Sport-heute: Sailing - Eisberge in Sicht!

12. März 2009, 22:50

Eisberge in Sicht!

Bei 30°Süd hat Ian Walker von Green Dragon mitten in der Nacht 3 Eisberge entdeckt. Sie sind so gross wie drei Fussballfelder und gegen 200 m hoch. Ausserdem hat Walker auch entdeckt, dass heute an Bord mehr Menschen mit Überlebensanzügen herumlaufen!!! (in diesen Anzügen kann man auch Stunden im eiskalten Wasser sein) Ich habe auch befohlen alle wasserdichten Lucken und Türen zu schliessen. Tageslicht hat uns von grossen Schäden und einem Unglück bewahrt, wir konnten sofort reagieren und uns wegbewegen. Ich bin aber froh ihn nicht weiter sehen zu müssen. Und doch, es ist etwas vom Grössten auf diesem südlichen Kurs, solche Massen Eis zu sehen. Und jetzt folgt ja dann der Höhepunkt mit dem Cap Horn.

Volvo Ocean Race, 11.3.09 (mk) Originalmails von den Yachten

PRESSURE ON, BREEZE DOWN

As the front-runners pass through the second ice gate from the north and head south into dangerous waters and lighter winds, the leading boat Ericsson 3 is losing miles to its rivals. Ericsson 4 and PUMA are compressing behind the Nordic boat, as they navigate their way through the latest high pressure to slow their progress to Cape Horn.

Gustav Morin (media crew member) explained the pressure the crew is under to keep one step ahead. “We are working our guts out not to lose the lead we have been working so hard to get. Our navigator’s choice to go north and catch on to a low pressure after the first scoring-gate paid off and today we passed the ice-gate a couple of hours before the second and third boat. Unfortunately, being first to this gate does not give us any points and from here to the scoring-gate at Cape Horn it seems to be a bit of a restart.

“We wished we would be able to hang on to the low a bit longer and catch a weather system the others would not be able to reach. Being in another system is probably the only way to get a secure lead, if you are in the same system you can quickly loose a couple of hundred miles. Depressing for the one in the lead but fun and exciting for the ones following the race and a hint of hope for the ones trying to make gains from the back of the fleet. Unfortunately, we dropped out of the low and lost a lot of pace so the others have been able to make depressingly big gains on us.”

Ericsson 3 has lost 143 nm to the sistership Ericsson 4 in the past 24 hours as she creeps up in second place, with PUMA also losing five nm to the international crew.

Horacio Carabelli, (trimmer) onboard Ericsson 4, told today of the tactical decisions, which face the teams as they choose a route south, but for the moment they seem happy to follow the track of the leader. “We passed the second ice gate so another milestone done for us and now we are free to go where we want to the Horn,” said Carabelli. “The gamblers seem to be having some new chances as weather is not clearly defined until the famous Cape and several routes can be put into play now. Jules (Jules Salter – navigator) and Torben (Torben Grael – skipper) are scratching their heads as new opportunities arise for us.

“The Buzios (small stones used to guess the future in Brazil) have been thrown; let's see what ends up in our hands for the next hours, days, weeks....”

After Green Dragon sighting of ice yesterday, the whole fleet will be keeping all eyes open for the dangerous icebergs. At least for the moment though Green Dragon can relax slightly as it heads to the ice gate to the north-east and away from the growlers to the south of the fleet. Telefonica Blue is also making its way east to the gate but is still negotiating the light winds in her path.

Telefonica Blue’s helmsman/ strategist Simon Fisher summed up perfectly the feeling onboard the Spanish boat, as they struggle to keep up with the fleet. “We had another slow night last night as we battle with this ridge of high pressure which is now separating us from the rest of the fleet and ruining our chances of catching up. However, we are all working hard to stay positive and keep ourselves entertained.

“The mood on board is pretty interesting to be honest, as we all swing between lamenting the desperate situation we are in and trying to stay positive and happy and keep moral up. The good thing is that most of the time we are laughing and the more we fall behind the more we seem to laugh at stupid stuff.” The blue boat is now 357 nm behind Green Dragon and has the lowest boat speed of all the boats at 13.7 knots.

Delta Lloyd has arrived in Rio de Janeiro to join Telefonica Black the Marina da Gloria and have resumed work on the Volvo Open 70.

Leg Five Day 27: 1300 GMT Volvo Ocean Race Positions
(boat name/country/skipper/nationality/distance to finish)

Ericsson 3 SWE (Magnus Olsson/SWE) DTF 4048 nm
Ericsson 4 SWE (Torben Grael/BRA) +116
PUMA Racing Team USA (Ken Read/USA) + 149
Green Dragon IRL/CHI (Ian Walker/GBR) +422
Telefónica Blue ESP (Bouwe Bekking/NED) +779

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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ERICSSON 3 LEG FIVE DAY 27 QFB: received 12.03.09 1049 GMT

Pressure on

This is a tough leg, for sure. It is so complex. All aspects of yacht racing plays a big part and if one doesn't flow, it drags other parts down with it. It's about endurance, both physically and psychologically, about routines with food, sleep and hygiene and above all it's about the knowledge of sailing. How much you can push your crew and the boat. Also of course, skills in strategy, weather and navigation plays a huge part.

We have been doing well so far and are very happy to be where we are. At first we were not sure if we would manage to get to the start, but we put all the effort we could in making the boat ready to go, we sailed it shorthanded to China and started seven hours after the signal. And now, here we are working our guts out not to lose the lead we have been working so hard to get.

Our navigator’s choice to go north and catch on to a low pressure after the first scoring-gate paid off and today we passed the ice-gate a couple of hours before the second and third boat. Unfortunately being first to this gate doesn't give us any points and from here to the scoring-gate at Cape Horn it seems to be a bit of a restart.

We wished we would be able to hang on to the low a bit longer and catch a weather system the others would not be able to reach. Being in another system is probably the only way to get a secure lead, if you are in the same system you can quickly loose a couple of hundred miles. Depressing for the one in the lead but fun and exciting for the ones following the race and a hint of hope for the ones trying to make gains from the back of the fleet. Unfortunately we dropped out of the low and lost a lot of pace so the others have been able to make depressingly big gains on us.

Today we have been in what every sailor would call a "shit fight". We have constantly been sailing in less breeze than the others and right after the ice-gate we stopped completely for a while. Loosing up to 50 miles in one sched is not fun.

Here is when the psyche kicks in. We are all pretty bruised, battered and tired after 26 days of racing, 29 days if you count from Taiwan. We also have some flu going on, which can really bring the performance down. The more tired you get, the easier it is to make mistakes and the more mistakes you make the more you lose and the mood onboard gets bad.

So far we are doing good. We are hanging on to the "E3-spirit" and get up after each punch. But as the days get colder and our opponents get closer, everything will get harder.

This leg is a tough one, for sure.

Gustav Morin – mcm

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ICEBERGS TO PORT, ICEBERGS TO STARBOARD

Down at 50 degrees south, Green Dragon has seen ice. Three bergs, that skipper Ian Walker estimated were 100 metres across and the size of a football pitch, were spotted shining in the darkness.

The boat passed two bergs to windward and one to leeward. “I noticed this morning that a few more people are now wearing survival suits and we have made a point of closing all the water tight doors,” Ian noted.

Daylight came as a relief to the crew who have now gybed north towards the safety of the gate that was supposed to keep the fleet away from ice.

“Whilst I would love to see an iceberg in the daylight, I will be more than happy not to see any more ice in this race,” reported Ian.

Along with rounding Cape Horn, the sighting of an iceberg is something of a highlight of the Southern Ocean. Onboard Telefónica Blue, Spaniard Jordi Calafat is longing to see a berg.

“Cape Horn and seeing an iceberg will make this trip around world complete for him,” said skipper Bouwe Bekking.

For rookery New Zealander Chris Main, a helmsman on Green Dragon, the marathon leg five of the Volvo Ocean Race has been something of an adventure. Having never sailed a Volvo Open 70, Main arrived in Qingdao two days before the start, hoping, at least, to have two days sailing before the start of the 12,300 leg to Rio, but it was either too foggy or too windy.

“The start day turned out to be just right for my first ever sail on a Volvo Open 70, and with 40 days to Rio, the boys reckoned I’d have plenty of time to learn the ropes and be well and truly ready to get off,” Main says.

Life onboard the Green Dragon has been full of ‘extremes’. “Beforehand you think about the sailing, the speed of the boats big waves and night time sail changes, but the real extreme experience is living in one of these ocean racing beasts while hurtling around the world’s oceans,” he explains.

On PUMA, skipper Ken Read reports that the crew are commenting on how thin each is looking. “It is interesting how you can especially feel your legs getting weaker, being in such a confined space for days and weeks on end,” he said.

According to Rick Deppe, PUMA’s MCM, the crew are devouring all the food he can put in front of them, but still disappearing before his eyes.

“No sooner are the day snacks put out than they disappear up on deck never to be seen again. I’ve witnessed people using a finger to get the last of the spaghetti sauce out of the bottom of the serving cooler,” he observed.

Meanwhile, in the drag race to the ice gate, Ericsson 3 - the freight train at the head of the fleet - is beginning to slow as she too drops off the weather system that abandoned the chasing pack yesterday. Her average speed is down to 13 knots allowing small gains to be made by Ericsson 4, PUMA and Green Dragon.

“The next week of sailing has the potential to be the most exciting of the whole race,” says Ken Read. “We are in a neck and neck race with Ericsson 4, and, as for Ericsson 3, well anything might happen.”

Read reports that PUMA is blasting along between 18 and 24 knots and that the boat is jumping around and banging in the most violent way imaginable.

Not so for Telefónica Blue who is trapped by light airs in the south. “Another day in paradise. It could have been so nice if we had some boats around us,” said Bouwe Bekking.

Helmsman Simon Fisher adds, “Sadly, it has been another slow day for us and things seem to be set to stay that way as a ridge of high pressure is extending out in front of us, putting up a wall between us and the leaders.”

Telefónica Blue continues her fight, but is averaging only 10 knots and is now nearly 800 nm adrift of the leaders. “Even with all the optimism in the world, it is starting to get a little frustrating now,” Fisher said.

As soon as the leading pack are clear of the ice gate, the race south will begin and with it, for them, will come some tactical options.

Leg Five Day 26: 1300 GMT Volvo Ocean Race Positions
(boat name/country/skipper/nationality/distance to finish)

Ericsson 3 SWE (Magnus Olsson/SWE) DTF 4,326 nm
Ericsson 4 SWE (Torben Grael/BRA) +259
PUMA USA (Ken Read/USA) +287
Green Dragon IRL/CHI (Ian Walker/GBR) +565
Telefónica Blue ESP (Bouwe Bekking/NED) +799

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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Guo Chuan/Green Dragon Racing/Volvo Ocean Race Green Dragon hard at work, on leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race, from Qingdao to Rio de Janeiro

Guo Chuan/Green Dragon Racing/Volvo Ocean Race Green Dragon See Icebergs in the Southern Ocean, on leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race, from Qingdao to Rio de Janeiro

Guo Chuan/Green Dragon Racing/Volvo Ocean Race A shrimp lands onboard Green Dragon in the Southern Ocean, on leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race, from Qingdao to Rio de Janeiro

Rick Deppe/PUMA Ocean Racing/Volvo Ocean Race Chart showing Cape Horn, onboard PUMA Ocean Racing, on leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race, from Qingdao to Rio de Janeiro

Guy Salter/Ericsson 4/Volvo Ocean Race Ericsson 4 hit a big wave, on leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race, from Qingdao to Rio de Janeiro