Sport-heute: Sailing - EYES WIDE OPEN

20. Dezember 2008, 16:50

EYES WIDE OPEN

Ericsson 4 (Torben Grael/BRA) led the Volvo Ocean Race fleet through the scoring gate at Palau We yesterday, followed by Telefónica Blue (Bouwe Bekking/NED) and Ericsson 3 (Anders Lewander/SWE). Although they were disappointed not to be first through the gate, Bekking and his crew were pleased with the second place points, but today, they are not happy at all.

cochin-singapore (mk) After rounding the island, the team was swallowed up by a big cloud. 'For nearly two hours we were struggling badly and only wiggled ourselves out of the wind hole,' Bekking explained earlier this morning. Worst still, the crew saw PUMA and Ericsson 3 appear on the horizon - two boats who had, for much of this leg, been safely behind them. 'We just managed to cross PUMA,' Bekking said.

The feeling is much the same on Ericsson 3. The elation of passing through the gate in third place was soon replaced by a quiet mood onboard. After keeping PUMA (Ken Read/USA) at bay for hours and hours, just after the gate the two boats split and PUMA gained 13 miles on Ericsson 3. 'The boat is quiet and you can't hear as much joking and laughing as usual,' says Gustav Morin MCM.

However, by 1000 GMT today, the mood must surely have improved on Ericsson 3 as they overtook Telefónica Blue to take second position, by just one nautical mile. PUMA was still in fourth place, but only three miles behind Telefónica Blue.

Telefónica Black (Fernando EchÃ¡varri/ESP) crossed the line 500 metres from the most northern point of Indonesia. The crew reported that the views, especially of the active volcano, were fantastic at night. But like everyone else, the team is exhausted. She is 53 nm astern of Ericsson 4, and on her heels just five miles behind is Green Dragon (Ian Walker/GBR).

Green Dragon rounded an hour after Telefónica Black. As they crossed the line, the wind direction changed and they continued to sail into headwinds. 'Onboard, everyone is hot and a bit fed up of sailing upwind,' said Walker this morning. 'Tactics are very hard as you have to balance which shifts are worth tacking on, against the hassle and loss of speed involved. Nothing is worse than tacking, only to find the wind has shifted back again and you have to go through the process all over again. You only get one or two of those before the crew has had enough,' he said.

Kosatka Team Russia was seventh. 'Over the last day we have closed the distance to the group considerably, and we now have all our guns pointed at the Green Dragon team. Although they are currently 40 nm ahead of us, we are on the verge of entering the fluky winds of the Straits in which such a distance can be eaten up in a matter of hours,' says navigator Wouter Verbraak optimistically. 'Spirits are high and we are hungry. Pirates? Fishing boats? Massive traffic? Bring it on. These are our passing opportunities of the next days,' he adds.

Finally, onboard Delta Lloyd (Roberto Bermudez/ESP), crippled with only one keel ram working, life has calmed and the crew is confident that they will be able to nurse the boat into Singapore.

The entire fleet, except Delta Lloyd, has now passed the scoring gate at Palau We, and are now negotiating the Malacca Strait with their eyes wide open.

This area is not only one of the busiest areas in the world for commercial shipping; it is littered with partially submerged objects such as tree trunks and other debris. Telefónica Blue has already twice hit something, but no damage was caused.

Onboard the leading boat, Ericsson 4, Guy Salter MCM says, 'The only thing on our minds is getting to Singapore as soon as possible while avoiding the fishermen and their nets, the vast amount of commercial shipping, the large amount of litter in the water which ranges from a plastic cup to the odd tree trunk, the tides, the sandbanks, the storm clouds and associated lightening, the pirates, the sea snakes and the areas of no wind.'

Speeds for the leading bunch are averaging between 11 - 13 knots and, based on current progress, computer routeing software is predicting a finish for the first boats on Monday late afternoon GMT.

Leg Three Day Eight: 1000 GMT Volvo Ocean Race Positions
(boat name/country/skipper/nationality/distance to finish)

Ericsson 4 SWE (Torben Grael/BRA) DTF 390nm
Ericsson 3 SWE (Anders Lewander/SWE) +31
Telefónica Blue ESP (Bouwe Bekking/NED) +32
PUMA Racing Team USA (Ken Read/USA) +35
Telefónica Black ESP (Fernando EchÃ¡varri/ESP) +53
Green Dragon IRL/CHN (Ian Walker/GBR) +58
Team Russia RUS (Andreas Hanakamp/AUT) +97
Delta Lloyd IRL (Roberto Bermudez/ESP) +202

Scoring Gate Order
Ericsson 4 (4 points)
Telefónica Blue (3.4 points)
Ericsson 3 (3 points)
PUMA (2.5 points)
Telefónica Black (2 points)
Green Dragon (1.5 points)
Kosatka Team Russia (1 point)

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KOSATKA TEAM RUSSIA LEG SEVEN DAY 8 QFB: received 20.12.08 0619 GMT

For the first time since we left the southern tip of India, we have seen land again. Even some hints of civilization were greeting our eyes this morning on the hills of the island of Palau We. Being the very most northern tip of Indonesia this apparently is a perfect place for antenna masts as there are more than a dozen scattered on the hilltops. Even some houses can be identified, and it makes us wonder who is living at this isolated northern tip of Sumatra? What is keeping them busy? Do they have any idea that eight boats in the Volvo Ocean Race have spent seven days beating upwind to pass by their houses? Can just imagine someone waking up this morning with the curious sight of some Volvo 70s at their doorstep!

Passing Palau We means passing the scoring gate as well as entering the Straits of Malacca. Traffic has tripled; there are big cargo ships everywhere, there are plenty of floating objects in the water, and the seas have flattened. What hasn't changed is our wind angle. Uphill we continue with our 1000 NM beat from hell.

By the end of today that will come to an end. Reaching and downwind spinnaker sailing is on the menu, and we are all looking forward to a flat world. Living at 23 degrees of heel just makes everything rather inconvenient you see. Mugs and food bowls slide and tip. We go through life one handed as the other one is used to hold on, and the neck gets rather sore from being angled 23 degrees to one side all the time. No, downwind under spinnaker is the way to go for sure.

Over the last day we have closed the distance to the group considerably, and we have now all our guns pointed at the Chinese-Irish Green Dragon team. Although they are currently 30 nm ahead of us, we are on the verge of entering the fluky winds of the Straits in which such a distance can be eaten up in a matter of hours.

Spirits are high and we are hungry. Pirates, fishing boats, massive traffic? Bring it on; they are our passing opportunities over the next days.

Wouter Verbraak - navigator

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TELEFÓNICA BLUE LEG THREE DAY 8 QFB: received 20.12.08 0836 GMT

We had our first negative example of this piece of water. Without any warning, a big cloud appeared and sucked up all the wind. For nearly two hours we were struggling badly and only wiggled ourselves out of the wind hole.

We knew it was going to be a bad position report for us, but even worse, we saw Puma and Ericsson 3 appearing on the horizon. We just managed to cross Puma. The pressure is on again. In the meantime, Ericsson 4 just carried on. But what comes around goes around; hopefully that was the only parking spot for us.

Of course, the crew is not happy at all, and they are all wondering why this is happening to us. Nobody is moaning or blaming, they know what can happen. So at least we are in the same piece of water, and can see the opposition. It is time to strike back.

Cheers,

Bouwe Bekking - skipper

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ERICSSON 3 LEG THREE DAY 8 QFB: received 20.12.08 0850 GMT

It has been an intense time since we passed the scoring gate. We have done a couple of sail changes and all hands have been needed on deck, which means no sleep for the guys.

Everyone was in a really nice mood when we passed the lighthouse on the north tip of Sumatra in third position, but now I think everyone is a bit tired. No one is really grumpy, but you can tell when the energy is on top and when it's not. The boat is quiet and you can't hear as much joking and laughing as usual.

Or maybe everyone is extremely concentrated on sailing the boat, to make it go faster than ever. We really do need it. We did not do very well after the scoring-gate.

From keeping Puma behind us for hours and hours, we split after the gate and in just a few hours, they gained 13 miles on us. Not very fun.

But everything can happen. Parking, screaming reaching, slamming upwind, you name it. This is the Las Vegas of sailing.

Gustav Morin - MCM

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GREEN DRAGON LEG THREE DAY 8 QFB: received 20.12.08 0944 GMT

OK enough is enough. Let's get to Singapore.

This is by far the longest I have ever been sailing upwind in my life. Even when we got to the Pulau We scoring gate and could turn right, the wind shifted right with us so it was dead on the nose again. It has been upwind and very shifty in the Malacca Straits, which has meant lots of tacks. This is a nightmare for all the crew as it is hard to get any rest when off watch and you have to repeatedly carry all the stack of sails from one side to the other, as well as everything inside the boat down below.

Tactics are very hard, as you have to balance what shifts are worth tacking on against the hassle and loss of speed involved. Nothing is worse than tacking only to find the wind shift back and having to go through the process all over again. You only get one or two of those before the crew have had enough!

We have not gone well upwind in terms of boatspeed and we are very much trying to minimise our losses in the hope an opportunity will open up later in the leg. It feels like the last few days have gone quite well for us despite 6th place at the scoring gate being below our high standards.

Onboard everyone is hot and a bit fed up of sailing upwind - it is all work and no pleasure. We have also had a major battery-charging problem and at one point were very much looking like having no power for the last few days. That would have meant no food, water, lights, instruments or communications. Andrew (Andrew McLean/AUS) (Animal), James (James Carroll/IRL) and Steve (Steve Hayles/GBR) have been on the tools all day and fortunately we are now able to charge off our main engine again - the generator regulator is broken - and we are stocking up with fresh water just in case of further problems.

The shipping lane is getting busier and busier but no sign yet of many fishermen or pirates. But there is a lot of debris in the water like bits of bamboo and tree trunks. We have a permanent spotter during daylight but will have to keep our fingers crossed at night. It will only be a matter of time before we hit something. Hopefully it won't be something as big as the tree we have just sailed past that stuck 7ft up out of the water!

On the bright side, we have made good progress against the clock and Christmas on dry land is now looking more than likely. We now have less than 500 miles to go.

Ian Walker - skipper

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TELEFÓNICA BLACK LEG THREE DAY 8 QFB: received 20.12.08 1349 GMT

Hi all
At last, we have crossed the scoring gate. It was fun sailing, being behind but with some possibilities to catch up with some of the leaders, and, at last, some nice shifts helped us to get in front of Green Dragon by very little. It was also nice to see some lights in front of us belonging to the towns of Sumatra, and what best, a volcano just in front of us, and erupting! Not as in films, but it was very nice to see, moreover because it was pitch dark!

So we are facing the feared Strait of Malacca, and has to be so, at least for the traffic of giant vessels! We have some concern with the fishing boats and the nets. But, for the moment, our first problem was seaweed.

We had to stop the boat and sail backwards to get rid of a v-shaped stick next to the bulb and some seaweed close to the hull. And to mention some huge trunks we nearly hit. So let's see at night. Just cross fingers and be ready. And then we had a small issue with the mainsail clew, it came off, which made us take the first reef but, fortunately, our Argentinean Santi (Santiago Lange) and his buddy David (David Vera/ESP) made a nice job and it is already fully hoisted, so we are sailing back at full speed.

It is going to be at least a very amusing sailing through this part of the world.

Cheers.
Mikel Pasabant - MCM

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ERICSSON 4 LEG THREE DAY 8 QFB: received 20.12.08 1330 GMT

We still have wind as we close down on the
approach to Malacca Straits, which we can be thankful for as it looks like the traditionally light air passage ahead will give us plenty of headaches.

We will be preparing our anchor and getting ourselves in the mindset for some very busy wind seeking. Our decision to load the boat lightly for this leg seems so far to have been OK for us and we hope that it continues to pay off for the last few hundred miles of light air work.

It is always an interesting discussion that takes place before the start of a leg on how to load the boat and where to save weight, be it spares, food, clothing, fuel, sails and even, in an extreme case, whether to leave crew members off. We felt that it was still early enough in the race and the leg was still long enough not to go too extreme so we still have all our crew onboard and a reasonable spares package.

The food programme on the other hand has taken a bit of a hit especially in our normally generous snack department. This has led to many complaints, and is even worse with the introduction of a rationing programme as this leg stretches out. I suspect our leg debrief will address the area of food as number one on the agenda!

We have relinquished comforts such as mattresses, sleeping bags and some clothing, not that these are great hardships in the hot temperatures! One area we have not pushed the limit is toothbrushes. Once upon a time even toothbrushes were cut in half in the extreme hunt for weight saving in the Volvo Ocean Race, but not this time for us. Have you actually ever tried brushing your teeth with a toothbrush with most of the handle cut off? Not an easy operation and not one we were prepared to take on for this leg. Maybe a future leg will require that level of commitment to weight saving, we will have to see...

Stu Bannatyne - watch captain

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Sergey Bogdanov/Team Russia/Volvo Ocean Race Rodion Luka steering the wheel at sunset, onboard Team Russia, on leg 3 of the Volvo Ocean Race from India to Singapore

Gabriele Olivo/Telefonica Blue/Volvo Ocean Race Pepe Ribes at the helm while Tom Addis checks the time for the next weather download, onboard Telefonica Blue, on leg 3 of the Volvo Ocean Race from India to Singapore

Gustav Morin/Ericsson 3/Volvo Ocean Race Skipper Anders Lewander making notes onboard Ericsson 3, on leg 3 of the Volvo Ocean Race from India to Singapore

Guy Salter/Ericsson 4/Volvo Ocean Race Ericsson 4 watching a storm cloud, on leg 3 of the Volvo Ocean Race from India to Singapore