Volvo Ocean Race: The Final Miles

(May 6, 2015; Day 18) – For Volvo Ocean Race leader, Dongfeng’s hopes and dreams are resting on the Chinese team trying to stay ahead of their main adversary, Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing, to arrive first in Newport. But like all hopes and dreams, they don’t come easy.

“The last 24 hours of this leg are going to be a nightmare,” says skipper Charles Caudrelier. “It’s going to be very difficult to stay ahead of the other boats”

Just over a hundred excruciating miles to go, the fleet are expected in tonight at some point. Over the last 24 hours, Dongfeng has had a whole mix of conditions – from light downwind sailing, to some strong gusty conditions of up to 30 knots whilst crossing the Gulf Stream. But now the brakes are on, and the leaders are tackling the final wind transition – from the strong westerly flow that has propelled them overnight towards Newport ahead of the predictions, in to a weak easterly flow.

“Everyone’s getting nervous,” said Horace (Chen Jin Hao) on Dongfeng. “Plus the wind is getting lighter now. The boat we couldn’t see before are now close to us, we can see them with our eyes. These days are like torture for us.”

Arrival Update: The arrival estimate is Wednesday night, 8pm to 3am ET. To receive text and/or email updates, click here

Leg 6 (5,010 nm) Position Report (as of 12:40 UTC)
1. Dongfeng Race Team, Charles Caudrelier (FRA), 115.6 nm Distance to Finish
2. Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing, Ian Walker (GBR), 2.2 nm Distance to Lead
3. Team Brunel, Bouwe Bekking (NED), 11.3 nm DTL
4. MAPFRE, Iker Martínez (ESP), 19.7 nm DTL
5. Team Alvimedica, Charlie Enright (USA), 34.6 nm DTL
6. Team SCA, Sam Davies (GBR), 127.7 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 sixth leg, from Itajaí, Brazil to Newport, USA (5,010 nm), began April 19 with an ETA of May 7.