Tiesiai iš jachtų - spalio 23, 2014

Šiandien - dviprasmiškos nuotaikos. Abu Dhabi, Brunel, Vestas jau išplaukė iš "Doldrum'ų" zonos ir mėgaujasi pietryčių vėju, kuris neša tiesiai link ženklo prie Pietų Amerikos krantų. Kitos komandos vis dar užstrigusios ir jaučiasi neviltyje. Merginos jau lyg buvo pavijusios vidurinę laivyno grupę, tačiau staiga vėl atsiliko.

Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing

After three days, four packs of caffeine chewing gum, five hours of floating, and a friendly pilot whale, Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing is out of the Doldrums! As the sun set and the wind increased, behind us you could see a line of a half-dozen squalls chasing us south out of the light winds -- giants trying to rope us back into their domain.

For Ian and SiFi, this moment marks a type of vindication from a week of routing and tactical calls that had set us up for a quick westerly crossing as opposed to those who chose to go east.

Matt Knighton, OBR 
Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing
Go to team website 

Dongfeng Race Team

The position report just came in. And it hurts. For the third or fourth time in a row, we’re one of the slowest boats. It feels like it’s OK everywhere, except where we are. Not easy to accept. As a result, you can feel the tension onboard.

We push ourselves to do the best possible manoeuvres, to change sails according to the conditions – but when there is no wind, you don’t move. And in the meantime, the boats in our west and our east are gaining miles.

That’s annoying.

Yann Riou, OBR
Dongfeng Race Team
Go to team website 

MAPFRE

Today we were busy with Team Alvimedica – following the 0700 sked, they were only four miles ahead of us. By noon we caught them and in the evening we managed to pass them.

It’s motivating to sail along another boat, cause it makes you want to sail better, no matter what the conditions are. This is a race you win by working hard and sweating even harder day by day so if you managed to sail 0.5 knot faster than the other boats in the last 24 hours, then you’ve done 12 miles more.

And at the end of the day, that’s a lot.

Francisco Vignale, OBR
MAPFRE
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Team Alvimedica

I’m tired of taking pictures of clouds and I’m absolutely sure we’d all rather get south than bask in the high-pressure for another slow day. Charlie, Mark, and Alberto might be content putting off their scheduled meeting with King Neptune but little do they know that their special “stew” in the bow is only growing stronger with time…

At this rate though the Equator seems weeks away. We’ve somewhat resigned to the fact that Abu Dhabi and Brunel to the west and Vestas to the east are probably gone, out of the Doldrums and into the SE trades. There’s nothing we can do about it but push harder to come out of the middle group on top.

This is a long leg and an even longer race, but the way we carry ourselves now when conditions are testing, frustrating—it’s going to be really important to our development.

Amory Ross, OBR 
Team Alvimedica
Go to team website 

Team SCA

If there’s one constant in the Doldrums, it’s there is no constant-- expect anything. This morning the boat was so quiet you could hear a pin drop, shortly after sun up we were hooning along in 20 knots in a torrential downpour, by late afternoon we were sailing backwards, and who knows what tonight will bring.

The morning also brought a “sked” (position report) that proved: anything can happen in the Doldrums. Last night, before sundown we finally caught up to Alvimedica having fought our way back—they were eight nautical miles away. Within a span of eight miles we had completely different wind and they took off, and by the morning sked, they were twenty miles ahead.

Frustrations mount as high as the clouds as thunderstorms pass near and suck our wind away. All day we stare at clouds on the horizon, hoping a small amount of pressure will come to us and stick with us—carry us through and out of this strange, dramatic place.

Corinna Halloran, OBR
Team SCA
Go to team website