All five boats racing down the South Pacific Ocean in leg five of the Volvo Ocean Race are engaged in a battle with nature.  The doldrums and the associated clouds and squalls are causing big gains and huge losses across the fleet as the boats get pushed further away from their optimum courses by the unstable weather.   

 “It’s all about your route through the cloud minefield,” says Guy Salter from Ericsson 4 (Torben Grael/BRA) who is clinging onto first place.  “Often you just can’t avoid them [the clouds], and have to accept that, several miles away, your competitor is having an easier time of it,” Salter explained, as the team looks over its shoulders to see PUMA (Ken Read/USA) and Ericsson 3 (Magnus Olsson/SWE) 26 nm astern and gaining.

According to Salter, the clouds have often left Ericsson 4 in a complete void without even a breath of wind, before suddenly sending down a squall with such speed that the team has often found itself a fair way off their optimal course, and has been pushed further south than they planned. 

With clouds, come big gains and losses.  Two days ago, Ericsson 3 (Magnus Olsson/SWE) sailed into PUMA’s world and has been their constant companion ever since.

 “We then started a 48-hour flat out drag race and slowly pulled out a very hard-earned four-mile lead, only to have it evaporate late last night in one squall,” explains PUMA’s skipper Kenny Read.

 “We slowed to 11 knots, they came roaring up at 20 and it has been game on ever since,” he said.  At 1300 GMT today, PUMA had regained a marginal upper hand and is in second place.    Both boats gybed onto a southerly course just after 0930 GMT this morning and are split across a lateral divide of 6.5 nm west to east, and making about five knots.

The squalls in this region appear to be quite prevalent, and can last up to two hours.  The first signs of a vicious squall approaching is a general darkening of the sky and a thickening of the clouds to weather of the boat.    The leading edge of the squall is accompanied by a high probability that there will be a significant wind shift. 

Rick Deppe says that when they observe the high black cloud, light rain starts to fall which lasts for about five minutes.  It is generally followed by a short pause in the rain, which may be accompanied by possible clearing of the clouds.  “The break will only be for a few minutes before the large drops start to fall from the puffy nimbus clouds that make up the body of the squall,” he says.  These conditions are likely to last for at least another three days as the fleet picks its way towards Fiji.

“Once the call has been made that we are about to get hit [by a squall], the crew has to react quickly to make the boat safe – wind speeds in a squall can easily double or increase by 20 knots.  The squalls generate a sloppy wave pattern and the boat starts to crash and bump because the waves are disorganised and random, “explains Deppe. 

Making the most of the conditions and very much back in the game is Ian Walker’s Green Dragon.  The team is 86 nm to the east of Ericsson 4’s track and averaging a steady 13.5 knots.  

“The fleet has opted to follow our easterly route, which has consolidated some very big gains for us,” said Ian Walker who celebrates his 39th birthday today.  “We have taken over 200 miles out of the leaders and are very much back in the hunt.  It looks like everyone is shaping up to go east of Fiji, where a large area of no wind awaits the fleet,” he said. 

Telefónica Blue (Bouwe Bekking/NED) is in fourth place, but closing quickly and averaging 10 knots of boatspeed.  Bekking is still playing it conservatively, following the pack and not making any radical decisions.  Their track takes them 84 nm west of the tracks of PUMA and Ericsson 3.

“Our boatspeed over the last few days has been really good and we feel that if we can get into the same patch of water as the others in this light to moderate reaching, then we will do well, “ said navigator Tom Addis. The team is happy to follow the leaders down to the first scoring gate at 36 degrees south, where they expect a restart with the fleet. 

Although the fleet continues to battle with all that nature can throw their way, occasionally the wind Gods smile and clouds arrive at just the right time to give a real boost in the right direction. 

“Breeze picking up now – 14 knots of boats speed, and, by the look of this cloud, it is lined up quite nicely for us and we should get quite a nice run out of it for 10 miles or so.  Nice, friendly helpful, benevolent, thoughtful cloud…” wrote Tom Addis from Telefónica Blue at 0705 GMT today.  

Leg Five Day 12: 1300 GMT Volvo Ocean Race Positions
Ericsson 4 SWE (Torben Grael/BRA) DTF 8,830 nm
Ericsson 3 SWE (Magnus Olsson/SWE) +26
PUMA Racing Team USA (Ken Read/USA) +26
Telefónica Blue ESP (Bouwe Bekking/NED) +62
Green Dragon IRL/CHI (Ian Walker/GBR) +88

Delta Lloyd IRL (Roberto Bermudez/ESP) DNS
Telefónica Black ESP (Fernando Echávarri/ESP) DNS
Team Russia RUS (Andreas Hanakamp/AUT) DNS

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The decision to gamble on an easterly approach to the Doldrums was worthy of a scene from Ocean’s 13. And as reported in today’s Ten Zulu, it was Ian Walker’s men who emerged from the cashier’s queue with the biggest payout.

The Dragon has gained 140 miles Distance To Leader (DTL) on Ericsson 4 since 13:00 GMT on Saturday.

Best supporting role must surely go to the Doldrums. For it is the Doldrums, not for the first time in this race, which has brought about compression in the fleet and put a whole new complexion on the leaderboard.

But what of the others? Well Ericsson 3 is worthy of a special mention in the comeback category. Conceding seven hours to their rivals at the start of this leg, Magnus Olsson’s crew are now within four miles of second-placed PUMA, who in turn are 24 miles adrift of Ericsson 4.

Green Dragon was +129 and Telefonica Blue, which gave the pack a 19-hour head start out of Qingdao, was +134.

In an email entitled “Rolling The Dice” (the gambling habit is catching), Ericsson 3’s Media Crew Member Gustav Morin talked of the 50-mile gain on the shoe boat in the past 24 hours and of the roulette wheel that is the Doldrums.

For Sweden’s Morin, it is still a “högrisk spel” (high risk game) out there. Conditions overhead are clouding the situation, he adds.

“We have reached the Doldrums and the game of rolling dice can begin,” he said. “Even though the convergence zone is not as big as it has been in the last crossings (Leg 1 and 2), it is still impossible to predict what’s going to happen with the wind over the next few days.

On Telefonica Blue, Bouwe Bekking reported that a message of volcanic proportions landed in the inbox of their navigation warning system. It read: “North Pacific, Nanpo shoto. Discoloured water with submarine volcanic activities observed. In vicinity of 24-17.1N 141-29.0E”.

“Yes, indeed a volcanic ‘eruption’ very close where we crossed this position a couple of days ago,” Bekking said. “Good it didn’t happen when we were there, as not sure how we would have reacted… and rather don’t want to know the consequences.

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Kenny Read writes about the  New Arrival. “ We had a phenomenal day on the 22nd.  Our PUMA family welcomed a new member.
Michi Mueller and his partner Meike brought  a new healthy baby girl into this world.  Mia Carlotta.

One small problem.  Michi is out here with us!!!!

Ok Ok, I can hear the wheels turning in your heads.  Did he know?  Yes of course he did.

It is a bit of a theme on this craft though.  Our media guru Ricky Deppe did a similar deed when he was aboard Chessie Racing in the 1997-98 Whitbread Race.  September 25, 1997 is a day that his daughter Isabelle good naturedly ribs him about all the time, he claims.  The day she was born and he was sailing to Cape Town on the first leg of this race.

I have said many times that the day my daughter Tory was born was the greatest in my life.  I thought I was going to be one of those people passing out in the corner (not a huge fan of even a paper cut to be honest, never mind the birthing process).  It was anything but that.  It was simply incredible.

With all this said, I know Michi is a proud, but sad Dad today.  His commitment to this programme is nothing short of spectacular.  I asked him if he wanted out of this leg and he told me he had committed to this a long time ago and would fulfil his commitment.  In not quite as many words as that.  He did stash a bottle of champagne on board that came out around the middle of the night last night in a frenzy of peeling bubble wrap off of a warm bottle of bubbly.  Michi said it was the best he ever tasted.  And we have a slightly grander party planned for him today.

Michi, like any true professional, is back at work, on his watch, doing what Michi does best.  Which is a little of everything on this boat.  But there is no doubt that his eyes can be seen wandering from time to time, back to Kiel Germany where Meike and Mia are together no doubt missing the man of the family.  At least that is what we guys hope happens…

Welcome Mia.  Congratulations Meike.  And Michi, you now have the first reason for your daughter to give you grief.  And believe me (and I only say this lovingly) daughters don’t need much of an excuse to give their fathers grief from time to time.  Like Ricky and his daughter, my guess is that you get a good natured ribbing from Mia for the rest of your life.  One thing is for certain though; the other 10 guys on board il Mostro are selfishly very pleased that you decided to come with us.  Maybe your words, that you had ‘committed’, will be her first life lesson as well.”"

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His is a vicious cycle at the moment. Toe in the Water, a relatively older, wide boat with a fixed keel and sailplan more optimized for downwind sailing needs more breeze in order to sail to narrower angles to windward. But more wind means bigger seas and more crashing and bashing around.

“I am slamming away like I don’t know what, here. It is just so frustrating. This boat must be just about the worst there is in the fleet for going upwind. Norbert’s is a narrower boat with a canting keel and that would be preferable. In this wind I tack through anywhere around 100 to 105 degrees and below 15 knots that rises to 120 degrees and that really dictates where I am going. If I can get up the to the north of the latitude of Les Sables and the NE’lies hold it could be OK, but down in the south of the Bay it is a bit light and swirly.”

“It is very frustrating because it seems like every time I tack the wind heads me.” Said White this afternoon, 100 miles to the NW of Cape Finisterre, whilst still heading SE.

“I shall probably tack in a couple of hours and then see where that gets me. I am hoping the breeze will hold up. I am making 9.5 – 9.7 knots but I don’t want to push too hard in these seas because I don’t want to bring the rig down.”

Norbert Sedlacek, AUT, (Nauticsport-Kapsch) has been recovering today after a four hours mast climb yesterday. His climb, to repair his mast track and to replace two headsail halyards, ultimately proved successful but he found two small cracks in his mast level with the top spreaders.

“The climb was a bit ‘sportif’ and used every last bit of my energy to do it. It was completely done afterwards. I took a big spanner with me and managed to secure the mast track and replace the halyards. But now I am exhausted and it is a bit stressy with the ICTZ which is very active with big squalls.” Said Sedlacek this afternoon, who has 200 miles to sail to the equator.

“I will have to be very careful with the mast with the big headsails but otherwise it should be very careful. For the mainsail I can still only sail with two or three reefs. I have a bad headache today after yesterday and will be really happy to make the next 60 miles and get out of the ICT and get into the NE’ly trade winds.”

Rich Wilson is 1175 miles west of the Canary islands and has been making steady progress north. He is sailing upwind in the NE’ly trade winds off the Canaries. In the short term, he knows that he is at the mercy of a high-pressure area that has moved across from Nova Scotia. If he wishes to get around it to find downwind conditions, he will need to add many miles to his route to reach 45° longitude west. If he does not do this, Wilson will have to struggle upwind, which is something he has certainly been getting used to since the Horn. His current ETA in Les Sables d’Olonne is around 5th or 6th March.

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Arnaud Boissieres spoke of his win today ” My boat was extraordinary. She already came sixth and fifth and now seventh, so I owe her a lot. It’s a bit like Roxy coming first, first and fourth. It is the designers, who came up with these great boats, and I just try to drive it as best I can. I tried not to break anything as I would have been told off afterwards. The first to come out to me this morning was Dee Caffari, which was great as we did a lot of the race together and we often communicated with each other. These English sailors are extraordinary and I had a good relationship with Dee in particular. When you see all the people here, you start to wonder if you haven’t done something extraordinary. I don’t believe I’ve done anything out of the ordinary. I just sailed her as well as I could.”

“ Of course, I didn’t expect such a welcome. There were crowds for Michel, Armel and Marc, so maybe people said it would be unfair if there weren’t crowds out for me. When I entered this harbour two and a half years ago, it already felt like I was in the Vendée Globe.”

“ I was down at Cape Horn just ahead of Aviva. I turned left. I was warned that it was not easy after the Horn. But Aviva and Pindar really sail quickly and I had a tough time with the fishermen off Brazil and the oil rigs. I called up my project manager who told me it was normal that I was left behind and to head for the coast of Brazil, where it is nice and warm. On the radio sessions, I could only repeat the same thing every time – fishermen, oil rigs, no wind…”

“ When you see people like Mich and Vincent Riou and Peyron in the race, you think you don’t have much chance –maybe tenth or fifteenth if you’re lucky, but finishing was really the goal, so finishing seventh is great. After 105 days alone, you necessarily change somewhere inside. Your family, partner and team are also transformed. Of course, there were some hard times. Gusts at 85 knots. I call up Denis Horeau, the Race Director, and he tells me they’re looking at the weather for the three of us at the Horn. So the race was suspended. I’ve known Brian for some time and now I know Dee well, so it was nice to be with them and it all went well.”

“ Off Tierra del Fuego, you have violent gusts. You see the snow-capped mountains and as you approach the Horn, you tell yourself you have to merit the Horn. When you’re in the storm, you don’t have time to worry. You get ready for it and get your food and water and survival gear together and just wait. You can’t sleep or rest as you wonder how bad it will be. After you have a great story to tell and you feel like you have accomplished something. Brian told me to get close to the Horn to see what it looked like. I did the English Vendée Globe. I knew Brian from the Mini days and Sam and as I said before, Dee is extraordinary.”

“This wasn’t a challenge going back to my past. I got over my problems with support of those around me. I don’t see it as revenge for those trying times. I’m just lucky to earn my living from my passion. I’m someone who is privileged. Thanks to people like Jean-Philippe Chomette.”

The future? I’m already thinking of setting out again and starting a new 4-year campaign to develop a boat and team.

“ The team? This is vital. You need to get on with them. We’re only a small team with a group of friends, who come and help. To begin with, I owe everything to my parents, my sisters, who have always supported me. There aren’t words to describe the family. You need that solid support on land. My Dad told me not to say anything stupid when talking in a crowd.”

“vFollowing my leukaemia at the age of 17, I underwent treatment for 18 months. When I began this project with Jean-Philippe Chomette and Christophe Chabot, I met Christine Janin, who was the first Frenchwomen to climb Everest. She welcomes sick kids to the Alps. When I did the Round the Island race, we said there was a parallel between the sea and mountains, so we did a partnership with that charity. It seemed natural. There was no calculation in choosing that charity.”

“ I’m looking forward to fresh fish and fresh vegetables and a gin and tonic with more gin than tonic.”

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At 1700 GMT on Saturday, Beluga Racer snatched first place for 19 hours until Desafio Cabo de Hornos regained the lead and held first place despite an unpleasant bump in the night. Felipe Cubillos explains: “José was off-watch, sleeping, although I felt like waking him and sharing the stunning starlight night and stable breeze. Added to which, we had a 2.8 mile lead over the Germans, but with the Brits chasing very fast in the south.” However, Cubillos had a sense of impending drama. “I was listening to some Dire Straits, spinnaker up, 14 knots of breeze, nine knots boats speed and I just felt that when things are this good, it just can’t last.” And so it was, with the bright red Class 40 slamming into an underwater object, coming to an almost complete stop. “I woke José real quick,” continues Cubillos. “My first thought was we’d been caught in fishing gear. Can you imagine the mess? Trying to cut away the net on a moonless night, stuck at sea with the Germans breathing down our necks!”

Cubillos and Muñoz dropped the spinnaker, backed the mainsail and sailed astern freeing Desafio Cabo de Hornos from whatever had entrapped their keel. “As we crept backwards slowly, we saw it. A shark, cut clean in two by our keel fin,” confirms the Chilean skipper. However, the encounter has failed to slow the Latin American team and Desafio Cabo de Hornos maintained a 2.6 mile lead over the Germans on Beluga Racer and a little above three miles over third place Team Mowgli with Michel Kleinjans and Roaring Forty trailing the Chileans by six miles at 1520 GMT on Sunday. “I feel really sorry for the shark and it’s really bad luck,” Cubillos admits. “But after 17,000 miles of sailing our boat, you are able to feel if there’s the slightest problem with her and everything seems fine and we’re back up to 90 percent speed.”

The Portimão Global Ocean Race fleet are riding breeze of around 25-30 knots on top of a low pressure system that is tracking south-east into the Pacific Ocean, although forecasting is unclear. “The meteorological scene for the next few days is completely uncertain,” believes Cubillos. “Right now, we are sailing in breeze that all the weather experts said does not exist, but we will enjoy it while it lasts.” For the Chileans, immediate tactics are simple: “There’s still a long way to race, but our current strategy is simple. Stick close to Beluga Racer and stay ahead of them if possible.” There is, however, a threat hammering along at 10 knots south of the fleet. “The great mystery is Team Mowgli,” confesses Cubillos. “The English boat to the south already has a lateral separation of 65 miles from us and the Germans and, therefore, they are sailing with different winds. My impression is that in the next few hours they’ll take the lead, but it isn’t guaranteed.”

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One by one the Volvo Ocean Race fleet has followed Ericsson 4 back into the Doldrums, and the torture they endured in Leg 1 and Leg 2 has begun again.

Torben Grael and his team were the first to slow on the 07:00 GMT Position Report this morning. “Today we arrive at the Doldrums, and the last eight hours has been really painful with lots of clouds and light winds,” announced Joca Signorni, from aboard Ericsson 4. And for a brief period they even appeared to have tacked to starboard, in a bid to find new breeze. It looks like it worked. By the 10:00 GMT Position Report they were moving again, and are now matching the speed of PUMA, who are still 22 miles behind them.

The real winners in this initial exchange are Ericsson 3 – “what we really want is to get up there and match race with Ericsson 4 and PUMA,’ announced Ericsson 3′s navigator, Aksel Magdahl, earlier today. Magdahl’s wish has been partly granted, having started seven hours behind PUMA, they are now just three miles away from the second place that Ken Read and his team have held (apart from a brief period in the lead) for a week. But at the 16:00 GMT Position Report, the leading trio were all maintaining very similar boat speeds, around 11-12 knots, with the same wind speed. Still, there is every likelihood that this will end up in a three-way, close-quarter battle.

Behind the leading trio, Telefonica Blue were sticking to their strategy and still aiming at their pre-determined Doldrums crossing point. While they still had plenty of wind and a boat speed in the high-teens, they seem to be aiming at the same target that the leaders have locked onto. Doubtless he was thinking of Green Dragon when he wrote that – while the rest of the fleet have chosen to fight it out in the same piece of water, Ian Walker and his team have created a real opportunity for themselves. They are over 100 miles further east than the rest of the fleet, and heading for a completely different part of the Doldrums.

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Arnaud Boissières is remaining true to this afternoon’s schedule and should not disappoint the crowds who are certain to turn out and offer a huge welcome to this popular local IMOCA Open 60 and the skipper who is completing his first Vendée Globe.

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