Volvo Ocean Race - Leg 2 Start
by Volvo Ocean Race media 2 Jan 2006 19:03 GMT
Pirates of the Caribbean departs Cape Town on the second leg of the Volvo Ocean Race 2005-06 © Daniel Forester
Calm before the storm as leg two of the Volvo Ocean Race gets underway
It was the calm before the storm as leg two of the Volvo Ocean Race 2005-06 got underway today in
light north westerly winds.
The departure dock this morning was a mixture of emotions as the teams
loaded their final personal items onboard and said their farewells to
family and friends. Wives waved goodbye to their husbands and children
blew kisses to their dads making for a tearful scene as the seven Volvo
Open 70’s headed out to the start line in Table Bay.
Leg two, which takes the boats out of Cape Town and towards Melbourne,
Australia, via the Southern Ocean, began as scheduled at 13 00 in front of
over one hundred spectator boats, with the start gun being fired from a
navy patrol vessel.
Quick out of the starting blocks was Brasil 1 skippered by Torben Grael
(BRA) with ABN AMRO TWO hot on their heels. With just five knots of wind
it was a game of snakes and ladders as the fleet headed along the shore
towards Green Point to the passing mark.
Brasil 1 and the Spanish boat movistar, under the guidance of Bouwe
Bekking (NED), led the charge shortly followed by Paul Cayard’s
Pirates of the Caribbean (USA) and Ericsson skippered by British sailor Neal
McDonald.
Within an hour the fleet order had been turned on its head and ING Real
Estate Brunel skippered by Australian Grant Wharington had moved up
through the fleet and slid into the lead. As quickly as they gained the
places, they were robbed as ABN AMRO TWO, Brasil 1 and Ericsson sailed
through them.
The next hurdle was to get past the turning mark which proved harder than
it looked. Pirates of the Caribbean was first to reach it before the wind
died altogether and saw all seven boats in a line waiting for the wind to
fill their sails. ABN AMRO TWO skippered by Sebastien Josse (FRA) was the
first to sneak past the mark and head out to open seas. In her wake was
minor carnage as Pirates of the Caribbean got caught on the mark and duly
had to take a 360 degree penalty and ABN AMRO ONE and Ericsson collided,
resulting in two penalty turns for Mike Sanderson (NZ) and ABN AMRO
One.
With all the boats safely round the turning mark movistar leads the fleet
from ABN AMRO TWO. ING Real Estate Brunel is currently placed third with ABN
AMRO ONE fourth, Ericsson fifth, Pirates of the Caribbean in sixth place and
finally Brasil 1 in seventh. With well over 6000 nautical miles
still to race this was merely the preamble.
Within 48 hours the conditions change dramatically as the
teams prepare for a wet and wild trip to Melbourne via some of the
most inhospitable seas on the planet.
To follow the ride through the Southern Ocean log onto www.volvooceanrace.org
Current Leaderboard: [position/team name/skipper/race points to date]
1st TEAM ABN AMRO ONE, Mike Sanderson (NZL) 15 pts
2nd Brasil 1, Torben Grael (BRA) 12.5 pts
3rd TEAM ABN AMRO TWO, Sebastien Josse (FRA) 12 pts
4th Ericsson Racing Team Neal McDonald (GBR) 11.5 pts
5th Movistar, Bouwe Bekking (NED) 6 pts
6th Pirates of the Caribbean, Paul Cayard (USA) 5 pts
6th ING Real Estate Brunel, Grant Wharington (AUS) 5 pts