Today is something of a decision day on this third leg of the Volvo Ocean Race. The first four boats, Telefonica, Groupama, Camper and Abu Dhabi, are on the mogul track to the South Vietnamese coast, buffeted by stiff breezes and steep seas. Ken Read and his Puma team, on the other hand, decided the day before yesterday to risk a long haul to the east, which set them back 120 miles in arithmetical terms, but may pay big dividends in the form of better conditions.
Telefonica was the first to tack under land, giving Groupama the mathematical lead, but Puma was clearly the fastest boat in today's early shift with an average of 14.6 knots and is starting to make up ground rapidly. "It's starting to look good, but there are still risks," says meteorologist Gonzalo Infante. "In the easternmost position, they will benefit from a right-hand shift and they will avoid the strong counter-current along the Vietnamese coast." But before Puma can cash in on the others, they will have to navigate carefully through an area aptly labelled "Dangerous Ground" because of its shallows and rocks.
Even if the predicted wind peaks are "only" 25 knots, the boats buck violently, so that practically everyone has to shift down a gear to protect themselves and their craft from damage. For the front four, there is also the exhausting game of "tack & stack", which is the tedious shifting of sails and household goods on and below deck that follows every tack. And they will have to tack quite often as they make their way along the coast of Vietnam towards the finish line. The stage winners are expected to arrive in Sanya on 4 February.
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