Volvo Ocean Race, da che parte sta Eolo?
Equipo TelefonicaEricsson RacingGreen Dragon RacingOceanoPuma Ocean RacingTeam Delta LloydTeam RussiaVelaVolvo Ocean Race 18 Dicembre 2008 Zerogradinord 0
[singlepic=1124,250,170,,left]Volvo Ocean Race – Cochin – Il tanto atteso salto di vento è arrivato ad allietare gli animi dell’equipaggio di Bouwe Bekking che, messi caschetto e ramponi, si è lanciato in una scalata verso nord veloce e decisa. Pur perdendo miglia, Telefonica Blue difende la sua leadership con i denti e ora che è rientrato nel gruppo si trova a guidare la flotta verso la boa di Palau We con un vantaggio esiguo su Ericsson 4.
Secondo solo all’attardato Team Russia nella salita verso nord, il VOR 70 di Torben Grael è quello che scende con il passo più sostenuto: circa otto decimi in più rispetto a Telefonica Blue, a bordo del quale si guarda con maggior tranquillità a Ericsson 3 e Puma Ocean Racing. Gli equipaggi di Anders Lewander e Ken Read si sono accodati all’imbarcazione dell’Equipo Telefonica e, perdurando l’attuale situazione meteo, difficilmente riusciranno a sopravanzarlo prima dello scoring gate. Il vento, infatti, è girato leggermente verso nord e il cancello sembrerebbe raggiungibile quasi con un bordo unico.
Sembrerebbe, perchè il probelma lamentato dai navigatori è l’incredibile instabilità del vento che ad ogni attimo si presenta diverso in direzione: a bordo di Telefonica Blue si ha la consapevolezza che un giro del vento in senso anti orario favorirebbe sensibilmente il ritorno di Ericsson 4 , mentre uno in senso orario permetterebbe il consolidamento della propria leadership. Insomma, non resta che aspettare e vedere da che parte si schiera Eolo.
Leg 3, day 5, 10.00 GMT, rankings
1 – Telefónica Blue ESP (Bouwe Bekking/NED) DTF 902 nm
2 – Ericsson 4 SWE (Torben Grael/BRA) +8 nm
3 – Ericsson 3 SWE (Anders Lewander/SWE) +20 nm
4 – Puma Racing Team USA (Ken Read/USA) +28 nm
5 – Telefónica Black ESP (Fernando Echávarri/ESP) +29 nm
6 – Green Dragon IRL/CHN (Ian Walker/GBR) +40 nm
7 – Team Russia RUS (Andreas Hanakamp/AUT) +102 nm
8 – Team Delta Lloyd IRL (Roberto Bermudez/ESP) +117 nm
Per seguire la regata sul Race Tracker clicca qui.
[flashvideo filename=video/vor/Puma_Ericsson3_171208.flv /]
Video courtesy Volvo Ocean Race.
DRAG RACE
[Volvo Ocean Race Press Release] Each team in the Volvo Ocean Race fleet has put its money on the table and lined up for the drag race to the scoring gate at Palau We, just under 400 miles away. Telefonica Blue, with 380 miles to the gate (at 04.00 GMT) is in the pole position with Ericsson 4 positioned 34 miles to the north, but just 18 miles back on distance to finish.
Between the two on the north/south axis are Ericsson 3, Puma, Telefonica Black and Green Dragon. Less than 20 miles separate these four boats so there are plenty of points at stake here, both at the scoring gate and at the leg finish.
Conditions have stabilised with the entire fleet sailing in a moderate northeasterly of close to 20 knots. That puts the boats hard on the wind on port tack. If Telefonica Blue is vulnerable anywhere it is here. Have they set up short of the layline to the scoring gate? On the 2D tracker, Ericsson 4 looks safe to lay the gate, but Telefonica Blue may need a slight left shift to clear the point. If they have to tack, that could provide the opening Torben Grael needs to grab the lead.
Ericsson 3 is currently winning the fight for third place, but Anders Lewander and crew have no time to relax. Puma is just two miles behind and will be in plain sight, and Telefonica Black is just six miles behind. Green Dragon is struggling to hold on to the pack, 18 miles behind Ericsson 3.
“We have all made our way northwest and are set up on port tack near the layline to the scoring gate at Pulau We. It has been a real drag race for the last 24 hours – something we are not too well equipped for in these conditions and we have slipped to 6th,” came the dispatch off Green Dragon this morning. “Our last tack to the east was probably a mistake, but we realised this really fast and fortunately only went for an hour. There has been more wind in the North which, coupled to a left shift has made gains out here. Our plan now is to stay close to the leaders so we can capitalise on any shut downs towards the end of the leg.”
Behind the Dragons, Delta Lloyd and Team Russia are fighting to avoid last place. Team Russia is ahead by 12 miles on distance to finish, but Delta Lloyd navigator Matt Gregory likes where he’s positioned.
“By my calculations we just passed the Russians, who are sailing on the same tack as us directly the North – although the ‘VOR Position Reports’ still place us a couple miles behind them…(But we still have a long grind to catch the lead group. They seem to be quite quick on this leg and we’ll have our work cut out for us. In the mean time it’s going to be a long slug- fest of upwind sailing for the next couple days. Oh joy.”
At current speeds, the scoring gate is about 30 hours away, and there’s nothing in the forecast to suggest the boats will slow down much in that time. So by noon tomorrow GMT, we should know whether Telefonica Blue has been able to take a scalp off Ericsson 4 and become the first boat through the gate and into the Malacca Strait.
Leg 3, day 5, 10.00 GMT, rankings
1 – Telefónica Blue ESP (Bouwe Bekking/NED) DTF 902 nm
2 – Ericsson 4 SWE (Torben Grael/BRA) +8 nm
3 – Ericsson 3 SWE (Anders Lewander/SWE) +20 nm
4 – Puma Racing Team USA (Ken Read/USA) +28 nm
5 – Telefónica Black ESP (Fernando Echávarri/ESP) +29 nm
6 – Green Dragon IRL/CHN (Ian Walker/GBR) +40 nm
7 – Team Russia RUS (Andreas Hanakamp/AUT) +102 nm
8 – Team Delta Lloyd IRL (Roberto Bermudez/ESP) +117 nm
To follow the race on Race Tracker click here.
To visit the video gellery click here.
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