Volvo Ocean Race Leg 5 - Day 11

At 1000 UTC today, Groupama 4 (Franck Cammas/FRA) maintained a 51-nautical mile (nm) ead over PUMA's Mar Mostro (Ken Read) after the French team pulled off a demanding night time gybe at latitude 58 degrees south, their first manoeuvre in over a week. PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG, who reached 59 degrees south -- just shy of the ‘screaming sixties’ -- followed suit, with the teams taking around two hours to complete a move that is not easy to achieve safely during daylight in heavy conditions, and is much more difficult and dangerous at night.

Meanwhile, still in third position and 363.3 nm behind, the damaged Telefónica (Iker Martínez/EPS) has also altered course and will round Cape Horn carefully before heading into the Argentine port of Ushuaia (Tierra del Fuego), where the team will make a pit stop in order to repair damage to their bow section.

“We are able to sail quite well, but we don’t want to go faster, because we are afraid of having more damage,” said skipper Iker Martínez. "We are just trying to keep sailing and making miles to the Cape."

The team are confident repairs can be made quickly and they will return to the racetrack to complete Leg 5. However, although the boat is holding up well, there are still over 3,000 nm to the finish in Itajaí. “Something worse could happen – things can always go wrong,” the skipper said.

While speeds for the leading pair are around 19 knots, Telefónica are maintaining a steady average of 16.3. Further back in fifth place, Ian Walker and Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing are racing hard to make up their 1,396 nm deficit and the team are enjoying every minute of it, having been starved of true Southern Ocean conditions up until yesterday.

“Not only have we finally joined the war in the Southern Ocean, but we just hit 40 knots while surfing down a wave,” wrote Media Crew Member Nick Dana. The boat is averaging 23-24 knots with one reef in the mainsail and the J4 headsail set. Overnight, the crew were on deck ‘hooting and hollering’ at whoever was at the helm, geeing them on for a good shot at the next wave. “The boat is handling fantastically – this is the first time we have really had her in this kind of situation and everyone is very pleased,” Dana concluded.

The forecast predicts the team will stay with the depression for at least 24 hours, which will provide 25-30 knots of breeze with a following sea. “We’re pointed right at the barn door and we should tick off the miles nicely now,” Dana says.

CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand (Chris Nicholson/AUS) are in light airs 1,069 nm behind Groupama as they sail a different course towards Puerto Montt on the western coast of Chile, where they plan to repair the boat and return to complete Leg 5. They too have been gybing to maintain a good direction, planning to position themselves as best they can to make it through the approaching depression, which will bring 30 knots of wind.

The crew of Sanya (Mike Sanderson/NZL) have been packing down the race boat ready for shipping to Savannah in the United States tomorrow. They will re-join the fleet in Miami.

Position report at 28/03/2012 10:03:35 UTC:

Blog by Amory Ross, MCM, PUMA Ocean Racing

Roaring Forties, check. Furious Fifties, check. Screaming Sixties? Ohhhhh so close! We got as far as latitude 59, just one degree shy of 60 South, but we are finally on our way back north after making the first jibe in weeks. Our new heading takes us to the northwest towards Cape Horn, and the elusive miles until our rounding should start diminishing rapidly. No sooner, too, because it’s still cold and getting colder (recurring blog theme?)…

It never ceases to amaze me, the acclimatization process on these boats. After spending so much time on starboard tack the body becomes comfortable living that way, 28-degrees of heel, right shoulder outboard when you sleep, right foot higher than the left when walking forward, and vice versa when walking aft. You have your memorized handholds and foot braces, and your mind and body are generally used to the boat being that way; you know where things are and you subconsciously move with confidence.

But when that life changes, as it does after a tack or a gybe, it’s like learning to walk all over again. Everything is suddenly the opposite as you remember it, and you find yourself reaching for things that are no longer there. It’s a struggle to get your bearings, especially when blasting down waves at 32 knots, in the dark, as we are right now. Fun!

Groupama is still 30-to-50 miles ahead, depending on the sched and swing of momentum, and it looks like it will be a fun drag race to the Horn, at which point things might get interesting for the approach to Brazil. But we’re still here living the Southern Ocean life, one day at a time, and until we’re free of the heavy weather that will remain priority numero uno.

Blog by Nick Dana, Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing

Not only are have we finally joined the battle in the Southern Ocean, but we just hit forty knots while surfing down wave. Finally! We’re into Azzam’s conditions – keep an eye on the scheds, at the moment we are averaging around 23 -24 knots of boat speed with a reef in the main and a j4. So far it has been plenty of sail area and will probably keep us on our ear throughout the night. The forecast has us into this frontal line for at least the next 24 hours. 25 -30 knots of breeze with a following sea and we’re pointed right at the barn door – should tick off the miles nicely now.

It’s amazing what the addition of adrenaline does to a team’s mood. For the past 4-5 hours we have all been on deck hooting and hollering at whoever is driving, egging them on for a good stack into the next wave. Paul [Willcox] managed to fill the cockpit up enough to make it look like an above-ground swimming pool. Needless to say, we all went swimming. The boat is handling fantastic – this is the first time we have really had her in this kind of situation and everyone is very pleased.

The night has brought a bitter cold. You are able to see your breath down below, and the condensation has become ridiculous. Everything is soaked. Jules [Salter] and I are in our little war trying to keep electronics somewhat dry and functional. It’s difficult though, nothing is meant to work in this type of environment. Sometimes you’re better off just closing everything up and going for a ride on deck. Definitely one of the better night skies you will ever see on the planet.

Blog by Simon Fisher, Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing

Gear shift. We have had this in both senses. The past couple of days we have been moving gear as far aft as we can - and with the wind finally getting above twenty five knots then gusting to thirty, it feels like dropping a gear in an Aston Martin. This is why we are down here. Good boat, good team - the first timers looking forward to their Cape Horn rounding hopefully in daylight, and everyone working hard to reel in the front runners. The seas are building, the breeze is building and as the scheds come in we can see we are making gains on everyone, so watch out boys, here we come..."

Blog by Rob Greenhalgh, Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing

People have asked me to describe what life is like on a Volvo 70 and the hardest thing is to get across is the noise. Azzam is made of carbon fibre, very light, extremely strong and very stiff, so when we are racing offshore the motion onboard is like being on a speedboat slamming over waves - bam, bam, bam. Probably the best way to replicate this is to get a car, take off all the tyres then drive it as fast as you could over a rally course without your seatbelt on - that would be about half as bad as the motion out here.

Plus most of the time we are at an angle and that is a big part of it. You have seen footage of guys falling in cockpits - slipping down to the leeward side, but these guys are fully awake on deck and prepared for a bashing. Inside Azzam, when we are trying to sleep it is a tough time so we have to strap ourselves into our bunks so we don't get flicked out. Then as the guys get up and get dressed they are half asleep, and pulling their drysuits over their heads means the arms are trapped. If you fall then you can do yourself some real damage. Bottom line is, everything you do out here is tough and there are risks every day. Southern Ocean sailing. Big risks but big smiles.