Volvo Ocean Race 2011-2012

[mpowlison]

June 14, 2012

SCREAMING SPEEDS FOR VOLVO FLEET AS STORM TAKES HOLD



Overnight the deep Atlantic depression delivered all that it promised and more as the fleet achieved speeds of 30 knots, allowing leg leaders Telefónica (Iker Martínez/ESP) to achieve a 24-hour run of 540 nautical miles. Groupama, meanwhile, suffered a glitch which saw them lose 20 miles and two places as they battled to shorten sail in the worst of the storm.

As the gale howled around them, the crew of Groupama went to shorten sail only to find the mainsail halyard had jammed at the masthead. Bowman Brad Marsh made three trips to the top of the 31m mast as the wind built and the boat shook. In conditions where it was almost impossible to stand on deck, Marsh managed to free the sail after two hours and the mainsail fell to the deck before being rehoisted. The escapade cost the team 20 miles, allowing both PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG (Ken Read/USA) and CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand (Chris Nicholson/AUS) to take advantage. However, by 0100 GMT, Groupama were back up to their customary speed and had overhauled CAMPER. Still gaining at 0700 GMT, Groupama had snatched back second place from PUMA and had closed to within 6.20 nm of the Spaniards.

Meanwhile, as boat speeds increased as the storm took hold, distance to finish was clicking down rapidly. “The miles are clocking down at a fantastic rate,” reported Hamish Hooper, Media Crew Member with CAMPER. "In what seemed like minutes, 100 miles just disappeared."

As the boats lurched and surfed their way towards Lorient in pitch darkness, the violent motion catapulted Hooper out of his bunk and forward into the navigation area. Fortunately, navigator Will Oxley and skipper Chris Nicholson were not occupying it at the time and no one was hurt.

With still a chance of winning the race overall, the crew of CAMPER have yet to throttle back. “It is that old question, when to pull back and when to keep pushing,” said skipper Chris Nicholson. "You just have to judge things at the moment and keep pushing hard. At the moment things are alright, so we keep blasting along, chasing down the leading boats just a handful of miles away."

Telefónica achieved 540 nm in the 24-hour period leading up to the 0700 GMT position report this morning. They are the fastest in the fleet, but still some way off the 595.6-mile yardstick set by Ericsson 4 in the last edition. However, the wind continues to build and with just 580 nm to run to the finish, the 24-hour world record and the IWC Schaffhausen 24-hour Speed Record Challenge for the race could both be under threat.

At 0700 GMT today, Telefónica led Groupama by 6.20 nm, followed by PUMA on their port hip and CAMPER further to the west. With just 13.3 nm separating the first four boats, the pressure is intense. Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing (Ian Walker/GBR) and Sanya (Mike Sanderson/NZL) have not been able to achieve the relentless pace of the leading four and have slipped back to 35.7 nm and 60.7 nm respectively.

The big gybe onto starboard towards the finish is likely to be in about six hours’ time. Daylight will make this difficult manoeuvre easier, allowing the crews to judge the sea state and see the surfing waves. With 580 nm to go to the finish, it is likely that the fleet will arrive in Lorient in France on Friday during daylight.

[mpowlison]

June 15, 2012

HOME GLORY FOR GROUPAMA FOLLOWING TELEFÓNICA’S CRUEL TWIST OF FATE

Groupama completed a heroic comeback victory on Leg 8 of the Volvo Ocean Race on Friday, strengthening their grip on the overall standings and realising a dream homecoming to Lorient – while Telefónica were left to reflect on what might have been after a cruel twist of fate.

Just two days ago Groupama were back in fourth struggling to catch up after spending more than two hours trying to free their jammed mainsail, with bowman Brad Marsh having to climb the 31-metre mast three times in storm conditions.

But once again Franck Cammas’ crew showed off their blistering pace, hauling back their rivals to climb up to second going into the final 24 hours -- and when Telefónica saw their hopes dashed by a second broken rudder 12 hours from the finish they were left unchallenged in terms of pace.

The win sees them take a maximum 30 points to move on to a total of 219, bolstering their position at the top of the overall leaderboard with just one leg and two in-port races left.

Groupama couldn’t have picked a better place to notch up their second offshore leg win than their home port of Lorient -- and in return, an army of French fans turned out to give them a hero’s welcome.

"It's a very good feeling for me and for the crew," Cammas said. "It was a short leg but it was very hard. Last night was very complicated and we took a lot of risks but finally they paid off.

"This was a dream we had 10 months ago and we're realising that dream now. We still have one leg to go and it's important to do well, but tonight we can have a good night."

As Groupama revelled in victory, CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand crossed the line to take second place, with PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG on course for third.

The reality of seeing his Leg 8 dreams dashed was sinking in for Telefónica skipper Iker Martínez.

"The mood on board is as good as it can be in circumstances like these, as we have just seen any chance of us winning this round the world regatta slip away," he said. "It's like two years work just disappearing into thin air in a matter of minutes - what a mess. Now I'll be happy if we all get to shore without any further problems."

Wild conditions continued to dominate in the final sprint for the finish line, as seen in this incredible video from on board CAMPER:



Despite being the shortest of the legs so far at under 2,000 nautical miles, Leg 8 from Lisbon, Portugal, to Lorient, France, threw up numerous challenges.

The fleet had to negotiate the light, tricky winds of the Azores High as they approached the waypoint of São Miguel, while in the latter stages winds got up to more than 40 knots in a violent North Atlantic storm.

Just 48 hours from the finish, Groupama faced a potentially dangerous situation as they tried to reduce sail area in preparation for gale-force winds.

The sail got jammed at the top of the mast leaving Marsh to carry out some mid-sea heroics, climbing to the top of the mast three times in winds of well over 20 knots and rough seas.

After two hours of repairs, Marsh’s skills kept the French team in the race and they only lost out 20 miles to the fleet.

Leg 8 also produced record-breaking 24-hour runs, with CAMPER setting the top distance of the race so far of 565 miles.

Stay tuned to the action with the live tracker at www.volvooceanrace.com and live photos at www.livestream.com/volvooceanrace.

[mpowlison]

GROUPAMA SEAL DREAM VICTORY ON HOME WATERS, EXTEND OVERALL LEAD IN VOLVO OCEAN RACE 2011-12
DISASTER FOR TELEFÓNICA AS RUDDER BREAKS

Lorient, France – France’s Groupama completed a heroic comeback victory on Leg 8 of the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12 on Friday, strengthening their grip on the overall standings and realising a dream homecoming to Lorient – while Telefónica were left to reflect on what might have been after a cruel twist of fate.

Just two days ago, Groupama were back in fourth struggling to catch up after spending more than two hours trying to free their jammed mainsail, with bowman Brad Marsh having to climb the 31-metre mast three times in storm conditions.

But once again the French crew led by skipper Franck Cammas showed off their blistering pace, hauling back their rivals to move into second going into the final 24 hours -- and when Telefónica saw their hopes dashed by a second broken rudder 12 hours from the finish, Groupama were left unchallenged into Lorient.

The win sees Groupama take a maximum 30 points for a total of 219, bolstering their position at the top of the overall leaderboard.

Groupama couldn’t have picked a better place to notch up their second offshore leg win than their home port of Lorient -- and in return, an army of French fans turned out to give them a hero’s welcome.

As Groupama revelled in victory, CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand crossed the line to take second place and move into third overall, while PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG were third and are second overall, trailing Groupama by 23 points. Just one leg and two in-port races remain with 42 maximum overall points available.

A French team last won the Volvo Ocean Race, formerly called the “Whitbread Round the World Race,” in 1985-86, when Lionel Péan captured the overall trophy on-board L’Esprit d’Equipe.


DISASTER FOR TELEFÓNICA AS BROKEN RUDDERS DASH HOPES FOR LEG 8 WIN AND OVERALL TROPHY
Lorient, France – The heartbroken sailors aboard Telefónica saw their dreams of a fourth leg win evaporate overnight when during the much anticipated and much feared gybe towards the finish in Lorient, Telefónica damaged their port rudder early Friday before sunlight.

The damaged rudder forced the Spanish-entry to drop speeds by more than half to around 10 knots and – with Groupama’s victory – all but mathematically ended Telefónica’s chances to become the first Spanish team ever to win the Volvo Ocean Race.

As Telefónica limped slowly towards France, Groupama took the lead and recorded their second leg win of the 2011-12 edition.

The drama began 24 hours ago for Telefónica. On Thursday afternoon, after fixing the broken starboard rudder, Telefónica regained the lead of Leg 8 from Lisbon to Lorient. As the expected wind shift arrived, late in the evening, Telefónica were the first to gybe, followed by Groupama.

Leading the fleet, and with less than 300 miles to Lorient, the Spanish boat landed awkwardly off a huge wave in a seething seaway and suffered damage to the port rudder, as well as a breakage in the spare starboard rudder fitted as a replacement on Thursday.

Fortunately for the team, the single effective rudder is the port one needed to sail towards Lorient. The reality of seeing his Leg 8 dreams dashed was sinking in for Telefónica skipper Iker Martínez.

"The mood on board is as good as it can be in circumstances like these, as we have just seen any chance of us winning this round the world regatta slip away. It's like two years work just disappearing into thin air in a matter of minutes – what a mess. Now I'll be happy if we all get to shore without any further problems," said skipper Martínez.

Telefónica led the overall standings in the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12 for six months from late November through early June after surging to an early points lead with off-shore wins in Leg 1, 2, 3 and multiple in-port race victories.

But Groupama’s victory in Leg 4 ended their streak and became part a stretch of five consecutive podium finishes in offshore legs for Groupama that catapulted them past Telefónica in the standings and into first on June 1 in Lisbon.

[mpowlison]

June 27, 2012

SHORTEST LEG COULD PRESENT MAJOR DIFFICULTIES

At just 550 miles long it may be the shortest of all the offshore tests but Leg 9 still has the potential to present race-threatening conditions for the teams.

The sprint from Lorient in northwest France to Galway on the east coast of Ireland will only take a couple of days to complete but as this race has seen so many times during its 39,000-mile odyssey, fortunes can easily be reversed in a matter of hours.

The Celtic Sea, the stretch of water that lies between the Volvo Ocean Race fleet and the overall finish line, is notorious for strong winds and big seas, churned up by the Celtic continental shelf.

On leaving Lorient, the fleet must first sail south, leaving Ile de Groix and Belle Ile, small islands in the Bay of Biscay, to starboard before charging north west towards the next waypoint -- Fastnet Rock.

The iconic landmark, renowned among sailors, is the most southerly point of Ireland, and must be left to port.

The biennial Fastnet Race, from the Isle of Wight in the UK, round Fastnet Rock and back to Plymouth, has on many occasions seen boats hit by ferocious weather in the Celtic Sea.

In 1979 a severe storm swept through the fleet resulting in the deaths of 15 sailors, while in 1985 Duran Duran singer Simon Le Bon was one of five who spent 20 minutes trapped under the hull of his capsized yacht Drum, shortly before he competed with the yacht in the Whitbread Round the World Race.

Most recently in the 2011 race, won by Ian Walker’s Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing, the 100ft superyacht Rambler, one of the fastest raceboats in the world, capsized off Fastnet Rock.

Just to throw an extra challenge into the race, the fleet will have to dodge shipping traffic three miles south east of Fastnet Rock.

Once round the rock, the fleet will likely face strong westerly breeze and huge seas as they pass Blasket Island on the south-west tip of Ireland.

From there it’s a straight run up to the Aran Islands, a set of three islands marking the entrance to Galway bay that boast 200-metre tall cliffs, making the most of the strong currents that accelerate round the many headlands.

Eiragh lighthouse, at the western end of the Aran Islands, must be left to starboard before the fleet turn east and head for the finish line in Galway Bay.

As the scoreboard stands now, Groupama sailing team have 219 points and a 23-point lead at the head of the standings over PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG on 196, with CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand just five points further behind in third.

A nightmare for Team Telefónica on Leg 8, in which they finished fifth after suffering serious breakages, sees them tied on equal points with CAMPER.

Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing have 122 points while Team Sanya have 39.

Leg 9 starts at 1102 UTC, and the Volvo Ocean Race team will be bringing fans round-the-clock coverage at www.volvooceanrace.com and www.livestream.com/volvooceanrace.

The teams will take part in the Bretagne In-Port Race on Saturday, 24 hours before the start of the leg.

[mpowlison]

VOLVO OCEAN RACE ENTERS A NEW ERA, INTRODUCES NEW ONE-DESIGN BOAT FOR NEXT TWO RACES

Lorient, France – The Volvo Ocean Race has unveiled details of the high-performance new boat that will be used for the next two editions of the Race.

The plans detailed by Race CEO Knut Frostad at a presentation in Lorient on Thursday will significantly reduce the cost of mounting a competitive campaign and are designed to bring the size of the fleet to 8-10 boats in future editions. The next race is scheduled for 2014-15 and will be the 12th edition of the

The 65-foot (19.8-metre) monohull racing yacht will be strictly one-design. It will be designed by the United States-based Farr Yacht Design and constructed by a consortium of leading boatyards in the United Kingdom, France, Italy and Switzerland.

Under an agreement between Volvo Ocean Race and the consortium, a minimum of eight boats will be built to contest the next two races.

Work will begin in July and the first of the racing yachts in the new class will be completed by June 2013, well over a year before the start of the 12th edition of the Volvo Ocean Race, leaving from Alicante, Spain in the second half of 2014.

"This breathtaking new design, and the agreement to build at least eight yachts, will take the Volvo Ocean Race into an exciting new era," said Knut Frostad, the Race's Chief Executive Officer.

"It represents another major milestone for a race that has never been afraid to move forward in our 39-year history. This move to a one-design gives us an enormous head start in our planning for the next two races and puts the Volvo Ocean Race in even better shape going forward."

Despite being five feet (1.5 metres) shorter, the new boat will be almost as fast as the Volvo Open 70s that are contesting the current race.

The boat will be designed and built with the latest video, satellite and content production facilities to further enhance the work being done in the unique Media Crew Member programme that has been in place since the 2008-09 race.

The process will significantly reduce the barrier to competing in the Volvo Ocean Race and the cost of mounting a competitive campaign, which CEO Frostad said would be possible for less than 15 million euros.

The “ready to sail” cost of the boats, including sails for the pre-Race period and the Race itself, will be around 4.5 million euros, while further significant cost savings will be made possible by the pooling of resources.

"Our clear goal throughout the planning process for the next race has been to make it easier and less costly to mount a campaign in the Volvo Ocean Race," Frostad said. "This is a big step towards that goal.

"This new one-design is fantastic looking and will be ultra-reliable and great to race. We're heading into a new era of this great race with a future that it's more exciting and more secure."

The six boats contesting the current edition of the Volvo Ocean Race are about to embark upon the ninth and final offshore leg, leaving Lorient on July 1. The race will finish on July 7 with the final in-port race in Galway, Ireland.