Volvo Ocean Race Leg 6 - Day 2 early report

Trimming the mainsail on PUMA Ocean Racing in leg 6 of the Volvo Ocean Race © Amory Ross / PUMA Ocean Racing / Volvo Ocean Race

Big breeze out of Itajai means crew weight moves all the way aft on PUMA Ocean Racing in leg 6 of the Volvo Ocean Race © Amory Ross / PUMA Ocean Racing / Volvo Ocean Race

PUMA Ocean Racing Powered by BERG (Ken Read/USA) hold a slim lead of three nautical miles (nm) over CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand (Chris Nicholson/AUS) at 0700 GMT today as the American team continue to show the way towards Miami, the sole American host port on this edition of the Volvo Ocean Race

In a complete contrast to the beginning of Leg 5, which many of the sailors described as the worst opening night ever, the start of the 4,800 nm Leg 6 which began on Sunday at 1700 GMT, has been a relative breeze.

After a ‘bubble bath’ of around 20 knots for the first few hours, conditions settled overnight to produce fast reaching conditions in flat seas and warm water, allowing more sail area to be hoisted.

Less than seven nm separate PUMA in first from Groupama (Franck Cammas/FRA) in fifth place and the fleet is making around 14.5 knots. Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing (Ian Walker/GBR) in third place, whose shore team worked round the clock to repair the boat in time to start the DHL In-Port Race Itajaí on Saturday, are right in the mix and having a great race with second-placed CAMPER.

“It has been a pleasure to start a leg with some reaching – this is the first leg not to start with a beat,” reported skipper Ian Walker. According to the British skipper, earlier, when the breeze was blowing 20 knots or so, PUMA, Telefónica and Groupama were in a very different league, although CAMPER and Azzam seemed to be evenly matched.

Although this leg will be largely a coastal one, Will Oxley, navigator with CAMPER suggests it is will be more difficult that it looks. “It’s quite a tricky leg actually. The next four or five days will be very, very tricky -- light and shifty with potential for big changes on the leaderboard,” he says. He added that it could be a long time before any boat in the west looks better and that long term, it looks like an easterly setup should pay.

Heading north from Itajaí, the course follows the Brazilian coast, but how far will the teams sail offshore? The trade winds are less reliable here. Clouds constantly disrupt the wind and, from time to time, low pressure extends from the shore, killing the coastal wind. Evidence from earlier races supports the long held rule of "less than 50 miles inshore or more than 500 offshore”, which will provide some good opportunities for the pack to split and some exciting racing.

Position report at 23/04/2012 7:00:37 UTC:

Blog by Amory Ross, Media Crew Member, PUMA Ocean Racing

Where oh where do we begin?

I could rave about the Itajaí experience, our incredible Brazilian send-off and their passionate and constant support. I could tell the story of leaving the hotel yesterday morning on my bike to see the container ship ZIM MONACO sailing into port, the exact same ship we met in the South Atlantic last November to take on fuel for our 750-mile mast-less motor to Tristan da Cunha. I could elaborate on what it feels like to be sailing home to America and our expectations for Miami. I could describe the generally high level of fatigue as we enter what might be the final 10-plus day leg of this race. I could talk strategy, explaining our plans for a challenging course that takes us over the equator and through the doldrums one final time. I could describe what it’s like having yet another difficult crew substitution, as we welcome PUMA veteran Shannon Falcone to the line-up in the place of the injured Casey Smith.

With so much to say, I’ll stick to the immediately relevant: Itajaí was an incredible success. It was in many ways a model stopover that far exceeded any expectations. We couldn’t have imagined the welcome they gave us and the surprisingly massive arrival crowds, making a long trip to Brazil well worth the agony. And then, over the course of our stay, the way a small Brazilian city embraced an event they probably knew little of, and the way they showed up for our In-Port Race and yesterday’s departure…it was very unexpected and says a lot about how they promoted our sport and the Volvo Ocean Race in the region. There were so many happy people, so many new fans, and so much to smile about as we waved goodbye for the final time.

But now we sail to America, and to Miami, where we trade caipirinhas for mojitos and quiet beaches for busy ones. The familiarity of our destination is exciting, and everyone’s looking forward to returning PUMA’s Mar Mostro to the waters of the North Atlantic, the very same waters this adventure began so many months ago.