PUMA skipper Ken Read launched a surprise tactical gamble on Wednesday that could take the Leg 3 fight all the way to the wire, with the American taking his team offshore just as Telefónica led the main fleet towards the coast of Vietnam.

In a calculated risk taken with the team’s need for points in mind, Read defied conventional wisdom by investing in a position around 150 nautical miles to the east of the fleet as the race to Sanya in China enters a fraught final phase.

The move relegated PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG to fifth in the leg standings with less than 800 nautical miles to go as the rest of the leaders headed north towards Vietnam, the more traditional route.

With the other teams preparing for a 35-knot upwind battering, PUMA were banking on kinder winds, less tide and a better sea state to put them in contention for their first leg win. Success in the leg would also see them make vital gains on the overall race leaderboard where they currently lie in fourth place, 35 points behind Telefónica.

“It’s a case of make or break really,” said PUMA helmsman Jonathan Swain. “We’ve seen an opportunity which we can possibly capitalise on so we decided to take it. We were in line with the two leading boats but we decided to take an opportunity and try to win this thing. Looking at the scoreboard right now we had to do something, and here’s the opportunity to do it.

“There’s only three days left, only 800 miles left. We had two possibilities: one going up the coast of Vietnam hard on the wind and against the tide, and the other going further east and coming in to Sanya on a better angle with favourable current. It was a really tough decision to make for the navigator and skipper but this is the course we’ve chosen and so now we’re hoping it pans out for us.”

Swain said it would only be clear whether their move had worked in the dying moments of the leg.

“It’s going to be nail-biting,” he said. “It’s very stressful on board because we’re not seeing gains straight away.”

At the front of the pack, Groupama sailing team continued their persistent hounding of Team Telefónica, which saw them at times get to within one mile of the leaders.

“We were so close to overtaking Telefónica at least three times,” said Groupama helmsman Erwan Israël. “It really was a matter of one metre. This race is of incredible intensity — each metre is crucial. We gave everything.

At 1300 UTC the gap between the leading pair was up to seven nautical miles, but Israël said their fight was far from over.

“Now the game is more open,” he said. “The racecourse is larger and the boats are going in every direction. That’s offshore sailing. We are on the western side and are looking forward to see what happens next.”

CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand moved up to third place closing the gap to Telefónica to less than 40nm. Co-skipper Stu Bannatyne said his team, well trained in heavy weather upwind sailing, were waiting for their moment to strike as the finish line neared.

“Hopefully we can just chip away and gain a bit here and there and get close enough for a crack on the final sprint in to the finish in Sanya,” he said.

Ian Walker’s Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing faced a nerve-wracking 48 hours as they sailed into tough conditions akin to those which saw their yacht Azzam dismasted within six hours of the Leg 1 start.

“I would be lying if I said I was not worried about our mast and rigging, but all the signs are that things should be OK,” Walker said. “The big test will be when we go for the heavy weather jib and two reefs in the mainsail for the first time in anger since stepping this spare mast back in December.”

Team Sanya were just over 250nm behind the leg leaders at 1300 UTC having pulled back two nm in the three hours prior to the report.

“We would love to pick off a couple of boats and we are always looking for opportunities back here,” said watch captain Richard Mason. “In reality that would mean a breakdown or gear failure on one of the other boats. This morning we had our bowman up the rig checking all the fittings ahead of the heavy weather. There’s a point at which you stop racing and start surviving and that’s about 35 knots.”

Team Sanya will receive full Leg 3 points when they finish at their home port, as they were unable to take part in Stage 1 because of a rigging problem, while the other five teams who successfully completed the first stage of Leg 3 will receive 80 per cent of the points for completing the second stage.

Report: 01/02/2012 13:03:36 UTC
  DTL DTLC BS DTF
1   TELE 0.00  0 12 665.7
2   GPMA 7.00  0 11.8 672.7
3   CMPR 39.10  0 12.2 704.8
4   ADOR 76.00  0 12.4 741.7
5   PUMA 118.40  4 10.3 784.1
6   SNYA 256.80  2 7.9 922.5

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Hometown heroes Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing claimed their second inshore victory on Friday, winning the Etihad Airways In-Port Race in front of thousands of ecstatic local supporters.

Abu Dhabi, who take six points for a dream victory in front of their home fans, were followed by Groupama sailing team in second and CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand in the third podium place. PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG were fourth, followed by overall race leaders Team Telefónica in fifth.

Watch the full Etihad Airways In-Port Race replay in HD on  YouTube .

“We so wanted to win the race so we were prepared to take risks,” said Abu Dhabi skipper Ian Walker. “We knew if we could win it would be very special for everyone.

“I want to thank everyone here for their support. Everyone has been wishing us luck in the in-port race during the stopover and there were so many people in the village and out on the water cheering us on.

“We’re involved in a nine-month odyssey round the world but today is the most important day for Abu Dhabi. We have never seen this many boats out on the water to watch racing, and there are lots of people out who are new to sailing. Right now all they are seeing is their country flag being waved. It’s a real thrill for that to happen.”

PUMA led the fleet off the start line, but a port and starboard infringement on Telefónica soon after resulted in a penalty turn that cost them dearly. CAMPER made massive gains on the right hand side of the downwind course, but it was home favourites Abu Dhabi who came in from the left to take the lead at the first mark.

Abu Dhabi secured a 30-second jump over the fleet on the first 1.4 nautical mile run, but lost their lead in a port/starboard encounter midway through the second leg when they were forced to dip Groupama’s stern. The close-quarters upwind battle continued, with Abu Dhabi regaining the lead shortly before the second mark.

At the third mark, after just a few minutes reaching, Abu Dhabi led Groupama by 38 seconds, followed by CAMPER, PUMA and Telefónica, who slipped to last after a problematic second mark rounding.

Abu Dhabi’s Azzam consolidated their lead as the fleet started the second lap of the eight-plus mile course in a southerly breeze gusting to around seven knots. The locals held their lead for the remainder of the race, when with fists pumping on board they crossed the line after just under an hour’s racing.

No one was more thrilled than Azzam’s local sailor Adil Khalid, the first Emirati to compete in the Volvo Ocean Race, who waved the flag of the United Arab Emirates as they finished.

“I am so pleased with this win here in Abu Dhabi,” Khalid said. “The stopover has been wonderful and this is a great result for us as a team in our home port.”

A touch of royalty joined the fleet, with His Royal Highness Prince Andrew, Duke of York and Sheikh Shakhboot bin Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan racing on board Azzam. Prince Andrew, standing beside Walker as Azzam crossed the line, gave the British skipper a congratulatory pat on the back.

Thousands of spectators lined the shores of Abu Dhabi and hundreds more, including former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, took front row seats on board spectator boats, as the fleet battled the third of 10 in-port races, which account for around 20 per cent of all points.

The more than 4,000 nautical mile Leg 3 race to Sanya will start on Saturday, with the first stage race from Abu Dhabi to a point off the Sharjah coast getting underway at 1400 local time, 1000 UTC/GMT. Early forecasts are tipping fresh north-west winds of 13 to 16 knots inshore, building to 18 to 22 kts offshore.

1. Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing 6 points
2. Groupama sailing team 5
3. CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand 4
4. PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG 3
5. Team Telefonica 2
6. Team Sanya DNS*

Overall:

1. Team Telefonica 68
2. CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand 62
3. Groupama sailing team 47
4. PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG 31
5. Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing 25
6. Team Sanya 4*

* Team Sanya can still score points for Leg 2 and the Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi In-Port Race if they complete Stage 1 in racing conditions.

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Team Telefónica secured overall victory in Leg 2 with a strong second place but there was joy too for Groupama sailing team on Wednesday as they notched their first win of the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12, snatching top spot ahead of their rivals in the dying moments of the sprint into Abu Dhabi.

Franck Cammas’ men edged past Telefónica with just over 10 nautical miles to go to the Abu Dhabi finish line, claiming victory in the 98-nautical mile sprint from the northern United Arab Emirates by just 52 seconds to take a maximum six points.

Their victory came despite the fact that six of their sailors had to carry out a repair job on hull damage sustained in the first part of the leg.

Telefónica, the overall race leaders, are the Leg 2 winners with 29 points following their first place in Stage 1 from Cape Town to the undisclosed ‘safe haven’ in the Indian Ocean. That finished on December 26 with a thrilling head-to-head between Telefónica and CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand.

Telefónica lead the overall standings with 66 points followed by CAMPER on 58 after they finished third in Wednesday’s sprint stage to clinch second place overall in Leg 2. Groupama remain in third overall on 42 points.

“We were very fast today,” said Cammas, who saw his team home to victory at 12h22’09” UTC. “This morning we were a little worried about the repair. Now, I think we were so fast we will leave it. It was a very good day for us, good for our confidence. It doesn’t give a lot of points but it is an important win.”

Groupama watch captain Thomas Coville added: “It was a fabulous fight until the end. For me, that’s what the Volvo Ocean Race is: never give up! We had a great confrontation in amazing conditions.”

CAMPER picked up the final podium position in Leg 2 Stage 2 to score four points finishing at 12h27’48” UTC, 50 seconds ahead of PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG. PUMA’s position to seals third place overall in Leg 2. Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing were fifth, crossing the line at 12h32’21” UTC.

Skippered by Spanish Olympic gold medallist Iker Martínez, Telefónica led the second stage of Leg 2 from the northern United Arab Emirates to Abu Dhabi from the start, but were unable to hold off the attack from Groupama.

Within 20 miles of the finish, Cammas’ men drew neck and neck with Telefónica as the pair battled it out in choppy seas and winds of 15 to 25 knots. A sloppy rounding of the final turning mark gave Groupama their opportunity to pounce – and they did, snatching the lead with just over 10 nautical miles to go and ending Telefónica’s winning streak of three consecutive victories.

While Telefónica were left licking their wounds at their narrow defeat, they can take some comfort in extending their lead overall to eight points.

“We can’t be disappointed, we still have an advantage overall,” said Martínez. “We sailed well, but Groupama sailed very well and at the end they sailed better than us. All we can say is congratulations to the Groupama guys, this is their first victory so we are happy for them.”

Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing skipper Ian Walker, speaking just before a firework reception for them and the other teams, said: “This obviously wasn’t the result we wanted but we had a very tough time to get here. We broke the mast and at that point it didn’t look we would get to Abu Dhabi. To arrive to this amazing reception is just fantastic.”

Abu Dhabi crewmember Adil Khalid, the first ever Emirati to compete in the race, added: “It’s a great day for Abu Dhabi and a great day for me. It’s amazing to be back home and I can’t believe all the people who have come out here. There’s a long way to go in the race. Today was just not our day. It was very fast out there.”

As a safety measure to deter piracy, race organisers split the second leg into two stages. After racing the safe haven port, the boats were loaded onto a ship and transported through the worst affected waters to the northern United Arab Emirates.

They were then unloaded with racing resuming with a 98 nautical mile sprint into Abu Dhabi, the first time the race has visited the Middle East in its 38-year history.

Team Sanya, the sixth team in this edition of the race, are currently in Madagascar making repairs to their rig, which failed on the ninth day of the first stage of Leg 2 while they were leading. Once the rig is repaired the team will race to the safe haven port where they will meet the fleet for the second stage of Leg 3.

The fleet will return to action on January 13 with the Etihad Airways In-Port Race with Leg 3, from Abu Dhabi to Sanya, starting on January 14.

Leg 2 Stage 2 results*:

1. Groupama sailing team, 6 points, 12h32’21” UTC

2. Team Telefónica, 5 points, 12h23’01 UTC

3. CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand, 4 points, 12h27’48” UTC

4. PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG, 3 points, 12h28’38” UTC

5. Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing, 2 points, 12h32’21” UTC

Overall Leg 2 results*:

1. Team Telefónica 29 points

2. CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand 24

3. PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG 19

4. Groupama sailing team 18

5. Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing 10

Overall leaderboard after Leg 2*:

1. Team Telefónica 66 points

2. CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand 58

3. Groupama sailing team 42

4. PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG 28

5. Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing 19

6. Team Sanya 4*

* Team Sanya will pick up the following points if they complete Leg 2 Stage 1 under race rules: 4 points for Leg 2 Stage 1; 1 point for Leg 2 Stage 2

 

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There was a good breeze for this second part of the second leg, between Sharjah and Abu Dhabi, which formed a 98-mile coastal course raced under the influence of the Shamal desert wind. After a prudent start, Groupama 4 was really firing on all cylinders during the two long reaches and ultimately overtook the Spanish leaders thanks to a final solid sprint under spinnaker… 

There were rough, short seas for today’s race start at 0530 UTC off the Arab Emirate of Sharjah: around twenty knots of westerly wind with three metre waves and a beat to hunt down the first mark positioned some 18 miles ahead. The New Zealanders on Camper and the Americans on Puma got off to the best start at the end of the line, whilst the Spaniards on Telefonica and the French on Groupama 4 quickly put in a tack to reposition themselves a few hundred metres to weather of the fleet. A long port tack lay ahead as it took over an hour and a quarter for Telefonica, then Groupama 4, to put in their first tack change. The two VO-70s were slightly below the mark and had to make two additional manoeuvres to get around it. The same was true for Puma and Abu Dhabi…

A long leg with eased sheets

The Spanish led around the first mark, boasting a very slight edge over the New Zealanders, whilst the Americans managed to slip under Groupama 4′s bow and Abu Dhabi brought up the rear. The deficits between the five boats were extremely minimal at that point as they prepared for another very long upwind sprint with sheets slightly eased to hunt down mark 2, moored around fifty miles further down the racetrack to the West-South-West.

Three hours later, Franck Cammas and his men were right on Telefonica’s stern as the latter led the fleet around the second course mark: the two sisterships were unquestionably the most at ease in these sailing conditions (17-22 knots of breeze at 70°) since the New Zealanders were relegated to 1.1 miles astern, the Americans 1.3 miles astern and the Emirati boat 2.8 miles shy of the leaders! There were still 23 miles to go and the fleet were continuing to sail with eased sheets as they homed in on mark number 3 offshore of Abu Dhabi, before bearing away sharply for a final twelve mile sprint, on a broad reach to the finish line.

1hr20 later, the Spanish on Telefonica were first around the final course mark of this 98-mile course, though Groupama 4 was closing fast, less than a hundred metres astern of her, whilst the other three VO-70s had dropped back. As such there was just one fast reach under spinnaker to the finish of this drag race, where the two Juan Kouyoumdjian designs were able to show just what they were made of in the breezy conditions which continued to punch into them providing 20 knots or so of wind.

Overtaking under spinnaker

Just after the manoeuvre to hoist the spinnaker, Franck Cammas and his crew screamed into the lead and held onto it to the finish off the port of Abu Dhabi. The final sprint proved to be extremely close since Groupama 4 crossed the finish line just 52 seconds ahead of Telefonica after a little less than seven hours of racing! This victory for the French boat doesn’t alter the hierarchy in the overall standing but it does demonstrate that the French team can make the right choices when it counts, and above all that the crew has made considerable progress in this format of short races and is capable of linking together manoeuvres smoothly. The shore crew now have eight days to prepare the boat in preparation for the next “In-Port” race off Abu Dhabi, on 13 January, then another short leg before once again being loaded onto the cargo and shipped to the secret port in the Indian Ocean…

Quotes from the Boat…

Franck Cammas at the finish in Abu Dhabi
“Telefonica defended itself very well as we were a touch quicker and they gave their all to prevent us getting past them. We had one last chance because we managed to position ourselves to windward of them and thanks to a gust we were able to overtake. They are a very good crew with a very good boat and we’re very happy to have been able to get past them. It has to be said that the conditions were perfect for Groupama, which is particularly fond of reaching in breezy conditions. It was nice to get a bit of revenge after the first part of this second leg, because we were in a winning position at one point and were very frustrated not to pull it off. This morning we were still a bit concerned about finding our bearings, but I think we were so fast that the anxiety didn’t even have time to surface. It’s a fantastic day for the whole of Groupama sailing team, and it’s been a real confidence boost. It may not have given us many points, but this victory is important for the next stage…”

Thomas Coville
“It was a fine battle, all the way to the finish. On a personal level, this is what the Volvo Ocean Race is all about for me: never give up on anything! We enjoyed a very fine match race in some fantastic sailing conditions… Even though it was very wet on deck! We were with Camper at the start and Laurent (Pagès) viewed the race zone brilliantly. Thanks to our speed, we were gradually able to make up ground on Telefonica. We were spoilt by the warm wind and the sunshine and the sea was rough and vigorous but okay.”

Charles Caudrelier
“The course was pretty simple in terms of navigation: it was only the first part which required some tacks. We didn’t go off on any fliers and remained with the fleet as the aim was to stay in contact for the big sprint with eased sheets where we knew we were pretty quick. The success of this leg is the result of the work carried out by all the technical team: we have a research department, guided by Franck (Cammas), which analyses the different parameters. It’s a good feeling to rack up this victory! Indeed, though the boat is quick, it’s also down to the crew which was superb today…”

Standing for the second part of the second leg (Sharjah to Abu Dhabi: 98 miles)
1-Groupama 4 (Franck Cammas) at 12h 22′ 09 UTC
2-Telefonica (Iker Martinez) at 12h 23′ 01UTC
3-Camper (Chris Nicholson) at 12h 27′ 48 UTC
4-Puma (Ken Read) at 12h 28′ 38 UTC
5-Abu Dhabi (Ian Walker) at 12h 32′ 21 UTC
DNS-Sanya (Mike Sanderson)

Overall standing after the second leg
1-Telefonica (Iker Martinez) 66 points = 1+30+6+24+5
2-Camper (Chris Nicholson) 58 points = 4+25+5+20+4
3-Groupama 4 (Franck Cammas) 42 points = 2+20+2+12+6
4-Puma (Ken Read) 28 points = 5+0+4+16+3
5-Abu Dhabi (Ian Walker) 19 points = 6+0+3+8+2
6-Sanya (Mike Sanderson) 4 points: 3+0+1+suspended racing

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Charged with documenting the race from the perpectives of the crew on board, the role of Media Crew Member is often percieved as a glamorous “dream job”.

 But throw into the mix a gruelling work schedule alongside tasks including cleaning the bilges, bailing water from the boat and cooking all meals, and suddenly it’s not all fun and games if you’re a Volvo Ocean Race MCM.

While the Volvo Open 70s are in transit from the safe haven port, we caught up with Amory Ross, MCM on PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG, about the challenges of life on board Mar Mostro.

volvooceanrace.com: You came into this race quite late. Has it met your expectations so far?

Amory Ross: I didn’t come into this race with any expectations per se but I think it’s been a lot of what I was looking for in a sense of getting out there, finding something new and different. It’s been a really special opportunity. The material the MCMs are given is really impossible to access from any other perspective. We’re certainly hitting on all strides there. We have certainly been one for surprises so far – no shortage of new, off the topic adventures with islands and all kinds of stuff going on. It’s been exciting and the expectations have been a little left behind in terms of new adventures, and something to really sink the teeth into.

 VOR: The dismasting on the first leg must have been incredibly difficult to cover as an MCM. Tell us a bit about how you dealt with that.

AR: When it happened I think we were all more surprised than anything else. The nice thing about my situation is that there are 11 guys on the boat and each has a job to do. The sailors understand I am there for moments like that, and they have all been really gracious and welcoming with questions, and forthcoming with honest answers. Thinking about it now, it was tough. It seems like it was just yesterday. With the suddenness of it all, I immediately started recording the footage but not necessarily the reactions, just making sure from a technical standpoint everything was there because those are the moments you don’t get again. You get one try and that’s that. That very quickly shifted to trying to talk to some of the sailors. I’d be lying if I said it was easy, and there were some less than pleased reactions, but that’s my job. I look back at it now and I’m happy I had the gusto to say something because we all look back on it now in a very different light and everyone understands that in the heat of the moment it’s very frustrating for all.

 

VOR: What are the challenges of being an MCM?

AR: There’s no question that the public’s perception of the job is probably a little glamorous while from the inside it’s anything but. If I had to pick three of the more challenging components they would be:

1. Mentally being ok not helping out. That’s a big one for me. I come from a sailing background and it’s not necessarily that I want to improve the boat’s performance or anything but it’s tough. When times are down and people are struggling a bit I just want to help, I just want to grab something and offer two more hands to the equation. The nice thing is I direct that energy to the food, to the bailing, and just try to stay positive. For me that’s my contribution to the performance of the boat.

2. The scheduling we have is another one. The first leg we had was easy as it was pretty much north-south so there wasn’t much change in daylight hours or time zones. This last leg I had a really hard time with my schedule. I have a schedule for Volvo Ocean Race which runs on UTC, I have our boat time which was Cape Town time, and then I have the changing daylight so people are asking what time food’s coming up, if they are eating dinner when it’s really light or breakfast when it’s really dark. It messes with everyone’s cycle. Trying to regulate my own time and make sure meals are cooked on time, the content’s off the boat on time, making sure I get sleep – it’s a lot to handle.

3. Lastly it’s really hard to find time to rest. My time to work is when it’s sunny and so I find myself up all day, and then at night I’m editing. Sometimes it’s so loud and there’s so much going on. Whether you’re tacking or gybing or stacking your stuff, you really don’t have much rest. I always tend to end these legs pretty darn exhausted. The upside is that we get the opportunity to capture something really special. I will find myself in a bit of a swear-fest hating life, and two hours later I’ll take a picture or get something on video that makes all of it worthwhile. It’s amazing how quickly you forget.

 

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Team Telefónica snatched victory from CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand to win a thrilling first stage of Leg 2 by one minute and 57 seconds and strengthen their position at the top of the overall leaderboard.

Telefónica celebrated crossing the finish line just before 1800 UTC on Monday with fist-pumps, screams, handshakes and hugs, after more than 15 days’ racing from Cape Town to the secret location in the Indian Ocean.

 

Martínez described the run in as  “final miles of madness” with the pair switching the lead repeatedly, until eight miles from the finish when Telefónica stole the lead from CAMPER, along with their chance of leaping to the top of the overall leaderboard.

Martínez said it was a very difficult game of “cat and mouse” that was played in the dark while dodging atolls. “I’ve never navigated at night so close to the rocks and with so many complicated manoeuvres,” said the skipper.

“A few miles from the finish we thought we had few chances to pass CAMPER and there were three or four times during the night when we were left without wind.

“It was all a bit chaotic but luck changed sides, although the truth is either one of the teams could have crossed the line first.”

Telefónica claim 24 points for first place in the first of a two-stage, 5,430 nautical mile race to Abu Dhabi. The Spanish team remain in poll position on the overall race leaderboard with 61 points, followed by CAMPER on 54, having won 20 points for second place.

Nicholson said his team learned many lessons from their close quarter combat with Telefónica, especially since his team raced Leg 1 largely on their own.
Despite being disappointed the four-time Volvo competitor remained gracious in defeat, saying the right team ultimately won.

“I guess I sound negative but I’m actually quite disappointed in the result because we lead for the majority of this race,’’ he said.  “We had an amazing battle with Telefónica these last few days and then we got rolled about an hour from the finish by one rogue cloud.

“Occasionally the sport can throw that up at you. Normally the good guys win. First of all Telefónica sailed a fantastic race, they really did, from start to finish. They were there to take the opportunities in the end. Normally the right guys win.”

CAMPER and Telefónica had initially flagged protests against each other following the nail-biting finish, but after discussions the teams mutually agreed to drop them.

PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG are currently in third place with just over 20 nm to go at 2200 UTC on Monday, followed by Groupama sailing team in fourth with 50 nm and Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing fifth with 100 nm remaining.

Team Sanya continue to repair their rig at Madagascar, after being forced to suspend racing one week ago. The team are now focusing on getting in shape for the Leg 3 race to their home port of Sanya in China.

The boats will be shipped through waters notorious for pirates to a point off the Sharjah coastline in the northern United Arab Emirates in time to start the second stage of Leg 2, a day-long sprint to Abu Dhabi in early January for the remaining 20 per cent of the leg points.

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On this first day of winter in Europe, Franck Cammas is celebrating his first birthday (39th) racing at sea. As such Groupama 4′s pole position can only come as a source of satisfaction to the youngest skipper in this Volvo Ocean Race! Indeed the French boat will enter into the Indian version of the Doldrums this Friday with a lead of nearly 80 miles.

 
Though winter is proving to be mild in Europe, summer in the southern hemisphere is both very hot and very wet: indeed Groupama 4 is nearly at 11° South and is gradually leaving the high pressure of the Mascareignes High behind her to confront the random mood swings of the Doldrums. Indeed this Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) doesn’t appear to be very easy to apprehend, even though in theory it is supposed to be less ‘twisted’ than in the Atlantic.

“I’m preparing a chocolate cake for Franck’s birthday” announced Yann Riou, Groupama 4′s media man, during the lunch time radio link-up this Thursday. “Together with my pressure cooker and a few eggs, which I’ve managed to keep cool, I’m going to make a change to the usual routine and already the aromas are more reminiscent of a patisserie and have replaced the rather vivid odours resulting from the ambient humidity. Indeed the skies are becoming overcast and decidedly grey even. It is very hot as we’re closing on the Doldrums, which we’re set to reach this evening…”

Happy birthday Franck!

This Friday afternoon Groupama 4 has also been the first to enter the ‘stealth’ zone, an area marked out on the map by the Volvo Ocean Race organisers to combat the risk of piracy. Positioned between the Arabic peninsula, the southern tip of India and the North of the island of Madagascar, this vast expanse will no longer enable us to track the progress of the six boats as far as the finish, but the distances between the competitors will still be broadcast to the public. This ‘stealth’ zone, which begins at 12° South, is also close to the Doldrums, which appear to start at around 9° South.

“Thanks for wishing me happy birthday! Usually I’m on land at this time of year… However, the current preoccupation is more geared around the Doldrums: it’s always a fairly hazardous zone and it’s hard to find the best way through. We’re happy with our positioning for tackling it as we can still control the fleet behind us. We already know that our pursuers will make up some ground on us over the coming hours since we’ll be the first to be slowed… We’re the pacesetter and everyone will be watching where we go to get an idea of the ambience. However, it remains an enviable position: we have a lead of 80 miles with a finish lining up after around 1,000 miles. The coming days will be more complicated than in recent hours though and we could lose a lot of ground” indicated Franck Cammas at noon this Thursday.

Two hundred difficult miles

Franck Cammas has opted to traverse the ITCZ at 67° East for several reasons: first of all because an opening appears to be taking shape along this axis as a depression isobar (1008 hPa) is bending round between Sri Lanka and the Diego Garcia atoll. The south-easterly wind of around fifteen knots on Thursday morning, will ease to just ten knots or so as it gradually clocks round to the South, then the South-West at around five knots at noon on Friday. Furthermore, by remaining further to the West, Groupama 4 is giving herself the opportunity to dip back down to the North-East, ahead of her rivals, should the opportunity present itself. It’s easier to luff up in the light airs and accelerate rather than bearing away under spinnaker as you slow… Finally, the third element to take into account is the rotation of the wind to the West at 7° South, followed by a gradual shift round to the North-West and then the North on approaching the equator. By positioning herself further to the West, Groupama 4 won’t have to put in any tacks to complete this first part of the race.

“It’s said that the Indian Doldrums are different to those of the Atlantic but when I asked this same question to those who traversed this zone three years ago, they told me that they’d been stuck fast for three days… It doesn’t have the same shape as it’s more cross-shaped with a fairly thick North-South axis, quite a way off, and an East-West branch which we’re going to traverse. The exit is due North in any case! As a result we’ll have to gain miles in all the squalls so as to stand a chance of being the first to exit the zone and latch onto the westerly wind near the equator.”

What of the wave?

Ian Walker, the skipper of Abu Dhabi announced that the formation of a tropical wave could reshuffle the cards as they pass through the Doldrums. In line with this, the Spanish on Telefonica and the New Zealanders on Camper have curved their route inwards over recent hours, which would suggest that they’re keen to attack the ITCZ at 72° East. Indeed it would appear that another way through is opening up at 75° East, but this involves extending the trajectory with a more easterly exit from the Doldrums and hence a final beat to round off the leg.

“A tropical wave is a weather phenomenon, a kind of atmospheric trough, which traverses the tradewinds in the direction of the Doldrums: this generates stronger activity with southerly wind. This in turn breaks the ITCZ and enables connections between two breeze systems, and hence opens up ways through. There doesn’t appear to be a very pronounced tropical wave at the moment, but there are some small elements on the files…”

Torrid ambience

“We going to pass through some fabulous areas with some very remote islands: there are flying fish at the moment, but not too much activity in the water and in the air. Added to that we’re going to have even less movement over the coming days! Aboard the boat it’s very hot and at times we’re envious of you back in Europe… However, it’s also a quiet atmosphere: it’s a good thing for Jean-Luc (Nélias, navigator) and I that our option paid off after the failure in the first leg. It’s always good to have confidence in oneself and in one’s crew… Furthermore, we won’t be cut off from the world in this stealth zone as we’ll still receive all the data from the organisation.”

After eleven days at sea and lots of turnabouts since the start in Cape Town, the arrival in the secret port is scheduled for Monday, the day after Christmas… The question is, will there be another present for Franck and his crew at the end of it?

Position of the competitors in the Volvo Ocean Race in the second leg from Cape Town – Abu Dhabi at 1600 UTC on 22/12/2011
1. Groupama 4
2. Puma – 65,4 miles astern of the leader
3. Telefonica – 82,9 miles astern of the leader
4. Camper – 124,6 miles astern of the leader
5. Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing – 210,2 miles astern of the leader
Team Sanya – suspended racing

 

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Groupama sailing team’s position was cloaked on Thursday as they led the Volvo Ocean Race fleet into the Leg 2 anti-piracy stealth zone.

The French team, skippered by Franck Cammas, were the first to pass into the stealth zone, implemented by race organisers to mask the exact location of the yachts as they head towards an unnamed ‘safe haven’ in the Indian Ocean.

Groupama 4 entered the area, where fans will still be able to see the relative positions of the boats via the Distance to Leader feature, shortly after 1000 UTC, around 80 nautical miles ahead of their closest rivals PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG.

At the 1300 UTC position report, PUMA had a lead of around 15nm over third placed Team Telefónica, with CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand trailing Telefónica by around 38nm.

The big challenge to Groupama’s lead could come from the Doldrums, the band of dynamic, variable low pressure characterised by light winds but notorious for sudden squalls, and well capable of reshuffling the leaderboard entirely.

“We’re going into an area where the wind is very hard to anticipate so we have to be very pragmatic and take all opportunities to get through the Doldrums,” said Cammas, who was preparing to celebrate his 39th birthday on board with a chocolate cake.

“For sure we know the other boats will get closer in the next day or two because we will enter the light wind zone before the others. We are happy with the position we have now but we know anything can happen in this kind of weather situation. It’s part of the game and we have to be very clever with the troughs and squalls in this area.”

Before they even get to the Doldrums, though, there is a moving low front to the east of the fleet, with more opportunities for a shake-up in the order.

“The big question is east or west,” said Tom Addis, navigator on second-placed PUMA. “We’re probably about 80 or 90 per cent set on the western option so we’re sailing low and fast for that. It’s generally tidier there and it’s the shortest distance and I think we have time to get round the front of this low. That’s our preferred option but nothing is set in stone. We still can make a course change.”

Once they reach the secret safe haven, the fleet will be shipped to a location off the Sharjah coastline, a measure introduced to minimise the risk of piracy. They will resume the race at that point with a sprint into Abu Dhabi.

Team Sanya continue to work on a plan to see them back in the leg after they were forced to suspend racing and head for Madagascar with rigging problems. They had a 200nm lead on the fleet at the time. “I think it’s really settled in for all of us now, and it hurts,” skipper Mike Sanderson said.

The parts which failed will be flown from Madagascar to Valencia, Spain, and back in a repair job that could take up to three weeks. “We are blessed with infinite support from friends, family and loved ones and our fans that have been amazing,” Sanderson added. “Our sponsors and supporters have been nothing but inspiring in their unwavering support and positivity for this team.”

 

DTL

DTLC

BS

1

GPMA (STE)

0.00

0

16.9

2

PUMA

76.80

5

19.2

3

TELE

91.80

9

19.5

4

CMPR

128.10

3

17.3

5

ADOR

229.20

6

20.6

-

SNYA

 

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