As in a pursuit race, the boats were started individually yesterday morning according to the gap to Telefonica, which won Sunday's round on Sanya Bay. And at first, light wind skills were required, as there was practically no wind in the cover of the high mountains around Sanya. Groupama and Franck Cammas, who started second, snatched the lead for the time being in these conditions.
Then the New Zealand campers came up from behind, their team fuelled by a mixture of ambition and homesickness. You get worn down bit by bit, like a piece of cheese, Camper's cameraman Hamish Hooper described the gradual mental and physical degradation of such a gruelling event. "But the guys are tough and focussed. And it's fantastic to finally sail home to Auckland."
But the calm soon came to an end, as the predicted residual seas from yesterday's storm soon threw the boats up and down wildly. "We're falling so brutally off the back of these steep waves that it's hard to stay on our feet, let alone trim or steer a sail," says Nick Dana from Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing. "Below deck, it looks like a battlefield. A few people have already vomited and the others are swallowing hard."
The next two days will be characterised by such leapfrogging, but also by tactics to best position oneself for the passage through or exit from the Strait of Luzon. It's a walk on the fine line between speed and safety. Then it's onwards for a while with a north-easterly trade wind before the flat South Pacific convergence zone has to be crossed. At the moment, the field is sailing in unison to the north-east. According to the position report from 2 a.m. CET, Camper is ahead of Groupama and Telefonica. The arrival of the first of them in Auckland is expected around 8 March.
Stage 4: First day at sea
More on the Event page and about the Live stream the YouTube channel and the apps for I-Phone and Android.
Current positions and distances in the Tracker.
