Volvo Ocean Race: Tough first days - and important decisions ahead

The shortest route leads directly south, as this time the waypoint Fernando de Noronha, a small group of islands off the coast of Brazil, is omitted. The first few days were all about making the most of the trade winds blowing from east to west at 20 to 40 knots, but at the same time making as much way south as possible. This resulted in a jibing party. All teams tried to make the most of the wind shifts of up to 40 degrees.

"We have to take every little turn and constantly re-stow, dragging the sails to the windward side again and again," reports Antonio Cuervas-Mons from Team Mapfre. "That's very annoying because it's difficult when there's water everywhere. But soon the wind will die down and everything will calm down."

The first 24 hours were particularly tough, with boat speeds of up to 30 knots. Sam Greenfield, reporter for Team Turn the Tide on Plastic, describes it like this:

"We didn't have anything like these conditions on the three stages I took part in last year's race. 30 knots of speed, so much noise, so wet! Saw some crazy stuff. A wave washed Bianca(Crew member; the ed.) into the cockpit, she was on a lead. So much water came over her that her lifejacket exploded. She was trapped on her back, held by her harness, while hundreds of gallons of water poured over her face. It was scary to watch." The scene was captured on video.

After the rather small-scale tactical sailing, there are now bigger strategic decisions to be made. The shortest route to the south also harbours the greatest risks in the form of doldrums. The Doldrums, a weak wind belt near the equator, are usually more pronounced to the east than to the west.

The fleet was off the Canary Islands this morning and sailed into a wind area with up to 20 knots to the south, which will quickly carry them into a weak wind area north of the Doldrums before it becomes completely calm.

There, the teams could then utilise an option, the so-called stealth mode, which can be used once per leg (up to 200 nautical miles before the finish). All participants and spectators will receive position reports only four times a day, at 0100, 0700, 1300 and 1900 UTC. If a team goes into stealth mode, it becomes invisible for three consecutive position reports, i.e. for a total of 24 hours. This could bring valuable advantages, especially in such an important phase as entering the Doldrums.