VOR | STORMS | BREWING

At 1300 UTC Iker Martínez and his men, who won the first three offshore legs but have since slipped, held a narrow 1.1 nautical mile lead over Groupama following the first 24 hours' racing towards the turning mark of São Miguel island in the Azores.

PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG were in third place followed by Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing and CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand, while Team Sanya rounded out the fleet on a more southerly course more than 26 nm behind.

Groupama lead Telefónica by eight points with two offshore legs and two in-port races to go in what is turning out to be the closest ever Volvo Ocean Race. PUMA are in third, 13 points off the lead, with CAMPER a further 10 points back. With 30 points going to the winner of each of the remaining offshore legs, there is still plenty of scope for lead changes.

Telefónica trimmer and Olympic gold medallist Xabi Fernández said the team were revelling in their return to a position at the front of the pack after a difficult run, but were under no illusion about the battle to come to remain there.

"We are still second overall and everything is still in our hands,'' said Fernández. "The only thing we can think about is to keep pushing, try to do a very nice leg and get back in the lead as soon as possible."

Fernández said the team had more to worry about than just Groupama, with third overall PUMA currently in third place and within sight on the race course.

Adding to the pressure is the knowledge that the fleet will compress as it nears São Miguel, which is situated in a notoriously windless area in the middle of the Azores High.

"You are always nervous when you go into a zone with no wind,'' Fernández said. "We will have a very hard 24 hours maybe tomorrow or the next day. It's clear that the first one going out of the light air is going to be the winner, or have a lot of chances, so we have to fight hard in the light air conditions."

Groupama are not only looking to defend their hard fought overall lead, they are also vying for an opportunity to race into their homeport of Lorient in first place.

Groupama Media Crew Member Yann Riou today reported that his team were focused on capitalising on the fast reaching conditions for which his team are famous for being quickest of the fleet.

"Of course it's a bit of a special leg on different levels,'' Riou said. "Its format is a bit different in terms of length, there is a lot at stake and we don't forget that this is bringing us home."

The game will change on Tuesday once the teams round São Miguel and switch from reaching to running conditions in a powerful low-pressure system that promises gale force winds in excess of 40 knots.

Abu Dhabi navigator Jules Salter said turning the corner could be likened to a second start and the race would again become wide open.

"It is going to be pretty exciting to see how we play that low and close we go to the centre of it,'' he said. "That will probably decide who wins this leg."

The latest ETA for the fleet's arrival in Lorient, France is on Friday.

All Pictures Courtesy Volvo Ocean Media Cover by iSail media 

Volvo Ocean Race :Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing Back On The High Seas

@Paul Todd 

It’s day six for the fleet racing in the Volvo Ocean Race and the conditions are taking their toll with seasickness and tiredness setting in for the crews sailing out to the west. Inshore, Groupama 4 (Franck Cammas/FRA) continues to luck in, leading the fleet by 111.40 nautical miles (nm), while the rest of the fleet loses out.

The three boats to the west, led by Telefónica (Iker Martinez/ESP) with PUMA’s Mar Mostro (Ken Read/USA) just eight nm astern are currently sailing upwind and away from Fernando de Noronha, the mark of the course on the Brazilian coast that the fleet must leave to port, in order to reach a new low-pressure system. Once there, they will hook into the new breeze on the western side, avoiding the centre where there will be little or no wind, and speeds will start to clock up.

The on-going battle between PUMA’s Mar Mostro and Telefónica continues as they engage in their own private drag race, causing a frenzy of activity for each tack as gear and crew are stacked in the optimum position. The two boats are in sight of each other, which adds to the onboard competition.

It is hard for CAMPER (Chris Nicholson/AUS), who are on their own, 78 nm to the north. Nerves of steel are needed on board as the crew cling to their strategy to sail closer to the low-pressure system and meet the promised new wind.
Meanwhile, the crew of Groupama 4 (Franck Cammas/FRA) are relishing their lonely course 24 nm inshore.

They spent a magical night racing downwind under a full moon, no clouds and a balmy 20 degrees Celsius. The dream trip will be over if the weather gods kill what little is left of the trade winds, but for now the crew are enjoying themselves and last night they saw very clearly the lights of their former base camp in Lanzarote. Earlier this morning they gybed away from the Canary Island of Fuerteventura and they are now running parallel with the coast.

Discussions on board include how best to bridge across to the west and re-join the fleet. Earlier this morning, bowman Brad Marsh described this move as “similar to crossing a battlefield full of mines and bombs -- with surrounding trenches and gunfire from all angles”. But he added that Groupama sailing team are a band of smart and experienced Frenchmen who are confident in their battle plan.

Every position report tells a story. Will Groupama 4’s bold move pay off or is west still best? The crews wait in anticipation for the only source of information that gives the answer – at least temporarily.

Meanwhile, a long way behind, Abu Dhabi resumed racing this morning as they stepped tentatively back into Leg 1 with a replacement mast.

Read more »

VOR Update :Groupama Gamble pays off In shore

It’s losses all round tonight at 2200UTC as Groupama 4 (Franck Cammas/FRA) extends her lead.Telefónica with the Spanish super star Iker Martinez has lost 20 nautical miles (nm), PUMA’s Mar Mostro (Kenny Read/USA) 19 nm, and the worst casualty CAMPER (Chris Nicholson/AUS) has lost 24 nm. She’s now 105 nm in deficit and has only averaged 5.4 knots out to the west, while the French team is creaming along at 13.8 knots as the boat heads into fresher breeze on their inshore course. Telefónica and PUMA’s Mar Mostro are just a mile apart, still clinging tightly to each other and watching every move, while CAMPER is out of sight, 21 nm further west with Madeira 60 miles on their port beam. Groupama 4 has about 60 nm to sail before the French team reaches the Canary Island of Lanzarote. But, it’s going to be a long painful night for the three in the west until they reach Madeira and a potential change of fortune. Contacts ►

For more information on the Volvo Ocean Race please visit:www.volvooceanrace.com For media information on the Volvo Ocean Race, please contact: Sophie Luther – Communications Manager (travelling) Tel + 34 966 011 152 / Mob +34 606 894 940 sophie.luther@volvooceanrace.com Lizzie (Green) Ward – (UK) Mob +44 7801 185 320 lizzie.ward@volvooceanrace.com Christina Gaither- Press Assistant (Spanish language) Tel + 34 966 011 158 / Mob +34 676 675 931 christina.gaither@volvooceanrace.com Media Guide Download in English (38 MB) or read flip version online Images High resolution images can be downloaded fromhttp://images.volvooceanrace.com Tim Stonton, Picture Desk Manager (Spain) Tel +34 966 011 151 / Mob +34 606 905 497 tim.stonton@volvooceanrace.com Broadcast For video inquiries, please contact: television@volvooceanrace.com Please visit www.volvooceanrace.com/broadcastroomFor any assistance please contact: sonia.kannengiesser@synapticdigital.com  Radio For radio accreditation and requests please contact USP Content at:radio@volvooceanrace.com Media Zone  www.volvooceanrace.com/mediazone

Editors' Notes: The Volvo Ocean Race The Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12 started on October 29 in Alicante, Spain and will finish in Galway, Ireland in July. The course of the race includes stopovers in Cape Town (South Africa), Abu Dhabi (UAE), Sanya (China), Auckland (New Zealand), Itajaí (Brazil), Miami (USA), Lisbon (Portugal) and Lorient (France). The first race first took place 38 years ago (as the Whitbread Round the World Race 1973-74), testing the crews against some of the most ferocious elements that man can encounter. The 2011-12 race takes the teams over 39,000 nautical miles (45,000 miles or 72,000 kilometres).

Lonely warriors follow traditional trade route

Leg 1 Report: 08/11/2011 22:03:10 UTC DTL DTLC BS DTF 1 TELE 0.00 0.0 12.7 5884.6 2 PUMA 2.80 1.0 11.9 5887.4 3 GPMA 7.80 7.0 9.3 5892.4 4 CMPR 17.30 1.0 12.1 5901.9 - ADOR Suspended Racing - SNYA Retired from Leg 1 As night fell on the fleet, Groupama 4 was nowhere to be seen. While the three other boats racing in leg one of the Volvo Ocean Race clung to each other as if attached by elastic, Franck Cammas and his team are, as Ken Read from PUMA’s Mar Mostro puts it, ‘lonely warriors heading the traditional trade route’. They are sailing their own race only four and a half nautical miles (nm) off the Moroccan coast, 96 nm inshore of the rest of the fleet. “Still pretty amazing, “ Read writes. “A split in the fleet with 39,000 miles to go.” Meanwhile, it is game on for the main group, led by Telefónica (Iker Martinez/ESP. The Spanish boat has PUMA’s Mar Mostro moulded to her hip as the three westerly boats continue their upwind slog at an average speed of 12 knots. The newcomers onboard PUMA’s Mar Mostro – Rome Kirby and Amory Ross - are both wondering if they will be going upwind the whole way round the world. Although Chris Nicholson (NZL) has now placed the red and white CAMPER back on the track he wanted after sacrificing miles earlier today in his bid to head west, he is still playing catchup. CAMPER is 17.30 nm behind Telefónica who holds on to first place just 2.8 nm ahead of PUMA’s Ma Mostro. Average speeds for the boats in the west are around 12 knots, while third-placed Groupama 4 is only managing 9.3. It’s not over yet. Finding a quick route through the Doldrums will be required before the champagne sailing can begin.

Volvo Ocean Race : Race Update The Latest

Leg 1 Report: 08/11/2011 13:02:36 UTC DTL DTLC BS DTF 1 TELE 0.00 0.0 12.2 5923.7 2 PUMA 3.20 1.0 12.2 5926.9 3 GPMA 19.40 16.0 2.3 5943.1 4 CMPR 24.10 2.0 14.8 5947.8 - ADOR Suspended Racing - SNYA Retired from Leg 1 Contacts ► Media Zone ► Offshore, the four boats still sailing on Leg 1 of the Volvo Ocean Race are competing to be the first to find the Atlantic’s absent trade winds, while back on land, it is a race against time for the two teams repairing damage to get back in the hunt for points. Team Telefónica are leading on the 6,500 nautical mile first leg from Alicante to Cape Town, sailing a western course in the Atlantic ahead of PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG, Groupama sailing team and CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand. The French team’s tactical gamble to split from the fleet and hug Africa’s coast on a southern course is costing them dearly, losing 16 miles on the leader and dropping from second to third as the rig flogs and sails flail in less than two knots of breeze. Cammas said his team were focused on playing the weather rather than the other boats. “It’s a very different option from the other boats – we will cover less miles but we need wind, and the next 24-hours will be crucial for the result,’’ he said.  “We think that’s the good choice and we didn’t know the other boats would not go there. On paper, this option is not that risky.” CAMPER’s late call to go west when winds lightened overnight and boat speed dropped to one knot has also taken a toll, with the initial leg leader dropping to fourth. Navigator Will Oxley said it had been testing on the nerves, but there were still positives to draw from the challenge: “The boat’s being sailed well by the guys and boat-on-boat we feel like we’re doing quite well, but we’re pretty pleased we put on an extra food bag right now because it’s going to be a long leg.’’ Onshore, Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing are ahead of schedule in the race to replace the broken mast on Azzam and start the mission to catch up with the other boats. Speaking in Alicante, skipper Ian Walker said the team were expecting the arrival of two replacement parts from Valencia today, which would complete the assembly of the new mast. Walker said he was hopeful that his crew would mount the new mast and rig in Azzam tonight, with the team hitting the water and returning to racing tomorrow. “To be honest, I want to get back in the race in the next 24 hours if I can because the fleet aren’t getting away that fast and it wouldn’t be impossible to catch them up,’’ he said. “All being well we might get the mast in tonight and then off tomorrow morning. “This is our last mast so the last thing we want to do is anything unseaman-like, go out to sea and then find we have the same problem again or another problem then that would put us out of the race, so the stakes are high." The two-day weather lull could boost Abu Dhabi's catch up bid as the Emirati team are expected to pick up propulsion from a low pressure system once they make it through Gibraltar Strait - - if they leave tomorrow. Having ruled out a return to Leg 1 yesterday Mike Sanderson’s Team Sanya are now turning their sights on repairing the major structural damage to their hull in time for the Cape Town In-Port Race and the start of Leg 2. “The piece of boat that we are going to chop out and replace is five metres long by three and a half metres wide by a metre high. That’s the same size as a reasonable sized powerboat that you could chuck a 100 horsepower outboard on and go out for a day’s fishing.” Sanderson admitted it was a major challenge logistically to ship Sanya to Cape Town, with its earliest arrival expected to be November 28. He said it was also a practical challenge, with the team having to complete one month’s work in just one week. “None of the timings add up right now, but the moons are starting to align for us a little bit. We have to get the job done properly. This is the Volvo Ocean Race and it simply isn’t an option to head out without the boat being 100 per cent.”

Volvo Ocean Race News :The Doldrums

The fleet has shown its hand and decisions have been made from which there will be no going back. Franck Cammas/FRA has made a bold move to take Groupama rock-hopping just eight nautical miles off the Moroccan coast,

while Chris Nicholson/AUS (CAMPER) changed tactics overnight and paid a high price to join Telefónica (Iker Martinez/ESP) and Kenny Read’s PUMA Mar Mostro in the west. She is now 25 nautical miles (nm) behind Telefónica who still leads the field. Cammas’s decision to split from the pack is risky. It is unusual to have such a defined split in the fleet, and Cammas is clearly confident in his choice. However, there is now no return for Cammas. He has made his decision and to change would be very costly indeed.

His plan will be to pick up some thermal driving breeze from heat of the coast. Overnight, the teams have had to work hard to keep their boats moving, spending most of the night in little or no wind and sailing at speeds more usually found in an Optimist dinghy competition rather than onboard the usually super quick Volvo Open 70. The boats have been eerily quiet, except for the slatting of sails and the gentle lapping of sea on the carbon-fibre hull, conditions that demand full concentration when trimming the sails or driving the boat, and create plenty of headaches for navigators.

 CAMPER’s skipper Chris Nicholson advises that, in these frustrating, drifting conditions, it is vital always to keep the boat moving. Although the Volvo Open 70s are easily able to cover nearly 600 nautical miles in a day, when they stop they are difficult to get moving again. Nicholson says, “Even if you are not going in the direction you want, just keep the boat moving and eventually you will find the direction you need.” Things improved for the boats in the west very early this morning and patience was rewarded when, at around 0245 GMT this morning, the breeze kicked in for PUMA’s Mar Mostro (Kenny Read/USA). CAMPER also reported that the ‘gas burners’ had been turned on at 0500 and at last the boats are moving again, although it is still upwind sailing.

 At 1000 GMT today Telefónica led the field by 3.40 nautical miles ahead of PUMA’s Mar Mostro who has swapped places with Groupama 4 and moved up fleet to stand second. CAMPER is in fourth position, 25 nm adrift of the leader and paying the predicted high price for heading west, but achieving the highest average speed of 14.2 knots. A pattern of sailing, sleeping and eating is beginning to fall into place after the rigours of the first 36 hours. The mood in the fleet is general good and everyone is settling in now for the long haul to Cape Town. Meanwhile, back in Alicante, Ian Walker and his team from Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing are making good progress and have stepped their replacement rig. They expect to go sailing today to tune it up and return to the point where they suspended racing sometime tomorrow. The news for Mike Sanderson’s Team Sanya is less promising and the boat is likely to be heading to Cape Town by ship in order to make repairs to the bow section.