Going For Broke

Tuesday 28 October 2008 16:00 GMT

By Cameron Kelleher

As the wind builds and the fleet puts the hammer down for the drag race to Cape Town, there are two key talking points among the crews – breakage and breaking records.

At the sharp end, Ericsson 4 and PUMA are keeping close company, and swapping the lead. There had been some separation overnight, however, as Torben Grael's men gybed south in search of fresh air.

Latterly, order has been restored and they are clawing away like pole cats once more as mentioned in today's TEN ZULU REPORT. By the 16:00 position update, the honours were Ericsson 4's with a buffer of nine miles to PUMA.

Speaking about the temporary ceasefire in an interview with Guy Swindells, Read said: "It was almost 15 hours that we didn't see them. It was a nice little break, but we knew they'd be back and I'm sure they knew we'd be back.

"We say we're sick of each other but it sure does create some phenomenally good racing. I'm sure it's pretty exciting to watch from the outside."

Read reports that one of il mostro's most avid followers is Jochen Zeitz, Chairman and CEO of PUMA. "We get notes from him periodically," he said. "I think he's the most stressed out person in the whole PUMA Ocean Racing programme right now. He claims he's up every three hours all night, every night."

'It's a bit of a drag race now'

Warming to the theme of the day, Reads says: "We are going to have 30-plus knots for three days now. It's a bit of a drag race now and my guess is .. the first boat that breaks loses.

"We have a bit of a buffer to Green Dragon but if you break, all of a sudden people are going to go zooming pass before you can blink an eye. We just hope the old girl hangs in one piece and we'll be good."

Green Dragon, like Ericsson 4, dabbled in a dip south, and have paid dearly. They remain the most southerly of the fleet at a Distance to Leader (DTL) to Ericsson 4 of +34 miles.

"The bad news is that all the effort we have put in to getting south is now wasted," says skipper Ian Walker. "We will have lost miles on the fleet as we will no longer be gybing south. I am not too worried about this as I think this will now all be about who can put together consistently high runs without breakage." There's that word again.

Walker continued: "Anybody slowing down could fall out the back of the system and lose days. We are committed to pushing hard and praying it all stays intact.

"As I type this we bury the bow hard and I lurch forward in the nav seat – the laughter and joking seems to have quietened down on deck except for Neal (McDonald) who is driving and shouts out 'get in there!'. I think it may be time to open negotiations with Neal about taking the spinnaker down. Watch this space over the next three days I guarantee records or drama – possibly both."

'The 24-hour record could fall'

Walker believes the 24-hour record is a real possibility. The existing mark of 562.96 nautical miles was set by ABN AMRO TWO in the 2005-06 race on the second leg from Cape Town to Melbourne. Sebastian Josse's crew had originally laid down a marker on the first leg from Vigo, Spain to Cape Town and in conditions similar to what the class of 2008-09 are experiencing now.

"The good news is that the depression has aligned itself perfectly to fire us all to Cape Town at record pace," he says. "We now have 35 knots of wind at 140 TWA and relatively smooth, but building seas.

"The 24 hour record could fall to whoever can keep their boats in one piece and still push hard. In the last three-hour sched [Position Report], we managed 68 miles and that included a spinnaker peel and putting a reef in.

"For the last hour we have averaged over 25 knots which would equate to a 600 mile day. Clearly doing this for 24 hours is another thing altogether and we are on the edge."

In the chasing pack, there have been gains all round. Telefonica Black (+60), treading the same south-easterly path as PUMA and Ericsson 4 are locked together with their stablemates on Telefonica Blue (+60) while Ericsson 3 (+63), further to leeward, have joined the mix.

Delta Lloyd (+131) are occupying the most northerly ground, while Team Russia round out the fleet at +202. If you thought the Russians were content with being backmarkers, reading this will alter your view