SAILING. VOR2012, Leg One Day 8 – After six days of upwind sailing, the fleet racing in leg one of the Volvo Ocean Race to Cape Town yesterday at last hooked into the weather system they have been waiting for.

Downwind sails have been set and the three teams who chose the westerly option, PUMA’s Mar Mostro (Kenny Read/USA), Telefónica (Iker Martinez/ESP) and CAMPER (Chris Nicholson/AUS) are sailing wide angles at high speeds. PUMA’s Mar Mostro was the first to gybe south at 0655 UTC this morning, followed by Telefónica at 0825 UTC. At 1000 UTC, CAMPER was still heading west.

Life onboard "Mar Mostro" got a little wet during one passing rain squall. PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG during leg 1 of the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12, from Alicante, Spain to Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo Credit: Amory Ross/PUMA Ocean Racing/Volvo Ocean Race)

“This is the reward for beating our brains out for almost a week,” says Read, skipper of PUMA’s Mar Mostro, currently lying second. CAMPER’s navigator Will Oxley agrees as the fleet gathers pace. “This is what these boats are made for,” he said earlier this morning.

It’s not quite the same story for Franck Cammas/FRA and his team racing Groupama 4 who are watching helplessly from their position just off the African coast, split from the pack and racing predominantly downwind in light airs at less than 10 knots. Kenny Read wonders if the French team have had to reach for their foul weather gear yet or run out of sunscreen? “At this stage my guess is that they are not pleased when they see our speeds in the 20s for the past couple of scheds,” he says, adding, “for sure they have had a much nicer ride though.”

Groupama has begun her turn west to avoid the windless zone south of the Cape Verde islands, but it’s slow progress and the chasing pack is closing fast.

Groupama 4 still holds the lead, but PUMA’s Mar Mostro, Telefónica and CAMPER are making big gains. At 0700 UTC this morning, CAMPER continued to take the most out of Groupama 4’s lead, gaining 20 nautical miles. PUMA’s Mar Mostro and Telefónica had each taken eight miles apiece.

By 1000 UTC, in gybing south PUMA had gained 39 nm and Telefónica and CAMPER had pulled back 17 and 14 nm respectively. PUMA is now 126 nm within reach of Groupama and averaging 22.5 knots. Twenty-six nm miles behind  PUMA Mar Mostro is Telefónica, while CAMPER has now closed to within 47 nm of Ken Read’s men.

The three westerly boats are reaching and running to the narrowest point in the Doldrums, which they hope will provide a quick transit, but Groupama 4 will struggle to get west of the Cape Verde Islands in the light northwesterly breeze.

Volvo Ocean Race 2011 - 2012
www.volvooceanrace.com
November 12, 2011 - 1000 UTC

Tables Turning As West Starts To Pay

The tables are turning in the Volvo Ocean Race as the pack hunting leg leaders Groupama sailing team close in on their prey.

After five days of watching helplessly as Groupama sailing team extended their lead, Team Telefónica, PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG and CAMPER with Emirates New Zealand have finally started to claw back miles.

The French frontrunners, led by offshore expert Franck Cammas, bit chunks out of their rivals in the first week of Leg 1 from Alicante, Spain, to Cape Town, South Africa, opting for a slower but more direct route along the African shoreline. Meanwhile Telefónica, PUMA and CAMPER punched west in search of stronger wind and higher speeds.

At its largest the distance between Groupama and the chasing fleet was almost 700 nautical miles. But today, exactly one week after the starting gun fired in Alicante, PUMA and Telefónica turned south hooking into a weather system they hope will catapult them through the Atlantic. CAMPER were expected to make the turn later today.

Finally able to sail a straight line towards the Leg 1 turning mark at Fernando de Noronha off the Brazilian coast, the teams were today hitting speeds of up to 25 knots. With decent breeze and a favourable angle, they quickly began to chew up Groupama’s lead and at the 1300 UTC position report the gap had been reduced to just 92 nautical miles.

“The French are battling light winds on the African shore, and at this stage my guess is that they are not pleased when they see our speeds in the 20s for the last couple of scheds,” said PUMA skipper Ken Read.

“We actually have a downwind sail on and are going at wide angles and at high speeds. This is the reward for beating our brains out for almost a week. We hope that our choice of unpleasant climate starts coming good for us now.”

Groupama, who have spent the last few days sailing consistent but relatively low speeds, broke away from the African coast last night in search of better breeze. Media crew member Yann Riou, himself an accomplished sailor, said the team felt “powerless” to the gains made by their rivals but reasserted that, with around 5,000 nautical miles still to go, “the race is far from over”.

All four boats must now line up to cross the dreaded Doldrums, a dynamic, moving band of high pressure lying either side of the Equator characterised by light winds but notorious for sudden squalls. Groupama may further pay the price for their easterly route as they could face having to cross the Doldrums at its widest point.

After announcing their retirement from Leg 1 on Friday, Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing were today en route to Lisbon, Portugal, where they will put their Volvo Open 70 yacht Azzam onto a ship bound for Cape Town. Abu Dhabi were forced to pull out of the leg six hours into racing when their 31-metre mast broke into three pieces in violent seas.

Team Sanya’s yacht, another casualty of the testing weather conditions on the first night, was today being trucked to Gibraltar to meet a ship to Cape Town. The boat was holed shortly after Azzam was dismasted, leaving the team no option but to forfeit the leg.

Both teams aim to be back in action for the second In-Port Race on December 10 and the start of Leg 2 to Abu Dhabi on December 11.

Volvo Ocean Race 2011 - 2012
www.volvooceanrace.com
November 12, 2011 - 1000 UTC