GLOVES OFF FOR ROUND TWO
December 23, 2005 0 comments
The forcast for the inshore race in Cape Town for the Volvo 70s is 25 Knots.
Gloves off on Boxing Day for Volvo Ocean Race fleet
December 23, 2005, Cape Town, South Africa – Whilst most people will still be enjoying their leftover Christmas dinners, the seven Volvo Open 70’s that make up the Volvo Ocean Race 2005-06 will be out in Table Bay locked in battle.
Glenn Bourke, Chief Executive of the Volvo Ocean Race, explained, “We had it in our minds that we would offer yachts designers the complex challenge of designing a boat which is exciting for close quarters inshore racing and also purpose built to be the fastest and most exciting ocean racing yacht conceived.”
Bourke continued with his thoughts on Monday’s race, “Looking at the forecast, with strong winds predicted for Boxing Day, we can expect to see the fastest racing monohulls in the world testing their crews to the limit around a very short and intense 2-3 hour course. Success and failure will probably depend more on crew work and tactics than it will on relative speed of the boats which gives everyone the opportunity to pick up some vital points and stand on the podium.”
South African Jonathan Swain, one of the trimmers of the “movistar”:
Just three days short of the second inshore race of this Volvo Ocean Race 2005-2006, more accurate information is available on the conditions awaiting the “movistar” and the rest of the Round the World race fleet for the inshore race on Monday.
“We will have 20 to 25-knot South-eastern winds. Coming from this direction, the wind comes across the “shadow” cast by the mountains behind Cape Town, which makes it unpredictable, with areas of strong wind and others with hardly any wind at all. I am sure it is going to be a very interesting race”.
Going into the in-port race, which will take place as near to the shore as possible in Table Bay, the Dutch entry of ABN AMRO ONE is currently the overall race leader. The result of a win on the first leg gives Sanderson
and his crew a one point lead over the Brazilian entry, Brasil 1, skippered my multiple Olympic medallist Torben Grael (BRA) but points are
tight and they hold joint second with British Skipper Neal McDonald and his Ericsson Racing Team.
The in-port race will provide an opportunity for Paul Cayard’s (USA)Pirates of the Caribbean and movistar, under the guidance of Bouwe Bekking
(NED), to get some points under their belts as, due to the result of them retiring from the first leg, they hold sixth and seventh place
respectively.
The forecast looks set to add a bit of excitement to the days racing as race meteorologist Christopher Bedford explains, “Winds will start to ease on Monday, but there is a chance of some strong 15-25 knots South Easterly gradient winds for the in-port race.”
If the ‘Cape Doctor’ blows, spectators who plan to watch the race (which is scheduled to commence at 13 00 on the 26 December) will get a real sense of the power and speed of the Volvo Open 70’s. With the race expected to take place close to the shore off Milnerton, spectators who
are not lucky enough to get afloat should have some great vantage points from Milnerton Beach, as well as Table Mountain, Signal Hill and many of the other peaks surrounding the bay.
