Volvo Ocean Race Leg 7 - Day 3

Kelvin Harrap sending PUMA's Mar Mostro through its paces during leg 7 of the Volvo Ocean Race © Amory Ross / PUMA Ocean Racing / Volvo Ocean Race

Andrew McLean on the aft grinding pedestal just about to get hosed by water onboard CAMPER during leg 7 of the Volvo Ocean Race © Hamish Hooper / CAMPER ETNZ / Volvo Ocean Race

All calm after the storm

It’s all gone a little bit quiet out on the Atlantic race track for the Volvo Ocean Race fleet after tropical storm Alberto swept across all but leg leader Franck Cammas/FRA and Groupama yesterday. The six-boat fleet has had a more satisfactory day today, clicking off miles downwind towards the Lisbon finish at speeds of around 19 knots. However, a patch of lighter airs is slowing the fleet, allowing the pack to close on Groupama, as they chase an easterly moving low-pressure system. At 1900 GMT tonight, PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG had gained four miles and closed to within 8.10 nm of the leader, with Telefónica (Iker Martínez/ESP) in third, just a fraction of a mile behind PUMA, having made a gain of 10 nm in the past three hours.

In contrast to yesterday’s storm, today has been pleasant downwind sailing as the remnants of the storm moved away to the north and the fleet extended to the east. As the wind eased, so did conditions onboard. Hatches that had been tightly closed were thrown open to air out the boats and the crews have been able to rest and eat, and mentally prepare for the next hurdle. However, the calm after the storm is temporary. Ahead, the low will provide exhilarating sailing once more, provided the fleet can reach it in time to reap the benefits.

“We are quietly slipping along,” reported Groupama skipper Franck Cammas. “However, the weather is very complicated up ahead. It is hard to know which option we’re going to take as there are a lot of pitfalls in front,” he said, fully aware that the chasing pack will catch Groupama tonight. “We are fortunate that everyone is following the same course at the moment,” Cammas added. The Frenchman is preparing to use the full range of sails onboard Groupama on this Atlantic leg to Lisbon, Portugal, which could even throw in some upwind sailing mid-Atlantic.

The fleet has a lateral separation of approximately 38 nm as the drag race towards the front continues. Telefónica have taken the high road north and are to windward of the fleet, while CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand are to leeward in the south.

Franck Cammas has positioned Groupama just under two miles to windward of CAMPER, but 23.8 nm ahead, but tonight will be an anxious time as the fleet continues to make better speed than Groupama, which at 15.4 knots was over a knot slower than CAMPER and four knots slower than the hard-pushing crew on board Telefónica.

Position Report at 19:02:18 UTC:

www.VolvoOceanRace.com

A meteorological puzzle (from Groupama Sailing Team)

Whilst Groupama 4 is holding onto pole position thanks to an early gybe in the tropical storm Alberto, the weather situation across the Atlantic isn't offering up any opportunities for the fleet: everyone is on the same course in a moderate southerly breeze, awaiting a potential opening in a couple of days. As such it's unlikely there will be any major upsets before they tackle a depressionary minimum forming between Newfoundland and the Azores…

“It's the early hours for us and we've slowed since the end of the night since we're currently under Code 0, beam onto the wind with 10-11 knots of breeze and a constant speed of 12-13 knots. We've left the tropical storm, which generated some big black cloud masses and lightning: the sky is clearer and cleaner, there are smooth seas and we're quietly slipping along. However, the weather is very complicated up ahead: it's hard to know which option we're going to take, as there are a lot pitfalls in front… We already know that the others are going to catch up with us over the coming hours, but fortunately everyone's following the same course at the moment. We're likely to go through every point of sail on our way to Lisbon, and even some upwind sailing in the middle of the Atlantic. It promises to be extremely varied and we're likely to go through the entire sail wardrobe… We shouldn't get too close to the ice zone offshore of Newfoundland,” commented Franck Cammas during the noon videoconference this Tuesday.

Keeping a distance

By diving onto a direct course earlier than their rivals, Franck Cammas and his men managed to avoid the worst of the tropical storm Alberto: the other five crews were surprised by the centre shifting over and some of them have even had to sail upwind in over 45 knots of breeze! With storms, squalls and lightning, it was an ‘end of the world' scenario, on seas which were raging due to the violent wind rotations on top of the oceanic current of the Gulf Stream. As such Groupama 4 was able to extract herself from all that without damage, as well as opening up a lead which was bordering on 50 miles midway through the afternoon (local time) on Monday. However, between the tropical phenomenon and a depression threading its way towards Newfoundland, a zone of lighter wind then slowed the progress of the French boat.

“After the Brazil-Florida leg, we'd promised ourselves that we'd be in on the action straightaway: we haven't spared any effort! We got a good start to the leg, because we were correctly positioned from the coastal course. And since then, we've managed to weave our way along nicely in the tropical storm. As we were the first to gybe, we avoided the zones of instability at the centre of the disturbed system, which enabled us to extend our lead over the course of Monday. Since the end of the night, we've fallen upon light airs and I'm hoping we won't be totally becalmed! The fleet behind is not escaping the influence of the depression and its again benefiting from steadier wind: there will certainly be some regrouping before our rivals hit the same wind as us… In any case, we were happy to have put in the gybe within the tropical storm Alberto before everyone else, but even we flirted with the centre for a while, as the systems are very hard to spot on the grib files and they're moving very quickly.”

The Azores crossroads

On exiting tropical storm Alberto, Groupama 4 sought to hook onto a front, which is rolling in from Newfoundland to the Caribbean, where the southerly wind is set to build from sunset (local time). This front will push the Azores High along for the next few days, but as it disintegrates the further East it gets, a depressionary minimum will form across the fleet's trajectory. This is why Franck Cammas believes that a period of upwind sailing is on the cards in the middle of the Atlantic… It's this meteorological pitfall which will need to be tackled with discernment, because prior to that, there are no opportunities for another route in a more or less steady wind in terms of strength, but stable in terms of direction (South to South-West). As such, it's on the outskirts of the Atlantic archipelago that the routes may diverge at the end of the week. In the meantime, Groupama 4 must try to contain a comeback by the chasing pack, but essentially it's the wind gods who will decide on the separation between them over the next 48 hours…

“The back and ankle problems I had in Miami have been resolved: we've had two very active days on deck, especially yesterday, with a lot of spray and waves. It was nice to familiarise ourselves with what high speeds were like again! Fortunately things weren't too violent and it was even rather nice to rediscover boisterous conditions. My health and that of the rest of the crew is tip-top aboard Groupama 4. Furthermore, the temperature is perfect for getting in some good rest today! The atmosphere aboard is good, because the whole crew is focused on speed and our position as leader is positive. Added to that, this leg should be nice and short. For now, we're sailing our own race, without focusing on a particular adversary: Puma's certainly at ease and has been quick over the last three legs so the Americans are on an upward spiral… However, there are still some pieces of the jigsaw to put together before Lisbon!”

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

“It’s strange, having a leg short enough to look at routing from the start to the finish, all at once.” – Ken Read

LOCATION: 450 miles W of Hamilton, Bermuda
HEADING: 064 degrees
WINDSPEED: 18.3 knots
BOATSPEED: 19.7 knots

I got an email from a friend today that asked how we were doing, what we were up to? The only honest reply I could think of was odd: “Doing great, thanks. Chasing what’s left of a named tropical storm and going fast towards Portugal.” Tis an interesting life we lead.

Truthfully though, we have been stalking this low to the north for the past two days, alternating our heading all the time to stay just south of its outer cloud band. If we get too close we could get sucked in, caught under its swirling winds, but too far away and we might miss out on the stronger winds generated by its pressure gradient.

At one point CAMPER was a mile ahead of us to the east and two miles to leeward, to the north, but it was too close for them. They speared off in a massive header that only worsened and before long they were sailing 90-degrees to our course, on the same tack, straight for the clouds. The next sched they were 22 miles back. The line between benefit and detriment is that fine, and it has been the main focus of strategic discussion during the last 48 hours.

Otherwise, life is wet. It doesn’t take much on these boats before waves are breaking over the deck, and it does make things damp in a hurry. Nothing we aren’t used to at this point, but uncomfortable nonetheless! When your foulies get soaked on day 1 and you know you have 11 more days of putting on wet gear, that stinks. Imagine running around in the rain, coming in for a nap, and then going out again in the same moppy clothes three hours later. Then repeat that bizarre activity for days at a time.

We typically pack just two or three spare items of clothing – shorts, shirts, etc – but when you find yourself digging into the spares kit on day 2, as some of us have, you’ve got some serious freshness-rationing left to do! Eating habits change a bit, too. Nobody wants to bury his hand in a soggy bag of trail mix or moist beef jerky, and a dripping sleeve of salty bubble gum doesn’t burst with the same fruity wonder. But that’s North Atlantic life and it will be that way for the next week or so. All you can do is tell yourself it will be over soon and tough it out for the time being.

Lisbon, roofs, and drying machines await just a few thousand miles away.

- Amory