Sport-heute: Sailing - Wir essen wie die Fürsten!

27. Februar 2009, 17:01

Wir essen wie die Fürsten!

Clever haben wir eine gute Strecke mit immer wieder Wind gefunden. Im Moment ist es aber ruhig. Wir sitzen da und essen gemütlich. Wunderbar ist es hier draussen. Wir wissen, dass unsere Crew genau die richtige Route gewählt hat und immer wieder davon profitieren kann. Den anderen Booten geht es nicht so gut. Wir sind auch mit der Geschwindigkeit sehr zufrieden und haben einige gute Scheds gehabt. Weiter so!!! Im Moment sind wir bei den Fiji Inseln.

Brüttisellen, 27.2.09 Die Originalberichte direkt von den Yachten
News

WEATHER AND WIND ANGLES FORCE TACTICAL DECISIONS

The islands of Fiji are in the way and causing some head-scratching for the navigators in leg five of the Volvo Ocean Race as they try to decide will be the most favourable way to negotiate a course around the two islands, which lie 40 nm ahead and right in their path.

During the past week, the fleet has been clawing as much easting as possible, but now it seems it may not have been quite enough, at least for the majority of the fleet.
Green Dragon (Ian Walker/GBR) has been committed to the east for over a week, which, up to now, has paid big dividends and if this team has to tack to clear Fiji, it will be for less time than any others who choose this route.

'Who would have thought that Fiji would have such a big part to play in determining the strategy in leg five? I didn't even know exactly where Fiji was when we left China two weeks ago! Now I am cross examining every member of the crew who has ever been there on holiday, trying to find out the nature of the island the possible local effects of the wind,' says Ian Walker.

Ericsson 4 (Torben Grael/BRA) is currently still heading straight for Vanua Levu, the eastern and smaller of the two islands, while PUMA (Ken Read/USA) was the first boat in the fleet to peel off with certainty to the west after Read had much discussion with Australian navigator, Andrew Cape.

'A bit of precarious weather around the island will make for a huge gain or loss depending if you guess right for the short or long term,' says Kenny Read. 'Capey (Andrew Cape - navigator) has been wracking his brain overtime, trying to figure this one out. As always, I sit there and throw as many questions at him as possible to try and get all the options on the table.'

According to Ericsson 3's navigator, Aksel Magdahl, the weather models do not favour the west at all, showing huge zones of no wind there, over in the next couple of days. But Magdahl also adds that he doesn't expect the weather models to be accurate in this area. 'A cluster of clouds can quickly make a boat hero to zero,' he says.

Weather and wind angles aside, many of the crew of leading boat Ericsson 4 have very fond memories of Fiji and they are sure that such positive memories will ensure the islands are 'nice' to them. Watch captain, Brad Jackson, was married on Fiji, so that should keep them in good stead. Joking aside, MCM Guy Salter says the team has no reason to change their game plan and go west or even straight between the two islands. They will pass to the east - hopefully!

But, for Ericsson 3, the dilemma is unsolved. 'Now we have to a choose side, very late. If we want to be east, we will have to beat upwind for many hours in light breeze, which will be very expensive. So, take a probable big loss by going west, but with a chance to sneak through without too much pain? Or, invest even more in the east and take a certain short term loss of maybe 12 hours, to stay in an area where the probability for more consistent breeze is higher than in the west,' questions navigator Aksel Magdahl.

Magdahl has discounted the option of going between the islands because of the team's experience with the uncharted Spratly Islands on leg four.

'It is déjÃ -vu with the 'Dangerous Ground' from the last leg really, with a big unsurveyed area. There are still charts though, but we don't trust them, so we will try to stay away from there,' he says.

Not so for Bouwe Bekking/NED. The Dutchman looks set to take Telefónica Blue straight through the gap between the two islands, which, at its narrowest point is only 2.5 nm wide, expanding to about 40 nm at its widest point.

The recent decision-making in the fleet has led to a temporary shake up on the leaderboard.. PUMA moves into first place, and Telefónica Blue takes up second position, pushing Ericson 4 back to third and Ericsson 3 into fourth place.

The fleet is currently hard on the wind, with about 12 knots of wind speed, making for painfully show mileage. Everyone is hoping that the wind Gods will smile soon and free the fleet up. But, for now, it is decision time, and many think the leg could be won or lost at this point.

Leg Five Day 14: 1300 GMT Volvo Ocean Race Positions
(boat name/country/skipper/nationality/distance to finish)

PUMA Racing Team USA (Ken Read/USA) DTF 8,364
Telefónica Blue ESP (Bouwe Bekking/NED) +18
Ericsson 4 SWE (Torben Grael/BRA) +20
Ericsson 3 SWE (Magnus Olsson/SWE) +41
Green Dragon IRL/CHI (Ian Walker/GBR) +78

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

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DECISION TIME FOR VOLVO FLEET

With the satellites all back up and working after their re-organisation in space, the Volvo Ocean Race fleet found itself approaching the Doldrums on their port reach south towards the islands of Fiji, an area where receiving satellite weather information is key to success.

Ericsson 4 (Torben Grael/BRA) was the first boat to 'officially' park as the wind died and the backmarkers started to make serious inroads in to the lead. The fleet was picking its way through the Marshall Islands, a group of 29 atolls and five islands and an area so interesting that most of the teams were absorbed in the digital version of the Pacific Pilot book. Ian Walker had elected to keep Green Dragon as far to the east as possible, a move that would take a week to play out.

PUMA (Ken Read/USA) had closed to within 21 nm of Ericsson 4 and Ericsson 3 (Magnus Olsson/SWE) was just three miles further back. But the gap of over 200 nm separating Telefónica Blue
(Bouwe Bekking/NED) who had started 19 hours after the rest of the fleet after a 'rocky' experience at the start had begun to close and both she and Green Dragon started to cash in.

On day 10, 23 February, Green Dragon had a close encounter with a whale, which breached the surface about three boat lengths to windward when the boat was reaching at a steady 17 knots. 'It does make you wonder what the impact would be if you hit one of these fantastic creatures,' queried Ian Walker. 'Probably better not to think about it too much,' he added. Spirits were high on the Chinese/Irish entry as they continued to breeze through the Doldrums with very little interruption.

Day 10 was also the day that the fleet passed from the northern hemisphere into the southern hemisphere. Onboard second-placed PUMA (Ken Read/USA), they marked the occasion by having Frenchman Sidney Gavignet steer until the dials reached zero, and then Kiwi, Rob Salthouse, took over as soon as they officially entered the southern hemisphere. A party was held on board to celebrate the safe arrival of Michi Mueller's daughter. Contraband Rum was consumed from a bottle marked 'sewing machine oil' and huge Cuban cigars were handed round.

Ericsson 4 continued unchallenged on day 11, while a battle raged behind for second place, as Ericsson 3 appeared on the horizon and took up position alongside PUMA. Telefónica Blue and Green Dragon swapped placed briefly on the leaderboard and continued to gain more and more miles on the fleet. Hatches were opened to freshen the air down below and everyone took advantage of the first rain showers to have a wash for the first time since the start of the leg.

The novelty of being able to wash in fresh water had worn off by day 12, 25 February, when much of the 24 hours was taken up by dodging the heavy rain clouds laced with vicious squalls. Ericsson 3 continued to be the constant companion of PUMA, much to their annoyance. Telefónica Blue was in fourth place but closing quickly and Green Dragon continued to plough a lonely, but successful furrow, 86 nm to the east.

By day 13, the fleet had all but left the squall zone behind and was rumbling down the race track towards Fiji, and island which is not a mark of the course, or a scoring gate, but a significant mental milestone for the five teams who were not even a third of the way through this leg, despite having been at sea for nearly two weeks.

Another whale was spotted, this time by Ericsson 4, and the crews were enjoying flat sea and good breeze, with beautiful stars at night. With 8,402 nm still to run to the finish in Rio, the fleet was spread just 70 nm from first to last, but 102 nm west to east.

Day 14 and there was a big dilemma in the fleet. Somehow, after racing many miles in the lonely Pacific Ocean, an island, or, to be more an accurate, two islands (Fiji) with a gap in the middle, were in the way and causing much head-scratching for the navigators as they wrestled in their decision as to which way would be the most favourable way to sail.

During the past week, the fleet had been clawing as much easting as possible, but now it seemed it might not have been quite enough, at least for the majority of the fleet.
Green Dragon (Ian Walker/GBR) had been committed to the east for over a week, which, up to now, had paid big dividends and if this team were to tack to clear Fiji, it would be for less time than any others who chose this route.

'Who would have thought that Fiji would have such a big part to play in determining the strategy in leg five? I didn't even know exactly where Fiji was when we left China two weeks ago! Now I am cross examining every member of the crew who has ever been there on holiday, trying to find out the nature of the island the possible local effects of the wind,' said Ian Walker.

Still leading the fleet was Ericsson 4 and Torben Grael was heading straight for Vanua Levu, the eastern and smaller of the two islands, while PUMA peeled off with certainty to the west. The weather models did not favour the west at all, showing huge zones of no wind there, over in the next couple of days.

But, for Ericsson 3, the dilemma remained unsolved. 'Now we have to a choose side, very late. If we want to be east, we will have to beat upwind for many hours in light breeze, which will be very expensive. So, take a probable big loss by going west, but with a chance to sneak through without too much pain? Or, invest even more in the east and take a certain short term loss of maybe 12 hours, to stay in an area where the probability for more consistent breeze is higher than in the west,' questioned navigator Aksel Magdahl.

Magdahl discounted the option of going between the islands because of the team's experience with the uncharted Spratly Islands on leg four.

'It is déjÃ -vu with the 'Dangerous Ground' from the last leg really, with a big unsurveyed area. There are still charts though, but we don't trust them, so we will try to stay away from there,' he said.

Not so for Bouwe Bekking. The Dutchman looked set to take Telefónica Blue straight through the gap between the two islands, which, at its narrowest point is only 2.5 nm wide, expanding to about 40 nm at its widest point.

The recent decision-making in the fleet led to a temporary shake up on the leaderboard. PUMA moved into first place, and Telefónica Blue took up second, pushing Ericson 4 back to third for the first time since day two. Ericsson 3 was fourth and Green Dragon fifth.

The fleet was hard on the wind, making painfully show mileage. Everyone was hoping that the wind Gods would soon smile and free the fleet up. But it was decision time, and many considered that the leg could be won or lost at this point.

Leg Five Day 14: 1300 GMT Volvo Ocean Race Positions
(boat name/country/skipper/nationality/distance to finish)

PUMA Racing Team USA (Ken Read/USA) DTF 8,364
Telefónica Blue ESP (Bouwe Bekking/NED) +18
Ericsson 4 SWE (Torben Grael/BRA) +20
Ericsson 3 SWE (Magnus Olsson/SWE) +41
Green Dragon IRL/CHI (Ian Walker/GBR) +78

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

*******************************************************

TELEFÓNICA BLUE LEG FIVE DAY 14 QFB: received 27.02.09 0629 GMT

Hi There,

Another 24 hours have passed and to be honest not too much has happened!! We have been sailing along very happily on our big Code Zero sail and eating up the miles as we head towards Fiji. We are all pretty happy as we have been posting some really good scheds, so obviously we are going well relative to our competitors and can be confident and happy with our speed right now. Everything on board is very relaxed indeed.

Things are set to get a bit more interesting for us tomorrow though, as sometime in the morning we will have to start working our way past Fiji. As sods law would always dictate - with the entire Pacific Ocean at our disposal, Fiji has ended up right in the way of where we want to go! However, everyone is currently in the same boat (not literally of course!) and will all have to make some decisions on how to tackle the islands. The good thing is this may well provide some opportunities to catch a bit more on the leaders provided we play our cards right...

Life on board is good right now too. It is nice and dry both downstairs and on deck and the easy conditions make for good sleeping, provided the temperature inside doesn't get too high as it is prone to doing in the afternoon. Everyone is very much settled into to the daily routine. All I'll say is that I plan to enjoy it while it lasts and on that note will head off to get some dinner, have a quick look at the weather and climb into bed for a few hours sleep!!

Until tomorrow,

Simon Fisher - helmsman

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PUMA LEG FIVE DAY 13 QFB: received 26.02.09 1729 GMT

The days are clearly starting to tick away, and I believe we have our friends on Ericsson 3 to thank for that.

Literally we are in a race with them which couldn't be closer. I have won or lost by larger margins on 12 mile windward leewards at Key West Race Week. They get us a bit, we get them a bit. Bottom line, we are glued to each other.

So what does that do? Sure does heighten the concentration and awareness. We probably do more sail changes than we would if we were on our own (maybe). Constant watching the radar to see our progress and check modes, and much more chatter and trim about the job at hand. Even Jerry (Jerry Kirby) has cut down a bit on the stories in order to be vigilant. Sure, I wish they were about 300 miles astern, but at the same time we are probably helping each other sail more efficiently and aggressively - and certainly passing the time quicker than we would be on our own.

As for general strategy, we have a pretty large island called Fiji smack in the way. A bit of precarious weather around the island will make for a huge gain or loss depending if you guess right for the short or long term. Capey (Andrew Cape - navigator) has been wracking his brain overtime trying to figure this one out. As always, I sit there and throw as many questions at him possible to try and get all options on the table. We shall see how this one settles out.

Besides that, life is pretty calm on the yacht. Twelve knot winds, hard on the wind on port tack makes for painfully slow mileage but that is what we have in the 'upwind around the world race'. Hopefully the wind gods smile on us soon and free us up, but it doesn't look like that will happen for a while. Until then, it is back to hand to hand battle with Ericsson 3.

Kenny Read - skipper
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GREEN DRAGON LEG FIVE DAY 14 QFB: received 27.02.09 0803 GMT

Who would have thought Fiji would have such a big part to play in determining the strategy in leg five. I didn't even know exactly where Fiji was when we left China two weeks ago! Now I am cross examining every member of the crew who has ever been there on holiday trying to find out the nature of the island and the possible local effects on any wind.

Chris Main tells me his brother-in-law Brad Jackson, watch leader on Ericsson 4 got married there, so may be he has an advantage over the rest of us! Fiji represents a 200-mile wide obstacle, right in the line of where we all want to pass. On the last position report Puma and Telefónica Blue seemed to have made the decision to foot below Fiji to the west. One thing for certain is they will gain many miles over the next couple of days whilst anybody else fights and probably has to tack to pass to the east.

In theory we should pull all these miles back and more by sailing in more wind over the next week. Fortunately for us we are the furthest east, so if we have to tack to get round Fiji it will be for less time than any others who come this way. We are committed to the east which has paid us such huge dividends over the last week.

We have constantly had more wind than anybody west of us and we should be very close to Ericsson 4 and Ericsson 3 if they continue to try and get east of Fiji. They may now alter their strategy to stick with the others.

All of this is great news for the Dragon as long as we do not get too headed in the next 12 hours which would extend our starboard tack time. We have a good chance to get a lot of leverage over some of the fleet. It will look like we have fallen way behind, but this will take a week to 10 days to play out. Leg five has just got all the more interesting for all the armchair navigators back home.

Oh yes I forgot to say that Fiji marks the 1/3 point in terms of mileage for this leg. It has taken two weeks to sail the 4600 miles to Fiji, so, with a bit of luck we could be finished in a month!

Finally, I should wish my wife a Happy Birthday and apologise for yet again missing it - I know I said this last year but I promise I will make up for it next year Lisa!

Ian Walker - skipper

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ERICSSON 3 LEG FIVE DAY 14 QFB: received 27.02.09 1143 GMT

There is an island in our way. Fiji has not suddenly popped up, but we have always liked the east because there is more breeze there, even though it has taken us on a course towards the middle of this 260 nautical mile wide obstacle.

Now we have to choose side, very late. The models do not favour the west at all, showing huge zones of no wind there over the next couple of days. However, we do not expect the models to be very accurate in this area. A cluster of clouds can quickly make a boat zero or hero.

If we want to be east, we will have to beat upwind for many hours in light breeze, which will be very expensive. So take a probable big loss by going west, but with a chance to sneak through without too much pain? Or invest even more in the east and take a certain short term loss of maybe 12 hours to stay in an area where the probability for more consistent breeze is higher than in the west?

Or, go between the islands? It is a déjÃ -vu with the 'Dangerous Ground' from the last leg really, with a big unsurveyed area. There are still charts though, but we don't trust them so we will try to stay away from there.

There are good opportunities to look stupid over the next two days.

Until now everyone has been sailing quite high, staying as much to the east as they can, so who will be the first to peel off to the west? A bit more anxiety before each position report now.

Aksel Magdahl - navigator

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ERICSSON 4 LEG FIVE DAY 14 QFB: received 27.02.09 1203 GMT

Pretty uneventful day onboard Ericsson 4 - that is until earlier this evening, when in the space of one hour, we had our code zero downstairs getting repaired and a huge tactical dilemma on our hands.

We had just hoisted the code zero and were still in the pack up stages of the genoa we had dropped, when there was a loud bang. The tack of the code zero had come away from the boat and now this huge free flying, overlapped genoa was flapping behind the mainsail. We dropped it promptly and went straight into hoisting the sail we had only dropped moments before. Luckily the separation wasn't a sail failure, but we did find a few small tears in the sail and rolled it up and posted it downstairs so that Ryan (Ryan Godfrey) could work his magic with the sewing machine. Before we knew it, the small tears had been repaired and the sail was being wooled on deck so that it's ready to go once more - this sail is usually furled up to make it manageable to hoist and drop. The one major casualty luckily was the furling unit which is well beyond repair, luckily as it could have easily damaged one of the crew and, with a sail with that much load, it would have been very serious damage!

Then, as the sail was being packed on deck, the latest sched came through to reveal a slight split in the fleet around Fiji. This has forced some tactical decisions and looking at routes and weather but there seems no reason to change our game plan. This could quite easily see the leg decided for some boats here - hopefully in our favour - after all, Fiji has been visited by many of the crew and all have very positive memories - especially Brad (Brad Jackson) who got married in Fiji - so hopefully the islands will be nice to us

Guy Salter - MCM

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