Sport-heute: Sailing - PUMA LEG TWO DAY TWO QFB: received 16.11.08 1726 GMT

16. November 2008, 21:59

PUMA LEG TWO DAY TWO QFB: received 16.11.08 1726 GMT

ERICSSON 4 LEG TWO DAY TWO QFB: received 16.11.08 1548 GMT--GREEN DRAGON LEG TWO DAY 2 QFB: received 16.11.08 1530 GMT

Another spectacular send off. Cape Town had some lofty expectations to live up to and not only did the city, the country, and the people live up to them, they blew us away. We can't thank all the folks we met enough- both the locals and the troops at PUMA. It was sad to leave. And as always it was sad to leave our families and friends, not to mention the shore team who did a spectacular job getting the boat in great shape over a tough couple weeks. I bet the shore team wasn't too sad to see us leave!

CAPE TOWN - CHOCIN INDIA (mk) With that said, we are leaving with a vengeance! I am actually struggling to write this note because we're getting thrown around the boat like a pair of dice hitting a craps table. Our start couldn't have been better- gorgeous day and a quick lead for the fine yacht 'il mostro'. But it didn't last long'the infamous wind hole under Table Mountain played her tricks on us and we went from having a large lead to being stuck in a glue pot watching a few others sail by. We had a strategy- expecting the hole, but the strategy to get offshore quickly didn't exactly work to plan. Anyway, after a gorgeous beat down the coast with eight Volvo 70's tacking along the mountains in 20-25 knots of wind, we caught up with the race leader E3 just at sunset right off Cape Point. A great day if you liked to sail.

Also as anticipated, the night brought a shift in the weather and a chance to get across a ridge into the Southern Ocean westerlies being carried by a large low pressure system coming from the west. Well we did it. A morning check in with E4 about a half mile from us (no shocker!) and a building breeze led us to where we are now. Careening down waves in 27 knots of breeze against 2+ plus knots of current called the Agulhas Current, trying to write this note. And, it's a bit moist on deck'nasty right now actually.

One small issue on board is a bit of a flu that has taken hold- not very much fun for a few of us. And the great news for the rest of the group is they can almost be guaranteed to get the cold eventually, based on the unavoidable hygiene on a lovely V-70 petri dish. Which is why this may be one of the more bland notes you will (hopefully) read from il mostro. I need some more Advil! My head is killing me, and it's not just the flu. I just smashed it into a winch structure under deck getting my foul weather gear off. You would think that I would know it was there by now!

Ken Read - skipper

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ERICSSON 4 LEG TWO DAY TWO QFB: received 16.11.08 1548 GMT

Well, here we go again. Although we have only been gone 24 hours, the Cape Town stopover seems like it must have been a dream...and a very pleasant, but short, one at that. It is always hard to leave Cape Town. The locals, the food, the Bascule Bar, and of course the families and friends.

This time however, I felt less knots in my stomach on leaving. Maybe because we are not taking the usual Southern Ocean sleigh ride to Australia, or maybe I am just better prepared on my third race than I was on my first. Or, maybe, I have no idea what this leg and the Cochin stopover could potentially hold for us.

It may not be the
usual Southern Ocean leg, but we have started in typical style. A bit of funky weather under the shelter of Table Mountain, a beat down the coastline, crossing the ridge and into the westerlies. We currently have 25 knots and have averaged 21 knots for the last 3 hours or so.

I prefer this gybe on our boat. The toilet is much easier to use when it is on the leeward side. The galley is much harder to use, but you don't have your pants down in the galley, so you can deal with it.

Thanks to everyone in Cape Town who made the stopover so worthwhile, and again, thanks to our shore crew for all their work during the stop.

Dave Endean

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GREEN DRAGON LEG TWO DAY 2 QFB: received 16.11.08 1530 GMT

Compared with our first 24 hours leaving Alicante, the first 24 hours of this leg have been relatively event free. Despite this, it has been quite tiring on the crew, as we have had an abundance of sail changes.

We used most of our sails before getting away from Cape Town. Tactically what had looked like a minefield has not panned out too badly. We made a brave call to sail for about 3 hours in completely the wrong direction to get into the westerlies earlier and were thankfully well rewarded. Now the whole fleet is charging along in 20 - 25 knots of westerly and we have just dealt with the worst of the Agulhas Current.

It is nice to have some other boats in sight compared with the last leg and it is even nicer that we seem able, in these conditions, to hold the two Telefónicas and ERT 3 behind us. Puma and ERT 4 have a good break from the fleet with speed to burn.

Other than a bit if an uncomfortable trip up the mast for Justin to solve a reefing problem there is nothing much to report. There are the normal first day blues as we struggle to get used to the food and sleep patterns and, for most of us, the realisation that we will not see our families until Christmas. Cape Town is a fantastic stopover and it will always be hard to leave.

Ian Walker - skipper

ALLE PICTURES VOLVO OCEAN RACE

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