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
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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
MAPFRE at 22 knots
MAPFRE at 22 knots before the start of the #volvooceanrace in-Port race in #capetown #sailing - Taken by the Editor whilst wandering aimlessly about pretending to be in the know. Cape Town In-Port Race Results Dongfeng Race Team MAPFRE team AkzoNobel Vestas 11th Hour Racing Turn the Tide on Plastic Team Brunel Sun Hung Kai / Scallywag … [Read more...] about MAPFRE at 22 knots
Part Mountain Goat, Part Simian, Part Genius, Always Smiling
Part Mountain Goat, Part Simian, Part Genius, Always Smiling - #Bowmen are called upon to do the most amazing things whilst the yacht steams along at over 20 konts. Image from Leg 02, Lisbon to Cape Town, day 04, on board MAPFRE. Photo by Ugo Fonolla/Volvo Ocean Race. 08 November, 2017 #volvooceanrace #sailing #capetown #mype #Bowman - Taken by the Editor whilst wandering aimlessly about pretending to be in the know. … [Read more...] about Part Mountain Goat, Part Simian, Part Genius, Always Smiling
MAPFRE Steam to First Place Finish [video]
MAPFRE steaming to the finish with the iconic Table Mountain in the background - MAPFRE Skipper, Xabi Fernandez on their performance and prospects on next leg to Freemantle, Australia. WHY? It is a little known fact that Port Elizabeth has been approached TWICE to bid on becoming a stopover for the Volvo Ocean Race - the first attempt was stopped by our local Port Authorities and we await the outcome of the second. The home of Volvo Cars is Gothenburg - the second-largest city in Sweden which … [Read more...] about MAPFRE Steam to First Place Finish [video]
Steaming to the finish line of Leg 2 in Cape Town
Spanish Team, MAPFRE steaming to the finish line of Leg 2 in Cape Town. MAPFRE crossed the finish line in Cape Town today on Leg 2 of the 2017 Volvo Ocean Race at 15:10:33 UTC (17:10:33 SA Time). On Leg 2, MAPFRE sailed 7,886.5 nautical miles over the ground at an average speed of 17.3 knots. #volvooceanrace #capetown #sailing #mype - Taken by the Editor whilst wandering aimlessly about pretending to be in the know. … [Read more...] about Steaming to the finish line of Leg 2 in Cape Town
MAPFRE first over the line in Leg 2
Spanish yacht MAPFRE crossed the finish line in Cape Town today on Leg 2 of the 2017 Volvo Ocean Race at 15:10:33 UTC (17:10:33 SA Time). Leg 2 is a a 7,000 nautical mile marathon from Lisbon, Portugal to Cape Town, South Africa. The win marks MAPFRE's return to the Volvo Ocean Race and the 14 points will put them one step closer to their goal to win the Volvo Ocean Race trophy for the first time in Spain’s history. Skipper Xabi Fernández has built a mixed and multinational squad brimming … [Read more...] about MAPFRE first over the line in Leg 2
The Slow Dance in the Doldrums
Dongfeng Race Team retains the lead in Leg 2 of the Volvo Ocean Race, but only just, as the leaders slow in Doldrums conditions. Just 10 miles separate first from fourth, and the difference between first and worst is scarcely 45 miles, good news for the backmarkers, who are back in the game. These are agonising conditions for the sailors, who normally live and die by each of the six-hourly position reports. But with the positions closing up, the other boats are either in sight from on deck, … [Read more...] about The Slow Dance in the Doldrums
Not ANOTHER Sunset!
Eventually one becomes just a bit blase over the magnificent sunrises and sunsets that mother Nature dishes up in the middle of the ocean. Actually no, scrap that, I would give a small appendage to experience these every day for the rest of my life! Charles Caudrelier's Dongfeng Race Team were putting on a display of straight-line speed sailing on Friday as the Volvo Ocean Race fleet bore down on the Doldrums. The Chinese-flagged team had eked out a narrow five-mile lead over rivals … [Read more...] about Not ANOTHER Sunset!
The cloud giveth and the cloud taketh
Leg 1 winners Vestas 11th Hour Racing jumped to the head of the Volvo Ocean Race fleet three days into Leg 2 as the big dive south began in earnest on Wednesday. Clever sailing from Charlie Enright's Danish/American outfit saw them dart past their rivals with a well-timed gybe yesterday evening that put them into their own windshift. When they emerged they had a welcome 10-mile buffer over closest rivals MAPFRE, Dongfeng Race Team and Akzonobel. But it hasn't all gone Vestas' way – … [Read more...] about The cloud giveth and the cloud taketh
MAPFRE Have That Winning Feeling
The local heroes on Xabi Fernández's MAPFRE were a popular winner in the first point scoring race of the Volvo Ocean Race. Fernández and his team made a bold call at the start to duck behind the entire fleet in order to sail up what turned out to be the favoured right hand side of the course, coming from behind to earn a narrow lead at the first gate. “It was pretty clear from Joan (Vila) and Rob (Greenhalgh) that we wanted to hit the right side of the course in the first upwind looking … [Read more...] about MAPFRE Have That Winning Feeling
MAPFRE win VOR Prologue
The Spanish MAPFRE team won the Volvo Ocean Race Prologue Leg on Wednesday, holding off a late charge from Team Brunel after Race Management shortened the course, converting the compulsory gate at Cabo de Gata into the finishing line. For skipper Xabi Fernández and his team, it’s a continuation of the success MAPFRE found on Leg 0, where the team was the overall winner of the four-stage leg. “It’s all good on board,” Fernández said shortly after crossing the ‘virtual’ finishing … [Read more...] about MAPFRE win VOR Prologue
MAPFRE leading the charge
The Spanish team made a jump on the rest of the fleet by heading further inshore in search of favourable sea breezes following Sunday's start, with Team Brunel benefiting from following a similar track. Forty-eight hours later, their tactics have paid huge dividends. At the 1300 UTC position update on Tuesday, MAPFRE enjoyed a seven nautical mile lead on Team Brunel, who were themselves almost 40 miles ahead of third-placed Turn the Tide on Plastic. Dee Caffari’s team went from zeroes to … [Read more...] about MAPFRE leading the charge
VOR Prologue Leg Delayed for Better Conditions
The Prologue Leg of the Volvo Ocean Race began on Sunday afternoon, after the start was delayed by just over 2 hours and moved nearly 20 miles south in order to find better racing conditions. The Prologue is a non-scoring race to deliver the seven-boat fleet from The Boatyard in Lisbon, Portugal to the home start port of the Volvo Ocean Race in Alicante, Spain ahead of the race start on 22 October. At the scheduled start time of 1400 local time in Lisbon on Sunday afternoon (1300 UTC), the … [Read more...] about VOR Prologue Leg Delayed for Better Conditions
