King Neptune checks in with Volvo Ocean Race

(February 20, 2015; Day 13) – The Equator and King Neptune are now solidly behind the Volvo Ocean Race fleet, and the good news is that the slimy Pollywogs on this leg have now been well and truly turned in to Shellbacks.

The crossing times are as follows:
BRUN 0531 UTC
ADOR 0745 UTC
ALVI 0852 UTC
MAPF 0940 UTC
DFRT 0952 UTC
SCA1 1029 UTC

Brunel has held on to their lead through the duldrums, and are finding more stable and stronger wind the further south they get. As for the rest of the fleet, the eastern pack of MAPFRE, SCA and Dongfeng continue to march forward, pushing the western Alvimedica now to the back of the bus.

“The trio is using their strong leverage to advance and there’s little we can do but watch,” reports Amory Ross on Alvimedica. “An uncooperative cloud this morning cost us 15 miles on all three, but with a third of the leg left to sail we’re in for some very exciting [straight-line] racing!”

The leaders are currently predicted to cross the finish line in Auckland on or around March 1.

Leg 4 (5,264 nm) Position Report (as of 21:55 UTC)
1. Team Brunel, Bouwe Bekking (NED), 2078.1 nm Distance to Finish
2. Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing, Ian Walker (GBR), 32.0 nm Distance to Lead
3. MAPFRE, Xabi Fernandez (ESP), 46.7 nm DTL
4. Dongfeng Race Team, Charles Caudrelier (FRA), 46.8 nm DTL
5. Team SCA, Sam Davies (GBR), 54.1 nm DTL
6. Team Alvimedica, Charlie Enright (USA), 54.4 nm DTL
7. Team Vestas Wind, Chris Nicholson (AUS), Did not start

Race website – Tracking – Scoreboard – Videos

Background: The 2014-15 Volvo Ocean Race began in Alicante, Spain on Oct. 11 with the final finish on June 27 in Gothenburg, Sweden. Racing the new one design Volvo Ocean 65, seven teams will be scoring points in 9 offshore legs to determine the overall Volvo Ocean Race winner. Additionally, the teams will compete in 10 In-Port races at each stopover for a separate competition – the Volvo Ocean Race In-Port Series. The fourth leg, from Sanya, China to Auckland, New Zealand (5,264 nm), began Feb. 8 with an ETA of Mar. 1-5.