[Source: Team Telefonica] Telefonica has come out on top in the battle with France’s Groupama – at least for now. From the lead and now with 2,500 miles to go until Lisbon (Portugal) the team headed up by Iker Martínez is sailing in what is proving to be a totally unpredictable North Atlantic Ocean. Right now, focussing ahead on the next crucial point on the course, “Telefónica” has chosen a routing north to get past some high pressure which there is no doubt will force the fleet into taking some important decisions.
During the past few hours of battle between “Telefónica” and “Groupama” the balance has tipped in favour of the boat with Iker Martínez. At 22:00 UTC the Spanish entry moved into the lead of the fleet with over three miles on Franck Cammas and his crew, whilst also sailing two knots faster than their rivals.
Since then Spanish team has managed to keep up faster speeds than the French, strengthening their lead and at 13:00 UTC today the Spanish boat was nine miles in front of the second-placed entry and 18 miles ahead of “Abu Dhabi” in third place on the way to Lisbon. That’s all without taking into account the lateral distances between the boats, with “Telefónica” some 30 to 40 miles further east than “Abu Dhabi”, “Puma” and “Camper with Emirates Team New Zealand”.
However, the leg has not been decided yet and as navigator Andrew Cape said from aboard the yacht today: “The boats behind have a bit more breeze right now, so they’ll be notching up some good data in the next few hours. The situation we’ve got coming up is quite thorny indeed. We’re going to hit a high pressure system tomorrow and then we’ll get the next squall, where we hope we’ll get away again. It’ll be interesting”.
The position report from 13:00 UTC confirmed that “Telefónica” was sailing at 13 knots and as Andrew Cape also said in a telephone call with the boat: “We’re getting some fun conditions, from the old school. Overall it’s all pretty irregular so we’re just sailing as strong as we can with the boat with loads of sail changes. For now the balance has tipped in our favour, so we’re happy about that”. And so they should be, with the Spanish boat sailing at averages of 11.9 knots and a distance run of 287 miles.
A crucial gybe
For Diego Fructuoso, “we’ve finally had a decent day. The more leeward sailing has yielded results and we’ve been able to go faster than our rivals. We’ve begun to gybe and as I said yesterday this is where the tactical moves come in. Cape says he’s happy with our position, although you can never be sure. The large anticyclone at the Azores is fairly close and we’ll have to see how each boat deals with it”.
Xabi confirmed this morning that “we’ve all gybed north now and I think we’re well-positioned. Let’s see if we’re lucky and we can be the first to catch the breeze and we can push ahead”. Andrew Cape explained that the vital gybe had taken place just forty minutes before Franck Cammas and co performed an identical move: “We gybed to the north just ahead of ‘Groupama’, maybe forty minutes or so ahead of them, and that put us further north”.
The Spanish boat is now sailing a purely northerly course, an option also chosen by the rest of the fleet to get through the transition zone which in a matter of 24 hours may bunch the six entries racing close together. Xabi Fernández explained why, after sailing an easterly course, directly for Lisbon, the entire fleet has shifted strategy to switch to a course north: “We’ve all missed the train and we’re waiting for the next one which is expected to come in from the northwest and that’s why we’re climbing up and we’ll have to see who is the first to catch the breeze, but I think we’re doing fine. We have to keep pushing hard and towards Lisbon”.
A different Atlantic crossing
The situation the boats have been through over the past few days of competition as they head for Lisbon has been very different to other North Atlantic passages before. This time the boats began to point east earlier than expected, although now the bows are back pointing northwards and for Iker Martínez the past few days have not been what the Spanish crew expected: “Normally an Atlantic crossing is on a more northerly routing, with more wind, some low pressure which gives quite a push and after gaining north you head east with some strong breeze coming in from downwind. However, this time it’s very calm and the Azores anticyclone is well-positioned but there are other areas of low pressure. It’s tricky. We’re all trying for a routing as close as possible to the most direct route and here we are. We have to keep thinking little by little how to get through the difficult zone and that’s probably where most differences will come up. After that we’ll see if we enter a zone of more stable breeze, which will be a bit more straightforward”.
Andrew Cape explained the current situation in the following terms: “There’s no doubt that we’re where we want to be and fortunately lots of things will be decided here. We’ll continue to play our old game and see how everything develops. There are lots of traps up ahead for us to know what’ll happen, but we’ll keep on pushing. Everyone’s well on board. We’ve had to do a lot of sail changes, and I don’t think there’s been a watch without one. The guys are happy to do everything they can to keep us ahead and they’ve got their reward. Good news”.
Full working pace with less than 2,500 miles to Lisbon
Less than 2,500 miles to Lisbon (Portugal), the final destination port of the seventh leg and on “Telefónica” there isn’t a moment’s rest. That’s because the objective right now is to hold onto the top spot “on board the boat our routine of shifting things forward and aft continues. The breeze picks up a bit and we’re all at the back, it drops and it’s the opposite. So we’re quite busy indeed. I can’t move anything, but I help however I can”, said Diego Fructuoso, who also explained that the constant changes also have some knock on irritations, nothing major, but irritations nonetheless: “I’m also the first to be dropped in the ‘bunk game’. When the guys head aft I have to give my bunk away to my crew mates”.
With little time to rest, the crew on “Telefónica” are getting back into the swing of things on board the boat and “although we’ve spent only a few days sailing it’s starting to smell on here and in my case it’s my sailing shoes. They’re damp and that damp smell is quite intense. My crew mates are over the moon about that. I think I’ll have to switch to boots pretty soon, although it’s not cold yet”, said Fructuoso. Spain’s Pablo Arrarte also echoed his crew mate’s comments on the temperature: “It’s been a good day. It’s not cold and we’ve got some good breeze. We’ve made it past ‘Groupama’ and let’s see if we can carry on like this”.
Spirits are high on board with the cold keeping at bay in the North Atlantic so far, but Andrew Cape put dampened the excitement, saying: “Right now we’re getting 14 knots of westerly breeze. There’s another front to grapple with coming up. The conditions are good, the sun’s just come up and there’s more light, which we appreciate because the nights are very dark without the moon. The conditions are pleasant but unfortunately things will get colder very soon as we gain northeast, but that’s just the way this is…”.
PROVISIONAL RANKINGS LEG 7
MIAMI (USA) – LISBON (PORTUGAL): 3,590 miles
Day 4 – 13:00 UTC – 24 de mayo de 2012
1. Team Telefónica (Iker Martínez), 2,334.2 miles to finish
2. Groupama sailing team (Franck Cammas), +9.2 miles
3. Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing (Ian Walker), +18.4 miles
4. Puma Ocean Racing (Ken Read), +21.4 miles
5. Camper with Emirates Team New Zealand (Chris Nicholson), +22.7 miles
6. Team Sanya (Mike Sanderson), +65.9 miles