Volvo Ocean Race, rotta nord
Equipo TelefonicaEricsson RacingGreen Dragon RacingOceanoPuma Ocean RacingTeam Delta LloydTeam RussiaVelaVolvo Ocean Race 20 Novembre 2008 Zerogradinord 0
Volvo Ocean Race – Oceano Indiano – Ericsson 4, Ericsson 3 e, a seguire, un acciaccato Green Dragon, terzo sul cancello di Mauritius nonostante il boma letteralmente spaccato a metà.
“Siamo molti soddisfatti dei tre punti raccolti questa mattina – ha commentato Ian Walker – La rottura di due giorni fa ci ha creato meno problemi del pervisto navigando alle portanti, anche quando, come ora, dobbiamo ridurre la randa. La riparazione ancora non è stata completata. Per poter agire dobbiamo aspettare che la temperatura salga, permettendo alla colla di catalizzare. Speriamo di poter completare l’intervento prima che il vento giri in prua: bolinare in queste condizioni non sarebbe affatto facile”.
Giornata positiva anche per il Team Russia, quarto a un’ora di distacco da Green Dragon. Hanakamp e i suoi uomini si sono detti molti felici del risultato raggiunto, dovuto principlamente all’attenzione posta nel tenersi lontano dai guai: “I momenti duri non sono mancati, ma nonostante una strapoggia e l’impatto con un’onda mentre facevamo trenta nodi tutto sembra andare per il meglio”.
Alle 11.40, ad oltrepassare il 58° di longitudine est sono stati i due equipaggi dell’Equipo Telefonica. Il VOR 70 Blue ha anticipato il Black di un niente, raccogliendo 2 punti contro l’1.5 del compagno d’avventura. Penultimo e ultimo sul cancello sono giunti Il Mostro, rallentanto dai danni subiti nei giorni scorsi, e Team Delta Lloyd.
Una volta passato lo scoring gate tutti gli equipaggi hanno preso a fare rotta verso nord. I primi effetti di questa risalita sono stati registrati dagli anemometri, puntuali nel registrare il calo di vento.
A salire in cattedra, ancora una volta, saranno i navigatori. Tra loro e Cochin, infatti, zone di calma, tratti di mare altamente trafficati e il non meno rischioso pericolo reppresentato dai pirati. Al momento, la tattica viene decisa sulla base dell’alta pressione che si è posizionata a sud del Madagascar già da martedi.
Leg 2, day 6, 13.00 GMT, rankings
1 – Ericsson 3 SWE (Anders Lewander/SWE) DTF 2.969 nm
2 – Puma Racing Team USA (Ken Read/USA) +8 nm
3 – Ericsson 4 SWE (Torben Grael/BRA) +25 nm
4 – Green Dragon IRL/CHN (Ian Walker/GBR) +51 nm
5 – Telefónica Blue ESP (Bouwe Bekking/NED) +65 nm
6 – Team Russia RUS (Andreas Hanakamp/AUT) +89 nm
7 – Telefónica Black ESP (Fernando Echávarri/ESP) +95 nm
8 – Team Delta Lloyd IRL (Roberto Bermudez/ESP) +192 nm
Per seguire la regata sul Race Tracker clicca qui.
Per accedere alla galleria video clicca qui.
POINTS NORTH
[Volvo Ocean Race Press Release] Ericsson Racing Team made it a one/two this morning when Torben Grael/BRA and his team racing Ericsson 4 cruised through the scoring gate on leg two of the Volvo Ocean Race at 03.40 GMT, adding another four points to their tally, bringing their total to 18. On their heels was Anders Lewander/SWE and his Nordic team racing Ericsson 3, crossing at 06.51 GMT and swiping another 3.5 points. They now have 8.5 points overall.
The wounded Green Dragon (Ian Walker/GBR) is still going in strong, although with one wing clipped when she broke her boom two days ago. She crossed at 08.40 GMT, scoring three points (total now 14 points).
“We are thrilled to get third place and three points at the scoring gate,” said Green Dragon’s skipper, Ian Walker this morning. “This has been our focus since breaking the boom two days ago. We seem to be able to sail downwind with spinnakers quite well, and, even now, reaching with one reef seems OK. It is the upwind sailing that we must hope to avoid,” he said. The team hopes to start repairs on the boom once the temperature rises further so that the glue and resin they have onboard will cure. “I’m not wildly optimistic, but I think the lads are looking forward to the challenge,” says Walker. “I just have to stop them cutting the boat up in the process,” he laughed.
A good showing from the Russians on Kosatka (Andreas Hanakamp/AUT) who crossed just under an hour after Green Dragon at 09.36 GMT, meant that a much-needed 2.5 points were added to their tally, bringing their overall score up to 6.5. Hanakamp and his team were very happy with their 2.5 points. The boat is as solid as the day is long, although Hanakamp says there is a certain luck factor involved with not breaking anything. “During the leaps we did in the bigger waves there were no scary noises from the structure of the boat, just the big bangs when you slam onto the water in 30 knots, which is scary and deafening in itself.”
Next through the gate was Telefónica Blue (Bouwe Bekking/NED) at 11.40 GMT earning 2 points (total now 12 points). Telefónica Black (Fernando Echávarri/ESP) just pipped Puma (Ken Read/USA) at the post, nine minutes apart. Telefónica Black earns 1.5 points (total now 8.5), while the limping Puma collected just one point (total now 14 points).
The last boat to cross was Delta Lloyd (Roberto Bermudez/ESP) at 13.21 GMT, scoring 0.5 points – total now 4.5 points.
The wind has eased into the high teens and now the race focus shifts towards the finish in Cochin, India as the fleet points its bows north.
Tactics for the second half of leg two will be influenced by high pressure, which has been building slowly to the south of Madagascar since Tuesday, and which the fleet must skirt. Andreas Hanakamp says, “Having the right wind speed and angle is critical, even though the fleet will be compressed later on. This could well change, and, at the end, you want to come out of the compression as much ahead as possible.”
So, no holding back now, it is foot to the floor for the fleet. The position of the high will make for at least 12 hours of light winds along the rhumb-line course between the boats’ current positions and Cochin, but then the teams can look forward to a few days of trade wind sailing.
Moods have improved as the air temperature gets hotter and the boats begin to dry out. The Southern Ocean is officially left behind, until it makes its reappearance in leg five from Qingdao in China to Rio de Janeiro, which takes the fleet around the infamous Cape Horn.
Leg 2, day 6, 13.00 GMT, rankings
1 – Ericsson 3 SWE (Anders Lewander/SWE) DTF 2.969 nm
2 – Puma Racing Team USA (Ken Read/USA) +8 nm
3 – Ericsson 4 SWE (Torben Grael/BRA) +25 nm
4 – Green Dragon IRL/CHN (Ian Walker/GBR) +51 nm
5 – Telefónica Blue ESP (Bouwe Bekking/NED) +65 nm
6 – Team Russia RUS (Andreas Hanakamp/AUT) +89 nm
7 – Telefónica Black ESP (Fernando Echávarri/ESP) +95 nm
8 – Team Delta Lloyd IRL (Roberto Bermudez/ESP) +192 nm
To follow the race on Race Tracker click here.
To visit the official video gallery click here.
No comments so far.
Be first to leave comment below.