Settling Down To The Job At Hand

For once, the seven-strong Volvo fleet is heading straight towards the scoring gate at Fernando de Noronha at speeds that feel fast, at least when compared with the drifting conditions and horrible rolling swell of the first 36 hours.

The fleet has reached the southeast trade winds and speeds are up to a staggering 14 knots.  “Fourteen knots seems like potential passing out/nose bleed speed, similar to the first few days that Stephenson’s ‘Rocket’ hit the track,’” says Ericsson 4’s MCM Guy Salter. 

Telefónica Blue has pulled out a healthy lead of 13 nautical miles, but tracking her is Delta Lloyd in second place, and this team is on fire.  Their strategy was to split leg six up and tackle it as several different races.  Race one, from Rio de Janeiro to Cape Frio – is now accomplished, and now race two is in play, starting from Cape Frio and finishing at the scoring gate at Fernando de Noronha, some 1016 nm further up the track. 

“Speed, speed, speed is our goal to the race two finish line.  No big moves to be made, just focus on boat speed,” says Wouter Verbraak who is now back in the navigator’s slot after a stint on Green Dragon for leg five and originally starting this race as Team Russia’s navigator.  He adds that the mood onboard the boat is great as the team continues to tick off the miles. 

“Day three is always a huge improvement from days one and two.  Everybody has had a chance to catch up with lost sleep, meals are defining the rhythm of the day and even coffees are being made for the next watch,” Wouter says.

The fleet has split in to two groups.  The inshore pack comprises Ericsson 4 in third place 16 nm behind Telefónica Blue and sistership Ericsson 3 in fourth place.  Their long-term friend, PUMA is in this group as well as Telefónica Black.  Just four miles separate them and Guy Salter says that Telefónica Black, PUMA and Ericsson 3 are all visible off their leeward port corner.

Offshore are Telefónica Blue, Delta Lloyd, and, furthest east, Green Dragon, in seventh place.    Delta Lloyd has posted the best 24-hour run at 260 nm, an unimpressively slow start to this leg.  Telefónica Blue is 62 nm off Rio Doce on the coast of Brazil, and 730 nm from Recife.  

In his TEN ZULU report this morning, Mark Chisnell indicated that as the fleet sails on the northern fringe of the South Atlantic High and battles the Brazil Current, there will be potholes, and he suspects that out on the water, there will be gains and losses. 

“That is not to discount the importance of boat speed over the next five days.  If Telefónica Blue has got it in the tank, this is an absolutely crucial time for Bouwe Bekking to show us,” he says. 

Leg Six Day 3: 1300 GMT Volvo Ocean Race Positions
(boat name/country/skipper/nationality/distance to finish)

1. Telefónica Blue ESP (Bouwe Bekking/NED) DTF 4554 nm
2. Delta Lloyd IRL (Roberto Bermúdez/ESP) +13
3. Ericsson 4 SWE (Torben Grael/BRA) +16
4. Ericsson 3 SWE (Magnus Olsson/SWE) +17
5. PUMA Racing Team USA (Ken Read/USA) +8
6. Telefónica Black ESP (Fernando Echávarri/ESP) +7
7. Green Dragon IRL/CHN (Ian Walker/GBR) +2
8. Team Russia RUS (Andreas Hanakamp/AUT) DNS