Samstag, 26. Mai 2012, 15:02:12 Uhr

23. Februar 2012, 11:04

TORTUOUS PROGRESS IN SOUTH CHINA SEA

TELEFÓNICA IS NEW LEADER AS FLEET LEAVES LUZON STRAIT UPDATE 23.2.-0030 Update 23.2.-10.00

Emirates Team New Zealand (Chris Nicholson/AUS) were still in the lead, but a change of waypoint* elevated Team Sanya (Mike Sanderson/NZL) into second place, and Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing (Ian Walker/GBR) up to third place as the fleet began to feel the effects of the Kuroshio Current or ‘Black Tide’.Team Telefonica passing by a fishing boat during leg 4 of the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12, from Sanya, China to Auckland, New Zealand. (Credit: Diego Fructuoso/Team Telefonica/Volvo Ocean Race)

February 22, 2012 - 1000 UTC Leg 4 Day 4 (mk) This local current, similar to the Gulf Steam in the north Atlantic, flows north east past Japan and is creating some very big waves and some even bigger crash landings for the boats. The crews are unanimous in their loathing for the torturous conditions.

Currently the fleet is heading due east, against the wind in around 22 knots of breeze, heading for a northern crossing of the Luzon Strait to exit the South China Sea.

“We just can’t get out of here fast enough,” said PUMA’s skipper Ken Read/USA today. “We are sick of going up wind,” he said as he and his team tried to work out the best way to get east in a weather system that is falling apart.

The breeze is forecast to die as the fleet approaches the southern tip of Taiwan at the northern end of the Luzon Strait and it’s a question of playing the fleet but keeping an eye on the global picture.

According to Chris Nicholson, the waves have no backs and the landings are severe. “Not too much of a problem in the daylight as we can steer around them, softening the impact on the boat, but a big issue at night time,” he said.

Ian Walker, skipper of Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing’s Azzam was barely audible in his call to Race HQ this morning as the conversation was punctuated with loud crashes every few seconds as Azzam’s landed heavily in the bottom of a trough.

“We are literally having to steer around every wave,” Walker said. “Right now we have to get out of the South China Seas. It is a God-awful place, certainly no place you want to be sailing up wind at least. Hopefully, in another 100 miles or so, we will poke our nose out and get free of this place.

“I am just glad we are not coming through here in 40 knots, which we easily could have been,” he added.

The constant crashing is tiring the crews. Sleep is difficult as the motion of the boat makes it hard for the off watch crews just to stay in their bunks.

The fleet now is divided by just 19.4 nautical miles from CAMPER in first and PUMA in sixth position and there is no prospect of a let up in the mounting pressure.

“Everyone is trekking out towards the southern tip of Taiwan, where the wind is expected to become very fickle. I hope the waves drop before the wind does, or it will make for tortuous progress,” concluded Ian Walker.

* To ensure the accuracy of the race tracker three waypoints are used to calculate the fleet’s distance to finish (DTF) data during the second stage of Leg 4.

At 0800 UTC this morning the first waypoint just off the north east tip of the Philippines was replaced by the second waypoint located near the Poor Knights Islands north of Auckland.

Waypoint 3 is located just close to Tiritiri Matangi Island and will come into play as the fleet closes in on Auckland at the end of the leg.

This morning’s waypoint change elevated Team Sanya to second place and Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing to third at the 1000 UTC position report. Groupama dropped to fourth based on the new calculation.

Leg 4
22/02/2012 10:04:37 UTC
DTL DTLC BS DTF
1 CMPR 0.00 0 11.3 4723.7
2 SNYA 5.60 6 11.7 4729.3
3 ADOR 7.00 6 11.8 4730.8
4 GPMA 8.60 3 11.8 4732.3
5 TELE 19.40 6 13.7 4743.1
6 PUMA 23.20 7 13.6 4747.0




UPDATE 1530 22.2.12

The Volvo Ocean Race teams are preparing for what they hope will be their final night trying to dodge huge waves in the pitch black as they battle to break free from the clutches of the South China Sea.

In daylight the waves, as high as five metres, are easily spotted and evasive action is possible but at night the helmsmen must rely on feel alone to stay out of trouble and keep the boats intact.

With just 16 nautical miles separating leg leaders CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand from PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG in sixth at 1300 UTC, the entire fleet was feeling the force of the brutal seas left behind by a tropical monsoon.

“You have to have your wits about you, because you can’t go flying off the waves or you’ll end up snapping the boat in half,” said Ian Walker, skipper of second-placed Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing.

“You’ve just got to be ready every time you come up the face of a wave and try to give the boat a soft landing. That’s not too bad in daylight but in darkness you have to do it just by feel.”

Leg leaders CAMPER were not finding life any easier at the front of the fleet as they clung to a four-mile advantage over Abu Dhabi.

“There are no backs to the waves in those conditions so the landings are severe,” skipper Chris Nicholson said.

Mike Sanderson, skipper of third-placed Team Sanya, added: “Life on board is pretty uncomfortable. It has been a long couple of days upwind in between 15 and 20 knots of wind. It has been very bumpy.”

PUMA skipper Ken Read said the combination of confused sea state, current and headwinds continued to cause miserable conditions for racing.

“We’re still leaping off of waves out here in the South China Sea, a place that quite frankly we can’t get out of fast enough,” Read said. “I think I speak for the entire fleet when I say we are sick of going upwind. That’s all we do in this place so let’s get the heck out of here now.”

Read and his crew had struggled to hide their frustration at having to start the second stage of Leg 4 on Monday almost 40 minutes behind the fleet. But after three days of racing PUMA’s Mar Mostro was back in the mix after making up miles on the leading pack.

“We’ve done a really good job of turning a potential disaster into a positive,” Read added. “We’re right back in touch and who knows, there’s plenty of miles still ahead for things to change round. We’re feeling pretty good about ourselves right now to be honest. A lot can happen yet. We don’t get points for being 500 miles into a leg – the last time I checked, we get them at the finish.”

With around 100 miles to go to the southern tip of Taiwan, an end to the wretched conditions is in sight – but not before a painful night of little breeze and big, adverse seas hamper progress further.

"The wind is forecast to go so light that, with the waves as big as they are, we could see the boats going backwards,” said Gonzalo Infante, Volvo Ocean Race chief meteorologist.

Infante said it could take another eight hours to reach the western Pacific, where the waves would become more manageable and the teams’ focus could return to speed rather than survival.

Leg 4
22/02/2012 13:03:15 UTC
DTL DTLC BS DTF
1 CMPR 0.00 0 11.4 4716.3
2 ADOR 4.20 3 10.5 4720.5
3 SNYA 5.10 1 10.6 4721.3
4 GPMA 6.60 2 11.3 4722.9
5 TELE 12.90 6 11.1 4729.2
6 PUMA 16.30 7 11.4 4732.



UPDATE 23.2.12 0030

CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand (Chris Nicholson/AUS) led the fleet through the Luzon Strait, passing within a mile of the lighthouse marking the southern tip of Taiwan at 1830 UTC tonight. Groupama 4 (Franck Cammas/FRA) and Telefónica (Iker Martínez/ESP) followed. But, at 2200 UTC tonight a new leader had emerged and Telefónica was in back their customary position as leader of the pack.

The shake up on the leaderboard is due to decisions taken immediately after clearing the Luzon Strait. CAMPER chose the high road north, while Telefónica is 45 nautical miles to their south. Between the two is Groupama 4. PUMA’s Mar Mostro (Ken Read/USA) rounded the point in fourth place with Ian Walker and Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing less than a mile behind. At the last position report Team Sanya still had four miles to go.

Progress through the Luzon Strait was slow but at least possible and not the total glass off that the crews feared and speeds have been building out in the Philippine Sea. For the past three hours, CAMPER has averaged 19.3 knots, while those further south have been sailing progressively slower.

“The next part of the leg is about how far east you can get before you dive south towards the Equator,” explained Team Sanya’s skipper Mike Sanderson/NZL. “How much distance to the finish are you prepared to pay to sail east and how far does that take you?”

Like the other five teams, Sanderson and his men had hoped the sail east would be relatively cheap enabling them to then sail with much nicer angles down to the trade winds, but this is not going to be easy. “At the moment, it’s looking like it’s going to be too hard to get east and it’s going to give the fleet a very tight angle to the trades, which means quite a few more days upwind or tight reaching,” he said.

On board PUMA’s Mar Mostro, the mood has brightened as they climb two places tonight. Read is upbeat: “A lot can happen yet. We’re staying positive. There’s nobody on board who is down right now. We don’t get points for being 500 miles into a leg, we get them at the finish last time I checked. We’ll be fine,” he said.

Leg 4
22/02/2012 22:02:01 UTC
DTL DTLC BS DTF
1 TELE 0.00 7 12.2 4671.8
2 GPMA 7.10 3 15.7 4679.0
3 CMPR 16.60 17 19.3 4688.4
4 PUMA 18.30 4 11.3 4690.1
5 ADOR 19.10 1 10.8 4691.0
6 SNYA 21.50 3 10.8 4693.3



Update 23.2.12 1000

TELEFÓNICA IS NEW LEADER AS FLEET LEAVES LUZON STRAIT

CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand (Chris Nicholson/AUS) led the fleet through the Luzon Strait, passing within a mile of the lighthouse marking the southern tip of Taiwan at 1830 UTC tonight. Groupama 4 (Franck Cammas/FRA) and Telefónica (Iker Martínez/ESP) followed. But, at 2200 UTC tonight a new leader had emerged and Telefónica was in back their customary position as leader of the pack.

The shake up on the leaderboard is due to decisions taken immediately after clearing the Luzon Strait. CAMPER chose the high road north, while Telefónica is 45 nautical miles to their south. Between the two is Groupama 4. PUMA’s Mar Mostro (Ken Read/USA) rounded the point in fourth place with Ian Walker and Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing less than a mile behind. At the last position report Team Sanya still had four miles to go.

Progress through the Luzon Strait was slow but at least possible and not the total glass off that the crews feared and speeds have been building out in the Philippine Sea. For the past three hours, CAMPER has averaged 19.3 knots, while those further south have been sailing progressively slower.

“The next part of the leg is about how far east you can get before you dive south towards the Equator,” explained Team Sanya’s skipper Mike Sanderson/NZL. “How much distance to the finish are you prepared to pay to sail east and how far does that take you?”

Like the other five teams, Sanderson and his men had hoped the sail east would be relatively cheap enabling them to then sail with much nicer angles down to the trade winds, but this is not going to be easy. “At the moment, it’s looking like it’s going to be too hard to get east and it’s going to give the fleet a very tight angle to the trades, which means quite a few more days upwind or tight reaching,” he said.

On board PUMA’s Mar Mostro, the mood has brightened as they climb two places tonight. Read is upbeat: “A lot can happen yet. We’re staying positive. There’s nobody on board who is down right now. We don’t get points for being 500 miles into a leg, we get them at the finish last time I checked. We’ll be fine,” he said.

Leg 4
22/02/2012 22:02:01 UTC
DTL DTLC BS DTF
1 TELE 0.00 7 12.2 4671.8
2 GPMA 7.10 3 15.7 4679.0
3 CMPR 16.60 17 19.3 4688.4
4 PUMA 18.30 4 11.3 4690.1
5 ADOR 19.10 1 10.8 4691.0
6 SNYA 21.50 3 10.8 4693.3



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Skipper Iker Martinez at the deck with Xabi Fernandez and Joao Signorini onboard Team Telefonica during leg 4 of the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12, from Sanya, China to Auckland, New Zealand. (Credit: Diego Fructuoso/Team Telefonica/Volvo Ocean Race)

Antonio Cuervas-Mons onboard Team Telefonica during leg 4 of the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12, from Sanya, China to Auckland, New Zealand. (Credit: Diego Fructuoso/Team Telefonica/Volvo Ocean Race)

Andrew McLean watches the sunrise onboard CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand during leg 4 of the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12, from Sanya, China to Auckland, New Zealand. (Credit: Hamish Hooper/CAMPER ETNZ/Volvo Ocean Race)

Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing during leg 4 of the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12, from Sanya, China to Auckland, New Zealand. (Credit: Nick Dana/Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing/Volvo Ocean Race)

Sun makes its first appearance of the leg so far, just in time to watch it disappear over the horizon. PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG during leg 4 of the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12, from Sanya, China to Auckland, New Zealand. (Credit: Amory Ross/PUMA Ocean Racing/Volvo Ocean Race)

Kelvin Harrap on the helm in lighter morning winds; the rest of the watch starts moving sails further to trim the bow down. PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG during leg 4 of the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12, from Sanya, China to Auckland, New Zealand. (Credit: Amory Ross/PUMA Ocean Racing/Volvo Ocean Race)

Erwan Israel getting wet by the sea spray onboard Groupama Sailing Team sailing during leg 4 of the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12, from Sanya, China to Auckland, New Zealand. (Credit: Yann Riou/Groupama Sailing Team/Volvo Ocean Race)