Sport-heute: Sailing - 600 Meilen vor Neuseeland

02. März 2009, 19:01

600 Meilen vor Neuseeland - Ein Neustart!!

PUMA GEHT IN FÜHRUNG!

Im Moment ist das Segeln sehr einfach. Obwohl wir uns natürlich gegenseitig anstacheln kann ohne Wind kein entscheidender Vorstoss erfolgen. Wir haben aber durch unsere Navigation einen entscheidenden kleinen Vorsprung herausgeholt. Aber aufgepasst, dass Scoring - Tor zum südlichen Ozean ist nicht mehr weit. Wenn alle ihre Lieblingsspeisen und ihre Schlemmereien auf Deck hinter sich haben, beginnt der Wettkampf auf den die weltbesten Segler so sehnlichst gewartet haben. Der Eingang in den südlichen Ozean wir der Auftakt zum erbarmungslosesten Rennen der Welt sein. Wir auf der Puma freuen uns natürlich genauso darauf.

Volvo Ocean Race, 2.3.09 (mk) Die Original Mails direkt von den Yachten

PUMA LEG FIVE DAY 17 QFB: received 02.03.09 1526 GMT

I have good news and bad news. The good news first, as I have to try really hard to be an eternal optimist in times like these. We took the lead again today and have Ericsson 3 and Ericsson 4 in our sights - literally. After over 5000 miles of sailing we crossed Ericsson 4 by about a mile late this afternoon.

They gybed a few times - we continued and got out to a three or so mile lead on them. All good right? Well not really. At least for the il mostro team. The bad news is that we are constantly sailing the torturous path of leading the pack into lighter air. We are lighter and lifted compared with the rest of the group, sched after sched. Watching any lead evaporate slowly but surely. Soon, we will have a five-way drag race to the New Zealand's scoring gate. I guess I shouldn't complain much because Ericsson 4 has seen a couple leads evaporate on the leg as well, due to similar circumstances. What goes around comes around?? Or something like that.

Life aboard really doesn't have much to report. Complaints about food, dreams of ice cream, and Kirby stories fill up the day. I actually heard two new stories today that I hadn't heard before from young Jerry (Jerry Kirby). It was an unbelievable moment in
my life. He had me almost crying I was laughing so hard. I look forward to meeting a couple of his college buddies to validate these particular tales some day. My guess is that it was about 50% fact and 50% fiction. Really doesn't matter at this point.

Justin (Justin Ferris) had out the sewing machine for a few sail touch ups and was called into duty for a few take ups in the waist of some of our shorts. I was sitting next to him and was watching him take up about an inch out of mine, then try to sew one of the pant legs shut only to run out of bobbin. Whew. Kirby wasn't so lucky. His shorts were turned inside out before sewing the left pant leg completely shut. Hiding the mischievous deed. Right leg in, left leg didn't quite make it. Hopping around the deck trying to figure out what happened - like getting short-sheeted only with Ricky's (Rick Deppe MCM) camera in full swing getting the entire sequence on video. Probably not as funny if you weren't there, but it was very amusing at the time for those of us involved.

As we approach the halfway point of this leg, all aboard is in relatively good shape. Casey (Casey Smith) and Salty (Rob Salthouse) constantly doing little jobs and the list is down to a few mundane items. That bodes well anticipating the next 10 days of much harder sailing. We have had a dream run down the Pacific and that should come to a screeching halt in about 10 hours. Turn the fire hose back on for some windy close reaching again.

The scoring gate will mark the end to the first part of the leg and the incredible chess match that has ensued. It is anybody's to take right now. Time will only tell.

Kenny Read - skipper

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TELEFÓNICA BLUE LEG FIVE DAY 17 QFB: received 02.03.09 1258

This is the last day and night in paradise. From now, we hook into a SE which will take us all the way to NZ and beyond, so it has been a big day for finishing off jobs needing flat water, warmth and all those other good things.

Now at midnight, we have big lines of squalls on the radar ahead of the shift and the mood is changing a bit as people realise that this could be the last warm, sunny, flat day for the next two weeks or so.

It’s been a pretty good day for us. We have gained in the west quite well and still trying to pull bearing south on Ericsson 4, Ericsson 3 and Puma. Big news is that we finally saw another boat on the horizon (the Dragons), so it was out with the binoculars and hand bearing compasses for the first time in a while!

Really good to have another boat around to give a real time indication on how we are doing rather than a snapshot every three hours from the scheds. Shame they are too far away to see at night though and if we do everything right tonight they will be too far away in daylight tomorrow too!

So on we plug, looking and waiting for the header into our final breeze to get us to NZ.

Better run upstairs.

Tom Addis - navigator

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ERICSSON 3 LEG FIVE DAY 17 QFB: received 02.03.09 1232 GMT

Bright as neon lights

Suddenly this afternoon we could see both Puma and Ericsson 4 on the horizon and everyone got on their toes again. Even though the guys did not relax before it felt like they stepped up a bit when they could see the other boats.

It is probably like that in every sport. Of course a 100 m sprinter performs better when he has someone running next to him. A pure competitive mind always performs a bit better when racing.

We have had a very calm day with perfect cruising conditions. We have been sailing pure downwind for the first time this leg. Big asymmetric sail up, ten knots of wind, flat water, sun shining and almost 30 degrees in the water.
A crusing sailor couldn’t ask for more. But we can’t enjoy it fully.

If you were cruising you would definitely jump in the water and drag behind every now and then. That is not going to happen here. You are lucky if you can get away from the sun at any time. Usually you can’t and, as a trimmer or helmsman, it’s pretty exhausting working with the sun straight above your head, and when you go down below to rest, it is not a nice air-conditioned environment…

But you get use to it and during the mornings, afternoons and nights it is a fantastic feeling being onboard. The crew has a hard time sleeping during the warm days and the try to spend the time fixing stuff and preparing for the future. Anders Dahlsjö is responsible for the interior and he had some laminating to do in the galley today.

“Everything is built as light as possible and if a 100 kg guy falls into the galley it will break. You can’t build bulletproof, instead, you build at the limit and fix if it breaks. Eivind Melleby was taking care of his clothing and Martin Krite was fixing the forestay, Martin Strömberg was going through what has to be fixed with the sails and Thomas Johanson took some winches apart. There is always maintenance to be done.

There has not been much to look at during this trip. Only the islands of Fiji and we have seen dolphins once. Tonight I also saw some phosphorescence, a fantastic phenomena which sparkles in the darkness and lights up the hull as if there were neon lights underneath it. I hope our next sched will be just as bright as these fantastic small planktons that make sailing at night a bit more exotic.

Gustav Morin MCM
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PUMA LEADS, BUT THE PRESSURE IS ON

After more than 5,000 miles of racing, PUMA (Ken Read/USA) takes the lead, but has both Ericsson 4 (Torben Grael/BRA) and Ericsson 3 (Magnus Olsson/SWE) in sight. Slightly further west, Telefónica Blue (Bouwe Bekking/NED) lurks just over the horizon, with Green Dragon (Ian Walker/GBR) close by. Sailing is no different from other sports in that when the competition is close, the pressure is on to up the game.

“A little shift one way and Telefónica Blue could be leading. A shift the other way could see PUMA in front. Stuck in the middle are Ericsson 3 and ourselves,” wrote bowman Phil Jameson from Ericsson 4 earlier today, an illustration of how tense it is out in the South Pacific.

Rick Deppe (MCM PUMA) says that Ericsson 4 tried to taunt his team’s boat into a gybing duel. “We ignored them and, over the next few hours while they presumably played the clouds, we sailed straight on and put a couple of much needed miles on them,” he says, although PUMA’s skipper Ken Read said, “I don’t think we have seen the last of them.”

The scoring gate at latitude 36 degrees south is just 433 nautical miles away, a tantalisingly close distance, but still more than a day’s sail at the current speeds of around 12.5 knots. “It’s going to be impossible to predict the outcome,” says Phil Jameson. “I’m sure there will be hearts broken one way or another,” he adds.

Currently, the seas are calm and the wind moderate, and for the first time since the start in Qingdao, the Volvo Ocean Race fleet has spinnakers set. In fact, it all sounds perfect. If you were cruising and not racing that is.

“We have the big asymmetric spinnaker up, 10 knots of wind, flat water, sun shining and almost 30 degrees in the water. A cruising sailor couldn’t ask for more. But we can’t enjoy it fully,” described Ericsson 3’s MCM, Gustav Morin. “If you were cruising, you would definitely jump in the water and drag behind every now and then,” he says.

Onboard there is no escape from the heat and no refreshing drinks for those on deck whose work is exhausting in the overhead sun. Telefónica Blue’s helmsman, Simon Fisher, says it is the hottest day since the start, especially with the lack of apparent wind blowing over the deck because of their downwind course. “Grinding the spinnaker quickly saps your energy and the water in your bottle quickly becomes warm, and, quite frankly, not that refreshing,” he says.

For the off watch, conditions down below are less than pleasant. It is not a nice, air-conditioned environment, although the fans whirring away in the bunks provide some relief. Onboard Telefónica Blue, the carbon step in the hatchway has heated up to such a temperature that it will easily burn the feet of an unsuspecting crewman. There is no wildlife to watch to relieve the boredom. Bouwe Bekking’s theory is that any birdlife tends to stay close to the islands. Once down in the Southern Ocean, however, it will be a different story, with the magnificent albatrosses joining the party, something everyone is looking forward to.

Tom Addis, the navigator from Telefónica Blue, says to make the most of the current conditions as the mood is changing and today could be the last warm, sunny flat day for the next two weeks or so.

With no stop in New Zealand to break up this mammoth leg, thoughts are turning the Southern Ocean, which, for some will be a first-time experience, and for others, in the words of Rick Deppe, the ‘jewel in the crown of the race’.

“The Southern Ocean. It’s why people want to do the race and it’s why people keep coming back,” says Deppe who’s been there before. “It’s a chance to test themselves against the best sailors in the world in the most extreme sailing conditions..”

“If we imagine that the scoring gate is the start line for the race in the Southern Ocean, we would all now be in Auckland, making the final preparations for the leg. Shore crew would be crawling all over the boat, making their final check of the onboard systems. Sailors would be eating big, healthy dinners and hanging with family and friends, taking time to say their goodbyes and probably having the odd nervous moment thinking about the leg ahead. But that is just in my imagination. When we arrive at the ‘start line’ (scoring gate) in the next day or so, we will have already sailed about 6,000 miles,” he explains.

In contrast, Deppe says, “Various bits and pieces are actually hanging off our boat. Some things don’t work any more. Things leak. Items have been lost over the side. We are worried about running out of food – well the nice food anyway. And the crew is knackered.”

This will be the first visit to the Southern Ocean for Phil Jameson on Ericsson 4. “I really don’t know what to expect,” he says. “The veterans basically tell me to plan for the worst, so anything better is a bonus.”

Leg Five Day 17: 1300 GMT Volvo Ocean Race Positions
(boat name/country/skipper/nationality/distance to finish)

PUMA Racing Team USA (Ken Read/USA) DTF 7,578
Ericsson 4 SWE (Torben Grael/BRA) +2
Ericsson 3 SWE (Magnus Olsson/SWE) +9
Telefónica Blue ESP (Bouwe Bekking/NED) +24
Green Dragon IRL/CHI (Ian Walker/GBR) +34

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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PUMA LEG FIVE DAY 17 QFB: received 02.03.09 1101 GMT

Well, once again we have a restart! After more than 5000 miles of racing we are in sight of Ericsson3 and Ericsson 4 with Telefónica lurking just over the horizon.

The days have been rolling one into the next since the equator with only a slight break for us here on Il Mostro when we cut through the Fijian Islands two days ago. The sailing is relatively easy although it felt like Ericsson 4 was trying to taunt us into a gybing duel.... we ignored them and, over the next few hours while they presumably played the clouds, we sailed straight on and put a couple of much needed miles on them, although as Kenny Read commented, " I don't think we’ve seen the last of them"!

New Zealand and the scoring gate are about 600 miles away, people have been using the easy sailing as an opportunity to prepare themselves and their equipment, repairing neck seals, eating mashed potatoes.... whatever it takes to get ready for the next two weeks that we'll be spending in the Southern Ocean, the jewel in the crown of the race.....

The southern ocean, it’s why people want to do the race and it’s why people keep coming back. A chance to test themselves against the best sailors in the world in the most extreme sailing conditions.

If we imagine that the scoring gate is the start line for the race in the Southern Ocean, we would all now be in Auckland making the final preparations for the leg, shore crew would be crawling all over the boat making their final checks of the onboard systems. Sailors would be eating big healthy diners and hanging with family and friends taking time to say their goodbyes and probably having the odd nervous moment thinking about the leg ahead. The crowds of people at the Viaduct would be increasing every day, the fan base for this race is huge in New Zealand, and all New Zealanders have some knowledge of the race. They would understand what we have ahead of us ...... a daunting 6,500 miles of sailing to South America.

But that’s just in my imagination! When we arrive at the ‘start line’ (scoring gate) in the next day or so, we will have already sailed about 6000 miles. Various bits and pieces are actually hanging off of our boat - some things don't even work anymore. Things leak, items have been lost over the side, we are worried about running out of food... well the nice food anyway.. And the crew is knackered. What a way to head into the Southern Ocean!

Rick Deppe - MCM

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ERICSSON 4 LEG FIVE DAY 17 QFB: received 02.03.09 0909 GMT

Here we are, coming to the end of day 16 of our 40 day marathon. It's incredible how things can change out here.

We basically have five boats tied together after 5000 miles of racing. A little shift one way and Telefónica Blue could be leading. A shift the other way could see Puma in front. Stuck in the middle are Ericsson 3 and ourselves.

It can be extremely frustrating at times. Different clouds can turn your day from an okay one to and absolute disaster. We spend 11 days building a 55 mile lead early on, and lost 40 of that in three scheds!!

Anyway, here we are, halfway between Fiji and the top of New Zealand in 'the race of the century' fighting for every inch heading toward the scoring gate at 36 south. It's going to be impossible to predict the outcome. I'm sure there will be hearts broken one way or another.

I managed to get up the rig today to do a full check of everything on the mast and forestay. It was a big relief to not find any majors up there. We are about to enter the full-on part of the leg, so having a clean bill of health in rig world is a good thing.

It is going to be very hard on us Kiwis, having to sail past New Zealand and not stop in. Hopefully Jules (Jules Salter – navigator) keeps us offshore a bit so that we don't have to go through the pain of seeing home!!

This will be my first real Southern Ocean leg, so I really don't know what to expect. The veterans basically tell me to plan for the worst, so anything better than that is a bonus! Can't say I'm looking forward to the cold but as 'Chopper' Reid would say, 'Harden the XXXX up'. I'll let you know how it went for me in a couple of weeks..

We had a competition today to try and beat the boredom. The mission was to try and throw dried peas through the clew ring of the mainsail. Not sure who actually won, but we managed to leave about 1000 peas on the cockpit floor. Pretty dicey walking around up there at the moment but tomorrow’s 25 knots on the wind will clean it all up nicely.

That's all for now. Better try and get some rest before we get woken up for yet another gybe.

Cheers,
Phil 'Blood' Jameson - bowman

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TELEFÓNICA BLUE LEG FIVE DAY 17 QFB: received 02.03.09 0215 GMT

Hi there,

Another 24 hours have passed and the seas have remained calm and the wind moderate. As expected the wind has lifted and for the first time since doing the dog leg outside of the harbour in Qingdao and we have a spinnaker up again.

Tactically we have suffered a bit overnight being a little further west and in less wind which proved frustrating, however, we still wait for our turn and can be thankful that we are very much in the hunt despite our somewhat delayed start now two weeks ago. There are plenty more miles to come and no doubt many more opportunities to catch the leaders. That said, it feels like the first scoring gate is looming ever closer and we are keen to put our mark on the fleet...

On deck temperatures are soaring and it is no doubt the hottest day since we have started. Especially with the lack of apparent wind blowing over the deck as a result of our downwind course! Grinding the spinnaker quickly saps your energy and the water in your bottle quickly becomes warm and, quite frankly, not that refreshing. Downstairs is not that much better either. Your have to watch your step as you come down the hatch as the carbon step has heated up to a temperature that will easily burn you feet as I found out the hard way earlier!

Luckily you can get some relief from all the fans whirring away in the bunks although I have a feeling that I am in for a restless afternoon... Hopefully my iPod will keep me entertained until temperatures moderate enough so I can sleep!

Until tomorrow,

Simon Fisher - helmsman

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Rick Deppe/PUMA Ocean Racing/Volvo Ocean Race Casey Smith fixes the reef point, onboard PUMA Ocean racing, on leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race, from Qingdao to Rio de Janeiro

Rick Deppe/PUMA Ocean Racing/Volvo Ocean Race Casey Smith fixes the reef point, onboard PUMA Ocean racing, on leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race, from Qingdao to Rio de Janeiro

Rick Deppe/PUMA Ocean Racing/Volvo Ocean Race Casey Smith fixes the reef point, onboard PUMA Ocean racing, on leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race, from Qingdao to Rio de Janeiro

Rick Deppe/PUMA Ocean Racing/Volvo Ocean Race Casey Smith making repairs, onboard PUMA Ocean Racing, on leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race, from Qingdao to Rio de Janeiro

Rick Deppe/PUMA Ocean Racing/Volvo Ocean Race PUMA Ocean Racing heading towards Fiji, on leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race, from Qingdao to Rio de Janeiro

Rick Deppe/PUMA Ocean Racing/Volvo Ocean Race Skipper Ken Read helming onboard PUMA Ocean Racing, on leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race, from Qingdao to Rio de Janeiro

Rick Deppe/PUMA Ocean Racing/Volvo Ocean Race Casey Smith on point, onboard PUMA Ocean racing, on leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race, from Qingdao to Rio de Janeiro