Volvo Ocean Race, la scomoda vita del navigatore moderno
Equipo TelefonicaEricsson RacingGreen Dragon RacingOceanoPuma Ocean RacingVelaVolvo Ocean Race 20 Febbraio 2009 Zerogradinord 0
[singlepic=1777,250,170,,left]Volvo Ocean Race – Qingdao – Una tavola blu e, la in mezzo, un punto ben preciso nel quale attraversare i Doldrum. Così Bouwe Bekking, skipper di Telefonica Blue, vede l’Oceano Pacifico. Per ora, seguendo il suo istinto, qualche risultato l’ha ottenuto, passando dal quinto al quarto posto ai danni di Green Dragon, penalizzato dalla scelta di un’estrema puntata ad est.
“Siamo sempre sott’acqua e sottocoperta ci si muove carponi. Per andare da A a B devi stare molto attento, altrimenti finisci gambe all’aria” ha lo skipper olandese nel corso di uno degli ultimi collegamenti radio.
Come detto, Green Dragon appare in difficoltà, amche se l’emorraggia di miglia pare essersi fermata. In molti si domandano se, al momento, gli uomini di Ian Walker stiano pagando gli esiti di una scelta errata, oppure se tutto risponda a un rischio debitamente calcolato: “E’ semplice – spiega lo skipper stesso – se funzionerà saremo degli eroi, altrimenti passeremo per quelli che presero un rischio e fallirono miseramente. A parte questo, la prossima settimana sarà molto più interessante di quanto lo sarebbe stata se ci fossimo limitati a seguire le scie degli altri”.
Sempre secondo Walker, a frenare l’impeto di Green Dragon è il peso limitato della chiglia. Appare chiaro che, rispetto agli altri team, lo scafo irlandese paghi qualcosa in termine di velocità e in una tappa dove le scelte tattiche contano poco o nulla altro non resta che resistere, o tentare di farlo.
La flotta, intanto, continua a navigare alle portanti, anche se l’angolo s’è fatto più stretto. L’acqua arriva da ogni parte e le condizioni sono davvero dure: “Sono appena smontato dal mio turno e le mie mani sembrano come quelle di uno che è appena uscito da una vasca dopo 10 ore di immersione – ha spiegato il navigatore di Telefonica Blue, Simon Fisher – Le labbra non vanno certo meglio. Mi sembra di aver mangiato un intero sacchetto di popcorn”.
In vetta a guidare le operazioni sono sempre Ericsson 4 e Il Mostro. Lo scafo di Ken Read si allontana e si avvicina ma, in fondo, è sempre lì. Chi si è avvicinato parecchio, invece, è Ericsson 3. L’equipaggio di Magnus Olsson è secondo, in fatto di velocità, solo a Telefonica Blu e nel giro di una notte ha preso 45 miglia ai due battistrada.
Leg 5, day 6, 13.00 GMT, rankings
1. Ericsson 4 SWE (Torben Grael/BRA) DTF 10214
2. Puma Racing Team USA (Ken Read/USA) +16 nm
3. Ericsson 3 SWE (Magnus Olsson/SWE) +60 nm
4. Telefónica Blue ESP (Bouwe Bekking/NED) +221 nm
5. Green Dragon IRL/CHN (Ian Walker/GBR) +231 nm
Team Delta Lloyd NED/IRL (Roberto Bermudez/ESP) DNS
Telefónica Black ESP (Fernando Echávarri/ESP) DNS
Team Russia RUS (Andreas Hanakamp/AUT) DNS
TELEFÓNICA BLUE MAKES MOVE AS GREEN DRAGON GAMBLES
[Volvo Ocean Race Press Release] Bouwe Bekking is determined to stick to his plan and sail to an imaginary point where he thinks will be the best place to cross the Doldrums on leg five of the Volvo Ocean Race. So far, it seems to be working, and Bekking and his team have snatched fourth place from Ian Walker’s Green Dragon, but Bekking describes Telefónica Blue’s current course as a ‘killer’.
“There is heaps of water over the deck and it is uncomfortable downstairs; the guys have to crawl around to go from A to B, as, otherwise, they get airborne,” he said earlier today.
Green Dragon has carried on gaining miles to the east of the leaders (Ericsson 4/Torben Grael and Puma/Ken Read), with now over 200 nm between them. Is this a gamble to get them through the doldrums or is it a calculated risk?
“If it works, of course we will be heroes, and if not, we will be the ones that took the gamble and failed,” said Ian Walker today. “Either way, the next week will be far more interesting than if we just followed their [the tracks of the other boats] tracks, losing miles on every position report,” he said. The team is beginning to claw back some miles and Ian Walker is a happier man.
According to Walker, the lighter keel weight of Green Dragon limits their horsepower and the team can do nothing about that. He admits that it has become clear, over the last few legs, that it is hard for the Green Dragon to live with the big teams in terms of raw boat speed. But they are not letting their heads drop and have to find their edge elsewhere either through teamwork, reliability or strategy and tactics.
The fleet is still reaching and everything onboard is wet. Driving rain overnight has added to the unpleasant conditions. “I’ve just come off deck and my hands look like I fell asleep in the bath for 10 hours and my lips feel like I have just eaten an entire bucket of salty popcorn,” described Simon Fisher, who returned to the role of helmsman onboard Telefónica Blue for this leg.
At the front of the fleet, the leaders Ericsson 4 and Puma have carried on the charge to the south with Puma taking out eight nautical miles on the front-runners in the past 24 hours.
Guy Salter, media crew member (MCM) from the Ericsson International crew has been observing some very strange traits onboard his boat of late. Tony Mutter being the biggest culprit with his aspirations to become a Broadway star. “Tony surprised all today by coming on watch as if he were ready for the final scenes of the stage hit “Phantom Of The Opera” as the lead roll. He had the left side of his face covered in his Phantom mask – only his was from baby anti rash cream. It transpired that this was actually due to the prolonged port tack we have been on and the saltwater constant spray is playing havoc with his skin.”
Third placed Ericsson 3 has gained a massive 45 nm on the leaders overnight, only being pipped by Telefonica Blue for best 24 run, by a mere one nm. Gustav Morin (MCM) from Ericsson 3 told of the crew’s positive mood, “We are still sailing well, the boat feels good and there haven’t been any big incidents. We are fighting in the backwater of Ericsson 4 and Puma, still within striking distance.”
Leg 5, day 6, 13.00 GMT, rankings
1. Ericsson 4 SWE (Torben Grael/BRA) DTF 10214
2. Puma Racing Team USA (Ken Read/USA) +16 nm
3. Ericsson 3 SWE (Magnus Olsson/SWE) +60 nm
4. Telefónica Blue ESP (Bouwe Bekking/NED) +221 nm
5. Green Dragon IRL/CHN (Ian Walker/GBR) +231 nm
Team Delta Lloyd NED/IRL (Roberto Bermudez/ESP) DNS
Telefónica Black ESP (Fernando Echávarri/ESP) DNS
Team Russia RUS (Andreas Hanakamp/AUT) DNS
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