Iceberg Dead Ahead

The first boats hit the edge of the Southern Ocean

Just three short days into this second leg of the Volvo Ocean Race, and as the first signs of the Roaring Forties blast the Volvo Ocean 60s along at breakneck speeds, several teams have reported their first sightings of icebergs.

Kevin Shoebridge’s current leg leader Team Tyco was first to report in with an iceberg warning. "Earlier than expected in the trip we saw a large iceberg this morning," explains navigator Steve Hayles. "It’s a little far north for these, but the very large ones can survive the warmer sea temperatures and this one was certainly big."

Whether the icebergs are out of place, or mark the edge of the Southern Ocean, the teams can be sure that this is the beginning of several thousand miles in one of the most inhospitable places on earth. "The temperature has dropped dramatically and we are sailing in a blustery 25-knot south westerly, which is allowing us to sail fast but at the expense of getting very wet," explains Hayles as the team races south and east, neck and neck with Neal McDonald’s Assa Abloy.

The two leading teams are positioned well, with the majority of the fleet on their port quarters. "We are sailing in sight of our sparring partner from the first leg ASSA ABLOY and we currently hold the lead by a small margin," explains Hayles. Though the pressure ridge, which had left several teams fighting for wind, posed a potential problem to the leaders this morning’s sched gave the good news to Tyco " they were still in front and back up to pace.

Only Gunnar Krantz’ third placed SEB is positioned slightly away from the pack, further north, but on the same course as the rest. "Our position in the northeast corner of the fleet is not ideal but it can work out all right. The 20-mile separation to the southern boats is a bit too much," explains Krantz. Unfortunately the solution is not simple. The lime-green team have the option of closing the gap, but losing speed as they sail a higher course, or holding their low and fast course at a risk of falling out of the current lift. Failing to close the distance could also result in the more southerly boats picking up more wind and chasing off into the distance.

SEB have also again reported problems with their rig. "It did not effect the boat speed at that time and we could still sail 100%. No, I am not going to tell you what it is," said Krantz. It was Gareth Cooke who spotted the problem up the rig during a routine check. The Volvo Ocean 60 fleet spend many hours prior to racing preparing for as many eventualities as possible and, although Krantz explains the problem does not involve an ‘obvious part’, it has been resolved. Cooke, or Woos, made a total of six trips up the mast to solve the problem, suspected to be as a result of the hammering the boat took during the first 24 hours of racing.

Behind SEB the two non-Farr designed entries in the fleet, Grant Dalton’s Amer Sports One and Knut Frostad’s djuice, are separated by less than a mile. Four miles behind third place, but 18 ahead of sixth placed illbruck, the teams have every chance of making gains rather than loses.

"After everyone sailed into the same wind hole and lined up for the second start, the wind filled in rapidly. Now it's a race to see who can hold up to the freezing fire hose and keeping sharp and safe in the increasingly harsh battle," explains Mark Rudiger, navigator on board Assa Abloy. "With the wind coming from the south now and the water temperature plummeting, the guys on deck are taking a beating."