Volvo Ocean Race - Leg One Start
by Volvo Ocean Race media 11 Oct 2008 16:27 BST
11 October 2008
Ericsson 4 leads Volvo fleet in tough conditions for start
The long-awaited start day of leg one of the 10th running of the Volvo Ocean race dawned grey and very windy in Alicante, just as the forecasters had predicted, but it did not dampen the spirits of the 88 sailors who have been anxious to get this 6,500 nautical mile to Cape Town underway.
Nor did it dampen the spirits of His Majesty King Juan Carlos 1 of Spain and his two daughters. The Infanta Doña Elena left the dock with her father onboard Telefónica Blue (Bouwe Bekking/NED) and the Infanta Doña Cristina was onboard Telefónica Black (Fernando Echávarri/ESP). The royal party was then transferred by RIB to the Spanish Navy frigate Principe de Asturias where they joined Volvo Ocean Race CEO, Knut Frostad, to watch the start.
The Bishop of Alicante-Orihuela blessed the fleet in traditional fashion before, one by one, the crews threw off their lines, waved to the huge crowd lining the harbour and departed the basin which has been their home for the past few weeks, to the sound of their team music. Fireworks exploded over the race village, while overhead Spain’s Blue Arrows aerobatic team gave a breath-taking display. Over 900,000 visitors have visited the race village since it opened on 19 September.
Out on the race track, conditions were wild. A strong north-easterly breeze of 25 – 30 knots meant a windy start for the fleet which had to sail a short lap of the Bay of Alicante before heading back round a turning mark and out to sea. A simple breakage today could be very costly. Race winner in 1997-98 and second in 2005-06, American skipper Paul Cayard once said, “You can’t win the Volvo Ocean Race on the first night, but you can certainly lose it,” and these wise words were echoing in the minds of the eight skippers as they jostled for position on the start line.
Waves were breaking over the boats as the teams held them into the wind to hoist their reefed mainsails. Most opted for small headsails, although Green Dragon (Ian Walker/GBR) chose a large masthead genoa.
As the start gun fired from the Spanish frigate, the fleet split, and it was Ericsson 4 (Torben Grael/BRA) who rounded the windward mark ahead of PUMA (Ken Read/USA) and Ericsson 3 (Anders Lewander SWE) in a surprise third place.
Further down the fleet, the two Spanish boats, Telefónica Black and Telefónica Blue rounded the weather mark fourth and fifth followed by Team Russia. Green Dragon, who had struggled to sail as high as the rest of the fleet with their large genoa, were seventh, and Delta Lloyd (Ger O’Rourke/IRL) completed the fleet in eighth place.
The power was on as the fleet hoisted spinnakers and smoked down the leeward leg towards the final turning mark. Torben Grael kept his pole position and led the fleet as they began their sleigh ride towards Gibraltar. PUMA maintained second place, while Telefónica Blue moved up to third and Ericsson 3 dropped to fourth. Telefónica Black slipped to fifth place and Green Dragon moved up to sixth. In seventh and eighth places, as the fleet headed off on this 6,500 nautical mile leg to Cape Town, were Delta Lloyd and Team Russia.
Weather with Jennifer Lilly, Volvo Ocean Race Weather Forecaster
Throughout today there will be a north-easterly breeze of around 20 knots. After the start, the wind speeds will average in the low 20s with possible gusts over 30 knots. The direction will generally be north-easterly, but there may be right shifts which could go as far as easterly by the end of the day.
Even more significant than the wind will be the seas. The sailors can expect swells to nearly three metres with additional wind-driven chop on top.
Both the winds and the seas are expected to decrease as the fleet heads south-west towards the Straits of Gibraltar. The question is just how quickly the conditions will calm down. For now it looks like about 12 good hours of fast sailing before things start to slow down. However, before anyone reaches the Straits of Gibraltar, the wind speeds are expected to drop below five knots.
The Volvo Ocean Race 2008-09 is the 10th running of this ocean marathon. It started from Alicante in Spain, on 4 October 2008 with an in-port race. Leg One from Alicante to Cape Town started today, 11 October and the course 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.
Ericsson 4 leads the fleet (from Ericsson Racing Team)
ALICANTE, Spain (Oct. 11, 2008) - Ericsson Racing Team's International Crew aboard Ericsson 4 today led the fleet in the Volvo Ocean Race in the first position report issued at 1600 GMT. Leg 1 of the race is a 6,500-nautical-mile journey to Cape Town, South Africa.
Skippered by Brazil's Torben Grael, Ericsson 4 took the lead off the start line, held it around the first and second turning marks. The fleet is now headed south towards Cabo de Gata where the fleet will turn west and head out of the Mediterranean.
Ericsson 3, skippered by Swede Anders Lewander was in third position as the fleet started the 6,500 mile leg to Cape Town. The leg is due to last 22 days.
PUMA Ocean Racing makes outstanding start (from PUMA Ocean Racing)
Alicante, Spain, October 11, 2008 – At 14.00 (local) today, the PUMA Ocean Racing team stormed across the start line of the first leg of the Volvo Ocean Race 2008-09. In winds of over 25 knots and stormy seas off the coast of Alicante, Spain, skipper Ken Read and his team aboard PUMA’s il mostro sped round the first two marks of the course before heading off over the horizon en route to Cape Town, South Africa, in second place. Thousands of spectators lined the sea wall in Alicante to watch as these incredible boats began their long journey 37,000 miles round the world.
Having waved an emotional goodbye to family and friends on the dock this morning, the eleven crew on board il mostro - ten sailors and one media crew member, who will document life onboard as the race unfolds - prepared themselves for a 6,500 mile leg to Cape Town. Expected to take around 23 days, the fleet will sail westwards out of the Mediterranean Sea, and then down through the Atlantic Ocean to Cape Town, crossing the Equator as they go.
After a great start, the PUMA Ocean Racing team aboard il mostro had a gruelling first few hours, rounding the first mark of the course in Alicante Bay in second place behind Swedish boat Ericsson 4 and storming back down towards the second mark. Impressing the crowd with visually stunning huge bright red sails, Ken Read and his team treated the spectator boats to a fine display of boat handling as they sped off at speeds of up to 24 knots.
PUMA Ocean Racing skipper Ken Read commented on the dock this morning: “Today is very special for us, it’s the end of two years of incredible preparation and hard work to bring us to where we are right now. It’s not the perfect Spanish weather we expected for the start of the race, but it’s time for us to get out of here.
I can’t say enough about this whole team, everyone involved in the PUMA Ocean Racing team as well as all the folks at PUMA, they have been magic to work with. I hope we can put on a good show out there. We just need to get through the night, and then we’ll have a nice ride down to Cape Town. We’re looking forward to seeing you there.”
Destination Cape Town (from Green Dragon Racing Team)
Today at 1400 local time (1300 GMT) the eight-boat fleet of the Volvo Ocean Race 2008/09 crossed the start line for the 6,500 mile journey to Cape Town. The start saw big seas and a strong 20 knot north easterly breeze, but there was no repeat of the collisions at last weeks In Port race and the fleet had a clean start. Green Dragon crossed the start line on port tack and headed to the right hand side of the course.
Both PUMA and Ericsson 4 stuck close to the shoreline, it was a decision that paid dividends as they pushed ahead of the rest of the fleet crashing through waves on the upwind beat to the top mark. The fleet remained split between throughout the short inland course, with Ericsson 4, PUMA and Ericsson 3 dominating proceedings and showing their power as they held clear water from the chasing pack. The two Telefoncia boats, which took the top spots during last week’s In Port race, were locked in a battle for 4th and 5th place. Whilst Green Dragon remained in the hunt after their tactical decision from the start line left them playing catch up on the top end of the fleet.
There was huge variety of sails being flown by the eight strong fleet. The Green Dragon opted to fly a mast head reaching spinnaker as they left Alicante Bay for a downwind sleigh ride to Gibraltar. Others chose a range of reaching, fractional and masthead sails. As the fleet headed through the first gate on the course and into the Mediterranean for Gibraltar, there was a shake up in positions. Telefoncia Blue charged hard with a big spinnaker gaining ground on the leaders and pushing PUMA into third place after a slow sail change. Also making gains was Green Dragon who recovered well from their start to claim forth place, locking themselves in a battle with one of the race favourites Telefoncia Black. With strong conditions forecast for the first 12 hours it will be a sprint to Gibraltar, where both the winds and the seas are expected to decrease as the boats head southwest increasing the potential for a park up as they pass through the Straits.
It was an emotional goodbye for the fleet in front of hundreds of spectators lining the dockside in Alicante Spain. All the crews were greeted His Majesty King Juan Carlos 1 of Spain and his two daughters and also blessed by Bishop of Orihuela before each boat departed to their own team song. Green Dragon was the fourth boat to leave the dock with the sound of their team song U2 “Elevation” pumping in the background. The Irish and Chinese supporters were out in force to cheer on Ian Walker and his crew as they set off for the estimated 23-day race to Cape Town.
Before leaving the dock, Green Dragon skipper Ian Walker commented, “It is amazing to be here, we have all worked so hard to get to this point am I am incredibly proud of everyone on the team. There have been a lot of people involved in this project in order to make it a reality and I cannot thank them enough. I can promise that we will be incredibly dedicated to making sure we do the very best out here on the water. It looks like we will have some good breeze to kick of proceedings, the race to the Straits will be interesting and I am sure the battle through to the Atlantic maybe make or break in terms of podium position”.
Team Delta Lloyd shows a modest start (from Team Delta Lloyd)
Team Delta Lloyd (NED) showed a modest start at the Volvo Ocean Race 2008-09. It was a grey day in Alicante, with a strong north-easterly and a solid swell. At 2 PM Spanish time, the fleet of eight VO 70’s crossed the line on their way to the next stop in Cape Town (RSA). The Delta Lloyd, skippered by Ger O’Rourke (IRL), did not take any risks and started beating in last position. They went inshore a sailed along the coast. The Dutch entry rounded the upwind mark side by side with the Russians and just behind the Green Dragon. After the run, Delta Lloyd had a small lead over the Russians.
This morning, the eleven crew members were eager to finally start racing. O’Rourke: “We made it. The boys showed great persistence and professionalism. It is time to set sails for the first leg and it feels like a relief.” Bowman Ed van Lierde (NED) admitted that he did not sleep that well: “I am a bit nervous, but I know it will be a lot easier after the first 24 hours. In fact, I think we will be relaxed as soon as the right sails are hoisted and we have rounded the corner.” But the day started with a rush. Especially because Team Delta Lloyd had a special guest, as Tour de France winner Carlos Sastre (ESP) joined them during the tour around the harbour. After an emotional and warm good-bye to family and friends, the 88 sailors sailed out surrounded by firework and an air show.
Warming-up in twenty knots
“Twenty knots of breeze is favourable for the Delta Lloyd boys”, said coach Maurice Paardenkooper (NED) while watching his team leaving the dock. “They will be soon out on the Med, for which they have to work hard. That is a good warming-up. I certainly believe in these guys.” The numerous spectator boats and two/three meter waves required special concentration of the skipper. The Delta Lloyd was last over the line, but caught up on the Russians on the run. However, the first position report showed that the Dutch VO 70 dropped to the eighth place. According to shore navigator Frits Koek (NED), who advices Matthew Gregory (USA), a weather window with a light breeze awaits the fleet at the entrance of the Strait of Gibraltar.
New website online
On Friday evening October 10th, Team Delta Lloyd launched its new website www.teamdeltalloyd.com, designed by Hemels van der Hart. It is going to be the team’s virtual home port for the next nine months. It is the place to be for visitors who like to follow the sailors out on the ocean and the shore crew on their trip around the world. Media Man Sander Pluijm (NED) publishes an exclusive blog on a daily base and images will tell the rest of the story. The English version will follow soon.
In addition to title sponsor Delta Lloyd, the Dutch/Irish syndicate is also supported by Chieftain Group, Tommy Hilfiger, OHRA Verzekeringen, Port of Rotterdam, Discovery Channel, Weather News and Hemels van der Hart.