Volvo Ocean Race: The Makings for a Happy Finish

(June 10, 2015; Day 4) – Team SCA is holding a dominant position over the Volvo Ocean Race fleet, having made the turn at the first mark which will guide them to the finish. While their competitors are sailing upwind at 10 knots, SCA is now reaching at 15 knots. All good right now.

By all accounts, there is much to be happy about among the top three teams if the order remains unchanged. SCA finally gets a result to reflect their skill, Vestas Wind gets rewarded for re-building their boat, and Abu Dhabi gets a result good enough to give them the overall title with a leg to spare.

For Dongfeng, their miraculous run at the overall title appears to be over. The mountain got steeper after losing a mast on Leg 5, but their win of Leg 6 gave hope again. However, they now find themselves in last position on Leg 8, and to add insult to injury, their electronic water-maker is broken. Now, for food or hydration, the laborious manual desalinator is the only option. Ouch!

Team SCA is expected to arrive between 0400 and 0600 UTC tomorrow. If Team SCA wins, it would be the third leg victory by an all-female team in the history of the race, and the first leg victory since Maiden in January 1990.

Leg 8 (647 nm) Position Report (as of 22:02 UTC)
1. Team SCA, Sam Davies (GBR), 50.2 nm Distance to Finish
2. Team Vestas Wind, Chris Nicholson (AUS) 9.0 nm Distance to Lead
3. Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing, Ian Walker (GBR), 11.0 nm DTL
4. MAPFRE, Xabi Fernández (ESP), 11.7 nm DTL
5. Team Brunel, Bouwe Bekking (NED), 12.8 nm DTL
6. Team Alvimedica, Charlie Enright (USA), 12.8 nm DTL
7. Dongfeng Race Team, Charles Caudrelier (FRA), 15.0 nm DTL

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 eighth leg from Lisbon, Portugal to Lorient, France (647 nm) started on June 7 with an ETA on June 11.