Volvo Ocean Race: What will be best?

(February 22, 2018; Day 16) – The front end of the Volvo Ocean Race continue to offer intrigue as the two pairs of teams play the hand they are dealt on the way to New Zealand.

To the east, Turn the Tide on Plastic and Brunel found their route taking them through the middle of the world’s second-largest barrier reef, threading the narrow gap of the Grand Passage which lies to the north of New Caledonia.

With the barrier reef surrounding South Pacific island chain, the option was shoot the gap or sail extra miles round it. As well as sailing a shorter course, the option keeps the teams positioned for the coming breeze when it arrives from the east.

But Scallywag and AkzoNobel, about 40 nm to the west, have stepped up in the rankings, and as all four teams get ready to pass to leeward of New Caledonia, their position further away should help them get past the 5000+ foot mountain peaks in the easterly wind.

Overall leaders MAPFRE and Dongfeng continue to make ground, with neither team out of the running as they scan the forecasts for potential opportunities in the last few days of the leg. As the teams progress further south, optimal routes suggest a long detour heading towards the SW and then re-curving eastwards towards the top of New Zealand.

“The eastern Australian front may bring some opportunities and the crossing towards New Zealand may not be as straight-forward as we think,” observes MAPFRE navigator Juan Vila.

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. Turn the Tide on Plastic (POR), Dee Caffari (GBR), 1254.4 nm DTF
2. Team AkzoNobel (NED), Simeon Tienpont (NED), 12.5 nm DTL
3. Team Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag (HKG), David Witt (AUS), 12.6 nm DTL
4. Team Brunel (NED), Bouwe Bekking (NED), 16.6 nm DTL
5. MAPFRE (ESP), Xabi Fernández (ESP), 59.3 nm DTL
6. Dongfeng Race Team (CHN), Charles Caudrelier (FRA), 61.8 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