Volvo Ocean Race Leg 1 - Alicante to Cape Town - Day 16

Life on deck during quieter times on PUMA during leg 1 of the Volvo Ocean Race © Amory Ross / PUMA Ocean Racing / Volvo Ocean Race

The calm before the storm?

Volvo Ocean Race leaders Team Telefónica were making final preparations for the heavy weather that lies ahead as the fleet charges into the third week of racing in Leg 1.

Two days after Telefónica snatched the lead from PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG, the crew led by Spanish Olympic gold medallist Iker Martínez commanded a narrow 29 nautical mile lead over their rivals on Sunday.

With a wet and wild ride across the bottom of the South Atlantic forecast to rocket them towards the finish line in Cape Town at speeds of 25 knots, Telefónica were making the most of the last of the stable 15-20-knot trade winds, conducting last-minute checks of their Volvo Open 70 before they pick up a cold front later in the week.

“We've been making the most of the weather to repair things that have cropped up over the fourteen days of racing,” said the team’s media crew member Diego Fructuoso. “Pablo (Arrarte) has been checking all the winches, Ñeti (Antonio Cuervas-Mons) has been checking all of the ropes and he has also been up the mast to see how things are doing there. Pepe (Ribes) has been checking out all of the hydraulics, Iker has been looking over the whole boat and Jordi (Calafat) has been making sure all of the sails are in good shape.”

Having sliced another five nm off Telefónica’s lead at the 1300 UTC position report, PUMA MCM Amory Ross said the mood on board Mar Mostro was positive.

“These boats can do 400 to 500 miles a day quite easily in good breeze, so in the immediate sense Telefonica’s lead is very manageable,” he said. “So long as we sail smart, avoid mistakes and force their hand, we feel good about our chances.”

After crossing the Equator in third, CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand skipper Chris Nicholson promised his team would slowly chip away at the leg leaders -- and at 1300 the gap between them and Telefónica was down to 147 nm. CAMPER were also the second quickest boat in the fleet with an average boat speed of 22 knots over the three hours running up to the latest report.

Navigator Will Oxley said the crew were preparing for the lack of rest that would come when the fleet pick up speed in winds of more than 30 knots.

“We’ve got another 1,200 miles of heading just east of south,” Oxley said. “It’s going to get quite cold quite quickly, the breeze is going to increase, and we’re going to go from having had plenty of sleep to a more sleep-deprived state again.”

Oxley said the way the teams dealt with the new weather system could prove crucial to the overall leg standings.

“Once we’re in heavy air running, the boat will be averaging 25 knots,” he added. “It’s pretty full on and you can easily damage a sail or the boat. If you stop and the other boats are doing 25 knots it’s easy to see how you can catch up 75 miles pretty quickly.”

Fourth-placed Groupama sailing team also gained miles as the fleet compressed, pulling back nine nm on the front runners. The French team, who were still paying for a tactical mistake made early in the 6,500 nautical miles leg from Alicante, Spain, said they were using the time to experiment with how to get the best from their boat.

Helmsman Charles Caudrelier said: “It felt like once we crossed the Equator, we would get to Cape Town soon. But actually the South Atlantic is very long and we will spend three, four, maybe five days on the same tack with almost the same wind and the same wind angle, just trimming the sails. It’s slightly boring but, at the same time, we learn a lot and have time to work on the boat’s trimming.”

Position Report at 13:21:10 UTC:

www.VolvoOceanRace.com

Blog from the Seas (by Amory Ross, MCM, PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG)

Were it not for the almost constant talk of Cape Town delights I’d say life is as usual out here, only a bit more determined, a bit more focused. Since Telefónica got by there’s been a lot less banter; there’s an intensity I haven’t seen before. The guys are willing everything they can out of the boat right now in the lighter winds. Unfortunately, our performance-on-paper is more a function of the weather we’re sailing in than the way we’re sailing the boat, but that going could change some with more wind in the forecast.

There’s no sense doing anything drastically different at this point because we’re in second. Everyone likes to talk about race strategy and chess matches, but we’ve got a good boat, a great crew, and an excellent judge of weather in Tom Addis. When there are so many strengths it’s important to avoid obvious weaknesses like impatience and irrationality. We’re just trying to stay positive and keep ourselves close enough so that if (and when) the proverbial door is opened, we can jump through.

There’s not a lot of diversity in routing options over the next couple of days: it’s south, south, and more south, until late Tuesday when we start our gradual left turn to the east. These boats can do 400-500 miles a day quite easily in good breeze, so in the immediate sense Telefónica’s 50-something mile lead is very manageable. So long as we sail smart, avoid mistakes, and force their hand, we feel good about our chances.

So that’s our don’t-get-down outlook on life aboard PUMA’s Mar Mostro!

Amory

On the hunt (from Groupama in the Volvo Ocean Race)

2,800 miles from Cape Town, Franck Cammas and his crew have had a whole new `slant' on things since leaving the Doldrums. Indeed, heeled over, sailing beam onto easterly tradewinds of around a dozen knots. This situation isn't set to evolve within the next two days, at which point Groupama 4 will begin to flirt with the western edge of the Saint Helena High.

Canted over, on a heel, shaken, wet: the men on Groupama 4 are living at a 10° to 20° slant according to the strength of the tradewinds. Currently these tradewinds aren't very powerful, but they are set to fill in between now and the end of the day, this Sunday, with over fifteen knots of breeze likely to propel the remaining four VO-70s imminently. As a result, the French boat will finally benefit from the same conditions as her rivals and be able to rack up an average speed of over eighteen knots over the coming days. Furthermore, as she makes her SSE'ly descent, Groupama 4 will see the wind gradually clocking round to the North-East once she's level with Rio de Janeiro, which should further increase the distance covered in 24 hours, as well as the volume of spray on deck!

Skirting the plateau

Though the temperature of the air and sea is dropping gently, making it less tiresome for those off-watch down below, dampness is still par for the course on deck with the chop increasing in size. Permanently heeled over, the crew must get their bearings in order to move about the boat, as well as making sure they're wedged into position to eat and sleep. These conditions make the days rather monotonous, even though the trimmers and the helmsman have to adapt to what is still a fluky breeze both in terms of strength and direction. Eleven to fifteen knots, East or North-East, the tradewinds are having some difficulty in getting established in a steady air flow, though they're considerably more stable for the two leaders...

Ultimately, all the navigators have finally decided that the best route to reach Cape Town involves going right around the Saint Helena High. Indeed this plateau of high pressure which is stretching out from Brazil to South Africa cannot be traversed via its centre (positioned very high in latitude, at 40° South) for fear of getting tangled up in its prolonged calm zones. Passing to the North of it, involves shortening the course but beating into headwinds.

On the clipper course

The `safe' option is calling for them to adopt the route taken by the clippers of the 19th century, namely going right around the North face of the system: it's certainly a lot longer (at least 400 miles further), but they are assured of having boisterous downwind conditions from midweek. In view of the upcoming grib files, at least one day of in excess of 500 miles is on the programme, but the leaders will be the first to reap the benefits. As such, it isn't likely that Groupama 4 will make up a lot of her deficit as she's over a day shy of the frontrunners (418 miles). In fact, it may well be that her delta will be bordering on 500 miles on Wednesday or Thursday, before she can catch up a bit when the leaders have to climb up towards South Africa in a considerably more fluky breeze. In the meantime, Franck Cammas and his men will be on the chase as they slink along the side of this high pressure plateau...

Coldplay to kick off Aby Dhabi stopover with New Year's Eve Extravaganza

Stadium rockers Coldplay will kickstart the Abu Dhabi stopover of the Volvo Ocean Race, the world’s premier round the world yacht race, with a spectacular New Year’s Eve show.

The seven-time Grammy award winners will help the Emirate welcome in the New Year in style, performing on December 31 at a unique venue adjacent to the purpose-built Volvo Ocean Race Destination Village on the Corniche Breakwater.

The concert will mark the start of a two-week celebration of the Volvo Ocean Race, a 39,000 nautical mile marathon featuring six international teams boasting the world’s best sailors. Abu Dhabi is the first Middle Eastern city to host a stopover in the race’s 38-year history, and their entry in the race, Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing, is the first Emirati team ever to compete.

“We promised a destination hosting like no other when we began our Volvo Ocean Race campaign and the confirmation of Coldplay’s New Year’s Eve concert signals our intention to live up to that commitment,” said HE Mubarak Al Muhairi, Director General of the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority. “With customised travel packages for both the concert and race, we are confident that Abu Dhabi will again raise the bar as a destination of distinction for international sporting events.”

Coldplay last played in Abu Dhabi in 2009, putting on a show for 20,000 fans. John Lickrish, Managing Director of event organisers FLASH Entertainment, said the group’s latest show would make for “one of the most memorable New Year's Eve ever.”

“In 2009, Coldplay stunned Abu Dhabi with a phenomenal performance that left us in awe,” he said. “They are a simply stunning live act with a global fan base of millions, rightfully hailed as one of the biggest bands on the planet. We all know and love their catalogue of hits, but with a hot new album to perform this year, Coldplay live in Abu Dhabi is going to be one of the most memorable New Year's Eve you've ever seen anywhere! We can't wait.”

Abu Dhabi’s Volvo Ocean Race Destination Village will be open to the public from December 31 to January 14.