Sport-heute: Sailing - Morgen Samstag startet die Volvo Ocean Race zum zweiten Teil

14. November 2008, 11:34

Morgen Samstag startet die Volvo Ocean Race zum zweiten Teil

VOLVO OCEAN RACE FLEET PREPARES TO TACKLE THE UNKNOWN

Am Samstag starten die Volvo Ocean Weltensegler vom Cape Town aus Richtung Asien. Zum Erstenmal, in der 35-jährigen Geschichte des Rennens ist Cochin in Indien der Zielport.

Cape Town (South Africa) - 12 November 2008 - Leg two of the Volvo Ocean Race begins on Saturday when the crews will race to Asia for the first time in the 35-year history of the race. Cochin, India is the finish port and the leg represents a sea change for the race.

Cape Town Südafrika (mk) Der Start ist für 1300, Lokalzeit (1100 GMT), auf Tabel Bay, ausserhalb der sprühenden Wasserfront, wo die Boote vor zwei Wochen angekommen sind.

Der Start wird im Internet übertragen, über Web-TV, auf Volvorace Drei Tage vor Beginn der schwierigen Grossetappe, steht den Booten und Seeleuten eine riesengrosse Herausforderung bevor. Man kennt die Ozean Stürme, die meterhohen Wellen, die schreckliche Kälte, die Eisberge am Bein von Kapstadt. Dieses mal wird es eine kurze Zeit sein unter die 40 Grad nördlicher Breite zu gehen, bevor die Flotte dann in Richtung Norden nach Indien dreht.

Auf dem Briefing von heute Mittwoch Morgeen, haben die Teams die neuen Herausforderungen kennengelernt.
Zu warnen galt es auch von der Piraterie vor der Ostküste von Afrika, den stets unbeleuchteten Fischerbooten in diesen Gewässern und auch von den ohne Licht fahrenden grossen Fischerflotten. Besonders die gefährlichen Bereiche der Piraterie wurden bis ins Detail besprochen.

Doch die grösste Sorge wird sein, die kleinen hölzernen Fischereifahrzeuge zu erkennen. Sie sind besonders heikel und man sieht sie praktisch im Wellengang nicht. So kommentierte Puma Kapitän Ken Read. Wir betreten völlig unbekanntes Terrain und Segelboot - Rennen. Hier braucht es gesunden Menschenverstand und wir müssen uns als Gruppe verstehen. Wir werden hier zusammenbleiben. Und immer wieder werden wir uns gegenseitig mit Informationen austauschen.

Das Rennen von Kapstadt bis Cochin ist 445o Meilen und der Sieger wird ca. am 3. Dezember in Cochin einlaufen. Ein Scoring Tor definiert entlang des 58-Grad Ost Meridian die Strecke. Es ist ein grosses Tor - die einzige Einschränkung besteht darin, nördlich der Antarktis und im Süden von Mauritius (20-Grad südlicher Breite) zu fahren.

Auf dieser Strecke wird es viele raffinierte Strategien brauchen. Alles herkömmlich, muss man da vergessen.

Das Wetter in Kapstadt hat sich von Tag zu Tag verändert und es herrscht ein sehr rauhe See mit kräftigen Winden.
Doch für das Wochenende wird ein Hoch erwartet.
Das grösste Rennen aller Zeiten, wird also am Samstag bei besten Bedingungen starten.

English

VOLVO OCEAN RACE FLEET PREPARES TO TACKLE THE UNKNOWN

Cape Town (South Africa) - 12 November 2008 - Leg two of the Volvo Ocean Race begins on Saturday when the crews will race to Asia for the first time in the 35-year history of the race. Cochin, India is the finish port and the leg represents a sea change for the race.

The start of leg two is scheduled for 1300, local time (1100 GMT), on Table Bay, just outside the V A Waterfront that has played host to the fleet since they arrived less than two weeks ago.

The start will be broadcast on the internet, on web TV, at www.volvooceanrace.tv. Audio coverage can be found on the main website at www.volvooceanrace.org and if you are not at your computer, but have your mobile to hand, point its browser at m.volvooceanrace.org. If you are in Cape Town and following the start on the water, audio coverage can be found on VHF radio (channel to be confirmed) as well.

With just three days until the start, the teams are preparing for the challenges of leg two. Traditionally, southern ocean storms, towering seas, horrendous cold and icebergs have been the principal challenges of the leg out of Cape Town. This time, there will be a brief dive into the Roaring Forties (below 40-degrees latitude), before the fleet turns north towards India.

At a briefing on Wednesday morning, the teams learned about the new challenges they were likely to encounter, including small, potentially unlit, local fishing fleets, commercial traffic. As well, the hazard of piracy, not uncommon off the east coast of Africa, was discussed at length. An exclusion zone has been set up, to the northwest of Mauritius, to keep the fleet well clear of the most dangerous area of known piracy.

'One thing we are particularly worried about is the chance of hitting one of these small wooden fishing vessels that are hard to detect,' said Ken Read, the skipper of PUMA. 'There are so many of these boats in some of the areas we visit that you can almost walk from coast to coast on them. We are entering completely uncharted territory for sailboat racing. We are going to have to be smart, use common sense and we need to understand as a group that we are in this together. If there is a situation out there that we do not like we are going to have to agree as a group to share information.'

'We are not going to be paranoid about sailing this route,' added Fernando EchÃ¡varri, the skipper of Telefónica Black. 'But now we are aware of what might happen and what to do if it does.'

The race from Cape Town to Cochin is 4,450 miles and the leader is expected to finish around December 3. Along the way, a scoring gate has been defined along the meridian of 58-degrees east. It is a big gate - the only restriction
is to pass north of Antarctica and south of Mauritius (20-degrees south latitude).

In effect, the gate adds further motivation to dive south out of Cape Town, to pick up a strong westerly in the southern ocean to race east to the gate. An interesting strategic choice to keep on eye on is when the teams turn north for India. The gate provides incentive to stay south for longer; but the real prize, the leg win, may require a different strategy.

The weather in Cape Town has turned this week and gale force winds are presenting a challenge to the teams as they prepare their boats for the two and half week leg. However, the forecast is for more moderate conditions as a high-pressure system settles over the region for the weekend.

As a stopover port, Cape Town has lived up to its reputation as a haven for seafarers. The 'tavern of the seas' has provided first-class hospitality on every level to the sailors of the Volvo Ocean Race. In turn, the sailors have participated in public Q A sessions with over 700 scouts. In addition, the local IsiVunguVungu Sailing Academy hosted a three-day Youth Sailing Academy at the Race village, with the participation of many of the Volvo sailors.

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