Volvo Ocean Race, tempi che si dilatano
Equipo TelefonicaEricsson RacingGreen Dragon RacingOceanoPuma Ocean RacingVelaVolvo Ocean Race 24 Marzo 2009 Zerogradinord 0
[singlepic=2087,204,300,,left]Volvo Ocean Race – Oceano Atlantico – Le ultime ventiquattro ore hanno detto poco o niente di nuovo in merito alla storia della quinta tappa della Volvo Ocean Race. La quasi totale assenza di vento, infatti, non ha riservato alcuna sorpresa e qli equipaggi, con distacchi pressoché invariati, hanno continuato la loro lenta marcia di avvicinamento a Rio de Janeiro.
Ericsson 3, sempre al comando con 65 miglia di margine su Ericsson 4, ha percorso appena 172 miglia e vede i tempi della permanenza in mare allungarsi a dismisura: gli stessi che pronosticavano un arrivo entro oggi, infatti, hanno alzato le mani e promettono di non fare più previsioni, anche se è facile immaginare che la conclusione della frazione, per gli uomini di Olsson, lontani 424 miglia da Rio, possa diventare realtà tra domani notte e giovedì.
“La cosa che ci fa stare peggio è sapere che i nostri parenti sono già arrivati e ci aspettano – ha detto Gustav Morin da bordo di Ericsson 3 – Chi è marito e padre non parla d’altro in questi giorni. Gli altri, invece, hanno messo da parte l’idea di fare un salto a casa per riposarsi un pò: il tempo corre e la prossima In-Port Race è vicinissima”.
Quasi stizzito Guy Salter, il navigatore di Ericsson 4, che ha ormai perso il conto dei giorni trascorsi in mare: “Non ci si capisce più nulla, nemmeno nel meteo. Quando dovresti guadagnare, perdi. Quando dovresti rimanere staccato, invece, guadagni”.
L’attenzione di tutti, nel frattempo, pare essersi concentrata sulla lotta nelle retrovie tra Green Dragon e Telefonica Blue, ora davvero vicinissimi. A dare nuove sperenza al VOR 70 di Bouwe Bekking, portatosi a è stata la riparazione delle volanti, che ha permesso una miglior regolazione dell’albero.
Anche a bordo di Telefonica Blue, intanto, si è proceduto a razionare cibo e gasolio, anche se c’è gioia per la scelta del Crew Member italiano Gabriele Olivo. Prima di partire da Qingdao, Olivo, ha imbarcato una busta contentente parmigiano invecchiato tre anni e ne distribuisce a tutti i mebri dell’equipaggio: una gradita integrazione alla magra dieta di bordo.
Leg 5, day 38, 13.00 GMT, rankings
1. Ericsson 3 SWE (Magnus Olsson/SWE) DTF 424 nm
2. Ericsson 4 SWE (Torben Grael/BRA) +65 nm
3. Puma Racing Team USA (Ken Read/USA) +154 nm
4. Green Dragon IRL/CHN (Ian Walker/GBR) +494 nm
5. Telefónica Blue ESP (Bouwe Bekking/NED) +559 nm
Team Delta Lloyd NED/IRL (Roberto Bermudez/ESP) DNS
Telefónica Black ESP (Fernando Echávarri/ESP) DNS
Team Russia RUS (Andreas Hanakamp/AUT) DNS
LONGING FOR RIO
[Volvo Ocean Race Press Release] As leg five draws out even further due to a complete lack of wind, the crews are longing for the finish in Rio and everything that it brings: results, families, cool beers, big steaks, showers, warm beds, and not necessarily in that order.
Ericsson 3 still holds her lead (DTF 424 nm) and although there have been a few blips in the last 24 hours, no one has taken any significant miles out of her deficit, and the chasing pair are due south of her. Ericsson 3 has only covered 172 nm in the past 24 hours and while Ericsson 4 has gained seven miles (DTL 65 nm) Puma languishes a safe 154 nm astern.
“The light airs are making are lives a mess,” wrote MCM Gustav Morin this morning. For many of the crew, their families will be arriving in Rio, and they wanted to be there to take care of them when they arrived. For others, the chance of returning home for a break are becoming slimmer as time runs out with each windless day.
“Since we are late in, most of the families will arrive before us and all the fathers onboard are talking more often about their kids and wives,” Morin says.
Jules Salter, the navigator on Ericsson 4, has almost lost track of the number of days he has been at sea, and he is frustrated with the weather maps, which only seem to make part sense. “When you expect a gain, you make a loss,” he says.
But, he warns, “inventing weather is ‘bad science’ and expecting to know more than the men and women in beige at the weather centres is pretty dumb, but you have to try and do something.”
“If your hokum theory lines up, you can make a plan for the next few hours. Usually the plan works for about two hours, then the wind shifts and drops and you are back to square one, trying to conjure up another scenario from your onboard observations.”
The real boat race now seems to be between becalmed Green Dragon (DTF 918nm) and the limping Telefónica Blue (DTF 983 nm), who has made a more sophisticated repair to the checkstays on the mast. The team is looking for a surprise ‘comeback’, reckoning that Green Dragon is fighting more current than the maps show.
“Right now they [Green Dragon] are still well ahead, but it will be a good laugh if we could actually manage to pass them,” said skipper Bouwe Bekking, who has closed to within 65 miles.
Unlike the other teams, who are rationing food and diesel, Telefónica Blue has been well provided for by MCM Gabriele Olivo, who even brought onboard a huge bag full of mature, three-year old parmesan cheese to add variety to the daily snacks as well as some grated pieces to make the freeze dried food more enjoyable.
Not a day has passed when leftover food has been thrown away and there is enough food for the team to have extra breakfasts if they want to, something that would be the envy of the rest of the fleet, if only they knew…
They do now!
Leg 5, day 38, 13.00 GMT, rankings
1. Ericsson 3 SWE (Magnus Olsson/SWE) DTF 424 nm
2. Ericsson 4 SWE (Torben Grael/BRA) +65 nm
3. Puma Racing Team USA (Ken Read/USA) +154 nm
4. Green Dragon IRL/CHN (Ian Walker/GBR) +494 nm
5. Telefónica Blue ESP (Bouwe Bekking/NED) +559 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.