CAMPER First to Reach Galway

CAMPER saved their best till last in their debut Volvo Ocean Race campaign, storming to the leg win they so desired in Galway in the early hours of Tuesday.

Chris Nicholson's team finished at 00:42:13 UTC scoring the maximum 30 points to take them to a total of 226 -- almost certainly enough to give them second place overall ahead of PUMA Ocean Racing Powered by BERG.

With just one more scoring opportunity to come, the final in-port race on Saturday, CAMPER just need to cross the finish line to get the point they need to be certain of the runners-up spot behind Groupama sailing team. 

A flotilla of hundreds of spectators made for a warm welcome when the red boat led the procession across the finish line under the cover of darkness, while more than 10,000 fans awaited their arrival on the dock.

"This place is awesome," said Nicholson. "It’s 2.30 in the morning and there’s a massive fleet of spectator boats. How cool?

“I’m more happy for the rest of the team to be honest with you. I look at what everyone does day in day out and I think this is the sailing team’s way of saying thank you."

Nicholson put the team's success, after several near misses, down to tactics and set-up for the final leg.

“We went quite light with our weight on board – we had everything geared up for port tack. There were a couple of tactical calls this afternoon which had a big part to play. We tried not to think about it but we knew the whole race depended on those decisions."

CAMPER along with PUMA, Telefónica and Groupama each held the lead at different stages of the 550 nautical mile race, but having fallen to fourth at the rounding of the iconic Fastnet Rock the team made a decisive move launching their “golden ticket”, their massive A4 spinnaker.

The team climbed through the top order before reclaiming the lead when the fleet faced a critical gybe east that set the course for the Galway finish that allowed them to edge ahead of former leg leader PUMA.

The team fought hard to fend off several challenges and claim their long awaited first leg victory.

"Some of the sail changes we did on the last night were in full-on conditions," said the Australian skipper. "Every team did them but we did them and nailed them.”

Long Battle for Volvo Places

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The race for fourth and fifth turned into an excruciating, slow-motion match race in the early hours of Friday morning, with Telefónica holding off arch-rivals CAMPER for a five-point bump that may yet prove crucial.

Team Telefónica, winners of the first three offshore legs, find themselves in second place overall after Groupama's Leg 7 finish on the shoulders of Abu Dhabi proved enough to take the French team three points clear at the top.

The consolation for skipper Iker Martínez was in squeezing past CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand in a heroic struggle with an adverse current, exacerbated by a lack of breeze, on the River Tagus.

"It was a leg with a lot of problems and a lot of difficult situations with the weather," Martínez said. "We didn’t have much wind for the last couple of hours and we knew the other guys were very close so we tried to catch them.

"We are happy to finish fourth instead of fifth and we are happy that Groupama didn’t win. It is not as good as it was and obviously it could be worse."

There were times when both teams were actually going backwards, others when they headed away from the line to the coast, and then back again to produce tracks that looked like snails' trails.

The race was impossible to call in the pitch black night, with Telefónica finally crossing the line at 02:28 local time, one minute 42 seconds ahead of CAMPER.

"That was massively frustrating at the end," said CAMPER skipper Chris Nicholson. "We led coming into the river by four or five miles then ran into a hole – couldn’t help that.

"Then we had a bit of back and forth and we built up a one-mile lead up to the finish and just ran into a calm patch. There’s not one single thing in all of that which we have to be regretful for.We sailed a good leg to the finish and sometimes this happens.

"We’re a good team, we will bounce back. While there’s a remotest chance of winning we’ll be there."

The result kept Telefónica within striking distance of the new leaders and left CAMPER 21 points off the pace, although still well in with a chance of victory with two legs and three in-port races still to sail.

With PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG in third place overall, 12 points behind the leaders, four teams are still in contention, making this the closest contest in the history of the Volvo Ocean Race

Camper Make Mid-Leg Comeback

CAMPER pulled off an incredible mid-leg comeback on Friday shooting from last place into the lead in less than 48 hours, while overall race leaders Telefónica slipped down the rankings after being snared in light winds.

Just two days ago, Chris Nicholson’s CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand crew were more than 80 miles behind the leaders, struggling to get back into the race.

But clever tactics from Nicholson and navigator Will Oxley saw CAMPER climb steadily through the rankings and by 1300 UTC they had picked off Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing, the final boat standing between them and the number one spot.

It was a huge boost for the crew, who are still seeking their first offshore leg win, however with more than 2,000 nautical miles still to sail and a race course littered with potential pitfalls, the leg is far from decided.

"Will's and Nico’s long-labored and meticulously conjured up plan to head north and split from the fleet paid big dividends and all of a sudden we have managed to leap frog a fair chunk of the fleet," CAMPER media crew member Hamish Hooper said.

"It’s a nice feeling going from one wrong extreme to the right one, but by no means anything to get too carried away with other than a quiet grin and momentary warm sense of satisfaction for the guys who have all been toiling away quietly and focused, sailing the boat to its optimum from a point two days ago where a lot of other teams might have just given up."

"There’s a lot of variable weather going on in this leg and not all of it is panning out for some people," Nicholson added. "It all makes for a very unstable leaderboard."

After leading the fleet for more than 12 hours, Abu Dhabi were relishing in the battle for the front spot in light-wind reaching conditions which suit their yacht Azzam.

Like CAMPER, Abu Dhabi reaped the rewards of their position to the north of the fleet, but with the fleet now sailing in upwind conditions they have had to watch on as their rivals notched up faster speeds.

“The light air reaching has been a condition where we seem to be able to hold our own against our rivals and our move to the north has paid handsome dividends," skipper Ian Walker said.

“To be fair to Telefónica and Groupama, who look like they will be the biggest losers in the short term, it was a classic case of the fleet turning inside out.

“Somehow we need to hang in for the next 24 hours when conditions will once again open up and the fast downwind sail towards Lisbon will begin.”

Meanwhile, Telefónica and Groupama, early leaders of the leg from Miami to Lisbon, have been left playing catch-up after slipping more than 20 miles back.

But help could soon be at hand with new wind filling in that could fire them back into contention from their current fourth place.

“Basically, we couldn't do anything to avoid these guys overtaking us,” Telefónica skipper Iker Martínez said. “They just rolled us with a completely different wind.

“Now we are just in the moment that should stop this loss because a new wind is coming again and something different is going to happen. We just hope that we're going to stop losing and start racing again to make gains.”

Franck Cammas, skipper of fifth-placed Groupama, was equally optimistic about their chances of a comeback.

“We lost the first battle but there will be a new fight with the high pressure coming through the fleet,” he said.

“There is a long way to go and for now it is very clear for everyone that we have to go to the north to go round the high pressure and await a westerly wind to go down wind to Lisbon.”

As the fleet hunt for the westerly winds that will propel them towards Lisbon, PUMA navigator Tom Addis said this phase of the race could be crucial to the leg results.

“The first boat to poke out of this high into the north west then west breeze should be able to hold an advantage until close to the finish,” he said. “There will be another fairly major compression close to the finish but we will just have to deal with that as it comes.”

CAMPER Split from Volvo Fleet

PHOTO: Hamish Hooper

CAMPER made a drastic split from the fleet on Wednesday in an attempt to jump back up the Leg 7 leaderboard, heading north in search of better breeze.

With Telefónica breathing down the neck of frontrunners Groupama following an exceptional 24 hours that saw them knock 25 nautical miles off their French rival’s advantage, CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand chose to cash in their position to the south of the fleet and dodge an area of light winds ahead that threatened to ensnare them.

The tactic, which relegates them to sixth in the rankings, could see them adopt a more traditional route high into the North Atlantic to avoid the Azores High, a massive high pressure system sitting in the middle of the ocean.

After overhauling PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG, Iker Martínez’s Telefónica snuck up on Groupama, leaders of the 3,590-nm leg to Lisbon since its start on May 20, and at 1600 UTC just 3.2 nm split the two.

“We are doing pretty fast angles and speeds so right now it is all good,” said Martínez, who led his team to victory in the first three offshore legs. “We are sailing very well and we are comfortable in these conditions.”

The teams had hoped for a direct route to Lisbon, away from the more traditional route high into the North Atlantic to dodge the Azores High, a huge high pressure system that sits in the centre of the ocean.

But unstable weather conditions ahead could see the teams cut their losses and head north on a more customary route as far north as Canada.

Martínez said the decisions made in the next 36 hours could prove vital to long-term success as they approach light winds.

“Probably the most important decision will come in the next day and a half when we approach the light air and the high pressure,” he added. “That’s when all the boats will make their big moves. We will have to think about how to position for that and that is going to be the most interesting moment for sure."

Telefónica hold a seven-point lead over Groupama at the top of the overall standings, with CAMPER and PUMA also well within striking distance respectively 13 and 14 points off the pace with three offshore legs to complete.

After stealing third place from PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG, winners of legs 5 and 6, spirits were high on Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing as they fixed their sights on Telefónica.

“It has been a very good 36 hours for the team on Azzam,” skipper Ian Walker said. “Our move to the north paid good dividends and for a while we were in sight of Telefónica and took third place in the standings from PUMA.

“Sadly Telefónica have again demonstrated their pace to us by sailing away from four miles in front of us to 22 miles in the last 24 hours. Once again we will have to be patient and hope that an opening happens later in the leg for us to get back at them.

“It looks like a day or two of drag racing before the weather throws the next curve ball our way.”

CAMPER Still Seeks Puma Chance

Hamish McRae

CAMPER navigator Will Oxley said this morning that the Gulf Stream and the potential for thunderstorms on the approach to Miami could still create a chance to overtake PUMA.

Leg 6 of Volvo Ocean Heats up

With under 350 miles to go to the Leg 6 finish, CAMPER were hoping on Tuesday that the fight for the lead was now solely between them and PUMA – but after stealing third and catching up more than 30 miles in the last 24 hours, Groupama had other ideas.

“From a situation where we were at the end of the fleet with another boat at a rather big distance from the head of the fleet, we are now fighting for the third place” - Yann Riou, Groupama

CAMPER were still around 11 miles adrift of PUMA at 0700 UTC as they passed east of the Bahamas, and with winds and boat speeds back up to around 10 knots, the two frontrunners were afforded some temporary relief from Groupama’s rapid advance.

However, after watching Telefónica drop away into fourth after sailing into a wind hole, CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand media crew member Hamish Hooper said the team were all too aware of the pitfalls of the final few days.

“We are hoping that this leg has now turned into a two-boat match race, but like we saw Telefónica drop so many miles the other night, nothing is given and wont be until the finish line is crossed,” he said. “This will be a very long 48 hours or so until then.”

Meanwhile, Groupama sailing team’s spirits have rocketed with the realisation that they are back in the race.

“From a situation where we were at the end of the fleet with another boat at a rather big distance from the head of the fleet, we are now fighting for the third place,” said media crew member Yann Riou.

“And not with anyone,… with the overall leader. The two leading boats are not so far either.

“It is awfully good for the spirit. It was beginning to hitch a bit to be at the end of the fleet the past two weeks.

“Now, everything is possible. On paper, it will be difficult for us to come back on the two leading boats, strongly ahead of us right in our line.

“But the road to Miami is full of pitfalls. Areas of light wind, islands to be rounded, algae that get stuck in... So we'll have to keep sailing at our best, while being opportunistic.”

Even an 11-mile lead wasn't enough to calm nerves on first-placed PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG.

"With just 350 miles to go it would be easy to overlook the remaining distance, but nobody seems to be making that mistake," PUMA's MCM Amory Ross said.

"The proper mindset, and one we’re all emphasizing, is that each mile is just as important as the next. Don’t look too far beyond the horizon because this race is far from over!"

Telefónica were 66 miles behind PUMA at 0700 having pulled back eight miles between position reports, and were the joint-fastest boat in the fleet along with Groupama with an average speed of 11 knots.

Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing were just under 40 miles further back, the slowest boat doing 7.5 knots.

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CAMPER Drop to Third in Volvo

CAMPER’s split from PUMA and Telefónica on Friday saw Chris Nicholson’s team drop to third after they pushed hard to the west in search of fresh pressure closer to the Caribbean Islands.

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Today however, the status quo amongst the top three boats has been re-established, with CAMPER regaining second after squeezing through the narrowest of gaps between Anguilla and an outlying island.

This bold move saved them around five nautical miles (nm) and when the leading trio re-converged, CAMPER had edged back in second spot.

At 0400 UTC today PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG had a 10 nm lead over CAMPER, with Telefónica a further 10 nm behind in third.

Groupama sailing team in fourth had closed to within 77 nm of the lead, chased hard by fifth placed Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing, another eight nm back.

In his latest report from the boat, CAMPER Media Crew Member (MCM) Hamish Hooper described the team’s daring gambit -- which saw the team sneak through the shallow 200 metre wide channel between Anguilla and Scrub Island -- as a ‘signature move’ by navigator Will Oxley.

“Yesterday was one of the most tense, up and down days of the leg,” Hooper said.

“Soon after as we passed the Caribbean islands of St Bart’s and St Martin, a small window of opportunity presented itself when the breeze picked up sufficiently for Will Oxley to give the all clear to shoot a relatively small and shallow gap right between Anguilla and Scrub Island, saving us around 5 miles going around the typically Caribbean named Dead Man’s Cay at the northern end of the island.

“Sailing through a 200 metre gap at 21 knots in six metres of water, was a thrill at least, but the question was soon asked just how many signature moves will it take to win this leg,” Hooper said.

As the top three teams played out their very different strategies, CAMPER skipper Chris Nicholson said yesterday had been like playing a high stakes chess game, with the boats remarkably returning to the same order as before they split.

“It looks like we are going to resume in very similar pieces of water,” he said. “I am honestly not sure which boats will be the most relieved, but we are looking forward to the next rematch.”

By 0700 UTC PUMA had eked out another nautical mile on CAMPER with Telefónica closing the gap on second by a similar amount.

In fourth and fifth, Groupama and Abu Dhabi had made significant gains since 0400 UTC, closing to 60 nm and 72 nm of the lead respectively.

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Little Change in Volvo Leg 6

It was a case of enjoy the good times while they last on Thursday, with the Volvo Ocean Race teams revelling in boat speeds of up to 30 knots as light winds up ahead threatened to bring the rapid progress of the past few days to a grinding halt.

"We’re not going anywhere. We’re planning on being here right to the death on this one” - Chris Nicholson, CAMPER

Camper Make Good Progress

CAMPER co-skipper Stu Bannatyne says conditions have been perfect for Volvo Open 70 sailing today with warm weather, flat water and solid breezes making for superb fast sailing as they enter the Doldrums zone.

“We are making our way towards Miami with good speed right now -- we have about 18 knots on the speedo at the moment and we are all very happy,” Bannatyne said this afternoon.

“We have still got a lot of favourable current with us which means the seas are very flat, so we are ripping along in essentially flat water with no strain on the boat at all.

“It’s pretty warm -- most of the guys are just wearing shorts and t-shirts on deck although we are blasting along at 20 knots. Down below it’s not too bad, most of the guys have got fans in their bunks and that’s enough to keep it pretty cool.”

Bannatyne said the CAMPER crew are hoping their fast entry to the Doldrums will herald an equally quick exit.

“We are entering the Doldrums area now and it has all been very well behaved so far,” he said. “There were a few little clouds last night but nothing too serious, we a pretty fortunate.

“Being this far west in the Atlantic is a lot kinder crossing I think. Maybe another 200 miles and then we can say we are clear.”

“Fingers crossed it stays as nice as it is right now -- we have about 15 knots of wind and we are beam reaching and all going nicely.”

However, Bannatyne said the CAMPER crew had little time to relax and enjoy the spectacular sailing because of the three way battle going on between them, leaders PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG and Team Telefónica.

“We have had Telefónica in sight for the last couple of days and it has certainly been some pretty close racing,” Bannatyne said. “PUMA have done a nice job round the corner of Brazil and put themselves in a nice position and made a nice little break on us and Telefónica.

“But they are only around 40 miles ahead and just one bad cloud can chew that sort of distance up pretty quickly so there is still plenty to play for.

“We will work hard over the next couple of days to get through the Doldrum area and into the next part of the race.”

Bannatyne said he believed the result of Leg 6 was far from certain, particularly given the uncertain state of the trade winds.

“The trades are a bit messed up and at this time of year and it’s not uncommon to have a front push down from Florida and mess things up even more from the Bahamas onwards,” he said.

“I remember finishing this race 10 years ago into Miami and we had all sorts of rain clouds and thunderstorms and there were a lot of place changes in that last 150 miles.

“So it is all still on the table at this point.”

At 1600 UTC today CAMPER were in third, 8 nautical miles (nm) behind Team Telefónica and 37 nm adrift of PUMA.

Fourth placed Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing were 96 nm from the lead with Groupama sailing team a further 51 nm back in fifth.

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Volvo Ocean in the Doldrums

The top three teams on Leg 6 from Brazil to the USA are today engaged in a nip and tuck scramble as Ken Read’s PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG continue to lead from Chris Nicholson’s CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand and Iker Martínez´s Team Telefónica in third.

“The Doldrums aren’t looking too bad for us and I think the first one into the trades should be able to extend, but it doesn’t look like we get all the way to the finish in that mode" - - PUMA navigator Tom Addis

With just over 3,000 nautical miles still to go, PUMA managed to pull out a lead of slightly over 13 nm by the 0700 UTC position report this morning, but the margin between second and third remained miniscule, with overall race leaders Telefónica edging past CAMPER to establish an advantage of just one and a half nautical miles.

At 1300 UTC PUMA had a 9.28 nm lead, and CAMPER had returned to second place, half a nautical mile ahead of Telefónica in third.

Ian Walker’s Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing were in fourth, 46 nm off the lead, but still capable of pouncing on any mistakes by the leading trio. Back in fifth, Franck Cammas’ Groupama sailing team are struggling to make major inroads into their 116 nm deficit.

This morning the leading three boats made a synchronised move towards Brazil, gybing to the west to pick up an advantageous current and hook into a wind bend around the coast.

PUMA navigator Tom Addis said the top three boats had been sailing in pleasant down wind conditions and concentrating on taking full advantage of wind shifts to achieve optimal angles.

Addis said the PUMA crew had welcomed having CAMPER and Telefónica as stalking horses, but were keen to stretch their lead before crossing the Doldrums and picking up the stronger trade winds.

“We have had a bit of company which is always good because you can test your modes and work out the best way to sail your boat,” Addis said. “It’s not quite drag racing yet though.

“We have just gybed back in towards the Brazilian coast and I think CAMPER have done the same. There is still a little bit of VMG gybing left to do over the next 24 hours but after that I think when we get into the north trades it will be a bit more settled and then off we go.”

Addis confirmed that the first boat into the trades would get a jump on the fleet but said he believed that the fleet’s fourth Equator crossing could still be fraught with risk for the leg leaders.

“We would always prefer to be leading into those situations, but it is a fairly fragile one this time I think,” Addis said.

“The Doldrums aren’t looking too bad for us and I think the first one into the trades should be able to extend, but it doesn’t look like we get all the way to the finish in that mode.

“It looks like we are going to go soft again after the Caribbean, so that will mean another compression from behind unfortunately.”

Telefónica watch captain Neal MacDonald confirmed the westerly move was all about the wind direction, strength and current, a direction he expected all three boats to keep heading for today.

“There is current and a few other reasons we want to get west while we can and I imagine everyone will have the same game plan in the big picture,” he said. “It looks like we will all get back towards the coast and into a bit more pressure and then the wind will flick back and we will get back on to starboard again.”

McDonald said he expected the three way tussle for the lead to continue for a while yet.

“For the last 48 hours we have had those guys in our sights,” he said. “Right now we have lost them (CAMPER) and PUMA have got the better of both of us and slipped ahead.

“I think CAMPER and us are going to be head to head though for the next couple of days. This morning they crossed about a mile and half behind us, which was quite pleasing. We will have to see what will happen next but that was a good moment for us.”

Race meteorologist Gonzalo Infante said the presence of two low pressure systems deep in the North Atlantic looked likely to disrupt the normal trade wind system after the equator, making the leg to Miami slower than expected, but giving hope to Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing and Groupama sailing team who are back in fourth and fifth respectively.

“The boats will track close to the Brazilian coast for now which will give them the best window through the Doldrums in the next couple of days,” Infante said.

“With the trades likely to be disrupted, the drag race element of this leg might only last for 1,000 nautical miles or so, maybe as far as Antigua in the Caribbean.

“Then, the weather models are less certain for the approach to Miami and we may see some unusual strategies for the final miles.”

CAMPER navigator Will Oxley agreed, saying: “First we have the Doldrums to deal with. Then the trade winds are looking quite disrupted for the last part of the leg and some interesting routing options are popping up.

“Normally you reject these out of hand, but based on our experience so far in this Volvo Ocean Race, every option remains on the table.”

Neal McDonald said he believed the race was far from over despite the current spread of over 100 nm from first to fifth.

“It still could be anybody’s race,” McDonald said. “I think Groupama have got a bit of ground to make up, but there are going to be starts and stops. The boats are close enough that although some of the distances look big, the boats eat up those miles pretty quickly.

“So we are very much looking behind us as well as looking in front.”

Latest predictions suggest the leading boats should arrive in Miami on or around May 9.

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Camper Battling Bumps to Itajai

Having chosen to pass east of the Falkland Islands on their way to Itajaí, CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand are today still feeling the wrath of a major low pressure system chasing them from the south.

Although protected to some extent by their location in the lee of the South American landmass the CAMPER crew have nevertheless had a bumpy ride over the last 24 hours.

Media Crew Member (MCM) Hamish Hooper reported once again resorting to the pill bottle to counter his seasickness as CAMPER bumped, banged and crashed their way upwind against an unpleasant seaway at an average speed of more than 11 knots.

Hooper said the continuing tough conditions made spending time on the wave swept deck an unappealing prospect.

“Each of the guys get ready for their watches and glance out of the hatch with pensive apprehension,” he said in a report from the boat today.

“I guess they were feeling a bit like me, having mentally left the harsh cold conditions of the Southern Ocean behind last night, but having to continue dealing with them today.”

While the conditions onboard are anything but comfortable skipper Chris Nicholson said they were a good test for the structural repairs carried out by the shore crew at the Chilean port of Puerto Montt earlier this month.

“We got around the Horn in good shape then got a bit of a touch up between there and the Falklands,’’ he said. “Pretty hard on the boat, almost similar to when we left Auckland, so a good test for all of the new structure in the boat and everything looks all good."

Race meteorologist Gonzalo Infante said the team could expect conditions to ease slightly over the next 24 hours but added the low in the south was likely to give rise to a trough in the South Atlantic and could require CAMPER to make a choice on how to negotiate it.

“The eastern perimeter of the trough will pack 25-35 knot northerly winds, while to the west there will be 25-30 knots from the south west,” he said.

“Depending on how quickly the trough moves east, CAMPER could be faced with a decision in the next 24 hours on whether or not they divert west around the trough.”

At 1300 UTC today CAMPER had just over 1400 nautical miles to run to the finish. The most recent estimated time of their arrival at Itajaí is April 16 when they will score 15 points for fourth place, boosting them back to third overall.

Meanwhile in Itajaí, the shore crews of the three teams who already completed Leg 5 have had to cope with sweltering heat as they work steadily through their jobs lists to get their boats into racing trim as soon as possible.

Groupama shore manager Ben Wright said his next priority was to start work on their replacement mast which is expected to arrive at the team base today after being flown from the Netherlands by official race logistics partner DHL.

“It was unloaded off the plane during the night, loaded on a truck and is due to arrive in the middle of the afternoon,” he said. “We are looking forward to getting it in front of our base, unpacking it and putting it together.”

Wright said he was confident the operation to fit out the new spar would be completed in the next couple of days despite requiring some painstaking work.

“It is a first generation mast but there are not many differences,” he said. “We need to go through the process of putting it all together and checking everything over.

“There is a lot of work and a lot of details which just soak up time so it will take a couple of days, but we have that time before the boat goes in the water so there is no rush or panic on it.”

Already in Itajaí ahead of the arrival of their boat by cargo ship, the Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing shore crew were today preparing the ground for critical repair work.

Latest estimates suggest Azzam will arrive in Itajaí on the evening of April 18, just two days before the Itajaí In-Port Race.

CAMPER Extend Volvo Lead

Groupama sailing team extended their advantage at the head of the fleet, moving 46 nautical miles clear of PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG at 1900 UTC on Tuesday as race leaders Team Telefónica, 335 nm off the lead in third, revealed a plan to make a pit stop for repairs.

Now free of the restrictions of the ice exclusion zone the leading pair have continued to power south east in winds gusting over 45 knots at average speeds over 20 knots.

Fourth placed CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand who themselves committed to a repair stop in Chile two days previously continue slow but steady progress towards Puerto Montt now less than 2,000 nm away.

Meanwhile fifth placed Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing are fast approaching the central ice ice exclusion zone waypoint with their sights set on a possible podium result in Leg 5. At 1900 UTC Abu Dhabi were 1,426 nm off the lead travelling at an average speed of 20 knots.

Team Sanya, who were forced back to New Zealand by a broken rudder, today arrived in Tauranga. The team announced yesterday that the boat will be shipped to Savannah in the United States and then sailed to Miami ahead of the start of Leg 7.

Overall race leaders Team Telefónica will make a stop at the Argentine port of Ushuaia to repair bow damage and give themselves the best chance of holding on to a podium position in Leg 5.

Telefónica announced several days ago that they were slowing down to prevent further damage and skipper Iker Martínez confirmed today that delamination to the bow, sustained when a huge wave crashed down on them last week, would make a stop necessary before the finish line in Itajaí in Brazil.

“As you can see, we've got no problems in terms of continuing to sail, but if we continue to violently crash against the waves like this the damage could worsen and we want to rule out the possibility of that happening," said Martínez, who is determined to go on and complete the leg.

CAMPER skipper Chris Nicholson said his crew had up to eight more days of cautious sailing to go before they make landfall and still needed everything to go well if they were to make a quick return to the action.



“We still have a bit under 2,000 miles to travel and you can still see a lot of bad weather in that time,” Nicholson said.

 “Weather wise you can just call this a hostile part of the world with regards to the severity of the weather fronts and we have got to keep this in mind.



“It’s a big expanse of water. Hopefully everything goes according to plan.”

Camper Repairs to Chile

Hamish Hooper/CAMPER ETNZ/Volvo Ocean Race 

CAMPER will divert to to Puerto Montt on the west coast of Chile to repair bow damage suffered in the ferocious conditions currently being experienced in the Southern Ocean.

New Zealand skipper Chris Nicholson confirmed the need to go in for repairs, while pledging to resume racing and reach the finish of Leg 5 Itajaí in Brazil.

"We are 2,500 nautical miles away from where we are going, which is Puerto Montt in Chile, on the western coast," skipper Chris Nicholson said. "It’s about 800 nautical miles north of Cape Horn.

"What lead us to this course is I guess like a classic Southern Ocean snowball effect where we had some problems with our bulkhead early on in the race, we repaired that only for that repair to fail again probably about three days ago.

"Then we were trying to stem the flow in terms of stopping the problem getting any worse. The bulkhead offers a lot of support to our longitudinals (hull supports) and we have to keep the longitudinals intact.

"Unfortunately some of the secondary bonding let go off the longitudinal and that’s basically when seamanship has to take over and basically call enough is enough.

"We are running out of spare materials to effect repairs at sea and the repairs are struggling to be effective so we had to slow the boat down immediately and assess the situation.

"We estimate it will be three days of repairs and then we will be on our way to Itajaí. So we will suspend racing once we get closer to Puerto Montt, do our repairs and get back in the race."

Volvo Race in Speed Distance Record

The 24-hour speed distance record for the current edition of the Volvo Ocean Race is under threat as the fleet face four days hurtling south at up to 30 knots.

“Finally it feels like the Volvo Ocean Race. No more drifting around or upwind sailing -- just raw power, soaking decks and high speeds" - Ian Walker, Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing

CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand set the bar at 554.16 nm during Leg 1 from Alicante to Cape Town – but as the six teams power south through the Pacific Ocean trade winds the record could tumble.

Volvo Ocean Race chief meteorologist Gonzalo Infante said the latest weather and routing models suggest that several of the teams stand a chance of bettering CAMPER’s record over the next few days -- particularly those able to sail wider angles in the east.

“It’s going to be very close but it’s very possible the record could fall in the next few days,” Infante said. "Breaking through the 500nm barrier is dependent on tactics and medium-term strategy - whether the teams choose to stay east or cash in their position for speed.”

The arrival of the solid north-easterly trade winds benefitted the easterly boats first with leg leaders Franck Cammas’ Groupama sailing team extending their advantage at the front to 55 nautical miles (nm) in the 1300 UTC position report.

To the west of the fleet Chris Nicholson’s second placed CAMPER and Iker Martínez’s third placed Team Telefónica continue to struggle to match the speeds of the trio in the east.

Ken Read’s PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG and Ian Walker’s Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing who have both clocked up peak speeds over 25 knots.

On Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing skipper Ian Walker could hardly contain his delight at the opportunity to capitalise on the eastern investment they had made, often in light and tricky conditions.

“Finally it feels like the Volvo Ocean Race,” Walker said. “No more drifting around or upwind sailing -- just raw power, soaking decks and high speeds.

“Fortunately all the easting we have strived for over the past week allows us to sail as wide an angle as we are. The wind is 25 knots and building. Boat speeds fluctuate between 18 and 30 knots. The miles to the finish are now tumbling fast which makes the soaking on deck well worth it.”

PUMA navigator Tom Addis said the crew was enjoying the chance to unleash the full potential of their boat in the open ocean.

“It’s been fantastic, fast reaching,” Addis said. “We’re back in open water, no shipping, no fishing nets, no debris to dodge. We’re just letting the boat rip doing 22, 23 knots, reaching with bow up. It’s what these boats are good at so that’s always a nice feeling.”

Addis added that PUMA were aware that they must keep up their breakneck pace for the next few days if their northern ‘further but faster’ strategy was ultimately to work.

“Opportunity is ahead for us starting from now, for sure, especially after all our hard work to get east,” he said.

“After all this torture we’re going to finally have wider and faster angles than most of the guys, so we should be gaining by the hour. We’ve put in the hard work, and now it’s time to reap the rewards.

“When you travel the most miles in a leg like we have, I guess you’ve got to expect to put some good runs on the board. We had 26 knots earlier, we may get close again but it’s likely to just average 20 knots plus.

Team Sanya skipper Mike Sanderson said although his crew were in sixth they had done well to stay in the hunt but were now facing some big losses in a drag race against the more powerful newer boats.

“We’ve worked very hard through the change of positions to be among the pack, we’ve led at times and we’ve been last at times, but now we’re faced with the reality of the speed of these new generation boats,” Sanderson said. “They’re going in excess of a knot faster than us, and they’re just going to sail on by.

“We’re all very competitive sailors and we’re all used to winning, but now we’re just not fast enough through the water after battling for the last week to keep up.

“One knot difference is big – you’re talking a 24-mile difference each day. Over the next three or four days with the trades, it’s a little bit scary. It’s going to be 100 miles in those three or four days.”

The fleet still have more than 3,500 nm to go to the finish in Auckland and are expected to arrive around March 9.

CAMPER Move North

CAMPER skipper Chris Nicholson reckons his team have manoeuvred into the prime position to the north of the Volvo Ocean Race fleet after dodging a squall overnight.

"If it plays out as it should the 10 miles of leverage that we have we should be able to convert that into a couple of miles of lead in 900 miles time" - CAMPER skipper Chris Nicholson

Nicholson said they were “probably where all of our other competitors would like to be” after splitting from the fleet and repositioning themselves around 10 miles to the north of leg leaders PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG.

At the 0700 UTC position report CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand trailed PUMA by just over a mile in terms of distance to finish, however Nicholson said their new position could pay dividends further down the track.

“Last night we had a couple of rain showers come over,” Nicholson explained this morning.

“Sometimes these can be good or bad, but basically the cloud provided quite a shift in the breeze so we decided to tack and sail along the edge of the cloud where the outflow breeze was.

“This just allowed us to set up to the north of our competitors and give us some leverage in the days ahead.

“At the moment if it plays out as it should the 10 miles of leverage that we have we should be able to convert that into a couple of miles of lead in 900 miles time.

“Obviously anything can happen between now and then but at this point in time this is the position that we would like to remain in and probably where all of our other competitors would like to be.”

PUMA MCM Amory Ross revealed in his latest blog that they too thought about tacking but instead opted to stay put in favour of higher speeds.

“At some point we accepted a cloud-induced header and CAMPER did not, and they tacked away to the north. We have not seen them since.

“We mulled tacking several times after, mostly while monitoring clouds on the radar, but coolly decided against it.

“We see more value in sticking to our game plan than covering at this early stage.”

Team Sanya were the first of the fleet to reposition themselves, taking the hit yesterday afternoon, and Team Telefónica followed suit overnight.

Groupama sailing team were this morning under three miles astern of PUMA, with Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing the most southerly boat in the fleet.

All of the boats were posting average speeds between 11 and 12 knots in around 10 knots of wind.