Volvo Ocean Race: As exciting as it can get

(March 27, 2015; Day 11) – The top five boats in the Volvo Ocean Race have been up and down all day, gybing along the ice limit as they head southeast. Offwind sailing at 20+ knots, trading places in the middle of the Southern Ocean, and within AIS range if not sight of the other teams. This is as much gaming as racing.

“Gybe after gybe, some every 20 minutes, crossing our competitors as close as 50 metres,” reports Francisco Vignale on MAPRE. “These crossings make for super exciting racing and today the fleet is as close as predicted. Following the tracker must be a crazy thing now, but let me tell you actually living it is as exciting as it can get.”

With 1300 nm before they get to Cape Horn, and their tendency to hug the ice limit, not much separation is expected. The leader at the turn will be fastest team… this is no time to be timid.

“The order in which we round sailing’s Everest will not be determined by who had a better 13-knot-gybe rounding the Ice Limit, it will be determined by who is able to shred the hardest over the course of the coming days, and we mustn’t lose site of that,” said Alvimedica skipper Charlie Enright.

Leg 5 (6,776 nm) Position Report (21:40 UTC)
1. Team Alvimedica, Charlie Enright (USA), 3241.3 nm Distance to Finish
2. MAPFRE, Xabi Fernandez (ESP), 0.1 nm Distance to Lead
3. Dongfeng Race Team, Charles Caudrelier (FRA), 1.1 DTL
4. Team Brunel, Bouwe Bekking (NED), 6.2 nm DTL
5. Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing, Ian Walker (GBR), 8.9 nm DTL
6. Team SCA, Sam Davies (GBR), 76.0 nm DTL
7. Team Vestas Wind, Chris Nicholson (AUS), Did not start

Race website – Tracking – Scoreboard – Videos – Crew list

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 fifth leg, from Auckland, NZL to Itajaí, Brazil (6,776 nm), began March 18 with an ETA of approximately April 4.