Four of the six boats in the Volvo Ocean Race went off course (lying on their side) between March 23 and 24. The event spread quickly as it took only twelve hours for the damage to occur. Fortunately, there were no injuries and the boats remain in the race.
An eventful start to the week
One week ago, the six Volvo Ocean 65s set off on the 5th edition of the e leg towards Itajai, Brazil. The first days of sailing were quite rough because of the "residues" of the cyclone Pam. Afterwards, the crews chose to split into two groups, three to the south and three to the north. Since March 21, Team Brunel has been leading the fleet and with the scare that four of the six crews have just experienced, it is starting to widen the gaps, especially with Team SCA, the last boat in the race.
Unintentional gybes in series
On March 23, Dongfeng Race Team found itself lying on its side, requiring "two or three hours to put everything back in place" according to Yann Riou, reporter on board the Franco-Chinese boat. "About 300 l of water inside, passed through an air hatch, then through my bunk and sleeping bag before spreading out in the boat. [âeuros¦] At least a gopro and a dead camera as far as I am concerned." continues Yann.
Today, we learn that the Chinese boat is not the only one to have suffered from this departure. Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing has had a huge "pile up" while MAPFRE, Team SCA and Dongfeng have experienced the "Chinese gybe" . It was an involuntary gybe aggravated by the position of the canting keel, which caused the boat to lie on its side. The weather conditions are rough and leave little room for error: strong winds of about forty knots, waves of several metersâ?¦
For the moment, the crews are listing the damage, but for Charles Caudrelier (Dongfeng Race Team), relief is in order "All my men are on board (âeuros¦) and we haven't broken anything, nor torn any sails" explained Caudrelier, going so far as to talk about "miracle."
The Team SCA girls also experienced the same scare "We ended up on the edge for 2-4 minutes before slowly coming back down to the proper position." said Anna-Lena Elled, the onboard reporter. The women's crew has lost nearly 40 miles and is now 100 miles behind the leaders. MAPFRE also reported a Chinese gybe, but has not given any news since, to declare the damage.
Two boats spared
Only Team Brunel, at the head of the fleet and Team Alvimedica were spared last night. The Dutch now have a significant lead, but the exit from the Pacific is not planned for soon. Cape Horn will not be rounded until Sunday or Monday, as the latest estimates predict.
