Volvo Yachts leave Cape Town
South Africa - 2006

Volvo yachts gathering for the start of the second leg

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Over the past holiday season Cape Town played host to the international yachting fraternity when the around the world Volvo yachts arrived in Cape Town after an eventful first leg. It was interesting to watch the two Amro boats arrive at the dock on the V & A waterfront and be descended upon by the media and TV. The skippers and crew after having spent a number of weeks at sea under great pressure were exhausted and all they wanted to do was get ashore have a shower and reunite with their families and friends. On arrival at the dock the crews were supplied with cases of beer and some of the largest hamburgers you have seen.

The race is on as the gun fires

I'm sure they were welcomed as a change to the daily fare that the crews are supplied with on board. During the first leg only five of the seven yachts actually made it to Cape Town under their own steam. (Sails) The other two yachts which were damaged off Lisbon were shipped to Cape Town on board cargo ships and immediately on arrival were descended upon by their crews to ready them for the inshore race that was to take place on the 26th of December.

On the 26th the crews of the seven yachts were in for a big surprise. The Cape Doctor, the south east wind was blowing a gale over Table Bay and the yachtsmen had to contend with winds gusting at more than 40 knots. The tight course and turns around markers provided some scary moments for the yachts as some broached and some had equipment break and sails tear. In the end however all the yachts completed the course and some had to limp back to harbour to repair the damage that had occurred during the inshore race.

This increased pressure on the crews as they only had six days to finalise their preparations before the start of the second leg to Melbourne Australia through the southern oceans. In many aspects the inshore race provided more thrills and spills and put more pressurre on equipment than the southern ocean would do. Eventually the 2nd of January dawned bright and windless and the seven yachts all motored out into the bay and tested the wind along the start route in the two hours that they had to kill before the race started. Sitting on the shore near Granger Bay it was interesting to watch the preparations being made by the local yacht clubs and the navy to start the race.

The placing of buoys and the positioning of the start boat on the eastern side of the start line started about two hours before the racing yachts were ready to leave.

Ericsson Racing Team yacht mixed up in the armada before the start

Of course the usual armada of yachts and send off boats arrived in the bay and lined themselves up on both sides of the course that the Volvo yachts were to follow once crossing the starting line. Once the half hour gun had been fired one could note from the shore the presuure that was beginning to tell on the skippers. They all made their way to the starting line and crews could be seen making final adjustments to sails and equipment on board before the start.

At 1.00 pm South African time the starting gun was fired and the yachts were off except there was one big problem there was no wind. It took a couple of minutes for the yachts to cross the start line with the yacht Movistar getting the best start and grabbing a lead on the other boats. The two ABN Amro boats were left way back and were at the back of the field after about half an hour. Once the starting gun had been fired all hell broke lose for the crews.

Not only did they have to contend with light winds but a rising tide as well which meant that they had to sail against the prevailing current as well.

Movistar encounters the first trouble with the following armada

The Volvo yachts all have very sophisticated keels which when held vertical drop a number of metres below the boats. With the current pushing the boats shorewards I am sure the skippers were extremely worried of running aground and damaging their keels. A third problem facing the yachts was of course the gallery of boats that were following the start of the race.

It appeared as if all the boats that were lined up on both sides of the course before the starting gun was fired were released the moment it was fired. The racing channel was suddenly full of boats and this caused some more headaches for the racing yachts. Eventually however they all got away and made their way zig zagging down the coastline to the final buoy which was moored alongside a large container ship near Three Anchor Bay. Here the fun really started as when the yachts arrived at this point they had to sail around the shore side of this buoy.

Chaos reigns at the final buoy as yachts lose their wind and do penalty turns

The problem was that the container vessel was so big that it blocked off the wind to the yachts and caused some yachts to drift backwards with the tide when they reached this point. With no motors and wind chaos ensued with yachts sailing into one another and then receiving penalties from race authorities. The penalties were quite harsh as yachts had to do 360 degree turns and some even 720 degree turns before being allowed to sail on out into the Atlantic. You can imagine just how difficult this was with no wind to assist them.

Some boats however ignored the penalties applied to them and decided to sail on and appeal against them at a later stage if they were to be enforced.

Tug fires its water cannons

As a final send off for the yachts a deep sea tug anchored near to the final buoy opened its fire fighting pumps and sent two large plumes of water into the air. The yachts all finally made it out of Table Bay and were soon on their way to the southern ocean to pick up the westerlies which would drive them to Melbourne. Sadly however two of the yachts developed problems, Ericsson Racing team with its keel while Brasil 1 had a problem with its deck delaminating and cracking near the crew entrance to the hull. Both yachts had to sail back to South Africa for repairs.

Unfortunately the Ericsson Racing yacht is still in port so chances that they will rejoin the fleet to complete the second leg of the race seem slim. Brasil 1 is back in the race although a long way behind the other yachts. Meanwhile the other five yachts are sailing record times in the southern ocean.

ABN Amro Two has broken the world record by sailing 563 miles in 24 hours, breaking the record set by ABN Amro One in the first leg. As the yachts reach the halfway mark of their dash to Melbourne skippers are having to contend with varying weather conditions that are forcing some of them to slow down a bit to keep their boats whole. This allows chasing boats to catch up.

One such weather change has allowed ABN Amro Two to surge into second place and put some miles between it and the third placed yacht Movistar which for the first few days of the race was in the lead.

ABN Amro One the leading yacht in Table Bay before the start

ABN Amro One is now leading the pack on their way to Melbourne with a lead of about a 170 miles over ABN Amro Two. Things will become interesting now as the yachts which have sailed south to get to the winds have to once again turn northwards to sail through a gate near the Eclipse islands. Overnight ABN Amro Two reduced the lead of ABN Amro One by 80 miles as it slowed down approaching the Eclipse islands. Once the yachts have passed the Eclipse islands they face a wind change to easterly winds which will be with them all the way to Melbourne.

Information recorded above was correct as at the 14th January 2006.

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