Volvo Ocean Race Leg 2 Start
by Volvo Ocean Race media 11 Dec 2011 15:57 GMT
11 December 2011
Abu Dhabi lead homeward charge
Ian Walker’s Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing led the Volvo Ocean Race fleet out of Cape Town and into an expected upwind battering overnight as Leg 2 to Abu Dhabi began on Sunday.
The six Volvo Open 70s – three nursing major repairs – were due for an early test with winds predicted to reach 30 knots as they punched south past the Cape of Good Hope and on towards Cape Agulhas, the most southerly tip of Africa.
The first night of Leg 1 from Alicante to Cape Town saw Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing knocked out with a broken mast and Team Sanya crippled with structural failure and the fleet looked set to face more testing conditions early in Leg 2 with sharp seas and strong winds forecast.
However Abu Dhabi, led by British double Olympic silver medallist Ian Walker, showed no inhibitions as they lead off the start line at 1300 GMT (1500 local time), staying in front of their rivals as they raced around round the 11 nautical mile inshore course in Table Bay in a 5-10 knot breeze.
At the final mark of the inshore course, Abu Dhabi had a lead of 92 seconds over second placed CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand. PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG, who also lost their mast during Leg 1, were third round the last mark followed by Groupama sailing team, Team Sanya and Team Telefónica. The fleet then headed out into the open ocean, where the first 20 hours were predicted to be a real trial.
Leg 2 is one of the most challenging of the nine legs that make up the Volvo Ocean Race, the world’s premier round the world yacht race. The teams will face crucial tactical decisions almost immediately as they choose whether, once clear of South Africa, they continue to head south into the stronger winds of the Southern Ocean or sail a more direct course closer to the coast of Africa.
Although the traditional route sees yachts head straight for the Southern Ocean, PUMA skipper Ken Read said there was no obvious advantage to either option this time.
“There’s no road map available right now,” he said. “Usually there is in this leg – you usually get south, you zip across, then head north in a big square. Not this time. It’s definitely something the navigators and skippers will have to sort out on the fly.”
Team Telefónica’s navigator Andrew Cape, responsible for tactics, said there were “infinite options” in Leg 2. “Straight away we’re into ‘Do you go south or do you go east?’” said Cape, who helped Telefónica to victory in Leg 1 and again in the V&A Waterfront In-Port Race in Cape Town on Saturday.
Leg 2 Start Highlights Video:
“Anything could happen. Getting up through the Indian Ocean is always a nightmare too.”
In a move introduced due to the threat of piracy, the fleet will race to an undisclosed Safe Haven Port in the Indian Ocean before being transported by a heavy lift ship to a set-down point along the Sharjah coastline in the northern Emirates, within a day’s sailing of the Leg 2 finish in Abu Dhabi.
The fleet is expected to arrive in Abu Dhabi, the first ever Volvo Ocean Race stopover in the United Arab Emirates, around January 1.
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Testing times ahead for the navigators (from CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand)
It was a confident start for CAMPER today as they set sail for Leg 2 from Cape Town to Abu Dhabi in the Volvo Ocean Race. The short inshore race kicked off under very light conditions in Table Bay at 1500 local time (GMT +2). The six boat fleet drifted over the line, but the breeze soon filled in and the battle for lead was on. Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing had the best start as they soon hooked into the stronger conditions and powered ahead at the first mark to take the lead. Skipper Chris Nicholson, took control holding off the chasing pack as CAMPER moved into second at the top mark. A closely fought battle between CAMPER, Puma and Groupama ensued over the four mark inshore course before the fleet passed the final mark in Table Bay and headed out into the ocean. Abu Dhabi led the fleet south, but CAMPER were close behind just 92 seconds to their stern.
With over 5, 000 miles ahead, the navigators now face a problematic leg where the weather situation appears to be anything but clear. The fleet should have a fairly straightforward night ahead as they dive south towards the Cape of Good Hope, but once past the Cape complex routing decisions will need to be made. Skipper Chris Nicholson commented, “Yeah, I think it will be when we round the Cape, obviously there are a couple of decisions to be made even when you are on the coast here leading up to that – certainly once we are around the Cape and get a little bit more weather in, you can have more of a degree of certainty, but you would have to call it a 50/50 at the moment”.
The two main options remain; to head south; or take a more easterly route. For the southern option, the boats dive south to be at the correct latitude to be ‘picked up’ by a cold front travelling from west to east in the Southern Ocean. The easterly option might see the boats sail a more direct route with less miles sail as they can head east then north east, but they will have to balance this with the temptation of heading south and hooking into the roaring forties, named after the strong westerly winds found in the Southern Hemisphere, generally between the latitudes of 40 and 49 degrees. History has often seen the fleet favour the more southerly option, but whichever route CAMPER and the other crews choose they all face the infamous Agulhas Current. Running down the east coast of Africa at up to 5 kts in parts, it can cause mountainous seas and boat-breaking conditions.
Current forecasts predict some big waves and strong winds over the first 24 hours, after which the fleet will experience easing conditions on the route south. Speaking from the dock, skipper Nicholson commented, “In the past it has been normal heading out of Cape Town so we’re ok with that. I haven’t seen anything in the forecast that’s too concerning yet. In terms of the decisions ahead we’ve talked through so many different scenarios, but we are now waiting for the next weather to come in so that we can try and paint a clearer picture. We’re just going to have to keep a very close eye on the competitors as we always do but you may well be having to go there as a group because I think everyone is equally as concerned about not dropping away from the group”.
Leg 2 sees an unusual element due to the threat of piracy in the Indian Ocean, the boats will be shipped from an undisclosed Safe Haven Port through the worst affected area before completing the leg with a sprint into Abu Dhabi.
PUMA Ocean Racing back in the Saddle for leg 2 (from PUMA Ocean Racing)
The PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG team has bid farewell to Cape Town, South Africa, and is on their way on Leg 2 of the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12. PUMA’s Mar Mostro was the third boat around the buoys before heading off to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, the third port of the race.
“I think we’re a little tired, but anxious to get back out there,” said skipper Ken Read. “We know where we were on the last leg was not a fluke, so now we have to make up the points. Our team motto is we want to be the first team to ever win this race without finishing every leg. Nobody has ever won the Whitebread or the Volvo doing that.”
The team is fourth in the overall standings after finishing third in Saturday’s In-Port Race. PUMA is now offshore racing again for the first time since PUMA’s Mar Mostro suffered a broken mast on November 21 during the first leg of the race, sailing from Alicante, Spain, to Cape Town.
“We’re looking at 14-16 days on this first stage of Leg 2,” said navigator Tom Addis, evaluating the conditions ahead. “It will be pretty typical for the first 12 hours – upwind out of here, and it doesn’t look like we have to go too far south. A lot of races you’re going directly south out of Cape Town, but we’ll likely be able to stay pretty close to land and save some distance due to a little low that’s just south of the country. We’ll be into some downwind sailing much sooner than normal. But, it won’t last that long – only a day or so. We’ll find some breeze at times. We have to sort of battle our way to the trade wind reach.”
The Leg 2 route has been redrawn because of the threat of piracy in the Indian Ocean, with the teams due to make for an undisclosed safe haven port and then be transported by heavy lift ship to a position off the Sharjah coastline in the northern Emirates. From there they will sprint in to Abu Dhabi for the finish, expected shortly after the first of the year.
The Volvo Ocean Race started on November 5 in Alicante, and the six-team fleet is traveling 39,000 nautical miles through 10 ports, finishing in Galway, Ireland, in July 2012.
The PUMA Ocean Racing team is once again under the leadership of Read (Newport, Rhode Island, United States). Collectively, the crew has won the Around the World Race six times. The core includes: Tom Addis, Navigator (Sydney, Australia); Ryan Godfrey, Pitman (Adelaide, Australia); Kelvin Harrap, Helmsman, Inshore Tactician (Napier, New Zealand); Brad Jackson, Design Coordinator & Watch Captain (Auckland, New Zealand); Rome Kirby, Trimmer & Driver (Newport, Rhode Island, USA); Michael “Michi” Müller, Bowman (Kiel, Germany); Tony Mutter, Aerodynamics Coordinator & Watch Captain (Auckland, New Zealand); Casey Smith, Systems Manager & Bowman (Brisbane, Australia); Jonathan “Jono” Swain, Helmsman & Trimmer (Durban, South Africa); Amory Ross, Media Crew Member (Newport, Rhode Island, USA); Kimo Worthington, General Manager (Portsmouth, Rhode Island, United States); and Tim Hacket, Shore Team Manager (Sydney, Australia).
Lively conditions in Cape Town (from Groupama in the Volvo Ocean Race)
The start of the second leg of the Volvo Ocean Race began at 1300 UTC this Sunday off Cape Town for a sprint of around 4,500 miles across the Indian Ocean. However, before entering this feared ocean, the six VO-70s will have to round the Cape of Good Hope and then that of the Agulhas!
Groupama 4 got off to a good start to windward of the fleet, however Abu Dhabi was fast at the middle of the start line and took control on the first downwind leg which began in the very light airs caused by the effects of land. However, the breeze gradually picked up to reach nearly fifteen knots and the six boats really accelerated under gennaker and full mainsail. Behind the Emirati crew, Franck Cammas and his men were second to round the first mark of this preliminary course, out of a total of four. Unfortunately, the furling of the immense downwind sail wasn't completed fully and the skipper of Groupama 4 saw himself forced to stall the boat's progress to dump the sail.
Dropping two places in what ultimately proved to be a quick manoeuvre, the French boat was continuing on her way in the wake of the Emiratis, the New Zealanders and the Americans, whilst Sanya and Telefonica were already trailing. Basically, the hierarchy and the separation between the boats didn't alter much during this course which favours tacks with just slightly eased sheets. At the end of this tour around the bay of Cape Town which Abu Dhabi completed in 39'26, Groupama 4 was fourth 2'28 astern, behind Camper (1'32 astern of the leader) and Puma (2'00 astern of the leader), whilst Sanya and Telefonica were over a minute shy of the French boat.
On a beat towards the Cape of Good Hope
In a southerly wind, the six boats are on a beat now to hunt down the Cape of Good Hope and then that of the Agulhas, which marks the entrance into the Indian Ocean, around 120 miles out of Cape Town. Wisely, Franck Cammas and his crew tacked inshore immediately after rounding the final course mark in a bid to hunt down a favourable breeze: a few minutes later they crossed in front of the Americans on Puma! As such they moved up into third place, just a few boat lengths astern of Abu Dhabi and Camper after an hour of racing...
This preliminary tour was but an introduction though prior to what is scheduled to be a lively afternoon and above all a lively old night! Indeed, around twenty knots of southerly breeze is joining forces with a long westerly swell and at the approach of the Cape of Good Hope, the sea will become very rough to heavy due to the current from the Agulhas. This oceanographic phenomenon is due to the arrival of warm water from Madagascar and this current can exceed three knots on the surface! Furthermore, it comes up against a current of cold water coming from the Atlantic and the seas become extremely chaotic right the way down the tip of South Africa.
A minimum to be rounded
As was the case during the start of the first leg in Alicante, the first night at sea for this second oceanic course promises to be very tricky. In addition, a low has formed offshore of Port Elizabeth and the six VO-70s will have to deal with some very shifty winds down the African coast: the breeze will progressively clock round to the south-west and then West, easing to less than ten knots... After a boisterous introduction to proceedings which will last until the early hours of tomorrow, the crews will have a lot of work on deck adapting the sail area. They'll also be sailing into the Agulhas current which can switch from a few tenths of a knots to three knots depending on where they are. As such the navigators will have to keep an eye on the water temperature whilst the helmsmen struggle to get their hulls to slice through the short, messy chop.
Tuesday will be the most complicated day though as the minimum associated with the depression will disintegrate to give way to a transition zone with variable, light winds, before returning to a steady easterly flow (and hence on the nose) generated by a vast zone of high pressure to the South of Madagascar. As a result there will be a lot of upwind sailing on the cards as far as the large African island, in over twenty knots of breeze. Once again the rigs will be under considerable pressure... Of note finally is that, as planned, Laurent Pagès is replacing Erwan Israël as helmsman-trimmer aboard Groupama 4.
Risk of piracy
To deal with the risk of piracy off the coast of Somalia, Race Director Jack Lloyd has published this press release revealing a cut in the transmission of positions during this second leg.
"With the risk of piracy being of increasing concern in the Indian Ocean, race management has opted to apply an anti-piracy plan to the system for tracking the boats on the cartography during the next leg of the Volvo Ocean Race. In this way, the six crews will be tracked on the cartography until they reach a secret point in the Indian Ocean, at which point they will switch to `furtive' mode. Designed to ensure the sailors' safety, race director Jack Lloyd, hasn't revealed at what point the system for tracking the boats on the cartography will switch to `stealth' mode, where solely the distance from the leader will be revealed. Normal service will be resumed on the cartography after just a few days. The six Volvo Open 70s will have to make for an initial secret port where they will be loaded onto a ship protected by armed guards, transported to a second secret port and then take a second race start bound for Abu Dhabi. Only at this point will all the information as regards the positions of the six crews be accessible once again."
