Weekly Roundup: The legendary Cape Horn
Leg 5 Week Five - 15:59 GMT Friday, March 20, 2009. |
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Ericsson 3’s hard-earned lead was slipping away. It was day 29, March 14 and the boats in the Volvo fleet were benefitting from a low-pressure system as they raced through the Southern Ocean towards Cape Horn and the points that could be scored there. The chasing pack was closing on Ericsson 3, and closing quickly.
After 30 days at sea, Torben Grael had brought Ericsson 4 to within 33 miles of Magnus Olsson and Ericsson 3, and what had looked
like certain leader’s points at the scoring gate a few days ago, now seemed to be doubt. She had 854 miles to run to the gate. Would it be enough to keep Ericsson 4 at bay? |
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Rough weather in the Southern Ocean, onboard Ericsson 3, on 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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The low pressure swept over the fleet, giving proper Southern Ocean conditions for the first time and the fleet started to compress. "The rookies onboard must have been wondering if all those stories about it [the Southern Ocean] were true," wrote Torben Grael.
By day 31, the fleet was down to 54 degrees south and the ‘furious fifties’ were in full force. Ericsson 3 had managed to pull out her lead again in conditions that Green Dragon’s Ian Walker had described as ‘brutal’.
"It’s borderline of what boat and crew can take," said Ericsson 3’s navigator, Aksel Magdahl. Ericsson 4 had been piling on the pressure and the crew was showing signs of wear and tear from the constant salt spray and cold. "This is when the crews dig deep to keep it all together in boat and people-breaking conditions," wrote navigator Jules Salter. |
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Rough weather for Telefonica Blue, in the Southern Ocean, 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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Telefónica Blue, now 795 behind, had escaped the gales and the team was happy. "It looks like the weather isn’t set to give us too much of a beating in the next few days on the way down to the Horn, which comes as a relief to everyone onboard," wrote skipper Bouwe Bekking.
It was day 32, March 17 when Ericsson 3, still in pole position, passed Cape Horn and collected maximum points. Ericsson 4 was just 36 miles behind her and PUMA followed in third place.
Magnus Olsson, who made this his sixth rounding of the classic Cape, was ecstatic for his team. "I am most happy to all the
rookies on the boat who have never done it before, because I could see how happy they were. It is a fantastic achievement to go round first. I can hardly believe it," he said. |
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Magnus Olsson and his team of Nordic sailors onboard Ericsson 3 rounded the legendary Cape Horn at 12:22 GMT today in pole position and in daylight, gaining maximum points at the scoring gate.
Photo © Gustav Morin / Ericsson 3 / Volvo Ocean Race.
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For the skipper of PUMA, rounding the Cape for the first time was enough to turn tough guy, Kenny Read, into sentimental reflection.
"I am in awe of the sheer magnitude of the passage and the final toll booth that lets you through and awaits the next yacht to venture this way. We appreciate safe passage more than anything right now, and with that in mind, we thank this Great Cape," he said.
In fourth place, Ian Walker brought Green Dragon round, beautifully timed to coincide with Ireland’s St Patrick’s Day. Walker had stood 30 miles off the Cape and rounded in darkness.
"It was not an easy passage this time with 30 - 40 knot westerly gales and a large and disturbed sea state. We took a cautious approach given the conditions and stood offshore to avoid the worst of the waves and to make sure we didn’t have to gybe round the Horn," he said. |
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Ericsson 4 in rough weather on their approach to Cape Horn, on leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race, from Qingdao to Rio de Janeiro.
Photo © Guy Salter / Ericsson 4 / Volvo Ocean Race.
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By day 33, the first four boats were clear of Le Maire Strait and heading north towards the Falkland Islands, which they all passed to the west. It was about then that Ericsson 3 hit the wall and came to a abrupt halt. Ericsson 4 then came barrelling in and they too were becalmed. By the time Ericsson 3 was set free two hours later, her lead had diminished down to only five miles.
But Olsson was promising a fight to the bitter end, a fight that would not include Telefónica Blue, who was still a day or
so away from the exit of the Southern Ocean and racing to stay ahead of a new storm that was threatening to engulf them. |
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PUMA Ocean Racing, skippered by Ken Read (USA), celebrate rounding Cape Horn in third place at 20:46 GMT, on leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race.
Photo © Rick Deppe / PUMA Ocean Racing / Volvo Ocean Race.
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By day 34, they were safely round the Cape, rounding close to the rocks and becoming almost becalmed in the lee of the Cape. The team celebrated with Grappa prepared by MCM Gabriele Olivo’s father and some Cuban cigars, which made navigator Tom Addis turn green, almost to the point of throwing up.
At the head of the fleet, Ericsson 3 had to back down to remove kelp that had entangled itself around the keel and rudders. The top three boats: Ericsson 3, Ericsson 4 and PUMA were spread in a line north to south. Each of these three boats were sailing in their own unique little weather systems, which was having something of a yo-yo effect. |
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Guo Chuan (CHI) and Justin Slattery (IRE) with the crew of Irish / Chinese entry Green Dragon celebrate St Patrick's Day in the Southern Ocean, 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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On day 35, March 20, Ericsson 3 had pulled out a margin of 87 nm. But two high-pressure patches were beginning to give the navigators a headache. The fleet was expected to pass north of the first high later that day. Beyond that, the tactics would become even more challenging as the second high would be too far east for the fleet to stay on the favoured side.
With just a little over 1,200 nm to go to the finish, Ericsson 3 was staying focused. But the game will not be over until the finish line is crossed and that could be sometime on Tuesday next week. |
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Ericsson 3 holding on to their lead with 1,500 miles to go, on 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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Leg 5 Day 35 - 13:00 GMT Volvo Ocean Race Positions
(Boat name / country / skipper / nationality / distance to finish)
Ericsson 3 SWE (Magnus Olsson / SWE) DTF 1207 nm
Ericsson 4 SWE (Torben Grael / BRA) +87
PUMA Racing Team USA (Ken Read / USA) +193
Green Dragon IRL / CHI (Ian Walker / GBR) +272
Telefónica Blue ESP (Bouwe Bekking / NED) +738
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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Telefonica Blue feeling the full force of the Southern Ocean as they approach Cape horn, 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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Cape Horn Scoring Gate
(Boat / date / rounding time / gate points)
Ericsson 3: 17.03.09 1222 GMT: 4 points
Ericsson 4: 17.03.09 1448 GMT: 3.5 points
PUMA: 17.03.09 2046 GMT: 3 points
Green Dragon: 18.03.09 0215 GMT 2.5 points
Telefónica Blue: 19.03.09 1339 GMT 2 points
Visit www.volvooceanrace.org for all the latest news! |
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