on their way out to sea.
The goal this evening is to try to get out of the Bristol Channel with the ebb tide and get into the forecast light northerly winds offshore. Boats that fail to get through this tide gate may have to anchor to avoid being swept back eastwards by the flood tide.
This 1,300-nautical mile leg could prove critical to the final outcome of this race with the extra point for winning the stage possibly making a big impact on how the overall positions shake out. After this leg, there is only one more to come – the race-ending Leg 11 from Gothenburg to The Hague.
Over the next few days the crews will make their way past the Fastnet Rock, up the west coast of Ireland and then around the top of Scotland towards the southern tip of Norway and then east to Gothenburg. Light northerly winds will be followed by a faster downwind passage around the top of the British Isles, followed by what could be another lightwind finish.
MAPFRE lead the start of the penultimate leg of the Volvo Ocean Race (from MAPFRE)
Lack of wind was the defining factor this afternoon for the start of the penultimate tenth leg of the Volvo Ocean Race, where MAPFRE once again began at the front of the fleet. The 1300 miles from Cardiff to Gothenburg in Sweden, will include several hurdles and transitions, and many decisions to be made.
As the MAPFRE skipper declared just before leaving the dock in a sunny Cardiff,
"We are ready to go, everything is prepared and we are going to give it our all."
"This is a short leg, and as we have said on many occasions, they are tougher than the longer legs," continued the Basque skipper, "It is a five-day sprint where there are a number of critical turning points, the first will be on leaving the Bristol channel, where there is a lot of current and little wind. After we have crossed over to Ireland and the Fastnet, we have another transition into a different wind. There are several tricky moments, so we are going to have to stay focussed, resting whenever and as much as we can, so we are ready to fight the whole way."
A painfully slow start
Following a half-hour postponement and a modification of the route, (previously just two knots of wind and a rising tide creating a head-on current), the start gun finally sounded in Cardiff at 17.30h Spanish time, with a good start for the Spanish team, led by Xabi Fernández, on the right-side of the race course and stretching out ahead of their rivals.
The extremely light conditions also led to the Race Committee cancelling the windward-leeward section of the start, which would have been incredibly slow for the seven VO65s. Each team had dispatched one of their crew to the top of the mast in an attempt to locate the slightest gust from the 30-metre vantage point. As such, the start gun sounded and the fleet set off directly.
Whilst Turn The Tide On Plastic and Scallywag were forced to make a penalty turn for being over the line early, the rest of the fleet continued to float in just 4 knots of wind speed, which MAPFRE already began to use to their advantage.
The Spanish team continued at the front of the fleet, 45 minutes into the leg followed by Brunel, Vestas and AkzoNoble, all within a one-mile radius. TTOP, Dongfeng and Scallywag were one, 1.3 and 1.8 miles behind them.
Full support for MAPFRE and Spain
A few hours before the start of the leg, His Majesty King Juan Carlos, the Infanta Elena and the Chairman and vice-chairman of MAPFRE, Antonio Huertas and Antonio Núñez respectively, arrived at the MAPFRE team base in Cardiff to offer their full support for the team, directed by Pedro Campos from Galicia, and skippered by Xabi Fernández.
After attending the final crew meeting, on bidding the team farewell at the dockside, HM Juan Carlos explained,
"We have come to support the team ahead of these last two incredibly decisive legs. The team were all really excited and motivated, so we will now have to see how the race goes. Supporting from here, we will need to keep checking the tracker!" were the words of the Spanish monarch.
The leg is estimated to take approximately five days, with the VO65 fleet's arrival in Gothenburg currently due between Thursday night and Friday.
Team Brunel on the way to Gothenburg (from Team Brunel)
Sunday afternoon Team Brunel left to Gothenburg for Leg 10 of the Volvo Ocean Race. Light winds combined with an adverse current forced a 30 minutes postponement before the fleet departed Cardiff. But with only four points difference between the top three boats, it's more exciting than ever. Will Bekking still have a chance to win the Volvo Ocean Race in his eighth attempt and will it still be possible for Burling to win the Triple Crown?
Every day we improve
The strategy chosen by Team Brunel to select a mix of experienced Volvo Ocean Race sailors such as Bouwe Bekking and Andrew Cape combined with the young talent of Peter Burling, Kyle Langford and Carlo Huisman is currently paying off, according to Burling.
Burling: "I have the feeling that we are still getting better every day as a team. There are still a few things that we will improve on, compared to the last leg. The learning curve is still very steep, and we continue to grow."
Three boats battle for overall win
With two legs to go, it's more exciting than ever in the Volvo Ocean Race. Dongfeng, Mapfre and Team Brunel all still have a clear view of the victory. With only 4 points difference between the current leader Dongfeng and Team Brunel in third position.
Burling: "We are certainly ready to go. We know that if you win this leg you will get an extra bonus point. So if you win, you make up two points compared to the boat that comes in second."
Burling has a chance to win Triple Crown
Peter Burling may be the first sailor to pick up the Triple Crown in a possible final victory, winning in Olympic Gold (Rio 2016), the Americas Cup and the Volvo Ocean Race.
Burling: "It's an essential leg for all the three boats that are close to the lead. We are probably going to decide in this Leg to Gothenburg who has the edge of us three going into The Hague. For us self it feels like we're in the same position we have been for the last three legs, we need and another result better than the red boats to have a chance after this leg."
Team AkzoNobel leaves Wales on the afternoon tide as Volvo Ocean Race Leg 10 to Sweden begins in drifting conditions (from Team AkzoNobel)
Team AkzoNobel has set off from Cardiff, Wales on the penultimate leg of the Volvo Ocean Race – a 1300-nautical mile (2400-kilometer) route along the south and west coasts of Ireland, around the northern tip of Scotland, and across the North Sea to Gothenburg, Sweden.
Currently in fourth place in the overall standings the team is on the hunt for a chance to close the points gap on the top three teams – Dongfeng Race Team (CHN), Mapfre (ESP) and Team Brunel (NED) – enough to be within striking distance on the upcoming final leg of the race from Gothenburg to The Hague in the Netherlands.
Winds were super-light at the scheduled start time 1600 BST (1500 UTC/1700 CEST) causing race organisers to delay for 30 minutes to allow the tide to turn in favour of the fleet.
Despite this slow-speed beginning the team AkzoNobel sailors are expecting to face a wide range of weather conditions on the way to Sweden.
"It's a very interesting leg," said team AkzoNobel navigator Jules Salter (GBR). "The coastal racing is always interesting. It will be sunny when we pass West Cork which should mean pretty spectacular views, I hope.
"The end of the leg is going to be quite fierce with winds of 25 to 30 knots – conditions we like. It's the North Atlantic and North Sea so it's going to be cold and it's going to be tough. But we are all up for the challenge and ready to take it on."
Prior to the start guest jumper Andrew Grieve – an AkzoNobel chemist at the company's Felling site and a team AkzoNobel 'super-fan' – made a spectacular leap from the yacht's stern.
A keen dinghy sailor, Grieve – like thousands of other AkzoNobel staff around the world – has been tracking team AkzoNobel since the Volvo Ocean Race began in Alicante, Spain last October.
He described the time he spent on board with the crew as "a dream come true".
"It was an incredible experience," he said afterwards. "Thanks to the sailors for letting me get a glimpse into their world. I will be following them all the way to the finish in The Hague and I'm hoping they can make it on to the podium."
Team AkzoNobel got off to a clean start but with winds no stronger than zephyrs progress was slow and the fleet drifted away from Cardiff largely driven by the outgoing tide.
Pleasant fast reaching conditions are expected in the Irish Sea overnight, but these will transition into tougher headwinds along Ireland's south coast tomorrow with the fleet expected to encounter very strong winds off Scotland's west coast on Wednesday.
Based on the latest weather models the seven-boat fleet is expected to cross the finish line on the Göta älv river on the night of Thursday June 14.
Vestas 11th Hour Racing Starts Penultimate leg of the Volvo Ocean Race in the Lead (from Vestas 11th Hour Racing)
Under sunny skies but very light air, the Volvo Ocean Race fleet drifted out the Bristol Channel for the start of Leg 10 from Cardiff, Wales to Gothenburg, Sweden. The penultimate leg is expected to take just under five days sending the fleet around the west coast of Ireland, through the North Sea, and up the Göta älv River to the finish line.
"It has been great to sail around the world and then into my home country," said Navigator Simon Fisher ahead of the leg start. "The race has not been in the UK since my first race way back in 2006 and it's never been to the west coast, let alone Wales, and this has been a fantastic stopover to spend with family and friends."
While in Cardiff, Fisher and the other sailors met with Tony Juniper CBE to discuss the team's sustainability initiatives and how the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership impacted the team.
At this stopover, held on Cardiff Bay, the Volvo 65s exited through a lock for the inshore racing in Bristol Channel under challenging tidal conditions. Cardiff has a daily 8-10 meter tide - which means there can be huge advantages to playing the current correctly. Today's leg start was delayed to 1620 local time in order to accommodate the tides and light air conditions.
"I think we could see the race won or lost in the first few hours if you don't play the current correctly," said Skipper Charlie Enright. "Then we could see a 'rich get richer' situation develop quite quickly." Vestas 11th Hour Racing led out of the racing area trading tacks with MAPFRE in the first hour of the race.
The hope in the light air is that the fleet is able to exit the Bristol channel before the tide turns. Otherwise, some boats may be anchoring to avoid drifting backward. Once they escape the tidal area, they will be reaching to the southwestern corner of Ireland to try and outrace a developing high-pressure system. Then, there will be a key decision due to another potential light air area off Northern Ireland where a split in the fleet is likely with boats opting for different routings to balance wind versus distance.
The best strategy for the blue boat is to avoid the match racing at the top of the fleet and draw upon the success of the shorter Leg 1 win to get back on the podium.
"We are racing for more than a trophy now," said Enright. "We are doing it for ourselves and most importantly for this bigger message of sustainability and ocean health."
The team welcomed aboard Dr. Robert Mulvaney as the leg jumper for the start. The sailors met Mulvaney back in September at the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) - where they learned about his work studying ice as an indicator of climate change. Dr. Mulvaney has spent more time in the Southern Ocean than any of the Volvo Ocean Race sailors and he is about to embark on his 23rd Antarctic expedition.
In a final team meeting before departure, Enright reminded the team to enjoy these last moments on the water together.
"Bring the intensity but don't forget to enjoy it. We love this sport, so let's finish as strong as we started."