Samstag, 26. Mai 2012, 14:26:14 Uhr

13. Dezember 2011, 22:22

Vorsicht vor dem Agulhas Strom

Als die Nacht am heutigen Abend über die Flotte hereinbrach wusste man auch, dass nun bald der berüchtigte Agulhas Strom die Boote beschäftigen wird und allen schlaflose Nächte bereiten könnte. 30-Knoten Winde und sechs Meter hohe Wellen die fürchterlich an die Boote peitschen, dazu segeln gegen den Wind und dazu alles in finsterer Nacht, wo es besonders schwierig ist. - Rob Greenhalgh from GBR at the helm onboard Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing during leg 2 of the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12, from Cape Town, South Africa to Abu Dhabi, UAE. (Credit: Nick Dana/Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing/Volvo Ocean Race).

Zürich, 13.12.11 Red. (mk) Die Besatzungen werden keine Zeit mehr haben, sich noch bei Tageslicht daran zu gewöhnen. Die Wellen springen über das Boot und prallen von oben auf die Mannschaft nieder. Der Steuermann kann dabei nichts mehr sehen. Es ist unerlässlich wenn man durchkommen will - mit den Wellen mitzuspielen.

Ken Read bw. ist scih sehr bewusst, was einem passieren kann. Im Rennen 2008-09 war er ebenfalls auf dieser Etappe. Als das Boot am fast gleichen Punkt von einer grossen Welle überspült wurde und mit einem widerlichen dumpfen Schlag, grosse Schäden am wichtigen Längsrahmen verursachte. Bei Ian Walker, der damals mit der Green Dragon unterwegs wahr brach das Lenkgetriebe und dazu fiel nach der Mast als eine 50-Knoten Böe die gesamte Flotte in Mitleidenschaft zog.

Im Moment hat die Flotte aber Sichtweite zueinander. Coastal Navigationen erfordern ein ständiges eingeben neuer Daten und das ergibt zusammen sehr wenig schlaf.

Stand

Leg 2
Report: 13/12/2011 19:02:35 UTC
DTL DTLC BS
1 GPMA 0.00 0.0 17.7
2 CMPR 6.90 6.0 13.3
3 PUMA 8.10 8.0 12.5
4 ADOR 17.50 11.0 13.3
5 TELE 26.40 9.0 12.8
6 SNYA 28.00 28.0 9.3




English Version

SERIOUS CONDITIONS AHEAD AS AGULHAS CURRENT COMES INTO PLAY

As night falls on the Volvo Ocean Race fleet, the notorious Agulhas current will come into play. Thirty-knot winds will whip six-metre waves into a hurling mass, caused by the wind blowing against the direction of the current. And it’s much more difficult when it’s dark.

The crews will not have time to acclimatise to the sea state during daylight hours. The boats will be on a fast reach, leaping off waves that the helmsmen can barely see, helped only by the light of a big moon and clear skies. It will be essential to play the waves, but these could be boat-breaking conditions.

Ken Read will be very aware of what can happen. It was on this leg in the 2008-09 race, which took the fleet from Cape Town to Cochin in India that PUMA’s Il Mostro launched off a wave and landed with a sickening thud, damaging the main longitudinal frame. Ian Walker also ran into trouble on this leg previously when his boat, Green Dragon broke her steering gear and crashed into a horrendous Chinese gybe and, later, when a 50-knot gust ripped through the fleet, her boom snapped.

All this to look forward to tonight, meanwhile the past 12 hours or so have been very complicated. The fleet has continued to be in sight of each other, as they tacked down the coast of South Africa, something very unusual and unexpected in this race.

Coastal navigation requires constant input from the navigators, who have had very little sleep so far, just catnapping between taking bearings and assessing their boat’s performance against those closest to them. However, according to Will Oxley, navigator of CAMPER (Chris Nicholson/AUS), who was in the lead earlier today, it is much less stressful when you know where the opposition is, and a lot more fun as the crew of Groupama 4 (Franck Cammas/FRA) has discovered after their lonely race during leg one.

At 1600 UTC this afternoon, Groupama 4 became the new leader from Team Sanya (Mike Sanderson/NZL) and PUMA’s Mar Mostro and held onto her lead at 1900 UTC tonight. CAMPER moved back up to second place, relegating PUMA’s Mar Mostro to third. Team Sanya is now the back marker, having lost 28 nm by being becalmed in torrential rain.

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Team Sanya during leg 2 of the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12, from Cape Town, South Africa to Abu Dhabi, UAE. (Credit: Andres Soriano/Team Sanya/Volvo Ocean Race)

Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing during leg 2 of the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12, from Cape Town, South Africa to Abu Dhabi, UAE. (Credit: Nick Dana/Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing/Volvo Ocean Race)

Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing during leg 2 of the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12, from Cape Town, South Africa to Abu Dhabi, UAE. (Credit: Nick Dana/Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing/Volvo Ocean Race)

Michi Mueller adjusting the sail trim to leeward. PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG during leg 2 of the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12, from Cape Town, South Africa to Abu Dhabi, UAE. (Credit: Amory Ross/PUMA Ocean Racing/Volvo Ocean Race)