Capetown Targets Kochi

As the teams successfully anchored at the port of goodhope the focus suddenly shifts to kochi; fear on Aghulas current.

For the Volvo Ocean race 2008-09 edition the next 35 days are completely dedicated to Kochi. As all the eight teams participating in the race successfully anchored at Cape Town, South Africa, officials had shifted their focus to Kochi. Several pointers and videos in the Cape Town race village indicate the change.

Official preparation for the next leg reached its climax with training on Kochi. All the participating team members underwent classes on Kochi and about the sea route to Kochi. As the race, for first time in the history, is heading to the Indian Ocean long preparatory lessons are being distributed to team members. There is a great excitement among the international sailors about the new sea route and its hidden surprises.

When leg two starts from Cape Town the subtropical high should be too far east to impact on this passage to India: Says the official release issued by the Intgernational organizers. The biggest issue, initially, may not be the weather at all, it could be the Agulhas Current, which runs south down the east coast of South Africa. Over the shallows of the Agulhas Bank it meets cold water and the westerly winds coming the other way from the Southern Ocean. The result is a notoriously rough piece of water.

The Agulhas Current is the Western Boundary Current of the South-West Indian Ocean and is part of the westward flowing South Equatorial Current. It flows down the east coast of Africa from 27°S to 40°S. It is narrow, swift and strong. The sources of the Agulhas Current are the East Madagascar Current, the Mozambique Current and a reticulated part of the Agulhas Current itself. The flow of the Agulhas Current is directed by the topography.

Once they’ve negotiated this, the teams will be racing to be first into the south-east trade winds, which should be settled and blowing by the time they reach Mauritius. The trades will take them into the Doldrums, and then it is going to be tricky most of the way to Kochi. Any wind on the chart is predominantly a light westerly until the Maldives, but north of that all bets are off.’

In Cape Town, All the sailors are completely rested for the first two days and now they have started the preparation for Kochi. Teams reached Cape Town on 3rd and 4th November 2008. The second leg to Kochi will start on 15th November. Teams expected to reach Kochi on 3rd December. 3rd leg from Kochi to Singapore will start on 13th December 2008.

Every day Thousands of spectators visit Cape Town Race village. Special arrangements for school and college students have been made in the village. Race Village hosts have dedicated specific days for each schools of the region. Entertainment show in the race village of Cape Town attracts Thousands every day.

Telefonica Black Demands enquiry

Thursday 06 November 2008

Telefonica team shore manager Campbell Field suspects a collision was responsible for the sheered rudder that wrecked the Black boat’s first leg to Cape Town. Fernando Echavarri’s team were in contention in the middle of the fleet until their starboard rudder mysteriously snapped 21 days into the leg and caused a vicious wipeout.

Their bowsprit was ripped away as the boat subsequently lost control. The team fell to last place as a result. Initially the crew offered few suggestions of a collision, but Field confirmed that there was evidence of impact once the boat was hauled from the water.

“We have had a good hard look at it. We are going through the information available to us and there is some damage underneath the boat which means we cannot rule out some kind of collision,” he said.
“The guys on the boat did not acknowledge that they hit anything because they did not feel it, but we have evidence on the bottom of the boat to prove otherwise in the form of scratches. The other rudder also has some signs of impact and we have a big ding in the bow under water. The hull surface points to the possibility of a collision of some sort.”

The team is currently in the process of replacing both rudders with a spare like-for-like set, but Field did not rule out the possibility of installing bigger rudders in the future.

A change to incorporate a set of bigger rudders would incur a three-point penalty – a hindrance Field feels is

The Black team is also in the process of repairing a torn A2 sail and the bowsprit, but Field expects the boat to be returned to the water early next week.

Leg One Finishing Order into Cape Town