09 November 2011 - 10:26 Cammas gambles high on split from the fleet Volvo Ocean Race 2011 - 2012
SAILING. VOR2012, Leg One Day 4 – The fleet has shown its hand and decisions have been made from which there will be no going back. Franck Cammas/FRA has made a bold move to take Groupama rock-hopping just eight nautical miles off the Moroccan coast, while Chris Nicholson/AUS (CAMPER) changed tactics overnight and paid a high price to join Telefónica (Iker Martinez/ESP) and Kenny Read’s PUMA Mar Mostro in the west. She is now 25 nautical miles (nm) behind Telefónica who still leads the field.
08/11/2011. Mike Pammenter working on the bow onboard CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand on leg 1 of the Volvo Ocean Race to Cape Town. (Photo by Hamish Hooper/CAMPER/Volvo Ocean Race)
Cammas’s decision to split from the pack is risky. It is unusual to have such a defined split in the fleet, and Cammas is clearly confident in his choice. However, there is now no return for Cammas. He has made his decision and to change would be very costly indeed. His plan will be to pick up some thermal driving breeze from heat of the coast.
Overnight, the teams have had to work hard to keep their boats moving, spending most of the night in little or no wind and sailing at speeds more usually found in an Optimist dinghy competition rather than onboard the usually super quick Volvo Open 70.
The boats have been eerily quiet, except for the slatting of sails and the gentle lapping of sea on the carbon-fibre hull, conditions that demand full concentration when trimming the sails or driving the boat, and create plenty of headaches for navigators.
CAMPER’s skipper Chris Nicholson advises that, in these frustrating, drifting conditions, it is vital always to keep the boat moving. Although the Volvo Open 70s are easily able to cover nearly 600 nautical miles in a day, when they stop they are difficult to get moving again. Nicholson says, “Even if you are not going in the direction you want, just keep the boat moving and eventually you will find the direction you need.”
Things improved for the boats in the west very early this morning and patience was rewarded when, at around 0245 GMT this morning, the breeze kicked in for PUMA’s Mar Mostro (Kenny Read/USA). CAMPER also reported that the ‘gas burners’ had been turned on at 0500 and at last the boats are moving again, although it is still upwind sailing.
At 1000 GMT today Telefónica led the field by 3.40 nautical miles ahead of PUMA’s Mar Mostro who has swapped places with Groupama 4 and moved up fleet to stand second. CAMPER is in fourth position, 25 nm adrift of the leader and paying the predicted high price for heading west, but achieving the highest average speed of 14.2 knots.
A pattern of sailing, sleeping and eating is beginning to fall into place after the rigours of the first 36 hours. The mood in the fleet is general good and everyone is settling in now for the long haul to Cape Town.
Meanwhile, back in Alicante, Ian Walker and his team from Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing are making good progress and have stepped their replacement rig. They expect to go sailing today to tune it up and return to the point where they suspended racing sometime tomorrow. The news for Mike Sanderson’s Team Sanya is less promising and the boat is likely to be heading to Cape Town by ship in order to make repairs to the bow section.
Offshore, the four boats still sailing on Leg 1 of the Volvo Ocean Race are competing to be the first to find the Atlantic’s absent trade winds, while back on land, it is a race against time for the two teams repairing damage to get back in the hunt for points.
Team Telefónica are leading on the 6,500 nautical mile first leg from Alicante to Cape Town, sailing a western course in the Atlantic ahead of PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG, Groupama sailing team and CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand.
06/11/2011. Team Telefonica on their way to Gibraltar at sunset, on leg 1 of the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12 from Alicante, Spain to Cape Town, South Africa. (Credit: Maria Muina/Volvo Ocean Race)
The French team’s tactical gamble to split from the fleet and hug Africa’s coast on a southern course is costing them dearly, losing 16 miles on the leader and dropping from second to third as the rig flogs and sails flail in less than two knots of breeze.
Cammas said his team were focused on playing the weather rather than the other boats. “It’s a very different option from the other boats – we will cover less miles but we need wind, and the next 24-hours will be crucial for the result,’’ he said. “We think that’s the good choice and we didn’t know the other boats would not go there. On paper, this option is not that risky.”
CAMPER’s late call to go west when winds lightened overnight and boat speed dropped to one knot has also taken a toll, with the initial leg leader dropping to fourth.
Navigator Will Oxley said it had been testing on the nerves, but there were still positives to draw from the challenge: “The boat’s being sailed well by the guys and boat-on-boat we feel like we’re doing quite well, but we’re pretty pleased we put on an extra food bag right now because it’s going to be a long leg.’’
Onshore, Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing are ahead of schedule in the race to replace the broken mast on Azzam and start the mission to catch up with the other boats.
Speaking in Alicante, skipper Ian Walker said the team were expecting the arrival of two replacement parts from Valencia today, which would complete the assembly of the new mast.
Walker said he was hopeful that his crew would mount the new mast and rig in Azzam tonight, with the team hitting the water and returning to racing tomorrow.
“To be honest, I want to get back in the race in the next 24 hours if I can because the fleet aren’t getting away that fast and it wouldn’t be impossible to catch them up,’’ he said.
“All being well we might get the mast in tonight and then off tomorrow morning.
“This is our last mast so the last thing we want to do is anything unseaman-like, go out to sea and then find we have the same problem again or another problem then that would put us out of the race, so the stakes are high."
The two-day weather lull could boost Abu Dhabi's catch up bid as the Emirati team are expected to pick up propulsion from a low pressure system once they make it through Gibraltar Strait - - if they leave tomorrow.
Having ruled out a return to Leg 1 yesterday Mike Sanderson’s Team Sanya are now turning their sights on repairing the major structural damage to their hull in time for the Cape Town In-Port Race and the start of Leg 2.
“The piece of boat that we are going to chop out and replace is five metres long by three and a half metres wide by a metre high. That’s the same size as a reasonable sized powerboat that you could chuck a 100 horsepower outboard on and go out for a day’s fishing.”
Sanderson admitted it was a major challenge logistically to ship Sanya to Cape Town, with its earliest arrival expected to be November 28. He said it was also a practical challenge, with the team having to complete one month’s work in just one week.
“None of the timings add up right now, but the moons are starting to align for us a little bit. We have to get the job done properly. This is the Volvo Ocean Race and it simply isn’t an option to head out without the boat being 100 per cent.”
As night fell on the fleet, Groupama 4 was nowhere to be seen. While the three other boats racing in leg one of the Volvo Ocean Race clung to each other as if attached by elastic, Franck Cammas and his team are, as Ken Read from PUMA’s Mar Mostro puts it, ‘lonely warriors heading the traditional trade route’. They are sailing their own race only four and a half nautical miles (nm) off the Moroccan coast, 96 nm inshore of the rest of the fleet. “Still pretty amazing, “ Read writes. “A split in the fleet with 39,000 miles to go.”
06/11/2011. Groupama Sailing Team during leg 1 of the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12, from Alicante, Spain to Cape Town, South Africa. (Credit: Yann Riou/Groupama Sailing Team/Volvo Ocean Race)
Meanwhile, it is game on for the main group, led by Telefónica (Iker Martinez/ESP. The Spanish boat has PUMA’s Mar Mostro moulded to her hip as the three westerly boats continue their upwind slog at an average speed of 12 knots. The newcomers onboard PUMA’s Mar Mostro – Rome Kirby and Amory Ross - are both wondering if they will be going upwind the whole way round the world.
Although Chris Nicholson (NZL) has now placed the red and white CAMPER back on the track he wanted after sacrificing miles earlier today in his bid to head west, he is still playing catchup. CAMPER is 17.30 nm behind Telefónica who holds on to first place just 2.8 nm ahead of PUMA’s Ma Mostro. Average speeds for the boats in the west are around 12 knots, while third-placed Groupama 4 is only managing 9.3.
It’s not over yet. Finding a quick route through the Doldrums will be required before the champagne sailing can begin.
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