12:56 PM Wed 20 May 2009 GMT
Latest news for the Volvo Ocean Race fleet, headed to Galway on leg 7 of the Volvo Ocean Race.
ERICSSON 4 LEG SEVEN DAY 4 QFB: received 19.05.09 1726 GMT
A new phenomenon for us today - the horizon!
We have not seen the horizon for what seems like days - although in reality it's probably been just a few hours. With the increase in visibility comes the sight of a competitor in the form of Delta Lloyd - sailing below us on starboard tack also. Now its back to binoculars, taking bearings and the constant discussions of sail choice and modes as every metre won or lost is carefully analysed.
With each three hourly sched comes big changes in leaderboard - like the changes in the hit parade used to be when the buying power of the pop-conscious teenager was first realised and before it was exploited. Our last performance saw us drop down the charts with the majority of the fleet succeeding in cutting the corner on us to the next ice
waypoint.
It looks like the wind will get lighter ahead of us so I'm sure this long drawn out game of snakes and ladders will see some big risers and maybe some even bigger fallers!
Everyone is just lining up for what looks like a rip roaring ride on the second part of this leg into Galway.
The transatlantic leg or race to me is a classic - it's the reasonably more accessible playground for all those people wishing to experience Southern Ocean style conditions - the breeze, the cold and the exhilarating rides (hopefully, but all with the somewhat comforting knowledge of some kind of assistance being within a reasonably short distance (not several thousand miles like the Southern Ocean).
A few of us were talking of a transatlantic race we sailed in some years ago and how different this trip has been so far. Then it was upwind in 30+ knots and between us we reeled off a catalogue of carnage - drilling and tapping the main tracks back on masts, electrical fires, canard problems, huge leaks , interiors falling apart and countless rope and sail damages - but we all look back on those hard times fondly and usually with a smile.
So it's blue skies and reasonably warmer weather this afternoon. The deck is dry and we have even needed sunglasses. Facially I think we have all changed somewhat on this leg due to Dave Endean's personal stash of beef jerky. He has brought along some of the finest jerky any of us have tasted - from the normal to the peppered. My favourite being the hot and spicy variety which hasn't been to everyone's taste. It's a bit like a really good Thai beef salad where the great taste means you want more but the spice is just on the brink of being unbeatable - we've definitely seen the water intake increase as we all try to cool our tongues down.
But although delicious, the jerky has been hard to chew and I can imagine that we all have a very square jawline now. The muscles on each side of our faces ache from chewing - as opposed to laughing. Dave also had us on the edges of our seats as he read excerpts from the book of the race 'Spanish Castle to White Night'. I would definitely vote for him to do the final reading if ever the book were to be released in audio format. Some of his voices were inspired.
Anyway that's all from Ericsson 4 for now. Back to the ups and downs of the scheds and the slight bipolar emotions which accompany them. Looking forward the warm welcome awaiting all boats in Ireland - I know we have a massive posse awaiting with some of our boats biggest fans - Jan B, The Cork Massive and a few of the finest from Howth.
Let's hope we all have something to celebrate apart from a safe arrival for the fleet.
Guy Salter - MCM
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TELEF?NICA BLUE LEG SEVEN DAY 5 QFB: received 20.05.09 0916 GMT
We have experienced tremendous changes in wind speed and wind direction in the last 24 hours. This is because we are sailing in area where warm (Gulf Stream) water meets the Labrador Current. Trick seems to be to find the warmest spell of water - the warmer the water, the better the air is mixing to the surface.
Today we saw Delta Lloyd tacking only 1.5 miles to weather of us, but half an hour later she gained about three miles more to windward, just having a tad more pressure than us.
We bit the bullet and tacked off, leaving PUMA with whom we have been so close for a long time - alone. The guys ahead have gained, sailing into more pressure.
We had some close encounters with massive whales, which surfaced within a couple of metres of us and we sailed right through a school of pilot whales, luckily no contact.
We have been reading with great amusement how cold some crews on the other boats are. It is nice to sit here just with shirt in a temperature of around 20 degrees - you sleep well, never feeling cold. The heater is just magic. It means as well that when going on deck, you don't have to have so many layers on, most of the guys run one thin layer of thermals, and one thicker on top, so still plenty of spare kit in the duffel bag.
Bouwe Bekking - skipper
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DELTA LLOYD LEG SEVEN DAY 5 QFB: received 20.05.09 1005 GMT
What an exciting day this was! Happy faces on the Delta Lloyd. After we decided to let the scoring gate be, navigator Wouter Verbraak warned us 'that it was going to be a tricky day'.
And it became a difficult day of sailing. A day full of fighting shifts and currents. Gains were made all in very little windshifts. More southerly it became a fight for the right current. Like every other boat we were looking for the warm Gulf Stream. Warm water means more breeze.
When finally after two tacks we found the Gulf Stream, the water-temperature went up 5 degrees from 12 to 17 degrees in a few miles. The difference between three layers of fleece and thermals or just a t-shirt. So the boys were happy that the sun finally brought some warmth on deck. But most important of all, our tactics worked!
We let the scoring gate be, in order to aim for the long term strategy and to get back to the fleet. And here, at the end of the day, we are surrounded by boats. Everywhere around our boat we see the rest of the fleet. So after four days of racing we are back on track and in the middle of the pack.
Tonight is going to be tricky because the water temp will drop, so light wind and thermals back on, because it will be a cold night again.
Cheers
Sander Pluijm MCM
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ERICSSON 3 LEG SEVEN DAY 5 QFB: received 20.05.09 0721 GMT
Depressing times!!!
It is an extremely frustrating time onboard Ericsson 3. We can't really let go of the thought that we were in the lead and then, suddenly, we hit a whale and after that everything has been going bad.
We lost three positions to the scoring gate and after that we have lost even more. Like every one of the front runners to the gate, we have lost a lot to the boats which were at the back of the fleet before the gate. The explanation is that they didn't bother about racing for the gate, but were heading straight for goal.
Yesterday, after we made the first tack since the crash, we hoisted the port daggerboard and had a good thorough look and found that it was pretty badly damaged. For sure that had slowed us down a lot.
Luckily we brought our spare daggerboard, a decision that was made very close to the start, and it took us one hour to change. We are of course going better now, but we had already lost a lot and we still have some damage in the front of the bulb, which may not have a big effect, but it is for sure not positive for the performance.
It is still very depressing weather with thick fog and grey sky. We are in the waters where the famous Titanic went down on its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York. It was a British passenger liner, the largest ship in the world when it was built and supposedly unsinkable, but it struck an iceberg around the area where we are in on April 1912 and sank with the loss of over 1500 lives.
As if the history and weather of this area weren't depressing enough, we have had had a disastrous last 24 hours. We have been tacking I think four times and there has been a lot of furling and unfurling the masthead zero. At one stage we were down to seven knots of boatspeed.
This calm weather feels very strange since I was expecting this to be a very rough leg. So far it has mostly been very calm and the working environment for the media man has been a bit cold but, in total, very comfortable, almost dull. I guess that those words will bite back and that the wind will soon hit us with furious anger. Actually I think that would be good since we usually are fast in the big stuff.
Back to reality:
Last sched we lost to everyone in the fleet and our navigator Aksel Magdahl was not very happy about the situation. He is a realist and, unfortunately for now, he is usually right about things and it is depressing that he has said that it really doesn't look good for us. Hopefully he was just tired and grumpy like only navigators can be.
Luckily we have others onboard that are extremely optimistic. We are never giving up so do not count us out. Like Magnus Olsson always keep saying: 'Everything can happen in sailing and hockey'.
Gustav Morin - MCM
www.volvooceanrace.org
by Various Volvo Ocean Race competitors
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