No Way Out

SEB's plight goes from bad to abominable, writes Andy Rice, whilst illbruck et al zoom away from the Doldrums

The Doldrums did little to shake up the gang of five at the head of the Volvo Ocean Race fleet. illbruck's little gybe east a week ago was the decisive move that sees her still at the front of the fleet even after the unpredictability of the Doldrums.

For a part of the ocean that is notorious for being nigh on impossible to navigate, and tales of sailors being driven crazy as they struggle in vain to break in to clear wind, the Doldrums have been remarkably co-operative. Not that Team SEB would see it that way however. Gurra Krantz is doing all he can to keep team, body and soul together as he faces up to a nightmare that has no forseeable end.

"It is painful to see the fleet drive off south west and we are still bow up the other way," reported Krantz. "More than anything else it is important for us to get back in some sort of race situation and not just try to get out of jail." How different it all looked a week ago when it appeared Team SEB had lucked into some hard breeze while the bulk of the fleet wallowed in no wind. Fond memories that mark their present situation all the harder to contemplate.

"Hope comes back when the south easterly wind is trying to break through and then it all goes dead again," said Krantz. "If we keep a course just east of the rhumb line we are moving. When trying to go lower, we stop. The alternative of gybing and basically heading north and starting all over again is not so tempting as you might think. This means that by hoping for a wind shift to the south east we are slowly digging in deeper and deeper. A dangerous trap and no way out once there."

For the three at the back, Amer Sports Too, SEB and djuice, there is still plenty of thinking and battling to do as they look for a way through the Doldrums. For the navigators it is a matter of constantly monitoring and ever changing and highly unpredictable situation. For the boys and girls on deck it is a matter of fighting with sails as they go up and down the mast with every change in wind direction or velocity.

Bridget Suckling tells the story from Amer Sports Too. "So far we have managed to get the squalls 'right on' with the sails just hitting the deck as it smacks us. Last night was probably the closest yet with a ballsy call to keep the big sail up, as a dark patch on the horizon was looming up ahead.

"'Nothing on the radar.' ' Yep, I think we will get through this one.' Five minutes later, 'Ahhhhh.......guuuyyss......I think we should get this down.' So five of us on our knees and bums hauling this Kevlar monster in. Just when you thought 'how the heck are we going to get this down' you would get an inch, and then an inch more. Just as I had the last part of the head of the sail in my hands the squall whipped across the deck. 'Phew, perfect timing,' we all giggled."