pristato
Štai ir vėl prasideda kontaktinė kova. Brunel, Abudabis ir Vestas plaukia matomu atstumu vieni nuo kitų. Po 19 dienų plaukiom tai kažkas neįtikėtina. Visas laivynas ruošiasi pašėlusiam plaukimui su 25-35 mazgų vėju tiesiai link Keiptauno. Be to, visų neapleidžia mintis, kad gali pritrūkti maisto. Panašu, kad visas laivynas vėluos atplaukti į Keiptauną 1-2 dienas nei prognozuota.
Team Vestas Wind
The front-runners and ourselves all patiently or not so patiently wait for this shift in the breeze to the left. A lifting breeze will allow us gybe to get south once again and finally make a rendezvous with a substantial frontal system that pushes us east to our next port.
We have options; right now Chris and Wouter discuss and discuss in detail every option. I’m finding it tough to wait this out, they too must be… It’s exciting though, we have the potential to pop out in the lead if not completely close the gauge on Abu Dhabi and Brunel.
... It’s funny I usually start these blogs mid morning and finish them that evening so that I miss nothing during the course of the day, well something funny just happened. It’s now 18:42 and a boat we have not seen since the Canary Islands has crossed our bow by 3 miles, it’s Abu Dhabi!
Wow, that’s good news and bad, good we are in the right place on the race course bad so now too are the rest of the leading group, we suspect Brunel is not far away either. This is a true testament to the new one-design fleet, three miles apart after 19 days of racing! Now the following days are going to get very exciting…
Brian Carlin, OBR
Team Vestas Wind
Go to team website
Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing
With sunlight fading over the South Atlantic, from the helm of Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing a bright white sail grew larger by the minute on the horizon. After more than five days without seeing any other boats, Team Vestas Wind was crossing behind us by a mere three miles.
One might think that after 19 days of racing and being thousands of miles from land we’re surprised to see another boat so close. To be honest, we’re not. The shock of how close this one-design racing is has worn off. After the earlier battle down the African coast, it’s not surprising to see one or even two sails keeping pace with you for a very, very long time.
Matt Knighton, OBR
Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing
Go to team website
MAPFRE
The sun shines and we are sailing in 15 knots of wind. The good news: the sched this morning showed that we were the fastest boat, we’ve been catching up with the pack. It’s very important that by the time we head to South Africa, we are all together and at the front. As Iker puts it “we can’t miss this train.” Arriving late would be too bad for us.
Today we had a look at the forecast for the upcoming days, and tomorrow we’ll be sailing in 25 knots of wind, and 3 to 4 meter waves. It’s going to get wet. I’ve been preparing everything for that, when the life onboard gets difficult.
The French guys also surprised us by taking a “pate” out of the bags. It was really good, so thanks so much for that guys. Eating something different really puts you in better spirits!
Francisco Vignale, OBR
MAPFRE
Go to team website
Team SCA
Just like any Wednesday at the office, the general topic of conversation around the water cooler was plans for the weekend. We will all be in the Southern Ocean, so it should be a pretty epic weekend to say the least. Sara said she already has her wardrobe ready and organised; this will be Sara’s first time going to the Southern Ocean.
Today’s average day at the office also included some last minute checks before the big weekend. Sophie went up the rig to make sure everything was 100%, and Abby and Liz continued a detailed inspection of the boat. I’m not lying when I say it’s going to be one big weekend.
So yeah today was just an average day out here—no surprises and no excitement, just a quiet, average Wednesday.
Corinna Halloran, OBR
Team SCA
Go to team website
Team Alvimedica
The most obvious changes have been in the weather, and it’s a matter of some significance given where we’re soon headed. Life is getting cold in a hurry and because the water’s still warm we’re seeing a lot of fog; fog is damp, and for the first time in a long time things are wet. At this point its just condensation, but it’s an early reminder that we’re going south, somewhere much colder and much wetter: to the notorious latitudes of the roaring forties.
While the sailing is still easy—and it is by comparison to what it will soon be—everyone has been prepping their respective areas--building worklists, checking the rig, the winches, digging out boots, waterproofing etc… We want to be sure that when the winds begin to build we’re as ready as possible, and more ready than the rest. We could see sustained winds of 35 knots so preparation is going to be crucial.
Amory Ross, OBR
Team Alvimedica
Go to team website
Dongfeng Race Team
Numbers
Open food bags: 19
Food bags left: 6
Days of sailing left: 7
We won’t die of hunger because we do have leftovers from the 19 open bags. But it won’t contain our favourite meals. Let’s just say we’ll have to wait for Cape Town to enjoy a great dinner.
More numbers
Percentage of meals unfinished last week: 100
Percentage of meals unfinished this week: 0
Average life span of a Nutella pot the first week: 3-4 days
Average life span of a Nutella pot this week: less than 24 hours
Confirmation: we do have food, but we’re not against a food feast in South Africa.
Yann Riou, OBR
Dongfeng Race Team
Go to team website