Volvo Ocean Race : Telefonica 400 miles out

02-02-2012 "TELEFÓNICA" DEFENDS LEAD ON THE FINAL 400 MILES TO CHINA   Download (Low)   Download (Medium)   Download (High) 412 miles from the Chinese city of Sanya and latest estimates put “Telefónica” possibly crossing the finishing line in the next 48 hours On a pure upwind course heading to Sanya: that's how “Telefónica” is sailing, with a single objective in sight: Sanya (China), the end point of the third leg in this edition of the Volvo Ocean Race. Leading the fleet, the boat skippered by Iker Martínez is involved in a boat on boat battle with French entry “Groupama” and it looks like the match race between the two is likely to be kept up until the finish. “We've got 'Groupama' nearby so we have to go as fast as we can to try to gain some mileage on them and to be better placed for the final stretch”, said Fructuoso is his daily report. The night hasn't been easy on any of the boats and the move up close to the Vietnamese coast (the boat got within a few metres of land) turned into a battle of tacks between the French and the Spanish, resulting in a turn eastwards and towards Sanya. It seems that “Telefónica” came out on top in the battle and the crew are facing the final days of the leg from a good position , although Diego Fructuoso points out that on board focus is at a peak and Iker Martínez and Andrew Cape, Skipper and Navigator respectively continue to analyse each report in detail with the aim of keeping a firm grip on the lead. One fleet, one option Yesterday, the fleet was divided into two options and whilst “Camper with Emirates Team New Zealand”, “Abu Dhabi” and “Sanya” are following the tracks of “Telefónica” and “Groupama”, “Puma” has maintained an eastern routing in search of a more direct course to Sanya. These are two very different calls, as Fructuoso explains: “The racing situation is better than it was yesterday. Four of the boats, including ourselves chose to hug the Vietnam coast and only “Puma” has gone much further windward. What we need to now is to defend our lead in this group and we'll just have to wait and see what happens with 'Puma'”. For Navigator Andrew Cape it'll be a case of waiting another 12 hours to see how one option and the other plays out, although he made no hesitation in describing the American option as “very interesting”. “I don't know what's going to happen, nobody does and we'll just have to wait and see. We did what we thought was best and they'll have done the same, but it's not clear which option is the best. We are really happy with where we are now and we'll see what happens in 18 hours”, said the Navigator in a link up from on board “Telefónica” at 10:00 UTC. Now, at 16:00 UTC, “Puma” is sailing next to the Vietnanmese coast. The mood remains optimistic on board and the Spaniard reminded us that “I said before that the situation had improved because we have both 'Camper with Team New Zealand’ and ‘Abu Dhabi’ more under control than yesterday when they were further windward”. Cape said that whilst tiredness was taking its toll, the atmosphere on board is positive and all of the guys are focussing on the thought that once they're on shore there will be time to rest: “We've eaten enough but we've barely had time to rest. All of the tacking has been tough and this isn't over. It's been tough but we can all see the light at the end of the tunnel now and we know there'll be time to rest afterwards”. Living on a roller-coaster Going upwind is never easy, but with the breeze tipping 30 knots life on board can get even more tricky. So much so that Diego Fructuoso went as far as to compare “Telefónica” to a roller-coaster: “I'm writing from on board the “Telefónica” roller-coaster, close to the Vietnam coast. It's amazing how we are being shaken around on here. We've got about 30 knots of breeze which is normal for this kind of boat, but where we are right now is quite shallow and with the lack of depth some big and constant waves are formed. Having breakfast without throwing most of the milk around is mission impossible. Not to mention sleeping or going to the toilet...” wrote Fructuoso in his daily report today.    PROVISIONAL RANKINGS STAGE 2 - LEG 3 Day 12 – 16:00 UTC – 2nd February 2012 1 Team Telefónica (Iker Martínez), 412.6 miles from finish 2 Groupama Sailing Team (Franck Cammas), +10.8 miles 3 Camper with Emirates Team New Zealand (Chris Nicholson), +18 miles 4 Puma Ocean Racing (Ken Read), +27.1 miles 5 Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing (Ian Walker), +28.9 miles 6 Team Sanya (Mike Sanderson), +212.4 miles