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Volvo Ocean RaceNeptune knows no mercy

Tatjana Pokorny

 · 24.10.2014

Volvo Ocean Race: Neptune knows no mercyPhoto: Brian Carlin/Vestas Wind/VOR
VOR 2014/2015 Team Vestas Wind
The onboard reporters on the VO-65 yachts have their own daily competition: Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing with Matt Knighton leads here too
Fans' favourite: The Volvo Ocean Race through the eyes of Anbord reporter Matt Knighton in Team Abu Dhabi Ocean RacingPhoto: Matt Knighton/ADOR/VOR Fans' favourite: The Volvo Ocean Race through the eyes of Anbord reporter Matt Knighton in Team Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing

Like an accordion, the fleet of seven VO-65 yachts is now moving towards Cape Town after reaching the southern hemisphere and various equator baptisms as well as rounding the island of Fernando de Noronha off Brazil. The distances shrink and grow again, reflecting the different weather windows in which the boats are currently travelling.

Neptune showed no mercy to the equator baptismal candidates on board Vestas WindPhoto: Brian Carlin/Vestas Wind/VOR Neptune showed no mercy to the equator baptismal candidates on board Vestas Wind
You wouldn't want to be in the shoes of the equator baptismal candidates: kitchen waste, flying fish and other unpleasant substances are often added to the porridge with which the novices are greeted in the name of Neptune as they sail to the southern hemispherePhoto: Amory Ross/VOR You wouldn't want to be in the shoes of the equator baptismal candidates: kitchen waste, flying fish and other unpleasant substances are often added to the porridge with which the novices are greeted in the name of Neptune as they sail to the southern hemisphere

By midday on Saturday, the top trio had completed exactly 50 per cent of the second longest leg of 6,487 nautical miles. Ian Walker's Team Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing defended its lead with 18.5 nautical miles ahead of the Dutch Team Brunel with skipper Bouwe Bekking. The Danish team Vestas Wind was only 31.9 nautical miles behind the leaders. The red lantern of the tail light continued to hang in the stern of the women's team SCA. However, the ladies have now reduced their deficit, which had grown to more than 200 nautical miles in the Doldrums, by almost half to 118 nautical miles and, after just under 14 days at sea, were on a par with the Spanish team Mapfre, which was also chasing Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing with a deficit of 118 nautical miles.

A typical day at the office: day-to-day work on board Team AlvimedicaPhoto: Amory Ross/VOR A typical day at the office: day-to-day work on board Team Alvimedica

The top speed so far on this first leg of the Volvo Ocean Race 2014/2015 was achieved by the American team Alvimedica with a speedy 21 knots. The best average speed in the first half of the leg was achieved by Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing at 19 knots. The Danish team Vestas achieved the highest 24-hour mark with 390 nautical miles.

While the sailors fight for the best position for the approach to Cape Town and soon have to think about how to deal with the St Helena High - the crucial question: dare to cross it with the risk of getting stuck or rather sail around it at a good speed? -, the teams' on-board reporters are getting more and more creative and better and better. They send their best pictures to the headquarters in Alicante every day. There they are sorted and put to the fans' vote on a dedicated Facebook page on the Internet. So far, Matt Knighton from Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing is the frontrunner in the voters' favour, having received 2317 votes for his impressions by the eleventh day of racing. At this point, Brian Carlin from Vestas Wind (1769 votes) was in second place ahead of Amory Ross (1412 votes) from the US team Alvimedica. Some of the best pictures can be seen on this page.

Click here for the Anbord reporters' daily photo competition:

https://www.facebook.com/volvooceanrace/app_262785913845062?ref=page_internal

Us in here, them out there: successful snapshot of Matt Knighton on board Abu Dhabi Ocean RacingPhoto: Matt Knighton/ADOR/VOR Us in here, them out there: successful snapshot of Matt Knighton on board Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing
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Tatjana Pokorny

Tatjana Pokorny

Sports reporter

Tatjana “tati” Pokorny is the author of nine books. As a reporter for Europe's leading sailing magazine YACHT, she also works as a correspondent for the German Press Agency (DPA), the Hamburger Abendblatt and other national and international media. In summer 2024, Tatjana will be reporting from Marseille on her ninth consecutive Olympic Games. Other core topics have been the America's Cup since 1992, the Ocean Race since 1993, the Vendée Globe and other national and international regattas and their protagonists. Favorite discipline: Portraits of and interviews with sailing personalities. When she started out in sports journalism, she was still intensively involved with basketball and other sports, but sailing quickly became her main focus. The reason? The declared optimist says: “There is no other sport like it, no other sport with such interesting and intelligent personalities, no other sport so diverse, no other sport so full of energy, strength and ideas. Sailing is like a constantly refreshing declaration of love for life."

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