Helmets and Goggles
Leg 2 Day 10 - 14:36 GMT Monday, November 24h, 2008. |
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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. |
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The crew on Green Dragon about to change
a sail, on leg 2 of the Volvo Ocean Race, from Cape
Town, South Africa to Cochin, India.
Photo © Guo Chuan / Green Dragon Racing / Volvo Ocean Race.
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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." |
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Dave Endean and Phil Jameson repair
a broken helmsman foot chock, on leg 2 of the Volvo
Ocean Race, from Cape Town, South Africa to Cochin,
India.
Photo © Guy Salter / Ericsson 4 / Volvo Ocean Race.
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| 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.
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Skipper Chuny, bowman Ed van Lierde
and boat captain Ed O'Conner catching the sail during
a sail change, on leg 2 of the Volvo Ocean Race, from
Cape Town, South Africa to Cochin, India.
Photo © Sander Pluijm / Team Delta Lloyd / Volvo Ocean Race.
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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. |
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The crew of Telefonica Black fixing
their sails, on leg 2 of the Volvo Ocean Race, from
Cape Town, South Africa to Cochin, India.
Photo © Mikel Pasabant / Telefonica Black / Volvo Ocean Race.
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| 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. |
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Pepe Ribes using a bit of free time
reading a sailing magazine, on leg 2 of the Volvo Ocean
Race, from Cape Town, South Africa to Cochin, India.
Photo © Gabriele Olivo / Telefonica Blue / Volvo Ocean Race.
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| 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. |
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Watch leader Stu Wilson rolling a sheet
during a sail change right after the Delta Lloyd turned
north to Indian Ocean, on leg 2 of the Volvo Ocean
Race, from Cape Town, South Africa to Cochin, India.
Photo © Sander Pluijm / Team Delta Lloyd / Volvo Ocean Race.
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At 13:00 GMT with 1,415 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. |
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Jens Dolmer trying to bring life back
to Ericsson 3's radar, on leg 2 of the Volvo Ocean
Race, from Cape Town, South Africa to Cochin, India.
Photo © Gustav Morin / Ericsson 3 / Volvo Ocean Race.
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| 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 28 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. |
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Team Russia hang their boots out
to dry, on leg 2 of the Volvo Ocean Race, from Cape
Town, South Africa to Cochin, India.
Photo © Mark Covell / Team Russia / Volvo Ocean Race.
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Leg 2 Day 10 - 13:00 GMT Volvo Ocean Race Positions
(Boat name / country / skipper / nationality / distance to finish)
Ericsson 4 SWE (Torben Grael / BRA) DTF 1415
Ericsson 3 SWE (Anders Lewander / SWE) +5
PUMA Racing Team USA (Ken Read / USA) +44
Telefónica Blue ESP (Bouwe Bekking / NED) +51
Green Dragon IRL / CHN (Ian Walker / GBR) +72
Telefónica Black ESP (Fernando Echávarri / ESP) +117
Team Russia RUS (Andreas Hanakamp / AUT) +198
Delta Lloyd IRL (Roberto Bermudez / ESP) +214
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