Volvo Ocean Race: Major mess ahead

(February 14, 2018; Day 8) – With the Volvo Ocean Race fleet reaching south in northeast trade wind conditions, team AkzoNobel is leading the charge towards the doldrums, still some 600 miles away.

The fleet is consolidating their range from east to west, now down to about 100 nm, with Scallywag to the west, Turn the Tide to the east, and leader AkzoNobel well centered on the fleet.

“We are a few miles ahead of the guys behind us and we have Scallywag to leeward,” said AkzoNobel’s Nicolai Sehested. “We’re in a strong position right now because we’ve been fast the last few days. Hopefully our speed gets us first to the doldrums. And if first in means first out that would be really, really good for us.”

MAPFRE, locked into a battle with Dongfeng, are match racing their closest opposition on the overall race leaderboard as they head towards the doldrums. For Dongfeng skipper Charles Caudrelier, his thoughts are on what lies ahead.

“The fleet is running in the same direction and looking for the best passage through this terrible doldrums ahead of us and we use this time to have a rest after the first tough days.”

Reports Dongfeng Race Team meteorologist Marcel van Triest, the influence of Tropical Cyclone Gita is predicted to convert to a tropical depression which will impact further complicate the the South Pacific Convergence Zone.

“I expect that to be a bit of a mess because the cyclone has moved through a few days before. It will all be gone by the time they get there – but in the wake of the cyclone there will be very, very little wind. They will hit enter it north of Vanuatu, and I expect it to be really complicated.”

The doldrums will be in play by the weekend, and for the team that escapes it first, they will have a reach or a beat/fetch to Auckland in medium easterlies.

Beginning on February 7, Leg 6 is listed as a 6,100 nautical mile course from Hong Kong to Auckland, New Zealand.

For crew lists… click here.

Damage: Only six of the seven teams are competing in Leg 6 as Vestas 11th Hour Racing is repairing their boat following the collision with a fishing boat as they neared the finish line of Leg 4 in Hong Kong. The team shipped their boat to Auckland to complete repairs in time for the March 18 start of Leg 7 to Itajaí, Brazil.

Race details – Tracker – Scoreboard – Race route – Facebook – YouTube

Leg 6 – Position Report (19:00 UTC)
1. Team AkzoNobel (NED), Simeon Tienpont (NED), 2982.4 nm DTF
2. Team Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag (HKG), David Witt (AUS), 29.3 nm DTL
3. MAPFRE (ESP), Xabi Fernández (ESP), 44.4 nm DTL
4. Dongfeng Race Team (CHN), Charles Caudrelier (FRA), 49.2 nm DTL
5. Team Brunel (NED), Bouwe Bekking (NED), 56.9 nm DTL
6. Turn the Tide on Plastic (POR), Dee Caffari (GBR), 84.6 nm DTL
DNS. Vestas 11th Hour Racing (DEN/USA), Charlie Enright (USA)
DTF – Distance to Finish; DTL – Distance to Lead; DNS – Did Not Start

Overall Results (after 5 of 11 legs)
1. MAPFRE (ESP), Xabi Fernández (ESP), 34 points
2. Dongfeng Race Team (CHN), Charles Caudrelier (FRA), 30
3. Vestas 11th Hour Racing (DEN/USA), Charlie Enright (USA), 23
4. Team Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag (HKG), David Witt (AUS), 20
5. Team Brunel (NED), Bouwe Bekking (NED), 18
6. Team AkzoNobel (NED), Simeon Tienpont (NED), 15
7. Turn the Tide on Plastic (POR), Dee Caffari (GBR), 9

2017-18 Edition: Entered Teams – Skippers
• Team AkzoNobel (NED), Simeon Tienpont (NED)
• Dongfeng Race Team (CHN), Charles Caudrelier (FRA)
• MAPFRE (ESP), Xabi Fernández (ESP)
• Vestas 11th Hour Racing (DEN/USA), Charlie Enright (USA)
• Team Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag (HKG), David Witt (AUS)
• Turn the Tide on Plastic (POR), Dee Caffari (GBR)
• Team Brunel (NED), Bouwe Bekking (NED)

Background: Racing the one design Volvo Ocean 65, the 2017-18 Volvo Ocean Race begins in Alicante, Spain on October 22 2017 with the final finish in The Hague, Netherlands on June 30 2018. In total, the 11-leg race will visit 12 cities in six continents: Alicante, Lisbon, Cape Town, Melbourne, Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Auckland, Itajaí, Newport, Cardiff, Gothenburg, and The Hague. A maximum of eight teams will compete.

Source: Volvo Ocean Race, Dongfeng