It was slow going for the Volvo Ocean Race fleet after leaving Lorient in France as the teams fought strong tides on this sprint leg to the pit-stop in The Hague.
– Volvo Ocean Race champions ADOR aim to finish final Leg 9 in style
– Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing seeking Volvo Ocean Race ‘double’
– Fernández back at the helm as MAPFRE skipper for Leg 8
Light northerly winds and strong currents held boat speeds in check as low as three to four knots during one stretch mid-morning.
Team SCA, who made a bold move to split from the pack and keep close inshore, were caught in a strong adverse current and no wind at all as they rounded the Pointe du Raz.
It took the magenta team three tries to cross the current and round the point before they managed to break through and sneak along the French coast. “We approached the area with a few knots of boat speed. Would it be enough to take us past? The stream got stronger and stronger the closer we got,” wrote Team SCA skipper Anna-Lena Elled.
“When we arrived, it looked like the water was boiling under us. The boat started to move in various directions as the wind was weak, and we started to drift sideways. We looked like we were not going to make it.”
The rest of the seven-boat fleet initially headed further west in search of stronger breeze, but later converged on the coast of France.
Team Brunel, who led the fleet by about one nautical mile (nm) early in the leg, continued to maintain a thin advantage of 0.6 nm over Team Alvimedica at the end of the day’s racing.
Stunning shot delivered by @volvooceanrace! Once again the fleet is match racing near the French coast. #VOR pic.twitter.com/mhjBmtOwiD
— BrunelSailing (@brunelsailing) June 17, 2015
MAPFRE and Dongfeng Race Team were in third and fourth positions, separated by roughly one nautical mile. Team Vestas Wind and Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing were within striking distance just three nm behind Team Brunel. Team SCA were still the closest inshore of the fleet
. Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing’s Matt Knighton noted that the currents were taking on a life of their own.
“We’ve been slammed, spun, knocked over and pushed backwards, but never before has it felt like there’s a monster beneath the waves tugging the hull whichever way it wants. “The currents grab our fins and shake the boat with no regularity.”
The teams should be able to shift gears into overdrive later this afternoon, as they head east towards the Western Approaches.
The northwesterly winds will become westerlies early tonight, increasing to 15-22 knots. The estimated time of arrival remains between 1400 UTC on Thursday and 0500 UTC on Friday morning.
