Volvo Ocean Race, Ian Walker: “O il record, o il dramma, forse tutti e due”

[singlepic=640,250,170,,left]Volvo Ocean Race – Oceano Atlantico – “La depressione che staziona nel sud Atlantico si è posizionata perfettamente per spingerci a Cape Town a tempo di record” spiega lo skipper di Green Dragon, Ian Walker. Parole che lasciano intendere un imminente assalto al record di percorrenza nelle ventiquattro ore fissato da ABM Amro Two durante l’ultima edizione, quando lo scafo di Sebastien Josse coprì ben 562.96 miglia. Facile a dirsi, un pò meno a farsi. Non tanto perchè gli attuali VOR 70 non siano in grado di offrire performance all’altezza della situazione, ma perchè sottoporre gli scafi a uno stress prolungato in vista dell’incontro con una burrasca che si annuncia decisamente dura, non è forse la scelta migliore.
Spintosi più a sud di tutti, Green Dragon guarda con interesse all’evolversi della situazione meteo: se le previsioni verranno rispettate, gli uomini di Walker, che nelle ultime ore hanno dichiarato una velocità media di circa venticinque nodi, dovrebbero essere i primi a venire investiti dalla corrente d’aria e potrebbero approfittarne per rollare Ericsson 4 e Il Mostro, ancora protagonisti di un serratissimo duello di vertice: “Non perdeteci d’occhio nel corso dei prossimi tre giorni, vi garantisco o il record o il dramma, forse tutti e due”.
Dal canto loro, i leader, separati in alcuni momenti da appena un centinaio di metri, si preparano al peggio, consapevoli che ciò che sta montando alle loro spalle è qualcosa da cui guardarsi con grande attenzione.
Il terzetto è incalzato da Telefonica Black di Fernando Echavarri, avvicinato nel corso delle ultime ore da Telefonica Blue ed Ericsson 3, dietro ai quali resistono gli uomini de Team Delta Lloyd e Kosatka, senza dubbio alcuno il binomio meno performante della flotta.

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Big waves, big action
[singlepic=641,250,170,,left][Volvo Ocean Race Press Release] “The depression in the South Atlantic has aligned itself perfectly to fire the fleet to Cape Town at record place,” promises Green Dragon’s skipper, Ian Walker. But the although the 24-hour record of 562.96 nautical miles currently held by ABN Amro Two could be broken, it is a question of which teams can push the hardest, but still keep their boat in one piece. Damage now will be extremely costly as the fleet prepares for big waves and big action.
Weather forecaster, Matt Sanders, explains that the countdown to the ‘launch’ began over the weekend as the teams readied their boats and steered into the best position to rocket across the South Atlantic. Navigators hoped this south west-south-west course positioned their boats on the launch pad with the best fuel to reach Cape Town. The fuel is, of course, strong, steady winds generated by the pressure gradient between lows moving along the South Atlantic storm track, and the semi-permanent South Atlantic High.
Green Dragon, in third place, is the most southerly yacht in the fleet and skipper Ian Walker says that all the effort his team put into getting south is now wasted. “We will have lost miles on the fleet as we will no longer be gybing south,” he says. Ericsson 4 (Torben Grael) and Puma Racing Team (Ken Read), leading the field, are 26nm to windward of the Dragons.
Telefónica Black (Fernando Echávarri) in fourth, is following the same east-south-easterly course as Il Mostro and Ericsson 4, who has fifth-placed Telefónica Blue (Bouwe Bekking) 17nm to windward, and is being followed by Ericsson 3 (Anders Lewander) who is behind and to leeward. Team Delta Lloyd (Ger O’Rourke) in seventh position, is the most northerly yacht and Team Russia (Andreas Hanakamp) is following in the wake of Ericsson 3.
Walker reported this morning that the Dragons had averaged 25 knots for the past hour. This would equate to a 600-nm day. “Clearly, doing this for 24-hours is another thing altogether and we are on the edge,” he said.
The pressure is mounting for the leading two boats, Ericsson 4 and Puma Racing Team. They are back in sight of each other, racing just 100 metres apart after a 15-hour spell when Ericsson 4 managed to break free from Puma’s stranglehold.
“We knew they would be back,” reported Puma skipper Ken Read in a radio interview this morning. “The first boat to break loose will win. We will keep the pressure on. We are literally right next door to Ericsson 4,” Read said.
Onboard Delta Lloyd navigator Matthew Gregory describes the storm that is brewing as ‘the gateway to hell’. The crew reported damage to the starboard side of their rig over a week ago and since making the repair, the Dutch/Irish team has sailed only on port gybe. A gybe to starboard is imminent, possibly coinciding with the cold front passing over the team as the storm deepens to the south of them.
The best 24-hour run is chalked down to Team Russia who has registered 450 nm, but the highest average speed still lies with Green Dragon, whose skipper says: “Watch this space over the next three days. I guarantee records or drama – or possibly both.”

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