Friday, November 21st
The night was difficult for all the crews who had to deal with the Agulhas current (current of the Indian Ocean which is among the strongest in the world). We had to manage an uncomfortable navigation and skip the meal because of the difficulty to keep the boat stable. Due to a strong wind (up to 30 knots last night), the Volvo Ocean 65s are moving at high speed (between 23 and 24 knots on average). Inside the boats, there have been some minor technical problems, such as on MAPFRE, where a bunk broke under a wave. Onboard Team Vestas Wind, it is the mainsail that broke. The sailing conditions are difficult and the crews have to deal with the tons of water that are falling on them. Team Alvamedica leads the fleet by being the most northerly and leads MAPFRE by 2.2 miles. The last crew, Team SCA, further south, is 30 miles behind. The boats are quite grouped, being only separated by more or less 3.5 miles.
Saturday, November 22nd
The fleet started to gybe at the end of the day in order to reach the southeast. The gap between the boats is growing, with 56 miles separating the leader Dongfeng Race Team from the last one, Team Vestas Wind. The wind has finally dropped and the crews can finally take a breather. They took the opportunity to eat, change and wash up. Finally, they are free of the stress that forced them to keep their eyes riveted on the boat and fight against the waves. The boats are close again and are fighting each other.
Sunday, November 23rd
The fleet is now heading north and has to deal with some high tension areas. Abu Dhabi was the first to gybe north, followed by the rest of the fleet. Dongfeng Race and Team MAPFRE are only 1.5 miles apart. The wind is lighter as the boats approach the high pressure system. Abu Dhabi, which is the furthest north has lighter winds while Team SCA to the south is enjoying 18 knots of wind. This entry into the zone is like a new start for the seven crews who will have to regroup again. Currently, 100 miles separate the fleet from east to west and 75 miles from north to south.
Monday, November 24th
Abu Dhabi took the lead thanks to its first gybe, which was more tactical than strategic. He is therefore isolated from the rest of the fleet, which has chosen to head east before heading south. However, he can no longer keep an eye on his rivals and is sailing in unstable conditions. Despite this, he is benefiting from fairly strong winds while the other crews are struggling in light winds. In fact, they are following MAPFRE, which has gone east and is now sailing on a south-southeast course. The sailing conditions are still difficult, Team SCA having paid the price.
Tonight, the boats have regrouped and all the boats are now within 36.3 miles. Abu Dhabi has lost miles and Team SCA has gained miles. Team Brunel has taken the lead.
Wednesday, November 26th
It's been a week since the fleet left Cape Town for Abu Dhabi, but it's far from being the shortest for this 2nd edition ème leg. They are 300 miles southeast of Madagascar and have finally crossed the latitude of Cape Town after 5 days of sailing. Abu Dhabi has regained the lead of the fleet, once again gybing earlier than its rivals, but MAPFRE is sometimes getting the better of them. The situation is likely to become more complicated as they approach Mauritius, where they were already expecting a cyclone which turned out to be a tropical storm. The crews will have to decide on their strategy in the next few hours, whether to stay away from the storm or to use it to move forward more quickly.
Thursday, November 27
It was a particularly crazy night for the Volvo Ocean Race crews, who couldn't sleep a wink all night. At Team Vestas Wind, they made 8 tacks in 1 hour and 40 minutes! Throughout the night, MAPFRE led the fleet before falling into a zone of light winds. Now the wind has died down but has not affected the speed of the boats. For the moment Abu Dhabi is still leading the fleet but MAPFRE is sometimes taking advantage of the leader. Team Brunel and Dongfeng Race are fighting for the 3rd place ème place. The distances are close as only 11 miles separate MAPFRE from Team Vestas Wind, 6 ème . Team SCA has stalled, 25 miles behind. They will now concentrate on the tropical storm that should arrive in 2 to 3 days.
