"We stink," was the succinct comment from Puma's Brad Jackson. That's what sailors do after a while, especially when they're travelling through the tropics at 22 knots on wet boats like the Volvo Ocean 70, standing on deck in a constant shower. However, the days of fat legged races are numbered for the time being, as the boats are now rapidly approaching the low-wind zone at the equator. The leading Frenchmen from Groupama are already much slower and should cross latitude zero today. Puma was only 65 miles behind them at the last position report.
The actual convergence zone lies a little to the south, but the question that all navigators ask themselves is always the same: What's the quickest way through? Missing a windy cloud can cost many miles. In the last race, for example, Puma dared to sail through the reef-infested waters of Fiji and made a good deal. This time, the Solomon Islands are close to the course line, and many an alternative plan is already being considered, especially on the boats that have been left behind. "There is no magic formula," says Groupama's navigator Jean Luc Nélias. "You need a bit of luck."
Ken Read, who has now guided Puma to second place after the seemingly endless diversions to the Japanese islands at the start of the leg, believes it won't be quite as tricky, with some forecasts promising no less than 10 knots of wind. "Hopefully it will be a little easier, but you never really know."
Full throttle to the equator
Telefonica, the overall leaders, are currently the most westerly boat and are in 3rd place, more than 100 miles behind Groupama. Their immediate neighbours are Camper and Abu Dhabi, the two boats that had to contend with sailing problems and defects and injuries respectively. On Camper the twin jib broke, on Abu Dhabi there were problems with the luff extrusion and a centreboard mechanism. In addition, skipper Ian Walker and Craig Satterthwaite were caught by oncoming waves and thrown against structures on deck, but escaped with bruises and bruises.
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