| At sea. Volvo Ocean Race: Day 14 1600 GMT positions and resumé |
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| Sunday, 15 January 2006 | |
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Lizzie Green: It’s all hotting up in every sense of the word out on the race track as the fleet racing in leg two of the Volvo Ocean Race converges on the scoring gate at Eclipse Island. The first three boats are within striking distance of each other and any opportunity to gain a fraction is quickly pounced upon. With another 3.5 points up for grabs for the first boat to round Eclipse Island, the racing is as serious as it has ever been. At 1000 GMT this morning, ABN AMRO TWO (Sebastien Josse) had slipped past stable mate ABN AMRO ONE (Mike Sanderson), leaving Mike wishing he had had a crystal ball when planning his tactics for the second half of this leg, but this afternoon, it is all change again as Sanderson and his crew retake the lead and extend it to nine nautical miles. As the top three boats break through the high pressure bubble, speeds are back up. ABN AMRO TWO has positioned themselves a little further east and has a better angle than ABN AMRO ONE for the building east and southeast winds. While ABN AMRO ONE has received the first push north, Sanderson will certainly be looking over his shoulder to see if the younger brethren on ABN AMRO TWO can squeeze out better boat speed with a more favourable angle. As the fleet rounds Eclipse Island tomorrow, the initial wind will be approximately 20 knots from the east which will mean that the fleet has to sail upwind again and it will be fairly bumpy. The pirates onboard the Black Pearl have had day of light winds and sunshine and the atmosphere onboard is relaxed. Today was ‘chocolate day’ on the Black Pearl, something that only happens every five days. Skipper Paul Cayard takes up the story: “Usually this puts everyone in a good mood and it did today for all but one person – Erle Williams. Someone stole Erle’s chocolate bar. So we formed a grand jury to investigate the matter. The panel interviewed witnesses and suspects. In the end the conclusion of the jury was that there was insufficient evidence to convict any of the pirates of stealing and that the most likely truth was that the person who packed the chocolate bars only packed nine.” On a more serious note, Cayard added, “humour is an important part of any society. We are getting along well and this is, after all, our first leg of racing together.” The young crew of ABN AMRO TWO have been celebrating the one year anniversary of the launching of their ‘street fighter’. “We sang her happy birthday and all gave a kiss for good luck. She is our home for the next six months and has treated us well and kept us safe so far,” wrote navigator Simon Fisher. The raise in temperature has also been welcome as the crews start to put away their thermal gear and consider wearing shorts again. The boats have had a chance to dry out and the moods onboard have lifted with the arrival of the Australian sunshine. Onboard ABN AMRO TWO, the sun has been particularly welcome. “A session of the PBL (Professional Bronzing League or sun tan) was even held earlier, a sign of good times ahead I hope,” noted Fisher. Meanwhile way back to the west, ING Real Estate Brunel (Grant Wharington) and Brasil 1 (Torben Grael) are both enjoying relatively fast running conditions, although on completely different weather systems. “To prepare breakfast or cook a soup, trivial things in the comfort of a house, demand great effort because the boat never stops shaking at this kind of speed. Outside is incredibly wet. Everyone is sailing with harnesses because of the water that constantly washes the deck. The helmets and the ski goggles are really useful,” said skipper Torben Grael. www.volvooceanrace.org |
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| Last Updated ( Sunday, 15 January 2006 ) |
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