Volvo Ocean Race, sintomi di Doldrums
Equipo TelefonicaEricsson RacingGreen Dragon RacingOceanoPuma Ocean RacingVelaVolvo Ocean Race 25 Febbraio 2009 Zerogradinord 0
[singlepic=1817,170,250,,left]Volvo Ocean Race – Sud Pacifico – I cinque equipaggi in corsa verso Rio de Janeiro per la quinta tappa della Volvo Ocean Race, sono impegnati in una battaglia con la natura. I doldrums infatti, accompagnati da nuvole e raffiche stanno causando guadagni e perdite enormi sulla flotta.
“E’ un percorso minato – ha dichiarato Guy Salter a bordo di Ericsson 4 – Spesso le nubi non si possono evitare e così si incappa in un buco di vento dove non arriva nemmeno una leggera brezza. Tutto ciò ha comportato il nostro scarroccio verso sud molto più di quanto pianificato”.
“E’ incredibile – spiega rick Deep a bordo de Il Mostro – una volta coperti dalle nubi capita di rimanere immobili e poi all’improvviso arriva un tuono e nel giro di pochi minuti la pioggia, che ci da appena il tempo di mettere in sicurezza tutta la barca prima dell’arrivo di raffiche che raggiungono i 20 nodi e che generano onde casuali e disordinate”.
Ora Ericsson 4 prosegue la sua corsa tallonato a breve distanza da Il Mostro e Ericsson 3, distanti appena 27 e 29 miglia. Seguono Telefonica Blue e Green Dragon, rispettivamente a 53 e 84 miglia dal primo.
Leg 5, day 11, 16.05 GMT, rankings
1. Ericsson 4 SWE (Torben Grael/BRA) DTF 9545
2. Puma Racing Team USA (Ken Read/USA) +27 nm
3. Ericsson 3 SWE (Magnus Olsson/SWE) +29 nm
4. Telefónica Blue ESP (Bouwe Bekking/NED) +53 nm
5. Green Dragon IRL/CHN (Ian Walker/GBR) +84 nm
Team Delta Lloyd NED/IRL (Roberto Bermudez/ESP) DNS
Telefónica Black ESP (Fernando Echávarri/ESP) DNS
Team Russia RUS (Andreas Hanakamp/AUT) DNS
[flashvideo filename=video/vor/Ericsson_240209.flv /]
Video courtesy Ericsson Racing Team
VIOLENT SQUALLS BRING BIG GAINS AND LOSSES
[Volvo Ocean Race Press Release] All five boats racing down the South Pacific Ocean in leg five of the Volvo Ocean Race are engaged in a battle with nature. The doldrums and the associated clouds and squalls are causing big gains and huge losses across the fleet as the boats get pushed further away from their optimum courses by the unstable weather.
“It’s all about your route through the cloud minefield,” says Guy Salter from Ericsson 4 (Torben Grael/BRA) who is clinging onto first place. “Often you just can’t avoid them [the clouds], and have to accept that, several miles away, your competitor is having an easier time of it,” Salter explained, as the team looks over its shoulders to see PUMA (Ken Read/USA) and Ericsson 3 (Magnus Olsson/SWE) 26 nm astern and gaining.
According to Salter, the clouds have often left Ericsson 4 in a complete void without even a breath of wind, before suddenly sending down a squall with such speed that the team has often found itself a fair way off their optimal course, and has been pushed further south than they planned.
With clouds, come big gains and losses. Two days ago, Ericsson 3 (Magnus Olsson/SWE) sailed into PUMA’s world and has been their constant companion ever since.
“We then started a 48-hour flat out drag race and slowly pulled out a very hard-earned four-mile lead, only to have it evaporate late last night in one squall,” explains PUMA’s skipper Kenny Read.
“We slowed to 11 knots, they came roaring up at 20 and it has been game on ever since,” he said. At 1300 GMT today, PUMA had regained a marginal upper hand and is in second place. Both boats gybed onto a southerly course just after 0930 GMT this morning and are split across a lateral divide of 6.5 nm west to east, and making about five knots.
The squalls in this region appear to be quite prevalent, and can last up to two hours. The first signs of a vicious squall approaching is a general darkening of the sky and a thickening of the clouds to weather of the boat. The leading edge of the squall is accompanied by a high probability that there will be a significant wind shift.
Rick Deppe says that when they observe the high black cloud, light rain starts to fall which lasts for about five minutes. It is generally followed by a short pause in the rain, which may be accompanied by possible clearing of the clouds. “The break will only be for a few minutes before the large drops start to fall from the puffy nimbus clouds that make up the body of the squall,” he says. These conditions are likely to last for at least another three days as the fleet picks its way towards Fiji.
“Once the call has been made that we are about to get hit [by a squall], the crew has to react quickly to make the boat safe – wind speeds in a squall can easily double or increase by 20 knots. The squalls generate a sloppy wave pattern and the boat starts to crash and bump because the waves are disorganised and random, “explains Deppe.
Making the most of the conditions and very much back in the game is Ian Walker’s Green Dragon. The team is 86 nm to the east of Ericsson 4’s track and averaging a steady 13.5 knots.
Leg 5, day 11, 16.05 GMT, rankings
1. Ericsson 4 SWE (Torben Grael/BRA) DTF 9545
2. Puma Racing Team USA (Ken Read/USA) +27 nm
3. Ericsson 3 SWE (Magnus Olsson/SWE) +29 nm
4. Telefónica Blue ESP (Bouwe Bekking/NED) +53 nm
5. Green Dragon IRL/CHN (Ian Walker/GBR) +84 nm
Team Delta Lloyd NED/IRL (Roberto Bermudez/ESP) DNS
Telefónica Black ESP (Fernando Echávarri/ESP) DNS
Team Russia RUS (Andreas Hanakamp/AUT) DNS
No comments so far.
Be first to leave comment below.