Last updated: February 20, 2012
Volvo Ocean Race 2012
Fourth Leg
20th February 2012: Today is the first day of the fourth leg of the Race from Sanya to Auckland as the crews brave difficult conditions in five metre waves following severe gales recently in the South China Seas. Seasickness is another problem, if an unlikely one for hardened sailors used to disturbed seas.
Third Leg
13th February 2012: The crews have been relaxing in China after the trials of the third leg and engaging with the locals who have a real love of sailing. But now the boats are going back into the water and the crews are preparing them for the next leg which begins next weekend
5th February 2012: Team Sanya raced into their home port in China today to a tremendous reception and received 5 points in their first Leg finish of the Race. The 3rd Leg was won by Team Telefonica, who now top the leaderboard. They were followed into port by Abu Dhabi Racing Team. The Race positions are: Team Telefonica (95 points), Camper (80 pts), Groupama (71 pts), Puma (48 pts), Abu Dhabi (39 pts) and Team Sanya (16 pts).
28th January 2012: Fickle winds all last week ensured that the boats were struggling to reach 10 knots and trying to avoid all the large ships that ply the waters off the Straits of Malacca, not to mention all the discarded debris. Puma had a narrow lead of around 1 nautical mile over Telefonica with Team Sanya some distance behind (110 nm) in sixth position.
22nd January 2012: The fleet is in the Maldives and are preparing for the three week trip across the Indian Ocean to Sanya and 3000 nautical miles through the Malacca Straight and into the South China Sea, through some of the world's busiest shipping lanes. Sanya is on the Chinese island of Hainan, and this, the fourth port of call for the Volvo Race, is surrounded by crystal clear waters. The Race Village wil be a hive of activity from the 4th to the 19th February when the big boats will be in port.
Second Leg
11th January 2012: A Pro-Am race takes place tomorrow, Thursday 12th January, followed on Friday by by In-Port races. Leg 3 to Sanya (the southernmost city in the People's Republic of China) begins on Saturday at 1400 local time.
5th January 2012: Groupama had their first win of the Volvo Race, taking first place in the sprint to the finish at Abu Dhabi, but overall winner of Leg 2 was Telefonica. So the positions now in the overall leaderboard after the Second Leg: 1. Team Telefónica on 66 points, 2. CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand on 58 points, 3. Groupama sailing team 42 points, 4. PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG on 28 points, 5. Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing on 19 points and last is Team Sanya on 4 points (but Team Sanya can add more points if they finish leg 2, stage 1 of the Race). The boats have a 9-day stopover now in Abu Dhabi to rest up, recover and get the boats ready for the next leg.
Meanwhile, the Nóra Beag, a traditional boat or hooker from the west of Ireland once used to carry turf and other supplies of the offshore islands there and a smaller currach, have been shipped to Abu Dhabi for the Irish day of festivities there, as part of the in-port activities. It is also hoped that Emerati racing dhows will be in Galway to race against local Galway hookers when the Race visits there in July this year.
24th December 2011: Team Sanya suffered rig damage during the last week and had to retire for repairs but the rest of the crews will be spending Christmas at sea. Camper leads the Race by around 17 nautical miles as the boats head through the Doldrums in hot conditions and only light winds tro lead them on. Special arrangements are in place to avoid piracy on the high seas (they will be lifted at a secret port and then dropped off the North Emirates coast for a sprint finish to Abu Dhabi.)
17th December 2011: Race officials met Irish Prime Minister, Taoiseach Enda Kenny, in Galway last Thursday (15th December) to discuss all aspects of the Festival and the inshore activities in Galway when the Race finishes there in early July next year (3rd-11th). Over 400, 000 people are expected (even more than the last time) so Galway is the place to be next July. Book early to avoid disappointment!! Meanwhile intermittent wind, with strong gusts, and heavy rains are making things awkward for the crews as the boats head slowly towards Abu Dhabi.
15th December 2011: All six boats are strung out across the Indian Ocean and have been looking desperately for wind. Those that found it have averaged over 20 knots in good sailing conditions. Team Telefonica leads the Second Leg, followed by Team Abu Dhabi followed by the others who encountered less favourable conditions because of the more southerly routes they chose.
First Leg
10th December 2011: The boats are getting ready to sail on the open ocean again tomorrow for leg 2 of the Race. The Pro-Am Race was held yesterday and the in-shore Race takes place today, 10th December. With 1-6 points available for this Race, depending on final position, skippers need to balance a desire for getting points and yet maintain boats and crew in good shape for the long second leg. Current Race positions are: Telefonica (31 points), Camper (29), Groupama (22), Abu Dhabi (6), Puma (5) and Sanya (3)
4th December 2011: All the boats are safely ensconsed in Cape Town and the crews have have been enjoying some rest and glorious weather. The boats are due to go back into the water tomorrow (5th Dec) for some training and refinement before the inshore races start on Saturday 10th December. Leg 2 of the Ocean Race begins on Sunday 11th at 1300 GMT from Cape Town to Abu Dhabi.
26th November 2011: Telefonica was first across the line in Cape Town this morning, after 21 days, five hours and 14 minutes at sea, which gives them a total of 31 points in the Race and the outright lead. Camper should arrive in Cape town early on Sunday morning, and will be second in the Race with 25 points, with Groupama now in third position.
22nd November 2011: Puma, the American entry in the Volvo Round the World Race was demasted and is now out of the first leg of the Race. This impressive yacht, which was lying second in the Race at the time, is now limping along under reduced sail and might even have difficulty in reaching Cape Town, around 2000 nm away, for the in port races, due to take place in 2 weeks time. Luckily none of the crew were injured when the mast snapped in 3 metre seas, while the boat was powering along in fast conditions.
19th November 2011: It’s now two weeks into the Volvo Ocean Race and Team Telefonica are still ahead of arch-rivals PUMA Ocean Racing, with Camper some 170 nautical miles behind. PUMA was leading for much of the first leg of the Race but Team Telefonica took a more easterly route through the South Atlantic and the better weather there gave them better speeds, which allowed them to forge ahead. Surprisingly, Groupama 4, lying in fourth place were making an average of 16.5 knots, faster than any in the fleet, as they try to make up the gap of around 420 nautical miles between them and the rest of the fleet.
13th November 2011: There are only four boats left now in the Race, and with 4,500 km left to Cape Town, Puma leads the field from Team Telefonica, Camper and Groupama. (Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing and Team Sanya, unfortunately, had to retire from Leg 1 following damge casued by high seas, but these will rejoin the Race on Leg 2). Camper led through the Straits of Gibralter on the 7th November but their lead was short lived as they headed out into the open ocean off the African coast.
31st October 2011: The Volvo Ocean Race has begun with an inshore race in Alicante, Spain on the 29th October 2011 followed by a Pro-Am race there on the 30th. 2011-12 will be the 11th edition of this round-the-world sailing regatta. The race is contested by 11 crews of professional sailors, who will experience testing conditions across the oceans of the world not least of which will be varying temperatures (ranging from -15 to +40 degrees Celsius), winds and waves and all sorts of obstacles inbetween, over the course of the race. The race, which has just started in Alicante finishes in Galway, Ireland in July 2012. On the way, the race will visit Cape Town (South Africa), Abu Dhabi (UAE), Sanya (China), Auckland (New Zealand), Itajaí (Brazil), Miami (USA), Lisbon (Portugal) and Lorient (France). The first leg of the Race, from Alicante to Cape Town, a distance of 6500 nautical miles, begins on Saturday 5th November. Apparently, whoever wins this first leg, eventually ends up winning the Race. We'll see!
