Team Brunel into the lead

All change at the front of the Volvo Ocean Race

Image above courtesy of Expedition and Predictwind

After the trials and tribulations of the passage up the Indian Ocean, the leg 2 leaders in the Volvo Ocean Race are now on the home straight towards the Gulf, with the easternmost tip of Oman, marking their entry into the Gulf of Oman (and from there through the Strait of Hormuz and into the Gulf proper) around 600 miles away at the 06:40 sched this morning.

The big change over the weekend is that by breaking away slightly to the east, as they now converge with the great circle route north, Team Brunel and Dongfeng Race Team have managed to get on to a slightly more favourable point of sail than Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing. This has caused Ian Walker's crew initially to lose the lead to Dongfeng on Saturday night, in turn her sparring partner of the last 10 days - Team Brunel - relieving Charles Caudrelier's team of first place at around 01:30 on Sunday morning. Bouwe Bekking, Capey & co have now extended their advantage to just over 8 miles at the latest sched.

But the worst news for Ian Walker, is that since yesterday Brunel and Dongfeng have cracked sheets slightly enabling them to put themselves in between Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing and the mark. Walker's team - for whom a win into their home port is important - is now 27 miles off the pace and given the closeness in performance of the boats and the increasingly few passing opportunities between here and the finish, is going to struggle to regain those lost miles between here and the finish.

Leg 2 is not panning out to be the leg that redeems MAPFRE after her dismal last place finish into Cape Town. After breaking had east from the fleet prior to the Equator and Doldrums crossings. Since Friday, when she was 105 miles from the leader, she has been losing ground continually as the frontrunners have pulled into better breeze. Now she is 311 miles behind and still struggling in light conditions. Worse still, Team Alvimedica has done much better to the west and, at around 0300 this morning, pulled into fourth place ahead of the Spanish VO65.

The three backmarkers are all still attempting to claw their way out of the light winds centred over the Maldives and while she is only a nose ahead of MAPFRE in terms of distance to finish, Team Alvimedica seems set to find the better breeze much sooner than her unfortunate rival in the east.

Forecast-wise, the leaders look set to be sailing into more pressure, albeit with a slight header as they approach the Gulf of Oman. The forecast is not looking good for those behind as the light patch is set to extend further north over the next few days and in the last 500 miles towards the Gulf of Oman the wind will head the boats even more as it backs fully into the north.

Matt Knighton reported at 0500 from Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing:

“C’mon wind…”, Ian muttered while patiently but intently stared at the red numbers on the mast for the slightest change. His eyes are squinted, not because of the fading sunlight on the horizon but because he’s looking ahead for signs on the water.

We need a lift – a shift in the wind rotating to the right – to help us gain speed and have a chance of catching Brunel and Dongfeng.

It’s been a battle all day; seemingly bleeding miles to the two teams to windward. Finally, on the latest sked before sunset, the first signs of optimism: we sailed 10 miles further. Ian did his familiar six-or-so trips up and back from the nav station reporting all the details from the position report to all us on deck. This was a good sign in itself; usually if a sked was bad he goes down below and doesn’t come up. We’re on the mend.

But for how long? Brunel and Dongfeng have wind that is arcing them at a faster angle. There is still plenty of race track left: a reaching drag race to Oman, then the light air winds of the Straight of Hormuz, and finally the unpredictable Arabian Gulf as we close in on Abu Dhabi. But with the last Leg being decided by 15 minutes, and the top three teams again vying for the prize, we can’t afford to bleed any more.

C’mon wind.

Amory Ross reports from Team Alvimedica

It feels a bit like an intermission, a TV timeout—a break for commercials. If we could just hit pause to get up and stretch the legs, maybe we’d come back a little more excited. But for the time being it feels like we’re staring through the screen and going through the motions at half speed. With the winds unlikely to build in the remaining week(s), odds are it will stay that way - in a sort of slow motion. Frustrating, for a boat that’s designed to sail at 40 knots, to live for so long at 7.

Our directive has remained virtually unchanged since leaving Vestas: just get north. Fortunately SCA and Mapfre offer a measure of tactical distraction but the nuances are getting smaller and now that we’re [hopefully] clear of the doldrums the options shrink still. We have some leverage on Mapfre well to the east and there is an opportunity to gain a place there, but unless things change drastically in the Persian Gulf, the leaders are out of reach.

We’ve got plenty of food, no shortage of stories and soon enough we’ll get to a more interesting stretch of water with headlands, traffic, and scenery; that will help speed things up a little. For now we’re trying to stay patient and entertained, and trying to stay out of the sun. But the abundant downtime has Christmas, families, and a possible trip home for the holidays weighing heavy on our minds!