Volvo: St. Petersburg finish for 37,000 mile race

The Volvo Ocean Race finished yesterday in St. Petersburg (formerly Leningrad). 37,000 miles, 11 legs, 8 boats. (All but Team Russia finished th entire circuit.)

The final event was a parade of boats up the Neva River.

The final account is here.

The skipper of the winning boat is the great Brasilian Olympic sailor Torben Grael. For his sailing bio, see his wikipedia entry here.

Two of the top three teams, including Grael's, were sponsored by Ericcsson. Puma finished second, skippered by Ken Read, and Telefonica Blue, skippered by Boewe Bekking.

Galway - Marstrand photo finish

The picture above shows the few yards that separated Boston-based Puma from Irish-crewed, Chinese-bult Green Dragon at the finish of the 415 mile Galway to Marstrand leg. Ken Read, Puma skipper describes the leg and their luck in a way that any round-the-buoys sailor will recognize here.

The fleet is seen above in the Marstrand harbor. It's a beautiful spot, with a 700 year old viking fort atop the small island, which guarded the entrance to Gothenburg (Goteborg) whence Marilyn's grandparents sailed to America. And not nearly as cold as you might imagine. Milder than New York, actually, though dark in the winter - but long days in summer. Volvo is headquartered a few miles away. The fleet has sailed more than a circumnavigation now - with a leg to go.

images: VOR (c) 2009

Volvo: grrr...Lobster Pots Stop Green Dragon

The Volvo fleet took off from Boston for Galway Saturday. A sentimental reverse voyage to me because my great grandfather Thomas Costello came to New York from there. And probably the same for the Curtises from County Clare, which explains my mother's name.

Traveling on a Volvo 70 is not very different from a famine ship: below decks most of the time, probably sick as a dog in rough seas, cause there are skylights but nothing you could call a port hole. So you spend most of your time in the amenity-less haven of pipe bunks and gear below deck. Click on the thumbnails to get a closeup view.

Getting out of Boston Harbor was tricky - with the tanker Nor'Easter blocking the way, as the picture shows. And then the dread with which we all live Down East: lobster pots.

The skipper of Green Dragon - the Chinese-built Irish-crewed boat reports:

Green Dragon - Ian Walker (Skipper)

Why did I have to mention the threat of lobster pots yesterday? Today as we rounded Cape Sable off the Southern tip of Nova Scotia we were confronted by hundreds of them and to make matters worse, it was low tide and the lines were slack with little or no pattern.

After zig zagging our way through with a lookout forward we eventually hooked one on our leeward daggerboard. Five minutes later we had three of them entangling us. After backing down and clearing two of them we realised one line had sawn its way through the leading edge of the port daggerboard. We managed to raise the board and cut it free but we are left with a 250 cut in the laminate of our daggerboard one metre up from the tip. The rope we hit must have been over a metre below the surface!

We cannot leave the board in this state or the laminate will peel away and the board will start to disintegrate. Right now the watch system is on hold and we have four teams of people working onboard. Two people are sailing the boat as fast as they can with no daggerboards, three people led by Neal are working to repair the damaged board down below and three people led by Damian are working to swap the windward board end-for-end into the leeward case and two people are eating or resting.

Hopefully we will have the daggerboards reversed and can sail at 100% in the next hour and the port daggerboard can hopefully be fixed before we have to go upwind. This is a big disappointment as we were in sight of 5 boats and sailing well. We can only hope that we don't lose touch with the fleet and live to fight another day.

Got to go and help.

Ian

For more, click HERE

Images: Taisy

Volvo: Fleet closing in on Boston

With Ericsson 4 487 miles from Boston, with a 36 mile lead over Telefonica Blue and the trailer - Telefonica Black 618 miles from the finish, the fleet will probably reach Boston on Monday.

Here's the 2d viewer.

Volvo: Across the Equator - a tight pack

All 7 boats have crossed the Equator. Telefonica Blue, which did the last 4000 miles of the epic Qingdao to Rio leg without a headstay, showed its speed by being first at the Fernando de Noronha scoring mark - the equatorial island off the Brazil coast. The next 5 boats were separated by only 14 miles DTF across a stretch of the South Atlantic as they passed over to the north. 3500 miles to Boston.

The usual silly celebrations occurred at the crossings.

Here's the 2-D graphic showing race position.

Volvo: Rio to Boston - underway - 16 days - 4,900nm

That's an estimated average boat speed of 12.76 kts, in case you were wondering. That includes dodging squalls and light air in the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone, called The Doldrums.

The fleet headed out on Holy Saturday and is stuck in fluky air, sails striking rigging as the big ocean swell bounces them around. Lots of sail repair, little progress two days out.

April 27 - eta Boston.

Volvo: Qingdao to Rio - 40 days

Ericsson 3 and Ericsson 4 finished 1-2 in the Qingdao to Rio leg.  12,300 miles of glorious sailing, danger, and discomfort.  40 days - February 14 - March 26.  40 days without a hot shower.

The hobbled Telefonica Blue was still 600 miles from the finish in light air when the Ericsson boats landed.  A particularly welcome landing for Ericsson 4 skipper Torben Grael, the great Brazilian Olympian and America's Cup skipper, who was greeted by his wife and daughter.

Volvo: Around the Horn w/o a Forestay

Bouwe Bekking and the crew of Telefonica Blue have rounded the Horn.  They did the last 2,000 of the 10,000 mile jaunt from Qingdao with no forestay.  A jury rigged jib halyard did the job.  2,00 miles to go to Rio.  One hopes there will be a stop in Ushuaia for a new fitting, though no announcement yet.

Volvo: Green Dragon rounds Horn on St. Paddy's Day

Four of the five boats still racing have rounded the Horn.  Telefonica Blue - amazingly - is still racng - though 700+ miles from the leader and 500 miles from the Cape.  Impressive when you know they have no forestay.

And the Irish-crewed, Chinese-built Green Dragon rounded on St. Patrick's Day.  Normally I hate images of leprechauns and silly hats, but you have to forgive this one.

Here's the link

Volvo: Iceberg at 2 O'Clock

Green Dragon (the Irish/Chinese consortium) is sailing at 50 degrees South - what should be above the ice zone (that's why there are ice gates - to keep boats out of the ice zone.  But the icebergs don't know about the rules.

They saw three last night - and then these during the day.  Here is the video

Volvo: Just for the fun of it

Average boat speed 22.5 knots

Maybe 2,000 miles from the Horn.

Not so much when you are doing 500 nm days

5 day forecast predicts winds 35 - 50 kts at the Cape

Here's some fire hose planing video

Volvo: Half-way to Rio, leader loses forestay

Pity Telefonica Blue and its crew. What can you say when you're 6,000 miles from port with 6,000 miles to go and the forestay fitting snaps in two?  

A jury rig with halyards will keep the mast up so long as the wind is at your back.  But you're crippled upwind.  And half-way between you and Rio is Cape Horn.  Port William in Chile is one possiblity - but that's 3,000 miles.  Heading west to New Zealand for repairs is another - but that's upwind - and the winds are light in that direction.

Other than that all is copacetic in the fleet with only 96 nm separating 1st from 5th place 3 weeks out of Qingdao, as they head east to the two ice gates - mid-Pacific points above which the boats must pass  to stay clear of the iceberg zone.  And points are gained for your position at each gate.

Here's the Race Data Centre. Check the 2D viewer when you get there.

Volvo: Drag Race Mid-way to the Cape

14 days out of Qingdao the fleet is 20 South 179 West. They just split tacks passing Fiji and are about 400 miles above the north Island of New Zealand. They are cruising at 14 knots, at magnetic headings between 179 - 185 to the real wind in the 40's where they'll catch the westerlies and head east to Cape Horn at 54 South.

Only 46 nm separates Ericsson 4 in the lead from Green Dragon in 5th, with the leader 8,105 nm from Rio.

No crises, no broken boats, just great sailing at highway speed.

Here's the 2D map

And an aerial shot of Puma passing Fiji - with the lead.

Volvo:Qingdao to Rio 6 days out, 30 to go

The fleet (5 of 8 remain) is a few hundred miles north of the Coral Sea angling toward Cape Horn, with an average speed of 16 - 19 knots with 2o knots of wind and six foot swells. Highway speed. Next stop Rio. DTF 9,842 nm for Ericsson 4, the leader.

Here's the data page

And here's the home page.

Volvo Race: Luzon Strait to Hell

There are five Volvo 70's in Qingdao - soon to be six, one with a cracked hull in Taiwan and another given up the effort in the Philipines.

2,500 hundred miles - much of it hell.  At the Luzon Strait a 50 kt storm opposed tide, pushing up 14 meter seas, a steep, short chop.  Boats anchored, took refuge in harbors and suspended sailing but not racing.

Ken Read of North Sails, skipper of PUMA describes their comeback to take second, though he and boat suffered nasty injury - a finger crushed in a winch and a boom broken in two.  Here's his report from the Chinese city.

Video of boatbreaking conditions here. 

And Green Dragon (Irish/Chinese collaboration) video: Battling the Conditions

Today's report of the condition of the fleet is here.

Nextstop: Brazil.  40 days.  Around the Horn.  Makes one wonder if they aren't taking unjustified risks in their Volvos.

VOR - It's really got a hold on me...

Volvo Ocean Race, leg 2 - Capetown to Cochin - the old fashioned way - under sail.

November 21, 2008    

6 days out of Capetown 

2,300 nm to Cochin

12 - 14 knots - Fleet Average Boat Speed   (8 boats)

78 nm - Distance from front to back of fleet 

Data from Team Data Centre

Team index page

There's email, audio, video, commentary.

There's passing footage to die for, mishaps and astonishing skill and competitive spirit.

Highlights of the week:

Video

Ericsson 3 passes Telefonica Blue - in rough seas in the Indian Ocean, November 16

Team Russia: Chinese Gybe 

Delta Lloyd: Hits a whale

Puma: 2d longitudinal frame crack video

Green Dragon: racing with no boom.

Email

Ken Read, skipper of Puma reports on day 17  out of Capetown, Tuesday 18 November 2008 10:57 GMT -  3,000 miles from Cochin:

"We got about as vertical in a sailboat as you would ever want to be when...we found another beauty of a wave, except this one had no face in front of it and ---whoosh. Take off!  

"The inevitable silence of a boat that feels like it is literally flying, followed up with a massive SMASH into the not very soft Indian Ocean. But this one was different than the other 10,872 smashes that have occurred over the past 48 hours or so. This one had a horrid CRACK along with it. I was working with Justin on the sail at the time and had on my headlamp and ran to the bow to quickly find several cracks in our longitudinal frames in the bow section. "

 See  Puma Team email for reports of fabricating carbon fibre splints underway, more damage, despair, and recovery.