Volvo Ocean Race - Leg 8 Update
by Volvo Ocean Race media 8 Jun 2009 10:33 BST
We have some fantastic photos from Rick Tomlinson, showing the fleet at 30 knots off the Blasket Islands - West of Ireland.
High speeds, high drama
Leg eight of the Volvo Ocean Race – the first of three legs, which takes the seven-strong fleet to the finish in St Petersburg, Russia, later this month, has started with a bang. Almost literally in Ericsson 4’s case.
In approximately 38 knots of wind yesterday, it became necessary to gybe - not the easiest of manoeuvres in these highly-strung racing yachts at the best of times, but in a strong breeze, it can become more than exciting.
It was a highlight for the Green Dragon team, who led the fleet round the Fastnet Rock late last night. They timed and executed their gybe perfectly whilst flying thief masthead spinnaker. They made the whole manoeuvre look easy, in spite of forgetting to swing the keel. PUMA and Ericsson 4, both of whom were right alongside at the time, did not fare quite so well.
A 38-knot squall hit PUMA just as they needed to gybe.
“Along with a big shift, we decided to drop the kite and gybe to the jib, and jib reach for a bit until the squall passed. Good plan, bad execution,” said skipper Kenny Read. “Full gear up in 38.7 knots of wind is pretty touch and go. Just getting the kite down is touch and go, especially when it pops up and over the top of the mainsail and jams in the sheave,” Read said, adding, “Last time I saw Ericsson 4, they were laying on their side and blowing out to sea.”
“We should have been smarter and sailed a little more conservatively, but it’s hard when you are charging along right next to first place,” explained Ericsson 4’s MCM Guy Salter, who described Ericsson 4’s events.
“We made a very big school-boy error and were caught in a huge gust. The boat seemed to accelerate in no time and before we knew it, we had ploughed into the back of the next wave and had white water everywhere.
“This sudden stop also sent us into a spin and we ended up on our side with the kite flapping. We had broken our leeward steering wheel and its cage. Luckily the spinnaker was still intact and all of us were still attached to yacht – just – but with a few extra bumps and bruises.”
“We brushed ourselves down and got read after the wipe out. We went into the gybe, and I must say these boats are hard to manoeuvre at the best of times, but in 30 knots of wind, the inevitable happened and we spun out on the gybe.”
The team carried on as if nothing had happened. Skipper Torben Grael steered from the leeward side while the broken wheel was removed and the emergency tiller put in place. The boat was also taking on a fair amount of water and on inspection, it was discovered that there is a relatively large area of delamination between the hull and the deck on the after starboard quarter of the boat.
The team is happy that it is not structural and has set up regular bailing timetable, but it does mean more work for the crew once they reach the pit-stop in Marstrand, where assistance by their shore crew is against the rules.
Overnight, the fleet has made very quick progress across the Celtic Sea, round the famous Fastnet Rock off south west Ireland, through the Western Approaches, leaving the Scilly Isles to starboard (only Green Dragon and Telefónica Black went to the south), past the Lizard Point and up into the English Channel.
The fleet left Galway yesterday after what has been a most memorable stopover and ventured out into the teeth of a gale. The downwind start gave the hoards of spectators a real chance to see the Volvo Open 70s performing at their best. Guy Salter, MCM on Ericsson 4 suggested that the fleet burned around Galway Bay like a bunch of delinquents in a stolen car (not that he condones that sort of behaviour!).
At 1300 GMT today the fleet was 21 nm off the coast of Devon. Telefónica Blue was in the lead, just a mile ahead of Ericsson 3 and Ericsson 4; however, the whole fleet was only divided by seven miles from Telefónica Blue in the lead, to her sistership Telefónica Black at the back of the fleet. After a wet overnight ride, the breeze has dropped to around 10 knots and the crews are able to catch up on some rest.
Fastnet Rock Rounding Order
1. Green Dragon 22:46:34 GMT
2. PUMA 22:51:51 GMT
3. Telefonica Blue 22:53:15 GMT
4. Ericsson 4 22:55:20 GMT
5. Ericsson 3 22:56:23 GMT
6. Delta Lloyd 23:14:15 GMT
7. Telefonica Black 23:23:50 GMT
Read more direct from the boats....
GREEN DRAGON LEG EIGHT DAY 2 QFB: received 07.06.09 0216 GMT
Can you believe that there were a few spectator boats out at midnight at the Fastnet Rock in over 25 knots of wind? - A final Irish farewell.
Even though the Fastnet Rock wasn't a scoring gate, it was a great thrill for the Green
Dragon team to round the famous landmark and leave Ireland's shores in first place. We did this with a good start, a good decision to get offshore quickly and excellent crew work to pull off some heavy air gybes.
It was a fantastic sail down the Irish coast with a stunning backdrop and perfect downwind running conditions. We resisted the temptation to pull into QCs in Kerry, or 'Gods country' as Damian calls it and kept the pedal down hard.
The highlight was pulling off a gybe with the masthead chute up in 35 knots whilst sailing alongside Ericsson 4 and PUMA. They weren't quite so fortunate with their manoeuvres, whilst ours was all the more remarkable as Neal McDonald forgot to swing the keel!
Now we are reaching across the Irish Sea and suffering the pain of watching miles slip away. We have lost the lead but not hope or spirit. The weather looks complicated and far from a one way track.
The first time I crossed the Irish Sea to the Fastnet was on a Mumm 36 and it was a very uncomfortable 24 hour upwind sail back. It hardly seems possible that four hours from the Rock we are halfway to the Lizard. Given the right angle and wind these boats just eat up the miles.
It feels strange approaching England's shores having travelled so far afield. It will feel even stranger to just sail on by.
Ian Walker - skipper
ERICSSON 4 LEG EIGHT DAY 2 QFB: received 07.06.09 1226 GMT
Our first 24hrs onboard Ericsson 4 has nearly been as memorable as the fantastic stopover in Galway. I don’t think any of us onboard will forget the welcome, the kindness of the locals or the send off from the Emerald Isle.
It was great to have a downwind start yesterday - the good breeze made it fun for us and we hope that all the spectators enjoyed watching us burn around Galway Bay like a bunch of delinquents in a stolen car in a supermarket car park - not that I condone that sort of behaviour.
It didn’t take us long to leave the bay and fly down the west coast - or the 'wild west' as I will refer to it now. It took much less time to sail down the coast than it had done on my drive down sightseeing just the day before. But I am always wary of a coast line that has a distinct absence of trees!
The fleet was nice and close and it became quite clear just how hard fought and close this 'first of three' sprint legs is going to be. Problems came early on Ericsson 4 as the breeze began to build.
We were running hard in 25kts of wind with as much rag up as we could possibly carry when we noticed that we were taking on a fair amount of water in our aft compartment. After some close scrutinizing by Dave Endean and Phil Jameson, it was discovered that we have a relatively large area of de-lamination between the hull and the deck on the aft starboard quarter of the boat.
Dave was happy that it was not structural and so a regular bailing timetable was set up. I must stress that the leak, although fast was nowhere near as bad as the amount of ingress we had on leg one during the record run - see chapter one of Spanish Castle to White Night [the official book of the Volvo Ocean Race 2006-06 published in October].
So already the job list was bigger than we wanted for our pit-stop in Marstrand where we have to do all work ourselves while the shore team look on with beer in hand offering very (un) constructive advice - no doubt!
Around this time, as the lines of cloud came rolling in, we noticed a water spout starting to form. These aquatic tornados are seriously bad news but luckily it did not touch down and it dissipated before our eyes.
With these squally clouds came big gusts - we reefed but kept the masthead spinnaker up. We wanted to gybe as Green Dragon and PUMA had done so moments before.
We should have been smarter and sailed a little more conservatively, but it’s hard when you are charging along right next to first place.
The slight glitch in our game plan ended up costing us. We made a very big school-boy error and were caught in a huge gust. The boat just seemed to accelerate in no time. Before the gust we were flying at 26kts - who knows what we got up to as there was so much spray around us and before we knew it we ploughed into the back of the next wave and had white water everywhere.
This sudden stop sent us into a spin and we ended up on our side with the kite flapping.
After what seemed like an age, we got back on our feet again and charged on. The cost? We had broken our leeward steering wheel and its cage. Luckily the spinnaker was still intact and all of us were still attached to the yacht - just - but with a few extra bumps and bruises.
We still needed to gybe - so we brushed ourselves down and got ready after the wipe out. We went into the gybe, and I must say these boats are hard to manoeuvre at the best of times, but in 30kts of wind the inevitable happened and we spun out of the gybe.
We quickly regained composure and were off - in the right direction. With these gusts came a shift and we could see we had lost a lot to the others. I guess that pointing in the wrong direction whilst being pinned on your side isn’t the best VMG (velocity made good).
We carried on as if nothing had happened with Torben driving to leeward and a lack of instruments (which had turned themselves off in all the excitement). The broken wheel was removed, the instrument problem solved and the emergency tiller was brought on
deck. Stu Bannatyne drove the boat by tiller while the good wheel was brought to the windward side.
So it’s back to normal now - only that poor old Dave has quite a lengthy job list for Marstrand or onboard if he gets the chance.
We are off the coast of Cornwall right now and soon to cross the border into Devon. I have been along this coast many times but don’t think I have been here from the Fastnet in such quick time - including the record run onboard Leopard 3 in the last Fastnet Race.
The helicopters have been flying around and we have seen several cruising boats sailing west on the tide. It’s a lovely part of the world down here and I think I will come back next month for a few relaxing days with the family.
No real crimes onboard yet - just some very tired lads after a hard-fought night - but I do not see much chance of rest - even at the pit-stop as we have a lot of things to sort out and repair.
Guy Salter - MCM
TELEFÓNICA BLUE LEG EIGHT DAY 2 QFB: received 07.06.09 1455 GMT
After spending two weeks in an extremely welcoming town, where everyone was involved in the race, from the bus driver to the waiter of every single restaurant, we finally set off again.
Green Dragon seemed to know the bay quite well and they soon got into the lead straight after the start, followed by the rest of the fleet. For us was a pin start close to PUMA, starting what it seems to be a very exiting duel for the next three legs.
During the first few hours was a neck to neck with PUMA and Ericsson 4 and by 9pm we were flying downwind on more than 30kn of speed. We showed great improvement with our new A2 and we're very happy about it. Our first objective of this leg was to hang on with the leaders until the Fastnet, and we did so. Was great sailing and beautiful landscape, gybing down the cost of Ireland close to the cliffs as much as we could. All hands were on deck, we didn't start the watch system until 12pm, when we passed the Fastnet Rock.
After that, we peeled to the J2 and started the fire hose straight to the face. What a beginning of a leg. This morning we were all close to each other, with Ericsson 4 and PUMA slightly ahead of us and Green Dragon and Delta Lloyd just to leeward of us. Within four hours things changed dramatically. The wind softened up and the leaders got sucked into land, while the guys offshore managed to maintain the pressure all the time, climbing back mile after mile. We had to gybe three or four times to position ourselves where we thought was best.
So now we're into lead but it seems that Green Dragon and our sistership Telefónica Black are going to cross in front of us having a more offshore position. It looks like is going be a very long and stressful four days, where whoever wins will have handles the pressure better, but not only the isobaric one. We know that we have to push hard if we want to stay ahead of PUMA and Ericsson 4. So no time for sleeping or resting, right now, for every little change, everyone is on deck ready for action.
Strait of Malacca part two, here we come!
Gabriele Olivo - MCM
PUMA LEG EIGHT DAY 2 QFB: received 07.06.09 0856 GMT
I think I want to move to Ireland.
It is always sunny (at least when we were there). The golf is amazing. The people couldn't be nicer. You can get a pint of beer just about anywhere you turn and all we did was win races when we were there. And people wanted us to sign autographs and take photos with them all hours of the day. Hmmmm. What's not to like about all of that?
The ‘Lets do it Galway’ group set up a programme that could become the model for Volvo stops in the future. They got the ball rolling and the people of the region took the ball and ran with it Huge congratulations to all involved. It was our extreme pleasure to be a part of your community for a couple weeks and you can bet your last dollar that I will be back. Long before the Volvo comes back. Golf anyone?
And the weather for leaving was amazing as well. Not exactly warm and sunny, but windy and really fast!
In this race, when leaving port, we have typically had either a storm or drifted. Rarely have we had a solid breeze to get down the track like we did over the last 17 hours. Some amazing sailing and some pretty hairy moments as well.
After the send off, the fleet settled down and started a drag race down the coast. The Dragons were the only ones to split offshore and, sure enough, they gained a couple miles on us all when we came together. Then came the fun part.
A 38 knot squall just when we needed to gybe with our masthead chute up! Yikes. Along with a big shift, we decided to drop the kite and gybe to the jib and jib reach for a bit until the squall passed. Good plan, bad execution. Full gear up in 38.7 true is pretty touch and go. Just getting the kite down is touch and go, especially when it pops up and over the top of the mainsail and jams in the sheave. Did I mention it was blowing 38 during all of this?
We finally got the halyard to run and the boat gybed. The Dragons were the only boat to gybe before the big breeze and gained a few miles. Last time I saw Ericsson 4 they were laying on their side blowing out to sea. They finally gybed about 10 minutes after we did. And sure enough, once we rounded the bottom corner of Ireland and beam reached at an average of 27 knots across to Fastnet Rock, all of us were within a few miles again. Magnets, these boats are. Just can't get away from each other.
Now we are officially entering the English Channel. Just passed Land’s End, and got here in 17 hours, which has to be some sort of unofficial record by water. Fast all night and now the breeze is easing and coming aft and we should be running down the Channel in moderate to light breeze for most of the day.
Ericsson 4 about two miles to leeward. Telefónica Blue is about two miles behind and Ericsson 3 is about a mile behind them. Again the wild card is the Dragons, who sagged well off toward the French side of the Channel and may come out well ahead again when this is all said and done. Not sure, and honestly we have to keep a close eye on our Telefónica Blue friends anyway. Not that we don't want to win the leg--but we do have a job in hand and that is to try and put points on Telefónica Blue.
The normal first day Blues are rubbing off and we will quickly get back into synch. We were just talking about the high speed night we just had and all are smiling now that the spray isn't pummelling us every second. Man these boats are fast, and WET! Glad PUMA took it upon themselves to make the best foul weather gear we have ever worn. It is surely getting tested!
Kenny Read - skipper
DELTA LLOYD LEG EIGHT DAY 2 QFB: received 07.06.09 0423 GMT
We left today under the same circumstances we arrived two weeks ago, with thousands of people cheering and applauding on the docks and even on the roofs.
Now I know what a soccer player must feel like when he plays in a full stadium. It even made me a bit shy, not knowing where to look. So I just had a stupid smile on my face and waved. What a fantastic goodbye!
Galway understands the Volvo Ocean Race. They took it and squeezed the best out of it. The city lived and breathed the race for two weeks in a row. Galway rocked and over 300,000 people came to see the boats, an enormous amount of people. If you asked me, all stopovers should be like this one..!
But all nice things come to an end and the race must go on. Three legs to go. With an aerial-show and a wink from the female president, we said goodbye to Galway and Ireland, thanks for your great hospitality! And then we flew out of Galway Bay.
Then we had to cut the furler line because it got stuck in the furler and the A3 couldn’t open right after the start. Twenty-two knots downwind over flat water, with the fantastic scenery of the cliffs in the background. Although we were behind at first it was a beautiful start of the leg!
And now we are on our way to Marstrand with a loop in Rotterdam. That’s going to be a great flyby competing not just the usual competition, but also a lot of amateurs who are going to try to beat our lap time. But first we have to get there, and we have some catching up to do…
Sander Pluijm - MCM