The final ocean leg
Leg 7 Week 1: 14:50 GMT Friday, May 22, 2009. |
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On Saturday May 16, the fleet left Boston bound for Galway in Ireland in the last of the true offshore legs of the Volvo Ocean Race 2008-09. The start was not without drama.
As the fleet sped around Boston Harbour; racing around the now traditional loop that precedes the exit into the open ocean, a dense fog descended on the fleet. Then, a huge tanker hove out of the mist causing the boats to scatter at the request of the police sirens. Delta Lloyd was worst affected, having to tack to keep clear, while Ericsson 3 squeezed across the tanker’s bows. |
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The Nor'Easter tanker bears down
on the windward mark of the race course as Delta
Lloyd approaches, at the start of leg 7 from Boston
to Galway.
Photo © Dave Kneale / Volvo Ocean Race.
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| However, it was Telefónica Blue (Bouwe Bekking / NED) that led the fleet out of the harbour and into the Atlantic where the crews had to cope with a whale exclusion zone just off Boston, a scoring gate off Newfoundland and an ice exclusion zone to keep them safe from ice that had drifted further south than usual. Also fresh in the minds of the 77 crew were the memories of Hans Horrevoets who was drowned on this leg in the previous race and of movistar, Bouwe Bekking’s yacht that was abandoned. |
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Bouwe Bekking calls to hold a sail
change for Pablo Arrarte, Laurent Pages and Pepe
Ribes, onboard Telefonica Blue, on leg 7 from Boston
to Galway.
Photo © Gabriele Olivo / Telefonica Blue / Volvo Ocean Race.
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| On day two, PUMA was leading the pack briskly east towards Cape Sable Island, a small Canadian island located at the southernmost tip of the Nova Scotia peninsula. The dense thick fog that appeared at the start was still engulfing the fleet, making it hard to pick out the dozens of lobster pots that littered the area. |
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Navigator Andrew Cape, onboard PUMA
Ocean Racing, on leg 7 from Boston to Galway.
Photo © Rick Deppe / PUMA Ocean Racing / Volvo Ocean Race.
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Day three was no better. Lobster pots were hooking up to the fleet at every opportunity. "Luckily they seem to come off relatively easily, but not before that ‘Jaws’ moment of the large buoys chasing the boat before they are sucked round the foils to their freedom," wrote Ericsson 4’s MCM Guy Salter. PUMA was still in the lead, followed by Ericsson 3 and Ericsson 4.
Telefónica Blue was the first through the scoring gate taking top points, less than a minute ahead of PUMA. Both yachts then tacked immediately to avoid the western boundary of the ice exclusion zone. The fleet then turned south to sail along its perimeter.
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Pablo Arrarte cutting away a fishing
buoy, onboard Telefonica Blue, on leg 7 from Boston
to Galway.
Photo © Gabriele Olivo / Telefonica Blue / Volvo Ocean Race.
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By 13:00 GMT on day five, May 20, the fleet had converged on the southeast corner of the exclusion zone and were preparing to ease sheets and hoist spinnakers in anticipation for the fast run towards Galway in a building breeze.
The crew of Green Dragon had been looking forward to the fast downwind conditions. "We have not sailed in close proximity to the other boats in weather like that, so it will be interesting for everyone," said skipper Ian Walker.
The Green Dragon team had been taking advice from the online gaming community as to where to position Green Dragon. Every 12 hours during the leg, the virtual skippers in the Volvo Ocean Race Game had been sent a poll from the boat. It included a description of the current situation onboard including details on the weather conditions, the boat and the crew. Each poll included at least three options for the route the team should sail. In the first poll, 10,000 gamers voted. |
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Justin Slattery checks the sails,
onboard Green Dragon, on leg 7 from Boston to Galway.
Photo © Guo Chuan / Green Dragon Racing / Volvo Ocean Race.
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Telefónica Black had established a two-mile lead, with 1,596 nm to run to Galaway. But both Ericsson 4 and Telefónica Blue were piling on the pressure.
On day 6, May 21, leg seven turned into one of the best rollercoaster rides this edition of the race has seen. Ericsson 4 was back in her familiar position, leading the fleet by 13 nm and big smiles were seen on the faces of the crews as the boats rocketed towards Galway.
"There is something magical that happens out here, miles from anywhere. There is a definite edge to life that you don’t get racing in coastal waters," wrote Rick Deppe from PUMA.
The sailing conditions were stunning, but a brooding red sky in the morning heralded a warning. "A thin layer of cloud is steadily approaching and growing thicker. The weather models of modern technology confirm the sailors’ rhyme. They are predicting winds to build to 30 knots tonight and more tomorrow," wrote Wouter Verbraak from Delta Lloyd, which had just shot into the lead.
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Arve Roaas heading for a sail change,
onboard Ericsson 3, on leg 7 from Boston to Galway.
Photo © Gustav Morin / Ericsson 3 / Volvo Ocean Race.
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Verbraak was right, and overnight PUMA broke their leeward rudder and had to rig their emergency steering system. "Our emergency rudder system is pretty slick. Time will tell if we have more rudder problems, but we are all a bit concerned right now," wrote skipper Ken Read.
The dreaded downwind battle has also brought disappointment for the crew of Telefónica Black, who led the fleet for part of this 2,550 nm leg.
"We got into harder running conditions last night and had to accept that our boat speed was not matching the others," wrote a despondent navigator, Roger Nilson.
Wouter Verbraak, the Dutch navigator onboard third-placed Delta Lloyd described the conditions as wild. "Tons and tons of water are crashing over the bow as we accelerate down the waves and spear through the next one." |
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Green dragon sustain dammage to their
leeward, port daggerboard, after hitting a lobster
pot, during leg 7 of the Volvo Ocean Race from Boston
to Galway.
Photo © Guo Chuan / Green Dragon Racing / Volvo Ocean Race.
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Last night was an expensive time in terms of miles lost for the Green Dragon Team who at 3am, and on the edge of control in winds gusting to 42 knots, lost all their electronic instruments. "What do you do next?" asked skipper Ian Walker. Was this a question that he expected answering by gaming community?
Walker knew the answer: "You pray the helmsman somehow manages to keep steering that fine line between success and failure. The reality is that he will only succeed for a short while before a wave or gust catches him out, and sure enough, that’s what happened."
All hands were called to shorten sail. Down below was a mass of sleepy bodies trying to get dressed as the boat lay on her side. On deck, the crew fought to regain control, while navigator Ian Moore went below to set about fixing the electrical problem. "Why do these things always happen at night and in the biggest gust of the day?" asked Ian Walker. |
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Pablo Iglesias and Gonzalo Araujo,
onboard Telefonica Black, on leg 7 from Boston
to Galway.
Photo © Anton Paz / Telefonica Black / Volvo Ocean Race.
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The fleet was divided by 108 nm north to south, but on the leaderboard, the differences were minimal and only 50 nm separated Ericsson 4 in first place and Ericsson 3 in last place.
"This leg is setting up for an amazingly close finish into Galway, but wherever we finish, the memory of this leg will live with me. What we do in these boats is quite extraordinary," Green Dragon’s skipper said.
The first boat was expected to cross the finish line on Sunday. |
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Aksel Magdahl checking the weather
charts onboard Ericsson 3, on leg 7 from Boston
to Galway.
Photo © Gustav Morin / Ericsson 3 / Volvo Ocean Race.
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Scoring Gate Order
1. Telefónica Blue at 03:11.24 GMT
2. PUMA at 03:12.04 GMT
3. Ericsson 4 at 03:33.05 GMT
4. Ericsson 3 at 04:06.02 GMT
5. Telefónica Black at 04:36.54 GMT
6. Delta Lloyd at 06:16.00 GMT |
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Onboard Ericsson 4, on leg 7 from
Boston to Galway.
Photo © Guy Salter / Ericsson 4 / Volvo Ocean Race.
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Leg 7 Day 7 - 13:00 GMT Volvo Ocean Race Positions
(Boat name / country / skipper / nationality / distance to finish)
1. Ericsson 4 SWE (Torben Grael / BRA) DTL 702 nm
2. Telefónica Blue ESP (Bouwe Bekking / NED) +13
3. Delta Lloyd NED (Roberto Bermúdez / ESP) +19
4. PUMA Racing Team USA (Ken Read / USA) +25
5. Green Dragon IRL / CHN (Ian Walker / GBR) +38
6. Telefónica Black ESP (Fernando Echávarri / ESP) + 42
7. Ericsson 3 SWE (Magnus Olsson / SWE) +50
Team Russia RUS (Andreas Hanakamp / AUT) DNS
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