Speed, speed
and more speed
Leg 6 Day 6 - 15:09 GMT Thursday, April 16, 2009. |
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Today it is pure boat speed and the ability of each crew to squeeze out the last ounce of performance that is making the difference as the Volvo fleet reaches towards the scoring gate at Fernando de Noronha at a steady 15 knots.
There are no passing lanes and no capacity for tactical moves in the near future. Ian Walker, skipper of Green Dragon says these opportunities may not arise until the fleet nears the finish in Boston.
His plan is to keep spirits high onboard and stay in touch with the fleet so that he’s close enough to take advantage when an opportunity does present itself. |
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Green Dragon, on leg 6 of the Volvo
Ocean Race, from Rio de Janeiro to Boston.
Photo © Guo Chuan / Green Dragon Racing / Volvo Ocean Race.
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As the wind picked up, waves are starting to sweep across the decks and Magnus Olsson, skipper of Ericsson 3, has been an unsuspecting victim. A big wave flushed him into the steering pedestal and he was momentarily stunned. His ribs were hurt but, according to the crew, he managed to go down below and climb into his bunk without help.
He has since been talking and even laughing and the crew is not concerned. |
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Anders Dahlsjo during a sail change,
onboard Ericsson 3, on leg 6 of the Volvo Ocean Race,
from Rio de Janeiro to Boston.
Photo © Gustav Morin / Ericsson 3 / Volvo Ocean Race.
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"I was not prepared for that wave at all," Magnus said shortly before he went to sleep. "It feels stupid to be hit like this by the first wave that reaches the deck."
Onboard medic, Richard Mason, who himself sat out the last leg with a back problem, checked the bruise on Magnus while he was sleeping. Mason is now wondering if he brings bad luck to Ericsson 3.
"On the entire last leg, when I was not onboard, the team did not have many injuries at all, and now this happens almost straight away," he said. |
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Richard Mason, keeping track of PUMA
Ocean Racing, onboard Ericsson 3, on leg 6 of the Volvo
Ocean Race, from Rio de Janeiro to Boston.
Photo © Gustav Morin / Ericsson 3 / Volvo Ocean Race.
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The fleet is now clear of Recife on the Brazilian coast and sailing directly towards the western end of the scoring gate, 129 nm head. Telefónica Blue is in good shape at the head of the fleet, holding on to a nice 17-mile lead from Ericsson 4 who has now taken up second place, with Delta Lloyd carefully shadowing her just two miles astern.
Since yesterday, these three teams have moved to the western flank of the course to take advantage of the more lifted winds expected today. Telefónica Blue is 133 off the coast and the fleet is spread across an eight-mile divide from Delta Lloyd in the west to PUMA in the east. |
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Tom Addis reads the report, onboard
Telefonica Blue, on leg 6 of the Volvo Ocean Race,
from Rio de Janeiro to Boston.
Photo © Gabriele Olivo / Telefonica Blue / Volvo Ocean Race.
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Oddly, Bouwe Bekking, skipper of Telefónica Blue found himself in almost an identical scenario to one from the previous race in 2005-06. Then as now, he was in the lead and being hounded by ABN AMRO ONE, now Delta Lloyd.
"Then, we knew we had a bit on as the ABN boat was more than 1.5 knots faster on a close reach. We beat them by only two or three minutes to the scoring gate," he says.
Delta Lloyd’s Spanish skipper, Roberto Bérmudez is proud of his boat. "We are really happy," he says. "We are happy with the racing we are doing, but we must fight until the scoring gate with no rest. We are getting the best of this boat." |
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Team Delta Lloyd on a roll in leg 6.
Round the cape in second place, east of the fleet and
still going strong.
Photo © Sander Pluijm / Team Delta Lloyd / Volvo Ocean Race.
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| Ericsson 4 is enjoying the battle with Delta Lloyd, a boat that several of the Ericsson 4 crew are familiar with, having sailed her to victory last time around. This team also has Telefónica Black in view, which according to Guy Salter, Ericsson 4’s MCM, will make for a very interesting few hours into the scoring gate. |
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Heavy weather approaching Ericsson
4, on leg 6 of the Volvo Ocean Race, from Rio de Janeiro
to Boston.
Photo © Guy Salter / Ericsson 4 / Volvo Ocean Race.
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| Next up will be the Doldrums, which lurk just north of the Equator, which is 403 nm ahead of the fleet. Race meteorologist, Jennifer Lilly, says the narrowest part of the Doldrums is near the coast of North America and that the light airs extend southwest from Sierra Leone towards Fernando de Noronha. |
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Casey Smith and Shannon Falcone share
a joke, on leg 6 of the Volvo Ocean Race, from Rio
de Janeiro to Boston.
Photo © Rick Deppe / PUMA Ocean Racing / Volvo Ocean Race.
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"While the band of light winds looks pretty narrow, with the northeasterly trade winds filling not long after the fleet passes the scoring gate, the likelihood of squall activity is near certainty," says Jennifer.
Onboard Telefónica Black, the team is overheating in every sense. First there is a charging problem, which David Vera has been able to fix, then Roger Nilson explained, "I guess we all feel a bit overheated, both when it comes to below deck temperature, but also from the heat of the fight against our nearest competition, PUMA, Delta Lloyd and Ericsson 3. Speed, speed and more speed is what we are all looking for right now." |
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The Media Station and sleeping area
below decks on Telefonica Black, during leg 6 of
the Volvo Ocean Race, from Rio de Janeiro to Boston.
Photo © Anton Paz / Telefonica Black / Volvo Ocean Race.
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Leg 6 Day 6 - 13:00 GMT Volvo Ocean Race Positions
(Boat name / country / skipper / nationality / distance to finish)
1. Telefónica Blue ESP (Bouwe Bekking / NED) DTF 3,653 nm
2. Ericsson 4 SWE (Torben Grael / BRA) +17
3. Delta Lloyd IRL (Roberto Bermúdez / ESP) +19
4. Telefónica Black ESP (Fernando Echávarri / ESP) +23
5. PUMA Racing Team USA (Ken Read / USA) +29
6. Ericsson 3 SWE (Magnus Olsson / SWE) +31
7. Green Dragon IRL / CHN (Ian Walker / GBR) +60
8. Team Russia RUS (Andreas Hanakamp / AUT) DNS
Visit www.volvooceanrace.org for
all the latest news! |
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The Volvo Ocean Race 2008-09 will be the 10th
running of this ocean marathon. Starting from Alicante in Spain,
on 4 October 2008 with in-port racing, it will, for the first
time, take in Cochin, India, Singapore and Qingdao, China before
finishing in St Petersburg, Russia for the first time in the
history of the race.
Spanning some 37,000 nautical miles, stopping
at 11 ports and taking nine months to complete,
the Volvo Ocean Race is the world's premier
yacht race for professional racing crews. |
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| The official website: www.volvooceanrace.org |
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