Volvo Fleet Sailing Hard

It was the night from hell for the Volvo Ocean Race fleet, as the cold front swept over the fleet, and one by one, the eight boats were left with huge seas and vicious squalls.

While Ericsson 4 (Torben Grael/BRA) rode the front, extended their lead to 76 nm from PUMA (Ken Read/USA) and broke through the magical 600 nautical mile barrier, claiming yet another 24-hour world record, Telefónica Black (Fernando Echávarri/ESP) lost a rudder, wiped off their bowsprit and damaged one of their daggerboards, cutting away the spinnaker in the process.

As daylight broke, and the crew were tiring, Green Dragon buried her bow so hard that the A6 spinnaker came back and stove in the pulpit and forward stanchions before ripping to pieces.

Record Break!

At 1310 GMT today, Ericsson 4 (Torben Grael/BRA) obliterated the 24-hour record run for a monohull when the team recorded a run of 593.23 nautical miles.

The previous record (562.96 nm) was set by ABN AMRO TWO/Sebastian Josse/FRA during leg two of the previous Volvo Ocean Race in 2006. The new mark is subject to ratification by the World Sailing Speed Record Council.

PUMA (Ken Read/USA), in second place, has covered 561 nm, just short of ABN AMRO TWO¹s record. The new mark translates into an incredible average speed of 24.71 knots in conditions not best suited for a record-setting run.

Skipper Torben Grael and his crew have been pushing the boat hard all night, first eclipsing the previous mark at 0355 GMT. They have been adding to the record since then, although the current 30 knots of wind is likely to ease. This will be the third time that Juan Kouyoumdjian has produced a record-breaking design. The Argentinean was responsible for drawing the lines of the two ABN AMRO boats both of whom held the record in the previous edition of the race, as well as the current Ericsson 4.

For some days now the teams have been anticipating the possibility of a record-breaking run as they ride the current weather system, but concern over damage has led some to back off a little bit.

Last night, Ian Walker/GBR, skipper of third-placed Green Dragon, and a newcomer to this race, wrote: "This is insane. Thirty-five knots of wind, pitch black, 1500 miles from land and we are desperately trying to squeeze more speed from a boat that feels and sounds like it is going to self destruct any second." The boat is currently sailing at around 29 knots. Telefónica Black has ripped two sails. On deck the spray-helmets are out and everybody on deck has their harness clipped on.

Volvo Fleet Ready to Boost

The depression in the South Atlantic has aligned itself perfectly to fire the fleet to Cape Town at record pace. But although the 24-hour record of 562.96 nautical miles currently held by ABN AMRO TWO could be broken, it is a question of which teams can push the hardest, but still keep their boat in one piece. Damage now will be extremely costly as the fleet prepares for big waves and big action. The countdown to the ‘launch’ began over the weekend as the teams readied their boats and steered into the best position to rocket across the South Atlantic. Navigators hoped this south west-south-west course positioned their boats on the launch pad with the best fuel to reach Cape Town. The fuel is, of course, strong, steady winds generated by the pressure gradient between lows moving along the South Atlantic storm track, and the semi-permanent South Atlantic High. Green Dragon, in third place, (Ericsson 4, PUMA Racing Team) is the most southerly yacht in the fleet and skipper Ian Walker says that all the effort his team put into getting south is now wasted.

First Scoring Gate

It has been a hard weekendt. Fighting upwind with a nice uncomfortable wave and some 25 knots of breeze at night after passed the scoring gate of Isla Fernando de Noronha. Ericsson 3 had a hard time. They were fighting in the bottom end of the league and it didn’t feel like the hard work is paying off. Green Dragon on the other hand claimed full points at the scoring gate. Now they are facing over 3000 miles direct line (more like 4200 miles actual sailing to re-cross the Atlantic to Cape Town). It’s been a tricky 36 hours on the Green Dragon as they watched faster boats chip away at their lead and pass to windward. It is easy to lose sight of the fact that it is day 14 and they are still in sight of Puma and Ericsson fighting for the lead. The Irish are punching above their weight and enjoying every second.

The fleet racing in leg one of the Volvo Ocean Race is about to have its first taste of ‘Life at the Extreme’ as the crews prepare to ride a 40 knot westerly gale straight towards Cape Town. Leaders Ericsson 4 (Torben Grael/BRA) has started to make her turn to the east, followed by the chasing pack of four, PUMA (Ken Read/USA), Green Dragon (Ian Walker/GBR) and Telefónica Black (Fernando Echávarri/ESP). But, while high winds are forecast, the fleet still has to negotiate a light patch of wind, before they can enjoy the sleigh ride east.

Fleet out of Doldrums

One by one, the eight boats racing in leg one of the Volvo Ocean Race popped out the other side of the Doldrums and hooked into the south-easterly trade winds. In a drag race south, the fleet is steadily clicking off the miles towards Fernando de Noronha, around 253 nautical miles ahead of Ian Walker’s Green Dragon and the chance to score more points. Speeds pick up again to around 12 knots. Out to the west, Green Dragon is sailing fast and straight for the islands, reaping the rewards of the westerly position the team opted for, four days ago.

Volvo Updates

There is little wind and the temperature is searing hot in the Doldrums. After a shift to the south east early in the morning all were optimistic that it was the beginning of the end for the doldrums. However, the torture continues as several hours later the crews again doing all they can do to avoid parking up. The boats to the west are slowly gaining though. Things have been going well on E4 for the past day or so. They are in relatively good sailing conditions compared to competitors and are slowly earning back the ground that had sacrificed for a more westerly route several days ago. Meanwhile, there was a sudden huge wind increase and shift for Ericsson 3, that was quickly sailing 90 degrees off course at five times the speed with way too much sail area. Good action for a change compared to the dull last couple of days. But that marked the end of breeze really, so it has been a painful night.

Crew Forced to Evacuate

Ericsson 4, racing in leg one of the Volvo Ocean Race, has dropped off trimmer/helmsman Tony Mutter/NZL in the Cape Verde Islands as the team takes every precaution with his knee that has become infected.

On Thursday, the team medics onboard the race yacht, Phil Jameson and Stu Bannatyne, were called to put their pre-race medical training into use as they drained some fluid from the infected area.

But the injury did not respond to treatment as well as they hoped and the team took the opportunity of their proximity to the Cape Verde Islands to evacuate Mutter off the boat. This was the recommended course of action by the Volvo Ocean Race medical team. The next reasonable opportunity to get him off the boat wouldn¹t come until the rounding of Fernando de Noronha, an Island off the coast of Brazil, some four days away.

This evening, the team made a move off its heading to sail towards Mindelo on the Island of Sao Vicente. Mutter was then transferred to a fishing vessel to be taken ashore for medical supervision.

Skipper Torben Grael/BRA said the decision to ensure proper medical treatment for Mutter was easy. Tony Mutter is understandably very disappointed.

Puma Breaks Away

PUMA (Ken Read) broke away from the rest of the Volvo fleet today and headed for the open ocean. She gybed away from the shore and onto a westerly course at around 1040 GMT and has added over 20 nautical miles to her lead over the last 24 hours. Telefónica Black (Fernando Echávarri) made the move west yesterday and is now 328 nautical miles offshore and the Spanish team’s position is not looking good. The black boat is now 221 nautical miles behind il Mostro, who snatched the lead from Ericsson 3.

Stealth Play!

StealthPlay came into action for the first time on this 6,500 nautical mile leg of the Volvo Ocean Race from Alicante to Cape Town. In the approach to the Canary Islands, Ian Walker/GBR and his crew onboard the Green Dragon played their joker and decided it was time to go into hiding. They will disappear now for 12 hours, reappearing on the 1600 GMT position report this afternoon. Only the Race Office in the UK will know where the boat is, and that is for safety reasons.

At the time that StealthPlay was activated, Green Dragon was only 12 nautical miles from Ericsson 3 (Anders Lewander/SWE), the leaders at the time, and set up to the west of the Canary Islands, with Telefónica Black (Fernando Echávarri/ESP) just on her starboard hip. Over the past 12 hours, the Canary Islands have caused the fleet to scatter.

Volvo Ocean Race Fleet

Delta Lloyd, currently 6th, strategically positioning themselves on the left of the fleet where they feel they may get to the high wind pressure before the rest of the fleet. They can not wait to get Delta Lloyd up to max speed in the 20 - 30 knots blast reaching.

At last there is wind and the eight-strong fleet racing in leg one of the Volvo Ocean Race from Alicante to Cape Town is beginning to make some nice progress, but it is a fragile lead for Telefónica Black (Fernando Echávarri) who left the leading bunch and made a bold move to the west. Behind her, the chasing pack of Ericsson 4, the Green Dragon (Ian Walker) and PUMA (Ken Read) are all tightly bunched within a frightening six miles of the leader. Speeds are up to 15 kts as the fleet races downwind along the African coast. In the second group, the threat is from Telefónica Blue (Bouwe Bekking) which is hunting down Delta Lloyd (Ger O’Rourke) and Team Russia. Since leaving the Spanish coast after making a repair, Telefónica Blue has reduced her 12-hour deficit and has closed to within four miles of Team Russia. She is only 58 nm from sistership Telefónica Black, and she could easily make up the distance in barely a few hours.