November 26, 2011 - 1900 UTC
TEAM TELEFÓNICA SEAL LEG 1 TRIUMPH
Leg 1 Report: 26/11/2011 19:02:12 UTC
&xnbsp; DTL DTLC BS DTF
1 TELE Finished: 021d 05h 14m 25s 2 CMPR 0.00 203.0 18.8 188.0 3 GPMA 622.50 203.0 20.3 810.4 - ADOR Retired from Leg 1 - PUMA Retired from Leg 1 - SNYA Retired from Leg 1
After putting in a faultless performance on Leg 1 of the Volvo Ocean Race, which started from Alicante, Spain on November 5, Team Telefónica crossed the finish in Cape Town at 1814 UTC (2014 local time) on Saturday after 6,500 nautical miles and 21 days five hours, 14 minutes and 25 seconds (21:5:14:25).Telefónica skipper Iker Martínez and his crew stepped ashore to a summer’s evening in Cape Town and a rapturous welcome from a crowd of sailing fans, shore crew and loved ones.“The feeling is fantastic. It's something that you only dream of. We've seen what can happen and we have achieved much more than we thought we could," said Martínez, an Olympic gold and silver medallist for Spain.
The team now lead the Volvo Ocean Race with a total of 31 points -- 30 for victory in the first offshore leg and one point for coming last in the Iberdrola In-Port Race back in Alicante.&xnbsp; CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand were around 200 nm behind the winners, with an ETA of Sunday morning. Groupama sailing team were around 825 nm behind and expected in on Tuesday.Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing, Team Sanya and PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG were all forced to retire from the leg and are facing a race against time to be ready for the Cape Town In-Port Race on December 10 and the start of Leg 2 to Abu Dhabi the following day.Telefónica navigator, Andrew Cape/AUS said of the team’s success, “It’s hard to put your finger on one thing, but it comes down to solid decision-making. We were always pretty sure of where we wanted to go, that’s just my aspect of it. The guys kept the boat moving fast and everything in working order, which is massive because you don’t go anywhere with stuff breaking or if you’re not trimming fast.&xnbsp; The whole crew worked really hard to keep this show on the road and it has worked out really well.”It was day four, November 8, when Telefónica first took over the lead from PUMA’s Mar Mostro (Ken Read/USA). The pair had covered each other’s move in what has turned out to be an unusual opening leg for the world’s premier ocean race. Boat-breaking conditions early on, which forced out Ian Walker and Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing’s Azzam and Mike Sanderson’s Sanya, gave way to endless upwind sailing in light airs.
As Chris Nicholson/AUS (CAMPER), Martínez and Read all decided west definitely was best in terms of position, the drag race between Telefónica and Mar Mostro began and looked set to continue throughout this, the second longest leg of course. Groupama became a lonely warrior, splitting from the pack in an unorthodox move and hugging the African coast, a tactic that put her briefly into first place.By day seven, PUMA’s Mar Mostro and Telefónica had traded places and the following day, the fleet finally found the weather system they had been looking for and hoisted their downwind sails. &xnbsp;On day 11 and after 2,000 nautical miles of racing, Mar Mostro was only 7.2 nautical miles ahead of the blue boat and, as the leading pair tackled the windless Doldrums, the lead swapped regularly. &xnbsp;At the Equator, PUMA’s Mar Mostro and Telefónica crossed within an hour of each other and the trend continued when, on day 13, November 17, Mar Mostro led Telefónica round the Brazilian island of Fernando de Noronha by 55 minutes. But, by day 14, fortunes had changed and Telefónica had taken charge as the two yachts raced hard to reach a cold front which would catapult them into Cape Town.&xnbsp; &xnbsp;
Martínez said at the time, “We’re pretty close to PUMA, almost nothing between us.&xnbsp; It’s great to be so close – it makes it a great race.”The crew of Telefónica had freed themselves from PUMA’s vice-like grip and stormed away, heading south to skirt the Saint Helena high-pressure system that blocked their path to the sought-after westerlies and the inevitable sleigh-ride to the finish. &xnbsp;On day 17, November 21, 31 nm behind Telefónica, Mar Mostro dismasted. The match race was over. PUMA limped away towards the most remote settlement on earth at Tristan da Cunha, where they await a ship to take them back to Cape Town, and the crew of Telefónica sailed their own foot perfect race to the finish.
November 26, 2011 - 1200 UTC Leg 1 Day 22
TELEFÓNICA SIGHT VICTORY; PUMA REACH TRISTAN
Leg 1 Report: 26/11/2011 12:03:39 UTC
&xnbsp; DTL DTLC BS DTF
1 TELE 0.00 0.0 20 106.9 2 CMPR 208.80 1.0 18 315.7 3 GPMA 813.60 5.0 20.3 920.5 - ADOR Retired from Leg 1 - PUMA Retired from Leg 1 - SNYA Retired from Leg 1
Team Telefónica were headed for glory in the first leg of the Volvo Ocean Race on Saturday – as their rivals PUMA Ocean Racing reached the remote South Atlantic island of Tristan da Cunha five days after dismasting.
Telefónica, skippered by Spanish Olympic gold medal winner Iker Martínez, were just 106 nautical miles shy of the Cape Town finish line at 1200 UTC, with an ETA of 1700 UTC.
With second-placed CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand 208nm behind, only a last-minute mishap will prevent Telefónica from taking the top spot in the 6,500nm sprint from Alicante, Spain, to Cape Town, South Africa, the first of nine legs that make up the Volvo Ocean Race.
“Telefónica have romped away,” said CAMPER navigator Will Oxley, who predicts a Sunday morning arrival for his team. “They are well to the east in better conditions – they did a really good job. We’ve had to try to cut the corner a little bit trying to run away from a high pressure sitting to our west.”
With third place guaranteed, Franck Cammas’ Groupama sailing team saw their speeds halve from 20 knots over night after opting to take a slower but safer route to Cape Town.
“We don’t really look at the position reports any more,” their media crew member Yann Riou said. “The game now is to bring Groupama 4 as soon as possible and in the best condition possible to Cape Town. To rest, to look after the boat, to optimise her and to start the second leg.”
Current routing puts Groupama in Cape Town on Monday night.
Meanwhile, PUMA Ocean Racing’s Volvo Open 70 yacht Mar Mostro arrived in Tristan da Cunha, the next phase of the plan to see them rejoin the race for the next leg to Abu Dhabi.
PUMA dismasted on Monday November 21 while chasing Telefónica in what was a two-week long match race between the two teams.
The PUMA crew now face a four-day wait on the tiny island – population 262 – for a ship from Durban which will pick up Mar Mostro and take her to Cape Town.
PUMA’s MCM Amory Ross said the team were upbeat about their chances.
“Our week here is going to be an experience nobody will ever forget, and we’re all planning on taking advantage of it as such. Can we make the start? Yes. Will we make the start? Don’t know, not yet. You can be very sure though that we won’t stop trying.”
&xnbsp;
November 26, 2011 - 1000 UTC Leg One Day 22
STAGE SET FOR TELEFÓNICA TRIUMPH
Leg 1 Report: 26/11/2011 10:04:07 UTC
&xnbsp; DTL DTLC BS DTF
1 TELE 0.00 0.0 18.6 143.6 2 CMPR 206.70 1.0 18.7 350.4 3 GPMA 801.00 35.0 13.7 944.6 - ADOR Retired from Leg 1 - PUMA Retired from Leg 1 - SNYA Retired from Leg 1
As leaders Team Telefónica make their final approach to Cape Town just 143 nautical miles ahead, barring disasters, the finish positions for Leg 1 of the Volvo Ocean Race have now been set.Unless Telefónica (Iker Martínez/ESP) suffers a dramatic breakdown, second-placed CAMPER (Chris Nicholson/AUS), 350 nm behind, is unlikely to catch her. Telefónica is expected to cross the finish in Cape Town on Saturday evening in Cape Town, while CAMPER will finish on Sunday morning.As Telefónica romped away with a leg win all but in the bag, CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand were left trying to cut the corner to Cape Town and escape the high pressure sitting to their west.“We are just trying to run away from it. Our routing suggests we can keep sufficiently away from it to not actually stop,” said navigator Will Oxley.CAMPER is preparing for plenty of wind, perhaps up to 30 knots in the final 90 nm of their approach to Cape Town. Overnight the team were blast reaching with the wind forward of the beam in big waves with plenty of fire hosing for the crew to contend with. Once they get in the lee of Cape Town, the mountains will cause wind shadows, which will be the final test for the weary crew.
Groupama sailing team, although assured of a podium place, were positioned almost in the middle of the high pressure and they will face some difficult times in the next four days with 944 nm yet to sail.“It’s a mental battle, realising you are not going to win, which is what you have been aiming to do for so long,” said bowman Brad Marsh earlier today. “At the end of the day, we are still aiming for a third place and that is a good start for the first leg and a good set-up for the rest of the race,” he said.For much of the race, Groupama 4 (Franck Cammas/FRA) has followed a different course, but according to Marsh, the team have had some exhilarating downwind sailing in nice conditions and have seen albatross, whales and dolphins while sailing under beautiful clear blue skies.The focus now for this team is on keeping the boat in good shape and minimising the job list for the shore team in view of the shorter length of the stopover in Cape Town.
November 24 was the day for recording the fastest 24-hour runs in the IWC Speed Record Challenge.The quickest boat on this leg was CAMPER who recorded 554.16 nm in the 24 hours leading up to 1755 UTC. Second was Telefónica with 549.16 and third Groupama 4 with 520.91.Volvo Ocean Race official timekeeper IWC Schaffhausen will make an award for the fastest 24-hour run on each leg of the race.The overall fastest time, over all nine legs, will land the 11 members of the winning crew with an IWC Portuguese Yacht Club Chronograph Edition “Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12". &xnbsp; |
