Zim Monaco's incredible act of kindness

Ken Read answers interview questions via Inmarsat 

Photo: Amory Ross/Volvo Ocean Race

This leg is nothing like the last one, in so many ways. No more mountainous waves, no more freezing temperatures and definitely not the boat-breaking conditions.

The fleet are heading north, looking forward to the Champagne sailing they enjoyed last time they navigated these waters, way back on leg one.

Puma is leading the pack and loving life. They even bumped into the very ship that had gone out of its way to give essential diesel fuel to them after they dropped the mast on leg one. Amazingly they saw the ship in port in Itajaí, Brazil.

Stopped on dock
Puma’s skipper, Kenny Read, was shocked to be stopped on the dock by the relief captain, who passed on the regards of Captain Bondar.

Apparently, Read reported, the ship’s crew have been following the race closely and watching loads of Volvo videos ever since they helped the little red boat in the middle of the Atlantic.

He also brought them a gift - a bottle of whisky and a carton of cigarettes. What else would a ship’s crew offer for a gift?

Travels globe
“So what are the chances of ever seeing the Zim Monaco again? A container ship that travels the globe - not a chance, right?" quipped the Puma skipper.

“One thing that will always stick with me is the comment that Captain Bondar made when we wrote to each other following our diesel loading,” continued Read.

“Of course, I thanked him profusely after the incredible act of kindness that he displayed - for sure, something that cost his company money to do.

Help each other
“His response… ‘In as much as we are all seamen, we should all help each other at unforeseen situations that arise at sea’.

“A pretty amazing attitude in today’s world of corporate profits and time management.

“I can tell you one thing for sure - we contacted about five other ships via VHF those fateful days, looking for diesel and some help.

Radio trouble
“Once we explained our situation to each ship, each one of them mysteriously had trouble speaking English or had radio trouble all of a sudden. Not the Zim Monaco.

“So the Zim Monaco is alive and well. It turns out they’ve been to Singapore, China, South Korea and here to Brazil since we saw them last. They’re off to Argentina and Uruguay next - their own little Volvo Ocean Race.”

We still have more exciting legs to race in this edition, but it’s clear the fleet are now heading back into more hospitable waters!

Mark Covell

Who has the winning momentum?

Ryan Godfrey and Shannon Falconea board PUMA during leg six.
Credit: Amory Ross/PUMA Ocean Racing/Volvo Ocean Race)

In sport, we talk about momentum, and yacht racing is no different. Team Telefonica is leading overall with 149 points, 16 points clear of the French boat, Groupama.

There are four legs to go and 120 points up for grabs so it’s still anyone’s race. The unfortunate Team Sanya and Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing are out of the running, but will be looking for a leg win to prove a point.

So who has the winning momentum to pull them through these last few legs?

Coming back
Team Telefonica has not put a foot wrong off shore and has the ability to keep coming back from setbacks to always be in the hunt.

Groupama gets the most improved prize and is still getting better. Their hard work and tenacity won them a third place podium finish, even after breaking their mast in the final sprint to Itajai.

Camper crewed by Team New Zealand is the dark horse at this stage. It could go either way. Their epic struggle to sail into Itajai after major repairs on leg four has not given the team any time to rest between legs. Hamish Hooper reported that the crew were in the worst physical shape they had been in so far, but mentally they were strong and focused on the race.

Keep focused
“There is no point sweating about the stuff you can’t control or getting frustrated at things that can’t change. You just have to keep focused on doing as best as you possibly can every time there are points up for grabs,’’ Hooper said.

Will that fighting spirit that often defines the Kiwi off-shore sailor pull them back into the hunt? Or will they let the American giant Puma claw its way past them?

Puma is probably the most buoyant team at the moment as they have just claimed their first leg win by holding off a late attack from the Spanish team. As I type this she is leading leg six to Miami. Everything about this team has a strong momentum to win this leg. It will mean a lot to Puma and her American sponsor.

Great sailors
"Right now, we feel good about ourselves, and that says something. We're as confident as you can be sailing in a fleet like this against such great sailors and great boats,” said skipper Ken Read.

The leg itself is not a straightforward one with the last of those most random doldrum crossings promising to turn the fleet inside out again.

“We’re starting just behind a weather front that pushed through overnight, so we’ve got some good downwind sailing over the first day or so,” said navigator Tom Addis. “It won’t last that long though, and after a day of nice downwind, we’ll see a couple days of lighter stuff. We’ll battle through to the trade winds and once there we should have some nice, solid reaching almost all the way to the Bahamas.”

So who will win leg six, and keep that winning momentum rolling?


Mark Covell

Hard-working teams prepare for US leg

Groupama undergoing repairs to its broken mast in Itajai.

Photo: Paul Todd/Volvo Ocean Race

As Camper edges closer to their Leg 5 finish, after stopping for vital repairs, the other teams are re-launching to get ready for the next leg already.

Camper has had a reasonably smooth sail up to Itajai, but it hasn’t been a cruise.

They are still racing against the clock to get there and their job list is a long one after such a difficult leg.

Windless hole
The twist to this most twisted leg is a windless zone off the coast of Itajai that has so far snared all of the Leg 5 finishers.

"The reality is there is a painful big windless hole we could end up parked in for a few hours merely 20 miles from Itajai,” Camper’s crew member Hamish Hooper said.

"This will be a cruel and painful way to end the leg, so we are hoping like anything it doesn’t eventuate and the breeze will carry us all the way there. I am remaining optimistic this will be the case.

Team effort
“Hopefully it won’t be too much more than 24 hours and we will be pulling quietly into the dock, in the early hours of the 30th day of the leg.”

The shore crew will need to draw on all the team if they are to be ready to rejoin the fleet for the DHL In-Port Race in Itajai on 21 April at full strength.

So just one day off for the sailors after 30 days at sea and then back into it.
“One day off will be plenty to recharge the batteries and ignite the fire in their bellies again.” Hamish said.

High expectations
The other teams have been working hard too. Team Telefónica launched on Monday, joining PUMA who have had the most time off and the least work to do.

Leg 6 will be a big one for PUMA, the only American team, as this is the leg where the fleet heads for the US and expectations are high after their recent win.

Groupama’s shore crew were this morning still preparing their replacement mast which was flown in from the Netherlands.

Long afternoon
Shore crew boss Ben Wright said the French crew planned to go sailing on Tuesday to check over and tune the new rig.

“There are always a lot of details to sort out. You can never do enough, it’s a race boat so it is never finished. Tomorrow’s sailing will all be about making sure everything works, locks, reefs everything, so it will be a longish afternoon out on the water.

“We need to tune the rig and set it up properly so there may be some to and fro-ing. We may need to come in for a short while to do some dock tuning and then go back out again.”

It’s a good job the dome on the back of the boat and the Inmarsat satellite link all works well.

That’s one less job for the over worked shore crews to deal with…    

Groupama overcomes broken mast to take third place

 

Groupama sailing under jury rig approaches the finish line

Photo: Paul Todd/Volvo Ocean Race



Groupama’s leg 5 podium finish, after their mast snapped in two 60 nautical miles east of Punta del Este, took nothing but gritty resilience from the French team.

It would have been so easy to throw in the towel, but with the chance of third place and 20 points, it was a mission worth fighting for.

Once safely on the dock, skipper Franck Cammas said: The guys all did a fantastic job and I am very happy with our podium place - we're still right in this race."

Twisted rigging

They were very positive words bearing in mind that just six days before, they were trading places with the leader, Puma for victory on this leg.

When it happened the mission was to make the boat safe and prevent any more damage occurring.

Having carbon splinters, twisted rigging and heavy sail cloth everywhere is not the easiest mess to clean up.

Crew member injured

As it was bowman Brad Marsh managed to stab himself in the wrist while cutting away the mainsail from the broken mast.

The team medic had to immediately attend to Brad’s injury by using five medical staples to hold the wound together.

They suspended racing and made for the nearby port of Punta del Este to assess their options.

Good speeds

One section of the broken mast was long enough to step again and hoist up two-thirds of a mainsail and fly a headsail.

After restarting their leg and getting underway they reported good speeds with the jury rig.

Frank Cammas said: "Our technical goal was to use the top part of the mast  that we managed to bring back after the incident - which is a tube of almost 20 metres.

Jealous sailor

“But we had to create a whole new rig in 24 hours, with limited means, using only the materials we had.

"The result, with more than 100 square metres of sail area, isn’t ugly and could even make a sailor on La Trinité sur Mer jealous.

“Fingers crossed for it to make it through, because the supporting cables aren’t really adapted to this new function. At least for now, this jury rig is fully satisfying with a surf at more than 20 knots.”

Great comment
I read a great comment from Doug Baker from the UK on my Covell.on.volvo facebook page ‘Still faster with a jury rig than most will ever have travelled in a sail boat’.

The news from the ongoing leg 5 is Puma claimed first, then overall leader Telefónica took second with the tenacious Groupama salvaging third.

Camper with Team New Zealand crew are still sailing to Itajaí with 1,200 nautical miles to go. This epic leg 5 feels like the leg that never ends.

Shipped for repairs
Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing retired from Leg 5 due to hull damage. Azzam departed on a ship from Puerto Montt, Chile to Itajaí.

Team Sanya retired from Leg 5, returned to New Zealand - the yacht is being shipped to Savannah for repairs and then will sailed to Miami to rejoin the race.

Mark Covell

Two boats in fight to finish

Volvo Ocean Race chief executive Knut Frostad often says in his speeches:  “To finish first you must first finish.”

Keeping track of the fleet

Photo: Volvo Ocean Race website image

The quote was first made by the American three-times winner of the Indianapolis 500, racing car driver, Rick Mears.

This quote has never been more appropriate, because as I type this blog there are only two out of the six boats in the fleet remaining.

Fleet damaged

TEAM SANYA pulled the pin first with hull delamination and returned to Auckland to be shipped to Savannah,  Georgia, for repairs and then will be sailed on to Miami, where they will re-join the race.

CAMPER (with Emirates Team NZ) suspended racing at 01:30 UTC on 3 April and has arrived in Puerto Montt on the west coast of Chile to repair its bow. The team intends to finish the leg in Itajaí.

TEAM TELEFÓNICA resumed racing at 21:33 UTC on 31 March  after completing repairs and is hot on the heels of PUMA OCEAN RACING.

Broken mast
ABU DHABI OCEAN RACING retired from Leg 5 at 10:00 UTC on 4 April and the boat  will be loaded onto a ship at Puerto Montt to begin a nine-day journey to Itajaí, with a likely departure date of Saturday 7 April 2012. 

GROUPAMA SAILING TEAM suspended racing from leg 5 on 4 April after the mast broke just above the first spreader. The crew is all safe and is 60 nautical miles south of Punte del Este, more information will be released as it becomes available.

PUMA OCEAN RACING has the only boat not to have suffered significant damage.

Knut Frostad has issued a statement expressing his concern at the continuing instances of boats suffering serious damage in the 2011-12 edition.

Extreme challenge
In my last blog, I made the point the boats and the crews need to look at how strong the yachts are built and how hard they push them in such extreme conditions.

The Volvo Ocean Race is all about the extreme challenges that the event throws up both for both man and equipment.

Certainly that is one of the reasons Inmarsat likes being involved in the race exactly because the kit is pushed to it limits in such harsh conditions.

Wrath of oceans
We may look back at this race and say that leg 5 2012 was the leg that changed the face of the Volvo?

The one thing that will never change is the force of Mother Nature.

No matter how strong we think we design our craft, Man will never, and has never, been a match for the wrath of the mighty oceans.

Knut’s quote will still be relevant:“To finish first you must first finish”.

A sorry state for the fleet to be in

Justin Slattery attempts repairs on Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing.
Credit: Nick Dana/Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing/Volvo Ocean Race

If you looked at the race tracker this morning you would see three boats are around Cape Horn and racing up the east coast of Argentina and two boats are limping along towards the west coast of Chile.

The final boat in the fleet, Team Sanya, is now back in Auckland and about to ship to Miami. All in all, a pretty sorry state for a fleet to be in when it is just past the half way-point of the race.

Many questions have to be asked about the strength of the boats and, to be fair, the crews who are pushing so hard.

Pushed harder 
Kenny Read, skipper of Puma Ocean Racing, commented in a recent blog: “Two things are certainly clear. The first, when conditions warrant we all have the power to break these boats.

“No matter who says this or that boat is built to withstand the elements in order to be able to be pushed harder than others, it just isn't true. Believe me, you can't call these boats fragile by any means. In fact, with the torture we put them through, it is simply amazing they are in one piece at all.

“Every boat is just one bad wave away from being healthy or hurt. Any boat for that matter - from a 30 weekend cruiser to a Volvo 70. These boats are no exception. Which leads to point two - we have certainly been calculated, but also lucky.

Caught air 
“We have caught air on many occasions when it was least expected. The crash that ensues is staggering. Heads pop out of the hatch and a crawling inspection around all the framing begins within minutes.

“We have been lucky so far. It’s like a car crash. You always wonder if it would have happened if you had left the house five seconds later or slowed at the orange light when you didn't. We have missed our car crash so far, so our timing has been pretty good.

“Have I ever mentioned that I knock on wood every time I say stuff like this? Our little piece of wood at the nav station is getting worn out.”

Hammer down
It’s interesting and both frightening to hear that the crews feel they could break the boat any time they want to put the hammer down.

Ian Walker, skipper of Abu Dhabi had even more issues on his plate. The outer skin has delaminated and needed to be stabilised. They had to hove-to 1,600 nm out to sea.

They swung the keel over to the wrong side to heel the boat over so they could lower the bowman down to work on the underside of the hull. They then drilled and bolted 30 times through the hull skin to tie it all together. This should get them to land so they can carry out a better repair.

Limping to port 
Camper is in the same position, limping to port. And Telefonica had to back of the gas and effect repairs in the lee of an island just past Cape Horn.

Congratulations to Groupama and Puma for holding it all together and laying on such good racing now there are so many boats out of the hunt. They are only five nautical miles from each other.

It’s going to be another close finish.

Mark Covell