The banner for the Outimage coverage of the Volvo Ocean Race 2008 - 2009.

transparent 12 by 12 pixel spacer graphic
Outimage Publications ocean yacht racing coverage of the VOR 2008-2009.
transparent 12 by 12 pixel spacer graphic

Weather and wind angles force tactical decisions
Leg 5 Day 14 - 14:52 GMT Friday, February 27, 2009.
transparent 12 by 12 pixel spacer graphic
The islands of Fiji are in the way and causing some head-scratching for the navigators in leg five of the Volvo Ocean Race as they try to decide will be the most favourable way to negotiate a course around the two islands, which lie 40 nm ahead and right in their path.
transparent 12 by 12 pixel spacer graphic

Ericsson 3 passing a couple of islands just norh of Fiji. Arve Roaas trimming.

Photo © Gustav Morin / Ericsson 3 / Volvo Ocean Race.

Ericsson 3 passing a couple of islands just norh of Fiji. Arve Roaas trimming. Photo copyright Gustav Morin / Ericsson 3 / Volvo Ocean Race.
transparent 12 by 12 pixel spacer graphic
During the past week, the fleet has been clawing as much easting as possible, but now it seems it may not have been quite enough, at least for the majority of the fleet.

Green Dragon (Ian Walker / GBR) has been committed to the east for over a week, which up to now, has paid big dividends. If this team has to tack to clear Fiji, it will be for less time than any others who choose this route.
transparent 12 by 12 pixel spacer graphic

Chinese charms hang from the mast for a safe Journey for 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.

Chinese charms hang from the mast for a safe Journey for Green Dragon, on leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race, from Qingdao to Rio de Janeiro. Photo copyright Guo Chuan / Green Dragon Racing / Volvo Ocean Race.
transparent 12 by 12 pixel spacer graphic
"Who would have thought that Fiji would have such a big part to play in determining the strategy in leg five? I didn’t even know exactly where Fiji was when we left China two weeks ago! Now I am cross examining every member of the crew who has ever been there on holiday, trying to find out the nature of the island the possible local effects of the wind," says Ian Walker.

Ericsson 4 (Torben Grael / BRA) is currently still heading straight for Vanua Levu, the eastern and smaller of the two islands, while PUMA (Ken Read / USA) was the first boat in the fleet to peel off with certainty to the west after Read had a lengthy discussion with Australian navigator, Andrew Cape.
transparent 12 by 12 pixel spacer graphic

Joao Sgnorini onboard Ericsson 4, in the Doldrums, on leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race.

Photo © Guy Salter / Ericsson 4 / Volvo Ocean Race.

Joao Sgnorini onboard Ericsson 4, in the Doldrums, on leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race. Photo copyright Guy Salter / Ericsson 4 / Volvo Ocean Race.
transparent 12 by 12 pixel spacer graphic
"A bit of precarious weather around the island will make for a huge gain or loss depending if you guess right for the short or long term," says Kenny Read. "Capey (Andrew Cape - navigator) has been wracking his brain overtime, trying to figure this one out. As always, I sit there and throw as many questions at him as possible to try and get all the options on the table."

According to Ericsson 3’s navigator, Aksel Magdahl, the weather models do not favour the west at all, showing huge zones of no wind in that area over in the next couple of days. But Magdahl also adds that he doesn’t expect the weather models to be accurate. "A cluster of clouds can quickly make a boat hero to zero," he says.
transparent 12 by 12 pixel spacer graphic

Aksel Magdahl at Ericsson 3's navigation station, during leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race, from Qingdao to Rio de Janeiro.

Photo © Gustav Morin / Ericsson 3 / Volvo Ocean Race.

Aksel Magdahl at Ericsson 3's navigation station, during leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race, from Qingdao to Rio de Janeiro. Photo copyright Gustav Morin / Ericsson 3 / Volvo Ocean Race.
transparent 12 by 12 pixel spacer graphic
Weather and wind angles aside, many of the crew of leading boat Ericsson 4 have very fond memories of Fiji and they are sure that such positive memories will ensure the islands are ‘nice’ to them. Watch captain, Brad Jackson, was married on Fiji, so that should keep them in good stead.

Joking aside, MCM Guy Salter says the team has no reason to change their game plan and go west or even straight between the two islands. They will pass to the east - hopefully! But, for Ericsson 3, the dilemma is unsolved.
transparent 12 by 12 pixel spacer graphic

Norwegian Arve Roaas trimming onboard Ericsson 3, during leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race, from Qingdao to Rio de Janeiro.

Photo © Gustav Morin / Ericsson 3 / Volvo Ocean Race.

Norwegian Arve Roaas trimming onboard Ericsson 3, during leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race, from Qingdao to Rio de Janeiro. Photo copyright Gustav Morin / Ericsson 3 / Volvo Ocean Race.
transparent 12 by 12 pixel spacer graphic
"Now we have to a choose side, very late. If we want to be east, we will have to beat upwind for many hours in light breeze, which will be very expensive. So, take a probable big loss by going west, but with a chance to sneak through without too much pain? Or, invest even more in the east and take a certain short term loss of maybe 12 hours, to stay in an area where the probability for more consistent breeze is higher than in the west," questions navigator Aksel Magdahl.
transparent 12 by 12 pixel spacer graphic

Telefonica Blue in rough weather, on leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race, from Qingdao to Rio de Janeiro.

Photo © Gabriele Olivo / Telefonica Blue / Volvo Ocean Race.

Telefonica Blue in rough weather, on leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race, from Qingdao to Rio de Janeiro. Photo copyright Gabriele Olivo / Telefonica Blue / Volvo Ocean Race.
transparent 12 by 12 pixel spacer graphic
Magdahl has discounted the option of going between the islands because of the team’s experience with the uncharted Spratly Islands on leg four.

"It is déjà-vu with the ‘Dangerous Ground’ from the last leg really, with a big unsurveyed area. There are still charts though, but we don’t trust them, so we will try to stay away from there," he says.

Not so for Bouwe Bekking / NED. The Dutchman looks set to take Telefónica Blue straight through the gap between the two islands, which, at its narrowest point is only 2.5 nm wide, expanding to about 40 nm at its widest point.
transparent 12 by 12 pixel spacer graphic

Telefonica Blue, on leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race, from Qingdao to Rio de Janeiro.

Photo © Gabriele Olivo / Telefonica Blue / Volvo Ocean Race.

Telefonica Blue, on leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race, from Qingdao to Rio de Janeiro. Photo copyright Gabriele Olivo / Telefonica Blue / Volvo Ocean Race.
transparent 12 by 12 pixel spacer graphic
The recent decision-making in the fleet has led to a temporary shake up on the leaderboard. PUMA moves into first place, and Telefónica Blue takes up second position, pushing Ericson 4 back to third and Ericsson 3 into fourth place.

The fleet is currently hard on the wind, with about 12 knots of wind speed, making for painfully show mileage. Everyone is hoping that the wind Gods will smile soon and free the fleet up. But for now, it is decision time and many think the leg could be won or lost at this point.
transparent 12 by 12 pixel spacer graphic

Bowman / Pitman Jerry Kirby sets up for a reef en route to Rio De Janeiro on leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race.

Photo © Rick Deppe / PUMA Ocean Racing / Volvo Ocean Race.

Bowman - Pitman Jerry Kirby sets up for a reef en route to Rio De Janeiro on leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race. Photo copyright Rick Deppe / PUMA Ocean Racing / Volvo Ocean Race.
transparent 12 by 12 pixel spacer graphic
Leg 5 Day 14 - 13:00 GMT Volvo Ocean Race Positions
(Boat name / country / skipper / nationality / distance to finish)

PUMA Racing Team USA (Ken Read / USA) DTF 8,364
Telefónica Blue ESP (Bouwe Bekking / NED) +18
Ericsson 4 SWE (Torben Grael / BRA) +20
Ericsson 3 SWE (Magnus Olsson / SWE) +41
Green Dragon IRL / CHI (Ian Walker / GBR) +78

Delta Lloyd IRL (Roberto Bérmudez / ESP) DNS
Telefónica Black ESP (Fernando Echávarri / ESP) DNS
Team Russia RUS (Andreas Hanakamp / AUT) DNS

Visit www.volvooceanrace.org for all the latest news!
transparent 12 by 12 pixel spacer graphic

transparent 12 by 12 pixel spacer graphic
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.
transparent 12 by 12 pixel spacer graphic
The official website: www.volvooceanrace.org
transparent 12 by 12 pixel spacer graphic

transparent 12 by 12 pixel spacer graphic
The icon banner to access the Outimage homepage.
Outimage Publications Homepage
transparent 12 by 12 pixel spacer graphic

This page was checked and found to be a valid XHTML 1.0 Transitional webpage by the WC3 organisation.
WC3 validation icon indicating that this page was checked and found to be valid XHTML 1.0 Transitional webpage by WC3 organisation.

transparent 12 by 12 pixel spacer graphic