Volvo Ocean Race, volando verso Capo Horn
Equipo TelefonicaEricsson RacingGreen Dragon RacingOceanoPuma Ocean RacingVelaVolvo Ocean Race 10 Marzo 2009 Zerogradinord 0
[singlepic=1918,300,204,,left]Volvo Ocean Race – Oceano Pacifico – Magnus Olsson e il suo equipaggio sono totalmente concentrati a portare Ericsson 3 al massimo sotto il cielo grigio degli oceani del sud, mentre all’orizzonte si delinea il secondo Ice Gate, localizzato ai 45° di latitudine sud. La leadership del team scandinavo è di 272 miglia su Ericsson 4: un margine che non ha precedenti nella storia più recente della manifestazione.
Il trio al comando – i due Ericsson e Puma – fa rotta verso sud-sudest e pare itenzionato a superare l’Ice Gate dalla parte ovest, passando da nord a sud, mentre Green Dragon e Telefonica Blue si butteranno sulla parte est dello stesso.
La speranza per chi insegue è sempre quella: che Ericsson 3 rallenti, dando modo di recuperare miglia perdute. Una speranza vana, alemeno sino ad ora, dato che lo scafo di Magnus Olsson è sempre il più veloce e se ne va a 2 nodi di media in più rispetto agli avversari.
A 48° di latitudine sud Telefonica Blue se la sta vedendo con un differente sistema meteo e c’è il rischio che le cose si mettano di male in peggio in vista del passaggio dell’Ice Gate. Davanti alla barca di Bouwe Bekking, infatti, c’è una striscia di alta pressione che potrebbe rendere la vita molto dura nel corso delle prossime 12 ore. Intanto, a bordo si cerca di pensare ad altro e si ripara la randa per l’ennesima volta.
Su Green Dragon si guarda avanti con speranza. Quarti a distanza tutto sommato contenuta da Puma, gli uomini di Ian Walker pensano a cosa succederà da qui a sette giorni, studiano le carte meteo. per allora saranno a Capo Horn, un posto che lo skipper dell’imbarcazione irlandese non ha mai visto. A consigliarlo per il meglio saranno Damian Foxall e Justin Slattery, due che assieme a Neal McDonald di Horn e zone limitrofe hanno una certa esperienza.
Leg 5, day 24, 13.00 GMT, rankings
1. Ericsson 3 SWE (Magnus Olsson/SWE) DTF 4762 nm
2. Ericsson 4 SWE (Torben Grael/BRA) +272 nm
3. Puma Racing Team USA (Ken Read/USA) +329 nm
4. Green Dragon IRL/CHN (Ian Walker/GBR) +475 nm
5. Telefónica Blue ESP (Bouwe Bekking/NED) +651 nm
Team Delta Lloyd NED/IRL (Roberto Bermudez/ESP) DNS
Telefónica Black ESP (Fernando Echávarri/ESP) DNS
Team Russia RUS (Andreas Hanakamp/AUT) DNS
HARD DRIVING AS ERICSSON 3 EXTENDED LEADS
[Volvo Ocean Race Press Release] Magnus Olsson and his team are fully focussed on driving Ericsson 3 hard through the grey/green Southern Ocean, straight towards the western end of the second ice gate at latitude 45 degrees south. They are expected to cross in a little over 24 hours. Their lead is now 272 nm ahead of Ericsson 4 (Torben Grael) and the deficits among the fleet are now the highest seen so far in the Volvo Ocean Race.
The leading trio, Ericsson 3, Ericsson 4 (Torben Grael) and Puma (Kenny Read) are rattling east-southeast, set up to cross the gate at the western end from north to south, while the two southerly boats, Green Dragon (Ian Walker) and Telefónica Blue (Bouwe Bekking) will clip the eastern end.
However, one by one, the boats are dropping off the conveyor belt that is carrying them towards Cape Horn and the talk onboard the chasing pack is of Ericsson 3 slowing down too and the hope of clawing back lost miles. While Ericsson 3 is still averaging 22 knots, the rest of the fleet are now down to 20 knots or less.
At 48 degrees south, Telefónica Blue now races in a different weather system and there is significant risk that they will take a lot longer for the team to reach the ice gate. In their path is a ridge of high pressure, which will require dramatic action and the next 12 hours will be critical. The team has managed to make a new repair to the temporary patch on their mainsail, which had led the team to sail with the mainsail reefed.
Onboard Green Dragon, just one degree further south, but 176 nm ahead of the blue boat, Ian Walker has his eyes on the seven day forecast and what might be in store for the team when they reach the infamous Cape Horn, a place that he has never been.
“One thing seems certain, it is going to be a very windy, fast, cold blast reach to the Horn in a few days time,” he says. Weather forecasts are indicating a windy rounding of between 35 – 50 knots of breeze.
Walker has surrounded himself with experienced crew; the two Irishmen, Damian Foxall and Justin Slattery, together with Neal McDonald are all Cape Horn veterans and know very well what could be in store, but he still finds himself monitoring the weather forecast day by day.
At 13.00 GMT today, Ericsson 3 had extended her lead by another 64 nm since 13.00 GMT yesterday, recording a 24-hour run of 500 nm. The team now has less than 5,000 nm to run to the finish in Rio in this 12,300 nm leg, which started in Qingdao, China 25 days ago.
Leg 5, day 24, 13.00 GMT, rankings
1. Ericsson 3 SWE (Magnus Olsson/SWE) DTF 4762 nm
2. Ericsson 4 SWE (Torben Grael/BRA) +272 nm
3. Puma Racing Team USA (Ken Read/USA) +329 nm
4. Green Dragon IRL/CHN (Ian Walker/GBR) +475 nm
5. Telefónica Blue ESP (Bouwe Bekking/NED) +651 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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