Team Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag skipper Dave Witt says the next 24 hours are the most vital of Leg 4 as they close in on an historic victory in their home town of Hong Kong. Witt’s crew were sitting almost 100 nautical miles in front of their closest rivals Vestas 11th Hour Racing on Wednesday with just 840 miles to the finish line. Despite the healthy buffer, Hong Kong is still 36 hours away, and Scallywag’s experienced sailors know better than to start celebrating just yet. To get to the … [Read more...] about Will Witty Win?
The Ocean Race
Scallywag on track for first leg win in home port
Team Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag were showing no signs of relinquishing their grip on the Leg 4 lead on Tuesday as they geared up to break the 1,000-miles-to-go barrier. Hell-bent on arriving in their home port of Hong Kong as heroes, Scallywag have maintained their comfortable lead of 73 miles over closest rivals Vestas 11th Hour Racing as the action reaches fever pitch. The seven international teams celebrated two weeks at sea since leaving Melbourne with optimal conditions – the … [Read more...] about Scallywag on track for first leg win in home port
Scallywag Ahead by 75 Nautical Miles
Team Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag increased their lead in Leg 4 of the Volvo Ocean Race on Monday as the sprint for the Hong Kong finish line moved inside 1,500 nautical miles. Dave Witt’s team shot to the front of the fleet on Saturday after ‘cutting the corner’ north of the Solomon Islands and have since then consolidated their lead over their six rivals. Driven on by the opportunity to lead the fleet across the finish line in the first ever Volvo Ocean Race stopover in their home town of Hong … [Read more...] about Scallywag Ahead by 75 Nautical Miles
Scallywag’s Gough Washed Overboard
Scallywag continues to race towards home in Hong Kong, leading the fleet west in well-established trade wind conditions. At 0700 UTC on Sunday morning, skipper David Witt's team was leading by about 20 miles over team AkzoNobel and Dongfeng Race Team in terms of distance to finish. But on the water, the Scallywags are about 70 miles further west, and 100 miles to the south of the their closest opposition. Although their advantage remains solid, the past 24 hours haven't been without … [Read more...] about Scallywag’s Gough Washed Overboard
From Last to First for Witty and Gang
Following one of the longest and most painful doldrums crossings in memory, the Volvo Ocean Race fleet is now in the northeast trade winds and speeding towards the finish line in Hong Kong, some 2,700 nautical miles to the northwest. The fleet finds itself in three distinct groupings, with Dongfeng Race Team leading team AkzoNobel and Vestas 11th Hour Racing in the northernmost triumvirate. And it’s in the north where the stronger winds should be as the northeasterly trades winds get … [Read more...] about From Last to First for Witty and Gang
It’d be catastrophic if we come home last
The Volvo Ocean Race fleet was buoyed by the arrival of new breeze on Thursday, potentially spelling an end to several days of torment at the hands of the Doldrums. The seven teams hit the Doldrums – a fickle band of low pressure notorious for its calm wind – on Monday, and since then have been inching north at painfully slow speeds in sweltering tropical heat. But on the ninth day of racing, with almost exactly 3,000 nautical miles remaining of the 6,000-mile stage from Melbourne to Hong … [Read more...] about It’d be catastrophic if we come home last
Lightning Strikes Volvo Ocean Race Yacht
The new week started with a reshuffle of the Leg 4 leaderboard as the seven-strong Volvo Ocean Race fleet eased into the Doldrums for the second time so far this race. After six days at sea, racing is so tight between the top five teams that the smallest of gains or losses can propel them up the rankings or send them plummeting down the positions. This was certainly the case on Monday as Vestas 11th Hour Racing became the new Leg 4 leaders while Dongfeng Race Team, the table-toppers for … [Read more...] about Lightning Strikes Volvo Ocean Race Yacht
What is a Pilling?
At the Algoa Bay Yacht Club I always tell prospective sailors that sailing is a sport in which you will learn something new every day - and then feel smug in the supposed knowledge that I am pretty good when it comes to my knowledge. BUT, today I am stumped - see the image caption below which refers to 'Sophie Ciszek giving instructions from the bow during a pilling.' The only pilling I know is when one has to give an animal a pill and, frankly, am stumped as to what this 'pilling' manoeuvre … [Read more...] about What is a Pilling?
“I got that one completely wrong,” admits David
Four days into Leg 4 the Volvo Ocean Race fleet was starting to compress again – with overall race leaders MAPFRE rapidly rising through the rankings and closing guage with the leaders. Skipper Xabi Fernandez spoke on Thursday about plenty of opportunities to improve on MAPFRE’s fifth position, nearly 40 nautical miles adrift of the leading duo of Dongfeng Race Team and team AkzoNobel – and by Friday the Spanish crew had rocketed into third. Having opted to hug the Australian coastline for … [Read more...] about “I got that one completely wrong,” admits David
19 Changes as teams prepare to leave Melbourne
The leaders of the Volvo Ocean Race, MAPFRE, will make no changes to the crew that won Leg 3, as they prepare to race from Melbourne to Hong Kong when Leg 4 starts on Tuesday January 2. It’s a much different story elsewhere in the fleet where significant swaps are taking place. Some are scheduled rotations, while others have been forced by injury or for other reasons. In total, 19 sailors are rotating on board for Leg 4, with 18 coming off (SHK/Scallywag is racing with one additional crew … [Read more...] about 19 Changes as teams prepare to leave Melbourne
The Race to Spend Christmas on Solid Land
With four boats finished and crews celebrating Christmas on dry land, three boats in the Volvo Ocean Race will remain at sea for Christmas, with SHK/Scallywag battling to the end with Turn the Tide on Plastic for fifth place. Their ETA is currently around 0400 UTC on December 26. Team AkzoNobel, with over 550 nautical miles to go at this point, isn’t expected to finish in Melbourne before 0800 UTC on December 27. A third place finish into Melbourne on Leg 3 of the Volvo Ocean Race has … [Read more...] about The Race to Spend Christmas on Solid Land
Christmas Double for MAPFRE
The Spanish Volvo Ocean Race team MAPFRE has won Leg 3 from Cape Town, South Africa to Melbourne, Australia, a 6,500 nautical mile dive into the fierce challenges posed by the Southern Ocean. For the second consecutive leg, MAPFRE needed to come from behind to earn the victory. And for the second time in a row, it was Dongfeng Race Team they passed mid-stage, to snatch the win. “We had to fight very hard for this victory,” skipper Xabi Fernández said moments after crossing the finish line. … [Read more...] about Christmas Double for MAPFRE
Wet, Cold, Brutal
Spanish crew MAPFRE broke the Leg 3 deadlock on Wednesday after 10 days at sea, snatching the lead from Dongfeng Race Team with just 1,500 nautical miles left to Melbourne. Xabi Fernández's team overhauled long-time leg leaders Dongfeng shortly before 2200 UTC on Tuesday after navigator Juan Vila made the call to hug the Antarctic Ice Exclusion Zone (AIEZ). Charles Caudrelier's Dongfeng briefly regained the top spot when their choice of line around 35 miles to the north of the AIEZ put … [Read more...] about Wet, Cold, Brutal
Hating Red
A little over 2,000 miles now stand between the Volvo Ocean Race pace setters and the Leg 3 finish line in Melbourne – and with just eight miles splitting the first two teams on Tuesday it couldn't be tighter at the top. At 1300 UTC Dongfeng Race Team still maintained the lead they have enjoyed for the majority of the leg so far, but their ever-present adversaries MAPFRE, in close second, continued to make life difficult for them. In fact at one point overnight Xabi Fernández's MAPFRE … [Read more...] about Hating Red
Zig Zag through the Icebergs
The leading crews in the Volvo Ocean Race are currently in the middle of the most physically demanding hours of the race to date. Dongfeng Race Team and MAPFRE are gybing back and forth as they zig-zag in an east-southeasterly direction, trying to stay as close as possible to the southern boundary of the race course, imposed by the Antarctica Ice Exclusion Zone (AIEZ) – a virtual line implemented to keep the crews away from dangerous icebergs. "During the next 30 hours we are going to gybe … [Read more...] about Zig Zag through the Icebergs
