Sport-heute: Sailing - Heute gibt es nicht viel zu berichten! Nebel, Nebel, Nebel...

19. Mai 2009, 11:22

Heute gibt es nicht viel zu berichten! Nebel, Nebel, Nebel...

Heute gibt es wahrlich nicht viel zu berichten. Wir segeln alle dicht beisammen im dichten Nebel. Jeder kann gewinnen, wer zuerst beim ersten Tor sein wird, ist völlig offen.

Brüttisellen, 18.5.09 (mk) Klar, dass wir unsere Hoffnung auf die grösst mögliche Punktezahl setzen. Es ist wenigstens nicht mehr so kalt, fast angenehm auf dem Deck. Dennoch muss immer einer am Radar sein, wir sind eng zusammen. Gestern Nacht segelten wir nur ein paar Meter neben Ericsson 4. Man sieht kaum ihre Lampen, aber diese Carbonboote trommeln ein eigenartiges Geräusch ins Wasser. Ich denke wir beide waren uns ein wenig bis zu viel zu nahe. Die Jungs auf dem Schiff sind alle in guter Verfassung. Wir sind zur vollständigen Routine übergegangen und vermissen schon keinen Luxus mehr.

Bouwe Bekking - Skipper

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Green Dragon Leg Seven Day 3 QFB: received 18.05.09 1655 GMT

It is amazing what a difference a few degrees of water temperature makes. The water has just gone from 5.5 degrees to 10.5 degrees as we are currently right on the edge of where the freezing cold Labrador Current meets the more tropical Gulf Stream.

The whole boat instantly feels warmer above and below decks and, more importantly, it has led the fog to thin out so we can see where we are going for the first time in days. It is easy to appreciate how much the UK and Ireland owe to the Gulf Stream and its warming waters. Warmer sea temperatures immediately means more wind in the sails so progress which has been slow at times recently is improved. The status of Green Dragon has also improved.

At first light this morning we swapped the daggerboards back round putting the repaired port daggerboard in the port case. We are very confident in the repair and the only very small downside is a less than perfect surface finish to the repaired part of the foil. Maybe next time we’ll bring car filler, paint and a polisher!

Whilst damp and cold I cannot think how lightly we are getting away with this part of the trip. I would not like to be in this part of the world in a northerly gale and one cannot help but think of the Perfect Storm which took place on the Grand Banks not far from our current position. I take my hat off to anybody who fishes this part of the world for a living (apart from the lobster fishermen of course).

The race remains tight and we are hoping that the leaders get distracted by their battle for the scoring gate and allow us to gain some precious miles towards the waypoint. We are in a pretty close fight with Delta Lloyd who are seven miles ahead and a few to leeward and appear to be heading up towards our line rather than heading directly east towards the scoring gate. The next few days look like they will be made up of much of the same before the downwind ride to Ireland begins.

Ian Walker - skipper
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Telefónica Blue Leg Seven Day 3 QFB; received 18.05.09 1528 GMT

Not much to report, still sailing in thick fog and having a very close race, where everybody can win at the scoring gate - it will be another cliff-hanger. You win and you will be happy, you lose and still you might think you sailed ok, but losing is losing.

Of course we set our hopes and minds on the maximum score and we are fighting for every meter. Now that that the wind has dropped, it is not as cold anymore, nearly pleasant on deck. Still can’t see any of the other boats, just keeping an eye on the radar. Last night we were only a few meters apart from what we thought was Ericsson 4. You could barely see their lights but could hear the sheets getting eased, great carbon drums are these boats. I think we both thought this was a bit too close as we separated quickly again. The guys are all in good shape, and we are in a full routine again. Doesn’t take too much time to forget all the luxury from ashore.

Bouwe Bekking - skipper

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Ericson 4 Leg Seven Day 3 QFB: received 18.05.09 1524 GMT

Cold and foggy as usual in this area! Yesterday was an interesting day with close racing between the five front runners, especially at Sable point, where current was quite strong and we had fishing pods everywhere!!

We were passing PUMA through to windward when we caught a couple of them that nearly stopped the boat, quite demanding trying to avoid them as they were so close to each other and some of them had long floating lines. Once we caught them they go around the keel and you can see the buoy coming at full speed. One of them jumped on our stern wake and nearly hit me while I was in the aftermost part of the cockpit looking how the buoy cleared around the rudder. Fortunately, the other boats were dealing with the same problems and could see their bows going up and down trying to avoid them!

Luckily we were well clear of this area when the night came. It has been quite a radar game with the competition during the night and we did pretty well gaining a bit on the front boats. There is not to much left to the scoring gate so every meter counts!

We have been dealing with some weed that we have in the keel, nothing major but something that you want to get rid off. It has been there for more than 24hours now, but if we decide to back down it will cost us too much so close to the gate. Let’s see what we can do to get rid of it without slowing down.

This morning we identified a big object on the water. Approaching we could see was the back of a whale that was probably sleeping as it dived slowly when we approached. We only passed a couple of meters away and for me it was the closest we had been to one in this race so far.

Horacio Carabelli - trimmer

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Leg Seven Day 3 Daily Story: Fleet Focuses On Scoring Gate Ahead

Only one more scoring gate is left on the course for the 2008-09 Volvo Ocean Race, and that is a line set southwards from St Johns, Newfoundland, approximately 171 nm to the east of PUMA who holds a slim lead.

All thoughts are focused on earning maximum points at the gate and, with the first five boats within seven miles of each other, and dense fog preventing visibility of the opposition, the race to the gate will be a serious affair.

After passing through the gate, the fleet will have to swing south to avoid the ice exclusion zone. The zone starts on its western side near the town of Lories, Newfoundland, extending 350 nautical miles southeast to approximately the same latitude as Boston but some 900nm to the east. From there it extends 170 nm east then goes north east 250nm from where it extends north.

In the 2005-06 event, the ice exclusion zone was a mark set on the island of Newfoundland as there was no ice in the course area, but this year the ice extends approximately 250nm south of Newfoundland.

Unlike the ice in the Southern Ocean, which is uncharted and largely unobserved, the ice in the northern Atlantic is observed by the Canadian and US authorities who overfly the area each day and document the position of the icebergs. In the Southern Ocean, the only surveillance is by satellite where the smallest size recorded is 150 meters.

With ice so far south, it is not surprising that the air and sea temperature is cold. Kit bags have been emptied and extra layers of thermals have been put on in an attempt to keep warm. For Ryan Godfrey on Ericsson 4, it will be a bleak week ahead as his sea boots have already become wet on the inside. “I guess on the upside, a week doesn’t seem like too long at sea anymore,” he said earlier today.

Onboard Ericsson 3, skipper Magnus Olsson fell asleep midway through his porridge. When the crew woke him, he said in a shivery voice, “This is crazy. I have seven layers of clothing on and I’m still cold. I think and hope it will not be this cold for more than two days. If it will take any longer, I don know how to survive.” The crew accused him of being a ‘drama queen’ but there is for sure some truth in his words, and the crew has yet to experience the cold water stream of the Labrador Current.

Overnight, the fleet has been hooking up lobster pots, which litter this rich fishing area. Green Dragon was the worst affected, suffering a damaged daggerboard when a line sawed into it. The crew had to swap daggerboards in order to make good the damage.

Ericsson 4 has had pots hooked to every foil. “Luckily they seem to come off relatively easily, but not before that ‘Jaws’ moment of the large buoys chasing the boat before they are sucked round the foils to their freedom,” wrote MCM Guy Salter.

With such an abundance of fish, several feeding whales have been seen. “We passed close by a huge whale this afternoon, which made a magestical sight with the low, heavy fog and the glassy ocean. The whale soon disappeared into the deep apron, sensing our presence,” noted Ericsson 4’s Ryan Godfrey.

For second-placed Ericsson 3, their close encounter with a whale resulted in the boat sailing clean over the top of one. Luckily, the boat was not doing more than 10 knots at the time and there was no serious damage to either boat or whale. Arve Roaas had the best view of it: “We had just passed one whale when I saw a huge tail on the starboard side and the rest of the body was, of course, under
the hull. It was probably about the same length of the boat,” he said.

Leg Seven Day 3: 1300 GMT Volvo Ocean Race Positions
(boat name/country/skipper/nationality/distance to finish)

1. PUMA Racing Team USA (Ken Read/USA) DTF 2136 nm
2. Ericsson 3 SWE (Magnus Olsson/SWE) +1
3. Ericsson 4 SWE (Torben Grael/BRA) +1
4. Telefónica Blue ESP (Bouwe Bekking/NED) +2
5. Telefónica Black ESP (Fernando Echávarri/ESP) +7
6. Delta Lloyd IRL (Roberto Bermúdez/ESP) +17
7. Green Dragon IRL/CHN (Ian Walker/GBR) +26

Team Russia RUS (Andreas Hanakamp/AUT) DNS
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Anton Paz/Telefonica Black/Volvo Ocean Race Stacking, onboard Telefonica Black, on leg 7 from Boston to Galway

Anton Paz/Telefonica Black/Volvo Ocean Race Gonzalo Araujo checking fishermans marks, onboard Telefonica Black, on leg 7 from Boston to Galway

Gustav Morin/Ericsson 3/Volvo Ocean Race Martin Stromberg onboard Ericsson 3, on leg 7 from Boston to Galway

Guo Chuan/Green Dragon Racing/Volvo Ocean Race Green dragon sustain dammage to their leeward, port daggerboard, after hitting a lobster pot, on leg 7 of the Volvo Ocean Race from Boston to Galway

Gabriele Olivo/Telefonica Blue/Volvo Ocean Race Pepe Ribes and Xabi Fernandez trimming, onboard Telefonica Blue, on leg 7 from Boston to Galway

Gustav Morin/Ericsson 3/Volvo Ocean Race Jens Dolmer putting on his harness, on leg 7 from Boston to Galway