Doldrums compression gives hope to back markers
Leg 5 Day 9 - 14:45 GMT Sunday, February 22, 2009. |
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| Ericsson 4 (Torben Grael / BRA), pathfinders in this 12,300 nm leg from Qingdao to Rio de Janeiro, have arrived in the Doldrums. This provides much relief to the Telefónica Blue (Bouwe Bekking / NED) who started leg five of the Volvo Ocean Race some 19 hours behind the rest of the fleet and now has a chance to close their deficit. |
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Sail repairs onboard Ericsson 4, in the Doldrums, on leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race.
Photo © Guy Salter / Ericsson 4 / Volvo Ocean Race.
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"The last sched has just come in and Ericsson 4 has finally parked - so, at last, the Doldrums are really there - people were starting not to believe me," wrote Tom Addis, the navigator onboard the blue boat.
Telefónica Blue still has good breeze and is all set to make up some miles while the pressure holds. "We normally dread the light breeze that comes with this sort of transition but to be honest, we are all looking forward to the change in routine and the opportunities that it presents," Addis said. The boat is still averaging 16 knots to Ericsson 4 and PUMA’s nine. |
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Pablo Arrarte during a sail change onboard Telefonica Blue, on leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race, from Qingdao to Rio de Janeiro.
Photo © Gabriele Olivo / Telefonica Blue / Volvo Ocean Race.
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Meanwhile in the thick of clouds and light winds, Joca Signorini, the Brazilian trimmer on Ericsson 4, says the last 10 hours or so have been painful. "We are now trying to keep moving and waiting to see what happens with the others," he said.
It will be an exciting few days now, as the backmarkers make gains on the leaders who are now struggling. Ericsson 3 (Magnus Olsson / SWE), currently in third place, reports wind speed of below five knots. So this team has also arrived at the Inter-tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), otherwise known as the Doldrums. The Telefónica Blue team reckons they only have a few hours to go before they too, will be fighting with clouds and fickle winds. |
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Magnus Woxen and Thomas Johanson helming, onboard Ericsson 3, on leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race.
Photo © Gustav Morin / Ericsson 3 / Volvo Ocean Race.
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The fleet is still picking its way through the Marshall Islands, a group of 29 atolls and five islands. Green Dragon (Ian Walker / GBR) on her course, some 100 nm east of the track of Ericsson 4, will pass closer to the islands than the rest of the fleet.
According to the digital version of the Pacific Ocean pilot book that Telefónica Blue has onboard, Tom Addis considers the islands to sound so interesting, he might like to return one day for a more relaxed sailing holiday with his family. But he also adds that, "If you see me in the street, please remind me not to set out from Qingdao in a Volvo 70." |
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Sidney Gavignet gets the mainsail ready to reef, en route to Rio De Janeiro on leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race.
Photo © Rick Deppe / PUMA Ocean Racing / Volvo Ocean Race.
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With the Doldrums comes rain, that arrives often in heavy bursts. This means clean crews and less smelly boats, as everyone onboard is able to have a tropical shower and a change of clothes.
Ken Read, skipper of second-placed PUMA, says he has been in some smelly situations, but the interior of PUMA is rapidly passing them all as a top player in this week’s smelliest place on earth. |
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Neal McDonald helming onboard Green Dragon, on leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race, from Qingdao to Rio de Janeiro.
Photo © Guo Chuan / Green Dragon Racing / Volvo Ocean Race.
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The monotony of a week of blast-reaching has not even been broken by wildlife to observe. Magnus Olsson (Ericsson 3) is very disappointed about this. No dolphins, no whales and no birds have been sighted, just the odd flying fish.
That will all change, once the fleet reaches the Southern Ocean and the home of the Albatross and other sea life. "The birds down there are just fantastic," says Olsson, who has a big fascination of the Albatross and its way of sweeping over the surface and diving between the waves without moving its wings. |
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Onboard Ericsson 3 with PUMA Ocean Racing on the horizon, during leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race, from Qingdao to Rio de Janeiro.
Photo © Gustav Morin / Ericsson 3 / Volvo Ocean Race.
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| Magnus will be pleased to learn that a large part of the monies raised from the Virtual Volvo Ocean Race competitors is to be donated to the Save the Albatross campaign in order to help prevent the extinction of these majestic birds. |
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Sunshine after the rain onboard Telefonica Blue, on leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race, from Qingdao to Rio de Janeiro.
Photo © Gabriele Olivo / Telefonica Blue / Volvo Ocean Race.
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| At 13:00 GMT today PUMA is 21 nm behind Ericsson 4, but averaging the same speed. Ericsson 3 however is putting the pressure on PUMA from just three miles astern and is still averaging just over 11 knots. The gap of over 200 nm for both Telefónica Blue and Green Dragon has now been cut significantly. Telefónica Blue has closed to 170 nm, making a gain of around 90 nm in the last 24 hours. While Green Dragon is still going strong out to the east, it has cut 77 nm out of Ericsson 4’s lead. |
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Media Crew Memeber Rick Deppe makes Pasta Bolognese, il mostro style.
Photo © Rick Deppe / PUMA Ocean Racing / Volvo Ocean Race.
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Leg 5 Day 9 - 13:00 GMT Volvo Ocean Race Positions
(Boat name / country / skipper / nationality / distance to finish)
Ericsson 4 SWE (Torben Grael / BRA) DTF 9,545 nm
PUMA Racing Team USA (Ken Read / USA) +21
Ericsson 3 SWE (Magnus Olsson / SWE) +25
Telefónica Blue ESP (Bouwe Bekking / NED) +170
Green Dragon IRL / CHN (Ian Walker / GBR) +196
Delta Lloyd IRL (Roberto Bérmudez / ESP) DNS
Telefónica Black ESP (Fernando Echávarri / ESP) DNS
Team Russia RUS (Andreas Hanakamp / AUT) DNS
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