Upwind across the Atlantic

Leg seven of the Volvo Ocean Race sets sail from Boston today

The Volvo Ocean Race fleet is ready to face the North Atlantic for leg seven as the teams make their final preparations ahead of today’s start. The transatlantic crossing is weighing heavily on the minds of the skippers. As Ian Walker said, “these could be the hardest miles we sail.”

The race start is scheduled for 13:00 local time in Boston Harbor (17:00 GMT), with the starting line directly off the race village at Fan Pier in Boston. The fleet will make a loop of the harbour before heading out to sea to Galway, some 2,500 nautical miles away.

At the skipper’s press conference ahead of the start, local hero Ken Read promised his Puma team, currently standing third on the leaderboard, would put their best foot forward, in an effort to earn their first victory of the race.

“As always, our goal is to win this leg,” he said. “It’s no different to any other leg. We know what the score is, and it’s our job to make up some of the difference.”

Puma had the pressure of a homecoming on the leg into Boston, but that burden now shifts to Green Dragon. Skipper Ian Walker says the team is definitely aware of the significance of the leg, but says they won’t let it get to them.

“For us to get back to Galway and Ireland is a major milestone for this project. It’s probably the most important thing that we can do, to sail that boat into Galway,” he said.
But when asked if the team would be making an extra effort to secure a strong finish into their home port, he was sanguine: “We were last into Boston and we don’t want to repeat that…I’m proud of the fact that the team has stuck together through the disappointments. But for us to try any harder on this leg would do disservice to all the other legs. We try our hardest all the time.”

Torben Grael, skipper of the overall race leader, Ericsson 4, cautioned that this leg could be a brutal one: “We don’t underestimate the leg. Last race (in 2006), when we left New York, the leg was a very hard one, much worse than people were predicting. So it’s good to be prepared for anything when you have a leg like this.”

His counterpart on Ericsson 3, Magnus Olsson, who has led his team to a win and second place finish in the last two legs, is a veteran of the race, and has many transatlantic crossings under his belt. Too many to count apparently: “I don’t know, 30 or 40 perhaps…it’s a nice place!”

Bouwe Bekking on Telefonica Blue spoke of the importance of teamwork on board his boat: “It’s a team sport. It doesn’t matter if you’re the skipper or navigator or helmsman or media man, everybody has to work as hard as possible. We’ll go for it and try to win.”

Telefonica Black skipper Fernando Echavarri said the forecast to begin the leg gave his team confidence: “For our boats, I think it’s going to be good conditions until the scoring gate - reaching in light to medium conditions. Later on, we will try to arrive in Galway in one piece as it could be very tough conditions. We’ll be working as hard as possible to get to Galway in a good position.”

Delta Lloyd’s Roberto ‘Chuny’ Bermudez also spoke of the excitement of returning to Europe. “We are a European team so for us it’s a matter of coming back home after many, many miles,” he said. "So the team is very happy to be heading for home. But still, there are many miles left to fight with these guys. We need to try to get good results, it’s important for us.”

The Mayor of Galway was on hand at the skippers’ press conference today to extend his welcome, in advance, to the teams. Mayor Padraig Conneely told the teams his city was very proud to be hosting the Irish stopover.

“We’re a cultural city, an old maritime city, renowned for art and culture and sport as well. Our dock area is right in the centre of the city, and I know you’re going to enjoy yourselves. I wish you all the very best of luck, and the city will be on full alert to welcome you.”

The start of leg seven of the Volvo Ocean Race will take place in Boston Harbor, off Fan Pier, at 13:00 local time (17:00 GMT) on Saturday.

Leg seven takes the boats once again out around the convoluted course around the Boston Exclusion Zone (as it did when they finished leg six) and out across the Atlantic. They have a major ice zone to avoid effectively between 43 and 46degN and 46 and 50deg W. This ice gate will also have the effect of steering the boat south of the Grand Banks. Then, aside from a few marks along the Irish coast, the boats head straight for Galway on the west coast of Ireland.

Weather-wise the boats will start with a depression out in the Atlantic centred due east of Bermuda with a ridge wrapped around its north side, pretty much along their route. Thus 24 hours in the wind will be stiff and southerly before it backs to the east - on the nose as they approach the northern side of the depression, that is forecast to remain fairly static over this period.

48 hours in and the ridge has removed itself, instead consolidating into an area of high pressure to the east of Newfoundland. This will provide yet more headwinds for the fleet! Nice - 72 hours out and the depression and the high to its north are starting to track east, as are the boats! Still more headwinds, with the wind backing to the north as they get around the high. Once past the high it will be chilly northerlies all the way to the finish.

See page two for the firve day forecast charts