Sport-heute: Sailing - PUMA LEG ONE DAY 22 QFB: received 01.11.08 0627 GMT

01. November 2008, 21:42

PUMA LEG ONE DAY 22 QFB: received 01.11.08 0627 GMT

Arriving into Cape Town this race has quickly delivered a lot of variety from the doldrums to heavy air sailing. The boat has come through in great shape as well as the crew. Moving all the gear downstairs has become easier with us eating our way through 200 kg of freeze-dried.

International Ocean (mk) I had a present for the guys on my watch this morning. It was to be half a bar of chocolate. I went to my little snack bag, number nine only to find someone had already eaten it. They actually showed some courtesy and left one small square, which didn't really go far between four guys. I think an enquiry in the morning will take place.

Usually these enquiries do not reach an acceptable outcome other than to give the message that theft of food in the old days was punished by removing the hand. We all carry personal knives as part of our safety gear some I am considering bringing in this rule.

We have really had a good learning curve this trip and will be better for it. Big congrats to the Ericsson guys on a impressive 24 record and heavy air skills. I know how hard it is to maintain the pressure and they did a great job. We will be better in this area next time, guaranteed.
Pleasing for me was to watch the young guys, Casey (Smith/AUS) and Michi (Mueller/GER). They really had a great leg.

I am happy with a return to my favourite stop in the race. See you on the dock for a steak sandwich and a quiet beer.

Nico
Chris Nicholson - watch captain

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TELEFÓNICA BLUE LEG ONE DAY 22 QFB: received 01.11.08 0724 GMT

Like Jordi (Calafat) said: we had a stop, had massive doldrums, had a massive wipeout, are in the roaring forties, the only thing missing on this trip is............an .iceberg. Let's keep going south, so that we can tick that box of as well.

Of course joking, but there is always a possibility to see ice. In the last race, we saw two massive bergs, around 42 south just after leaving Cape Town. So you can imagine it is getting colder by the hour and the gloves and hats are out and the interior is not drying out anymore.

Last night just after coming from watch, disaster struck. I was in the galley preparing some coffees, when all of a sudden, I felt the boat making a bad move, and quickly it flipped on its side. Had to have all hands on deck to drop the spinnaker, which had fallen in the water but miraculously stayed in one piece.

Quickly the chaos was under control, and we hoisted another spinnaker. We knew the next position report would mean a loss, but so be it. You can't blame anybody when these things happen, we are pushing as hard as we can, and a bad wave had the better of us.

So the million-dollar question right now is when to gybe over and actually go direction Cape Town. We have to watch out for not being tempted just to gybe to get out of the cold, so Si Fi (Simon Fisher - navigator) is glued to all the screens in front of him. We have to keep a close eye on the Russians, who slowly but surely have been gaining ground on us. That is our goal for the time being. If the boats ahead of us stop, great, but that would be only a bonus. They have big margin in their favour. But I have seen weird things happen before in yacht racing, so there is still hope.

Bouwe Bekking - skipper

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TELEFONICA BLACK LEG ONE DAY 22 QFB: received 1015 GMT

36Âº 52' S 01Âº 01' W

Hi everyone
It is getting colder and colder as we get deep south, trying to avoid the high pressures which are catching us up through the north. Not strange, as the sea temperature goes to less than 13ÂºC, but all of us are well prepared.

We are going at a nice pace, and we hope to be home in a few days, providing we avoid this high which prevents us from taking a more direct track. But anyway, considering the problems we had, we keep high spirits on board and there is always a smile even when talking about controlling the food, in case we last more than predicted!

So, as there was no much news apart from our flock of flying bodyguards, which keep on our track day and night (albatrosses and giant petrels), thanks for your support.

Mikel Pasabant - MCM
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PUMA LEG ONE DAY 22 QFB: received 01.11.08 1327 GMT

Being about oNe day out and hopefully a relatively smooth ride in has given some time for reflection on the leg. I have been very impressed with the boat's performance and perhaps a little surprised as to how we can sail the boat better. We can see the advantage of a two new boat programme but are happy with the stage we are at. I expect to see some improvements across the board but particularly in the strong downwind sailing.

Speaking of which, a huge congratulations to the E4 team. To maintain that level of pace is a credit to their preparation and skill. Personally, it was a big reminder of the difficulty that comes with keeping everything together in those conditions. Will it fall again this race? Maybe, but it will take a very good set of conditions.

It's great to see how much this generation of boats has moved on with higher speeds, greater reliability and, I am hoping, less repair work for our shore teams. It's nice to have confidence in the package of boat and crew. My arrival last time in Cape Town was in a 747, it sure is nice to be hopefully arriving in second.

It has been nice watching the battle going on down south but enjoying the northern sunshine!
I think we will all see the huge benefit having an onboard media specialist has been. I expect the footage will be impressive, although I can remember asking Rick Deppe a few times, if he got 'that' wave and nosedive crash at the bottom and he gave me a look of self-preservation first and footage a close second.

Other changes to the race is with the under 30s. Our two guys, Casey (Smith/AUS) and Michi (Mueller/GER) have had huge legs and really stood out. Personally, I reckon if you have a look at them when they hit the dock they might look a bit older now!

Nico
Chris Nicholson - watch captain

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GREEN DRAGON LEG ONE DAY 22 QFB: received 01.11.08 1112 GMT

Phil Harmer (aka Wendy) is man of the match today. As well as telling us the best story of the trip so far, he has now rebuilt two spinnakers on board in double quick time.

The first, the fractional, was relatively minor and took 6 hours but yesterday's was a biggie. We were guilty of pushing too hard trying to minimise the losses from our damaged keel by flying the masthead spinnaker at night in over 25 knots of wind and quite big waves.

We were hit by a line squall and the rapidly rising wind lead to a sequence of events that meant the spinnaker was in shreds. Fortunately, we salvaged all the pieces, but this was a big blow, as we will need this sail all the way to Cape Town. Phil wasn't on watch at the time (9pm) and was woken up to piles of soaking wet, ripped sailcloth down below. He didn't say anything but I read his mind.

By 6am and, with a bit of help from others off watch, he had it ready to go back up and it is now flying as good as new (well sort of) in 25 knots again. At times like this everyone really pulls together as a team as this was the last thing we needed right now.

The lads are pretty tired. For nearly a week now, we have been sailing a 'double standby' watch in strong wind. In simple terms, this means you only get 2 hours in your bunk every eight - which is not enough. It does mean that when it is rough we have seven people in kit ready to be on deck at a moment's notice. We have needed them on several occasions.

The only other news is that we have gybed so we are now pointing pretty much at Cape Town. This is good for morale, not least as we are heading north again. It has been gloves and hat weather the last few days - Neal (McDonald/GBR) has even taken his shorts off and put on thermals.

It is frustrating knowing that we could be sailing so much faster and seeing ERT3 crossing us when we would have been so well clear of them but that's yacht racing and the other night could have been so much worse. We have about 2 days to go and we are starting to count down the miles in fifties. Happy Days.

Ian Walker - skipper

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THE HOME STRAIT

Torben Grael/BRA and his crew onboard Ericsson 4 is on the home strait with just 237 nm to go to the finish of leg one of the Volvo Ocean Race in Cape Town. The boat went into StealthPlay last night at 1900 GMT, emerging still in the north, where although the breeze is lighter, there are less miles to sail to the finish.

Weather-routeing software is predicting an arrival time of just after 0800 GMT tomorrow morning, with second placed PUMA at approximately 1630 GMT, although times are likely to slip back as the wind softens on the approach to the finish line.

PUMA (Ken Read/USA) stayed in the north with Ericsson 4, but at 1300 GMT today, was 110 nm behind her and sailing considerably slower. The rest of the fleet opted for the cold, southerly option, 500 miles south, which meant more miles to sail, but potentially the promise of more wind.

All the southerly boats, except Ericsson 3 (Anders Lewander/SWE) gybed north this morning and are heading straight for the barn door. Ericsson will cross ahead of the Dragons on port gybe, and at 1300 GMT today, she went into Stealth mode.

Two blown-out spinnakers have cost Ian Walker's Green Dragon valuable miles and allowed Anders Lewander and his Nordic crew to gain advantage. Flying their masthead spinnaker at night, in over 25 knots of wind and quite big waves, the Green Dragon crew was trying to make up lost miles caused by keel damage earlier in the week. A line squall hit the boat and the rapidly rising wind led to a sequence of consequences that meant the spinnaker was in shreds.

By 0600 this morning, the newly repaired sail was rehoisted. 'As good as new (well sort of),' wrote Ian Walker today. In the strong wind, his crew have been sailing a 'double standby' watch, which means that each crewmember only has two hours to sleep in his bunk out of every eight, which is not enough according to Walker. 'It does mean that when it is rough, we have seven people in kit, ready to be on deck at a moment's notice. We have needed them on several occasions,' he said.

The Dragons were not the only ones to suffer overnight. 'Last night, just after coming from watch, disaster struck,' wrote Telefonica Blue skipper Bouwe Bekking/NED. 'I was in the galley, preparing some coffee, when, all of a sudden, I felt the boat making a bad move, and quickly, it flipped on its side. We had to have all hands on deck to drop the spinnaker, which had fallen in the water but , miraculously, had stayed in one piece. Quickly the chaos was under control, and we hoisted another spinnaker, but we knew the next position report would mean a loss, but so be it,' he said.

Onboard Team Russia (Andreas Hanakamp/AUT), the crew has been hampered by a broken aerial. This means that they have been unable to download the all- important weather information needed for navigation. For the last 48 hours, they have had no information to rely on, although navigator, Wouter Verbraak is confident he will have it fixed soon.

Further back, the crew of Delta Lloyd (Ger' O'Rourke/IRL) face a big job list when they arrive in Cape Town, which will need shift work and the crew jumping back into the jobs list according to skipper Ger O'Rourke. 'With the exception of one and a quarter days off, it will be back to work to prepare for the next leg,' he said.

Bringing up the rear is Telefonica Black (Fernando Echavarri/ESP), which went to 36 degrees south before gybing north. 'Considering the problems we have had, we keep in high spirits onboard and there is always a smile, even when talking about controlling the food in case we need more than predicted,' says Mikel Pasabant from onboard.

Leg One Day 22: 1300 GMT Volvo Ocean Race Positions
(boat name/country/skipper/nationality/distance to leader)

Ericsson 4 SWE (Torben Grael/BRA) DTF 237nm
PUMA Racing Team USA (Ken Read/USA) +110
Ericsson 3 SWE (Anders Lewander/SWE) +345
Green Dragon IRL/CHN (Ian Walker/GBR) +372
Telefónica Blue ESP (Bouwe Bekking/NED) +478
Team Russia RUS (Andreas Hanakamp/AUT) +558
Delta Lloyd IRL (Ger O'Rourke/IRL) +605
Telefónica Black ESP (Fernando EchÃ¡varri/ESP) +673

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ERICSSON 4 LEG ONE DAY 22 QFB: received 01.11.08 1942 GMT

It's been an odd day on E4 today. We came out of our stealth mode - which didn't really do much for us - we just carried on as normal.

We have been going ok on Puma and are happy that we are between them and the mark, just have to wait for the park up in Table Bay and watch the fleet sail around us!

The feeling onboard is different as we know we are getting near the end of our separation from the outside world. People have been busy preparing job lists and tidying the boat up after the 'hanging on mode' of mid week's fast and furious ride.

Lots of the boys have been catching up what they can with rest - we know that the last 150 miles of this leg will probably be some of the toughest as the breeze gets lighter and less predictable the closer to land we get.

We have had a deluge of small 'Portuguese man o war' jelly fish on deck this evening. These nasty little sods can give you quite a sting, so care is taken before moving sails or grabbing rope. We had a distant escort of whales earlier - seeing what was screaming past them - although they didn't get closer than a few hundred metres and quickly vanished from view.

A little earlier, a large Albatross (our first and only) came in low level, then suddenly soared up and gave us a solitary fly by before getting down between the waves and off on his own business. He looked like a large wise old thing and I imagine that we are not the first round the world competitor he has seen; he certainly gave the impression that he wasn't too interested in us.

All else is good onboard and the apprehension of a difficult night and the chance that we may have to roll our sleeves up and fight once more is firmly planted in our minds

Guy Salter MCM

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Skipper Ken Read helming PUMA Ocean Racing in rough seas heading towards Cape Town, on leg 1 of the Volvo Ocean Race

PUMA Ocean Racing in rough seas heading towards Cape Town, on leg 1 of the Volvo Ocean Race

PUMA Ocean Racing in rough seas heading towards Cape Town, on leg 1 of the Volvo Ocean Race

Navigator Andrew Cape and skipper Ken Read discuss tactics as they head towards Cape Town, on leg 1 of the Volvo Ocean Race

PUMA Ocean Racing in rough seas heading towards Cape Town, on leg 1 of the Volvo Ocean Race