Sport-heute: Sailing - Das legendäre Cape Horn

19. März 2009, 07:09

Das legendäre Cape Horn

Sind wir froh, dass alles vorbei ist! Das Cape Horn ist gerundet. Wir kommen endlich in warme Gewässer. Die letzten 48 Stunden waren sehr intensiv - viel Arbeit - kein Schlaf. Die verschiedenen Windrichtungen - nur nicht unsere - der Wellengang und die Kraft des Meeres haben viel an unseren Kräften gezerrt. Wir hatten ehrlich gesagt gestern morgen auch ziemlich Angst, wir hatten bemerkt, dass der Hydraulik Kiel ein Leck hatte. Horatic Corabelli hat in einer mehrstündigen Reperatur das Leck geflickt und scheint mit dem Ergebnis zufrieden zu sein. Wir haben bei der Umrundung dicke Havanna - Zigarren geraucht und Champangner getrunken. Auf unserem Boot sind insgesamt 29 Umrundungen dabei.

Volvo Ocean Race, 18.3.09 (mk) Die Original Mails von den Yachten

ERICSSON 4 LEG FIVE DAY 33 QFB: received 18.03.09 1337 GMT

Well, I’m glad that bit is over. What a huge relief to have rounded the Horn and be heading north for warmer waters. The past 48 hrs or so have been very intense onboard Ericsson 4.

The unfortunate combination of variable wind speeds and directions and navigating our way close to land has meant many sail changes and very little sleep. I think most onboard would have had only one or two hours in the past couple days so we are all extremely tired and hoping that as we head offshore again the breeze will settle and we can return to our usual watch system.

It was also a bit of a worry early yesterday morning for us when we discovered a hydraulic leak in the keel manifold. Horacio (Horatio Carabelli) got straight to the repair and seems happy with its status now, but the usual contingency plans were discussed for after the scoring waypoint. Luckily Stu (Stu Bannatyne) didn’t have his third visit to Ushuaia!

We managed to celebrate the rounding with some port and cigars, which went down very well, everyone seemed extremely happy - even if we didn’t see the Horn this time. But Brad (Brad Jackson) brought the brief relaxing to a perfect end by mentioning that in history, the first boat to round the Horn has gone on to win the leg! At that stage the boys got stuck back into pushing the boat - all joined in the common goal to break history and get to Rio first.

Its amazing to think we have a total of 29 Horn roundings onboard now, Stu Bannatyne 6, Brad Jackson 5, Tony Mutter and Dave Endean 3, Jules Salter Torben Grael Joca Signorini, Horacio Carabelli and Guy Salter 2 and Phil Jameson and me one.

On a personal note, to round Cape Horn has always been a dream of mine since childhood so have to achieved this is hugely satisfying. I'm truly grateful to have had the opportunity to do this, especially with such a top bunch of guys onboard.

Racing wise, we have managed to maintain our lead over Puma and push hard in the chase for Ericsson 3, but know their boat and sails are very quick and we will have quite the task ahead of us the pull them in.

Bring on Rio and a few of life’s little luxuries that we have forgone over the past 32 days.

Ryan Godfrey - bowman

PS
Tony lost is balaclava a few days back and has been leant one by Horacio. This new one has a white rim to it so it gives big Tone the slight look of a Nun! It not everyday you see a nun with a goatee beard smoking a cigar!

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Ericsson 3 Promises A Fight To The Finish - (see corrections to Distance to Finish Table)

The crew of Ericsson 3 is still marvelling at the fact that they led the whole Volvo fleet past Cape Horn and back into the Atlantic yesterday, claiming top marks at the scoring gate at the same time.

Speaking in a radio interview today, skipper Magnus Olsson said that rounding Cape Horn is a peak in both his career and his life.

“It is my sixth time,” he said. “I am most happy for all the rookies on the boat who have never done it before, because I could see how happy they were. It is a fantastic achievement to go round first, I can hardly believe it.”

Olsson also said that whoever dares to challenge Ericsson 3 would have to work for it, promising that his team was going to work harder than ever before to finish the race in pole position.

“We have the motivation and the spirit to fight to the bitter end, that is for sure,” he added.

After passing through the Le Maire Strait, the narrow channel between the Isla de los Estados and the eastern end of Tierra del Fuego, the team ran into a light spot and their lead diminished to only five miles.

Ericsson 4 came barrelling in; only to meet a brick wall, which kept them stationary for two hours after Ericsson 3 was set free to build back her lead to around 45 nm.

Now, the leading pack of three, which includes PUMA, is approximately 50 nm west of the Falkland Islands, and the leader has less than 2,000 miles to run to the finish.

Ian Walker’s Green Dragon, which rounded the Horn early this morning, is the only boat now that has the option of leaving the Falklands to port.

The Dragons had over 30 knots of wind and big waves for their Cape Horn rounding, and the team dropped the spinnaker for two hours to ride out the worst of the storm. In the darkness, they passed 20 miles offshore and saw nothing of the famous Cape.

“It feels great to be back in the Atlantic and heading north again,” said Walker who planned to celebrate with a special bottle once the boat was in the Le Maire Strait.

Meanwhile, a day or so away from the exit of the Southern Ocean is Telefónica Blue, racing to stay ahead of a chasing storm, which threatens to engulf them with 50-knot winds.

Skipper Bouwe Bekking plans to take the blue boat as close to the rocks as possible. “It’s not only good for an impressive view, but, more important, it cuts the distance to Rio to a minimum,” he said.

Telefónica Blue is still making the most of the Southern Ocean conditions, surfing at a steady 19 knots, while the rest of the fleet is managing around 18. Green Dragon’s average speed has dropped to around 10 knots as she negotiates the light airs at the exit to the Le Maire Strait.

Cape Horn Scoring Gate
(boat/date/rounding time/gate points)

Ericsson 3: 17.03.09 1222 GMT: 4 points
Ericsson 4: 17.03.09 1448 GMT: 3.5 points
PUMA: 17.03.09 2046 GMT: 3 points
Green Dragon: 18.03.09 0215 GMT 2.5 points

Leg Five Day 33: 1300 GMT Volvo Ocean Race Positions
(boat name/country/skipper/nationality/distance to finish)

Ericsson 3 SWE (Magnus Olsson/SWE) DTF 1872 nm
Ericsson 4 SWE (Torben Grael/BRA) +45
PUMA Racing Team USA (Ken Read/USA) +171
Green Dragon IRL/CHI (Ian Walker/GBR) +246
Telefónica Blue ESP (Bouwe Bekking/NED) +772

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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GREEN DRAGON LEG FIVE DAY 33 QFB: received 18.03.09 0749 GMT

It is sad not to have seen Cape Horn. Not only was it the middle of a pitch black night, but we were 20 miles away at the closest point. I guess that means I'll have to come back with my camera another time.

It was over 30 knots and quite big waves so we gave the Horn a very wide berth. We dropped the spinnaker for a couple of hours to ride out the worst of it.

We are going to celebrate with a special bottle given to us by Wallenius Wilhelmsen at first light - I'm not sure what the bottle is yet, but I hope it is strong. We should be in the Straits of Le Maire at the time.

It feels great to be back in the Atlantic and heading north again.

Everyone on Ericsson 3 has done a fantastic job and I emailed Magnus to tell him as much. They haven't beaten us to Rio yet though!

Ian Walker - skipper

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PUMA LEG FIVE DAY 32 QFB: received 17.03.09 2100 GMT

I have never been accused of being the sentimental type. Just not part of the game so to speak. Find a goal, plan it, and get it done. Keep it simple. Not a lot of moving parts to mess up. But the mould may now be broken.

Roaring into the most famous of all great Capes, our entire team has been asked collectively a thousand times what they believe they will feel while rounding Cape Horn. Remember, we have all types aboard this craft. This is Erle Williams’ fourth time, Justin Ferris ' second, Jerry Kirby's second. Andrew Cape's seventh, Sidney Gavignet's fourth, Rick Deppe's second, Rob Salthouse's second, Rob Greenhalgh's second, and for Casey Smith, Michi Mueller and myself... we are the rookies for Cape Horn passages.

Each has answered in their own way. Some take this milestone in a sailor’s life with passion and emotion; others say it isn't a big deal. All say it marks something major though, and that is simply that you are now out of the grasps of the Southern Ocean and, for this reason alone, it is time for celebration.

To take a step backwards, I have asked many of the Southern Ocean ‘experts’ onboard what they thought of this passage. All have said ‘different’ due to the amount of beating and tight reaching we had to do. All have said ‘odd’ because of the ice gates keeping us out of iceberg zone and further north than a usual crossing, but all have said ‘normal’ because of the cold and the grey and the general nastiness that broods here. Kind of daunting if you sit back and think about where you are, and where the nearest safe haven is, when you are halfway across the vast stretch of water.

I mentioned before in one of my blogs that if this, the southernmost point of South America could talk it would tell some harrowing tales of tragedy and heroics by sportsman and traders and businessman and adventurers alike. Probably more so than any other nautical landmark in history. For this reason alone, it is a privilege to be let through these gates. Entrance to which must be earned and not simply taken.

The boats we sail today are both good and bad for a place like this. Sure they are fast...too fast sometimes and, like last night for example, you are working hard to actually slow the boat down rather than speed it up. They have been shown to be brittle at times, as any new generation of technology will be. But their speed is also advantageous towards the safety of passages like this.

Modern day weather forecasting mixed with the raw speed of these boats allows us to pick and choose much of the weather we plan to entertain. Good and bad. Typically the ‘fastest route’. But the fastest route can also be the safest route as well. We can get on a single front and ride it for a large part of the ocean if the angles are right. Avoiding multiple chances at really nasty weather systems that are simply just lining up down here to keep kicking you in the teeth.

I am by no means a Southern Ocean expert, nor will I ever be one of these guys who have done this route time and time again. Easy to say, at this point anyway. But I am in awe of the sheer magnitude of the passage and the final toll booth that lets you through and awaits the next yacht to venture this way. We appreciate safe passage more than anything right now, and with that in mind we thank this Great Cape.

PUMA's ‘il Mostro’ and her crew of 11 have now rounded Cape Horn. Easy to stare at and dream about what has been and what will be. Maybe I am becoming sentimental.

Kenny Read - skipper

PS
By the way, our team (family) celebration went off without a hitch. More Cuban cigars made their way on deck, a dash of ‘sailmakers oil,' a spot of Scotch whisky, and of course Casey found the energy to get naked again! On the bow, waves crashing over him with a Cape Horn sign. Dear lord. Welcome to my world. Never a dull moment around here.
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TELEFÓNICA BLUE LEG FIVE DAY 32 QFB: received 17.03.09 1947 GMT

Hi there,

We have made some nice progress recently, it s now only 680 miles until we are rounding Cape Horn and it seems we have endured the worst of the weather and the waves.

I have to admit when I look at the computer screen I am a little envious of the Ericsson boats who have now rounded the Horn and will now be looking forward to heading north towards Rio. However, it is only another two days for us until we reach what will be an important milestone, and it looks as though we have seen the worst of the weather for this episode in the Southern Ocean. I am not going to risk saying it will be plain sailing though - I will be satisfied when we have turned the corner and not before!

Sadly any aspirations of catching the others as we closed on Cape Horn were not realised, in fact I cannot remember a race when I have been so far behind. However, I think we are all looking at the trip from the Cape to Rio as a new chapter for us and hopefully in the later stages of the race we may be able to redress some of the mistakes we made earlier on...

On board everyone continues to be in good spirits, spirits that are gradually improving as we close on the Cape. Everyone is anxious to get there though and the distance to waypoint is regularly checked by those on deck. The last few days have been something of a countdown for everyone; although the joke is still running that it’s another eight days to the horn!' I guess we will believe we are there when we see it!!

Cheers,

Simon Fisher - helmsman
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Gustav Morin/Ericsson 3/Volvo Ocean Race Media Crew Member Gustav Morin

Gustav Morin/Ericsson 3/Volvo Ocean Race Martin Sromberg

Guy Salter/Ericsson 4/Volvo Ocean Race Ericsson 4 in rough weather on their approach to Cape Horn, 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, skippered by Ken Read (USA), celebrate rounding Cape Horn in third place at 20:46 GMT, on leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race

Rick Deppe/PUMA Ocean Racing/Volvo Ocean Race PUMA Ocean Racing, skippered by Ken Read (USA), celebrate rounding Cape Horn in third place at 20:46 GMT, on leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race

Rick Deppe/PUMA Ocean Racing/Volvo Ocean Race Albatross sightings onboard PUMA Ocean Racing, on leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race