Volvo Ocean Race’s fleet passed over Point Nemo* on Wednesday – the furthest spot in the oceans from land – on the day that a new ice limit was introduced by organisers to keep the boats clear of ice bergs (full story plus info below).

– Fleet passes over most remote spot from land

– The fine art of finding ice bergs explained

– MAPFRE recovers from Chinese gybe to take lead

– Check out our latest video on ice limits here

ALICANTE, Spain, March 25 – Volvo Ocean Race’s fleet passed over Point Nemo* on Wednesday – the furthest from land you can get when at sea– on the day that a new ice limit was introduced by organisers to keep the boats clear of a large iceberg that was drifting towards the path of the fleet

The race has been using the services of a Toulouse-based company, CLS, to advise on the placing of the ice limits**.

Leg 5, which routes the fleet through the Southern Ocean on a 6,776-nautical mile (nm) stage from Auckland to Itajaí, Brazil, has kept the race advisers particularly busy.

“So far, we’ve detected about 20 icebergs,” said CLS’s Franck Mercier (http://www.cls.fr/en).

So how exactly do you find one? CLS uses a lot of different data and up to four satellites for that.

First, the sea temperature. The colder the water, the more likely they are to find drifting ice. Currents affect this too, pushing it all around the Southern Ocean.

Secondly, the historical data CLS that has gathered these past few years – they have been assisting several sailing races in the Southern Ocean, including the Vendée Globe and the Barcelona World Race.

And finally, the radar techniques.

CLS is working with space agencies, using their satellites to scan the sea surface in search of ice.

They use altimetry techniques (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altimeter#Satellites) to draft a first exclusion zone, and SAR imagery (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synthetic_aperture_radar) to target the areas identified as potentially dangerous and scan them thoroughly.

Altimetry only spots the biggest icebergs, that is those bigger than 300m. SAR imagery is much more precise, every standard image covering a 500km x 500km area. SAR satellite sensors can detect smaller bits of ice – up to 50m in the case of a high-resolution picture. That is as accurate as it gets.

“Remember it’s not an exact science,” added Mercier, a French researcher who knows the icebergs by name. “We’re contributing to decrease the risks, but we don’t suppress it.

“The idea is to detect the biggest icebergs to anticipate the position of the smaller ones, which are still very dangerous for the boats, all of this part of the ocean dynamic.”

Their biggest catch this time around? A one-kilometre long iceberg, first spotted because of a cold water plume, then ‘photographed’ three times.

Mercier and his colleagues have done the calculations – it is 150m wide, 300m high, underwater part included, and it weighs 25 millions tons, the equivalent of 50 super tankers.

And the current was pushing it north at 1.1 knots, straight towards the fleet’s predicted position.

So they warned Race Management, who moved the ice limits north last week. They can change one of the points of this virtual line no later than 30 degrees of longitude before the first boat reaches it.

“There’s definitely plenty of ice around,” commented Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing’s navigator Simon Fisher.

His boat is currently 2,000 nm away from land – they simply cannot afford to run into drifting ice. In 2001-02, News Corp sailed through ice and it is not something the sailors recall fondly. (http://www.volvooceanrace.com/en/news/7254_Roaring-Forties-chapter-25-Terror-in-the-Southern-Ocean.html)

“All the blue dots are icebergs that have been picked up by the various radars. So far they’re doing a good job at keeping us out of it.”

** Ice limits: 
A virtual line the fleet must leave to starboard, it can be modified by Race Management depending on the movement of the ice in the southern part of the globe. An imaginary point has been placed every five degrees, drawing a precise contour that can be adapted.

Ice limit changes on March 25:

Leg 5 Sailing Instructions Amendment 8 has been posted and communicated to the fleet – waypoints 11 and 12 have been moved further north after the detection of a new iceberg close to the ice limit line had been confirmed, between 95 W and 100 W.

Meanwhile, MAPFRE (Iker Martínez/ESP) led the fleet over Point Nemo on Wednesday after an amazing recovery from their Chinese gybe just 24 hours earlier.

They were one of three boats – Dongfeng Race Team (Charles Caudrelier/FRA) and Team SCA (Sam Davies/GBR) were the others – to crash over on their side as the fleet struggled through a heinous sea state and 40 knots of wind (75kph) in the Southern Ocean.

See panel above for latest positions.

via We’ve found Nemo!| Volvo Ocean Race 2014-2015.

Here are eight key facts about Point Nemo*:

What’s in a name? The most remote point in the ocean lies in the Southern Ocean and is known as ‘Point Nemo’, or the ‘Pole of Inaccessibility’.

It’s not named after stripey cartoon fish. In fact, the name ‘Nemo’ comes from Captain Nemo, a character in Jules Verne’s Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea — not the film Finding Nemo.

Don’t expect to find a gift shop. Point Nemo isn’t an actual ‘point’ as there’s no land there — it’s simply a spot in the ocean that happens to be 2,688 kilometres (or 1,450nm) from the nearest land.

And even that land isn’t exactly welcoming. It’s called Ducie Island, part of the Pitcairn Islands to the north, and it’s an un-inhabited, C-shaped strip of land with a diameter stretching hardly two kilometres.

Don’t forget to look up! If you pass Point Nemo at the right time of day, you’ll be closer to the astronauts in the International Space Station some 400km up in space, than any other humans on earth.

In Latin, ‘Nemo’ translates as ‘no man’ – which pretty much sums up how bleak this part of the world is.

Back to the 90s. In 1992, a Croatian-Canadian survey engineer called Hrvoje Lukatela used a geospatial computer programme to find Point Nemo. He figured that because the Earth is three-dimensional, its most remote ocean point must sit the same distance away from three nearest coastlines.

Make sure you pack your map. Point Nemo is based at 48°52.6′ south, 123°23.6′ west.

via We’ve found Nemo!| Volvo Ocean Race 2014-2015.

Four of the six Volvo Ocean Race boats suffered big hits as the Southern Ocean gave the fleet its roughest ride of the race in 12 dramatic hours (full story below).

– Three boats in fleet suffer ‘Chinese gybes’

– Near wipe-out too for Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing

– Stay up to date with all the news on our App

ALICANTE, Spain, March 24 – Four of the six Volvo Ocean Race boats suffered big hits as the Southern Ocean gave the fleet its roughest ride of the race in 12 dramatic hours.

Team SCA (Sam Davies/GBR), Dongfeng Race Team (Charles Caudrelier/FRA) and MAPFRE (Iker Martínez/ESP) did Chinese gybes* from Monday to Tuesday but all three crews escaped injury despite the boats toppling over.

Damage was still being assessed in the aftermath of the incidents although Dongfeng Race Team appeared to have avoided any serious problems with the boat.

Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing (Ian Walker/GBR) also endured a drama-filled night, reporting a “night of two gybes: a wild one in pitch black with a massive wipe-out and then a ‘controlled’ one at 30 knots”.

Dongfeng Race Team were first to reveal a Chinese gybe, with their Onboard Reporter Yann Riou (FRA) reporting: “It took two to three hours to sort out the mess, the boat was on her side, we took 300 litres of water in to the boat through an air vent.”

Then Team SCA were similarly upended at around 0500 UTC, the all-women team’s Onboard Reporter, Anna-Lena Elled (SWE), reported.

“We ended up on the side for maybe two to four minutes before slowly getting back in the right position,” she told Race HQ.

The crew was assessing the damage and already starting to effect some repairs, Elled continued.

MAPFRE (Iker Martínez/ESP) also reported a third Chinese gybe, which happened around 2000 UTC. There was no immediate news from the Spanish boat regarding damage.

All four boats were still able to continue sailing.

The Emirati boat still recovered to move within eight nautical miles (nm) of leaders Team Brunel (Bouwe Bekking/NED) with MAPFRE in third, 26nm further adrift. Team SCA lost 38nm with their struggles to fall 97.9nm behind the leaders (see panel above).

* Click here for an example of a Chinese gybe in 2008-09.

via Wild night in the Southern Ocean| Volvo Ocean Race 2014-2015.

UPDATE: The RS200 Class Association and RS Sailing have joined forces to update the RS200, 19 years since the launch of one of the most successful modern classes, with competitive racing at club, circuit and championship level.

The aim was to update the RS200 while retaining the one-design performance, crew range and the handling enjoyed by so many sailors.

The most visible change is to the sails, with a radial cut clear Mylar mainsail replacing the original cross cut white sail. The jib also changes to a radial cut lower section and the spinnaker becomes tri-radial to match and to increase longevity through improved load paths.

Subtle changes have also been made to the hull. Under the surface, the internal structure is now constructed from foam cored GRP laminate, replacing the old plywood construction. This is said to reduce the weight of the structure, allowing the laminate strength to be increased in historically vulnerable areas without any overall weight difference.

The RS200 was originally designed with a square running system for the asymmetric spinnaker. Usage proved minimal and most of the equipment had been removed from the spec, but a complicated bowsprit system remained. This has now been tidied up, with a simple bowsprit set in a recessed foredeck channel which is said to also add form stiffness and saves weight for better use elsewhere.

The two parties say recessing the pole means a full width spinnaker chute can be fitted, with a larger mouth to reduce sail loading and distortion resulting from hoists and drops.

via Boating Business – New look RS200.

Paralympic athlete, Wojtek Czyz, and his fiancée, Elena Brambilla, are about to embark on a round-the-world trip with a difference.

They are planning to be married in May and will set off from Hamburg on a four-year honeymoon, sailing the seas helping those in need.

Wojtek started sailing on his birthday in 2009 when he was invited by a friend in the South of France to join him for a day trip.

He loved it so much that only a few months later he bought his own boat, a Bavaria 32. The Bavaria was sold in 2012 and the couple replaced it in 2013 with a Lagoon 410 named ‘Imagine’.

Last year they approached the French manufacturers of the catamaran to ask if it would be possible to make a few modifications to their boat in preparation for their unique trip.

After hearing their plans Lagoon kindly agreed to make the modifications for free and the couple’s Lagoon 410 has been transformed into a working clinic, complete with 3D printer to produce prosthetic limbs.

The project is one that is close to the couple’s hearts. In 2001, then 21-year-old Wojtek Czyz was an aspiring professional football player and had just signed with second division team, SC Fortuna Köln. In his last match for his old team, he was hit in the knee by the opposing team’s goalie, an accident that shattered the knee and ultimately resulted in him having his leg amputated.

While undergoing rehabilitation, he met German Paralympian, Roberto Simonazzi, and orthopaedic technician, Herbert Ganter, who encouraged him to get back into sports.

Obviously he is not the sort to sit around moping, and only 11 months after his amputation he entered the German Championships and broke the national record for F42 long jump and won the T42 100m event. Since then he has competed in three Paralympic games and won four gold one silver and two bronze medals.

His personal motto is, “don’t think of what you were, but of what you are and of what you aspire to be” (“denk nicht an das was du warst, sondern an das, was du bist und zu sein dich sehnst”).

Czyz wants to spread this message and take this positivity to places where being ‘disabled’ is still a stigma. He says in such places there is a lack of support, understanding and professionalism in dealing with disability. As a gold medal winner, he hopes to change that attitude and show that being disabled doesn’t have to stop you pursuing your dreams.

His soon-to-be wife, Elena Brambilla, as well as being a professional high jumper, has a degree in biotechnology from the University of Milan and is therefore the perfect partner to help with the second goal of their round the world honeymoon – the production of prosthetic limbs and the provision of medicine to those in need from their floating pharmacy.

With the 3D printer on Imagine, the couple can produce a prosthetic limb in two days at a cost of only 200 euros. They will ‘print’ these limbs for the amputees they meet on their journey who, in third world countries, will often not have access to the money or medical facilities needed to produce anything more than the most basic prosthesis.

So we wish this very special couple the best for their trip. May they have sun for the wedding and fair winds and following seas for their four-year honeymoon.

For more information: www.sailing4handicaps.de

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The Volvo Ocean Race fleet has taken some time out from the thrilling Leg 5 racing through the Southern Ocean to assist with an important environmental project (full story below).

– Fleet deploys ‘drifters’ in Southern Ocean

– Data will be assessed by scientists

– Stay up to date with the race action with our App

ALICANTE, Spain, March 23 – The Volvo Ocean Race fleet has taken some time out from the thrilling Leg 5 racing through the Southern Ocean to assist with an important environmental project.

As planned, all six boats dropped buoys laden with scientific equipment – or ‘drifters’ – to help collect oceanic data from one of the most remote areas of the world.

The U.S.-based National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) collects ocean and weather data to provide mariners with accurate forecasts of seas, as well as coastal forecasts and regional climate predictions.

It takes a lot of effort to maintain these observations in all of the ocean basins to support these forecasts, and NOAA can’t do it alone so they asked for the assistance of the Volvo Ocean Race fleet in dropping the drifters.

The study is particularly close to the heart of Will Oxley, the navigator on board Team Alvimedica (Charlie Enright/USA), who is a marine biologist as well as being a top offshore sailor.

“It’s believed the Southern Ocean absorbs up to about 60 per cent of the heat and CO2 produced by we humans,” he explained.

“So the Southern Ocean is a very important ‘sink’ that is absorbing CO2 and slowing the pace of global warming.

“However, it is having an impact on the ocean and we need to better understand what that impact is.”

Partnerships are critical to maintaining a network of free-floating buoys, known as drifters, and NOAA asked the Volvo Ocean Race fleet to assist them on Leg 5.

The buoys will drift with ocean surface currents and transmit data on surface pressure and ocean currents through a global satellite network.

Martin Kramp serves as the ship coordinator at a support centre of the Joint Technical Commission for Oceanography and Marine Meteorology of World Meteorological Organisation, and UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission.

“Organised ocean sailing events, such as races and rallies, are a new component of growing importance in volunteer ocean observation,” explained Kramp.

“We are very happy that the Volvo Ocean Race is collaborating with us as a part of the current race.”

Anyone can access the drifter data at http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/phod/dac

Meanwhile, Team Brunel (Bouwe Bekking/NED) had opened up a 51.1-nautical mile (nm) lead on Monday (0940 UTC) with 4,750nm to go to the finish in Itajaí, Brazil, and Cape Horn still to negotiate on the toughest of all nine legs.

Overall race leaders Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing (Ian Walker/GBR) lead the chase with Team Alvimedica, Dongfeng Race Team (Charles Caudrelier/FRA), MAPFRE (Iker Martínez/ESP) and Team SCA (Sam Davies/GBR) bunched behind them (see panel above).

MAPFRE had a scare on Sunday when they heard a loud bang from their bow, but they could find no damage, although they reinforced the area with battens to be sure.

In the 2011-12 edition. skipper Iker Martínez’s boat Telefónica suffered delamination, forcing a pit-stop for repairs, and he is very wary of a repeat.

So far, however, the one-design Volvo Ocean 65s are withstanding the toughest conditions they have encountered in the race so far.

via Building the knowledge| Volvo Ocean Race 2014-2015.

2015 RYA Spring Series kicks off in Weymouth and Portland

Written by RYA | 10 March 2015

Weymouth and Portland welcomes first domestic Olympic Classes event of the season

Weymouth and Portland served up some superb early season sailing conditions for the first regatta in the three-event RYA Olympic Classes Spring Series this weekend (7-8 March).

Some 86 sailors across seven Olympic and three Paralympic Classes took to the water for the domestic season-opening regatta, with a combination of the British Sailing Team’s Podium Potential crews and up-and-coming talents sharing the weekend’s spoils.

Competitors were greeted by a sunny south-westerly 12 knots for Saturday’s first day, with similar wind conditions on Sunday before the rain clouds descended and hampered visibility across Weymouth Bay and Portland Harbour.

But in spite of the early finish on Sunday, newly-qualified Race Officers Chris Lindsay and Shinichi Kagitomi (JPN), under the watchful eyes of Peter Saxton and Charli Hadden, oversaw a full schedule of weekend racing.

The RS:X 8.5 windsurfing fleet had the largest entry of 17 boards, and saw Christchurch’s Dan Wilson on dominant form to claim event honours with a 20 point margin and winning six of the eight races held.  Launceston’s Saskia Sills was second overall and the top female sailor, with Cameron Coghill, from Bleasby in Nottinghamshire, completing the podium line-up in third beating Saskia’s twin sister Imogen into fourth on countback.

Tom Squires took the weekend by storm in the RS:X 9.5 fleet, winning six of his eight races over Podium Potential Squad teammate Kieran Martin, with Robert York in third.

In the skiff fleets, James Peters and Fynn Sterritt claimed 49er victory, while Bryony Bennett-Lloyd-Ellie Aldridge took weekend honours in the Open 49erFX event.

With seven wins from nine races, Amy Seabright-Anna Carpenter took the first weekend series victory in the 470 Women’s event, with Ben Hazeldine-Rhos Hawes claiming the 470 Men’s win over Tim Riley-James Taylor.  Peter McCoy also claimed seven race wins from nine races to seal the top spot on the Finn leaderboard.

In the Paralympic Classes, Podium squad sailor and recent Sailing World Cup Miami silver medallist Megan Pascoe made a cameo appearance on the Saturday, winning all four of her races in the 2.4mR fleet.  But it was David Hawkins who took overall event victory by the narrowest of margins, beating John Brooker on countback.

Hannah Stodel stepped from the front to the back of the boat to helm the Sonar in place of John Robertson for the weekend, with Steve Thomas and coach Simon Rosier completing the trio who took event victory by eight points over Andrew Cassell-Lucy Hodges-Tom Abery, while Alex Hovden-Carol Dugdale won the SKUD event.

“We had a great turnout for this first Spring Series weekend, and couldn’t have asked for better conditions to kick the event off with and provide an opportunity to support new Race Officers who coped admirably with the multi-class rapid-fire starting sequences, with nine races providing a test for both race management teams and sailors alike,” said RYA Podium Potential Squad Manager Barrie Edgington.

“It was great to see some new faces at the front of the fleets, challenging some of the more established campaigners and putting themselves in the running to qualify for grants for some of the summer internationals.  I’m looking forward to more of the same in a month’s time!”

The second regatta in the RYA Olympic Classes Spring Series takes place at the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy from 11-12 April, with the third and final event also at WPNSA from 16-17 May.

via 2015 RYA Spring Series kicks off in Weymouth and Portland | Home | News | The British Sailing Team | RYA.

Princess Sofia Trophy set to kick off the 2015 EUROSAF Champions Cup series.

Giles Scott and the 470 Men’s pairing of Luke Patience and Elliot Willis will be looking to continue their early season form when the Princess Sofia Trophy kick-starts the European sailing season later this month in Palma, Majorca (30 March-4 April).

The ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami gold medallists are among the 60 British Sailing Team athletes set to compete across the ten Olympic classes and the 2.4mR Paralympic class as this 45th edition of the annual spring regatta provides the opening event in the EUROSAF Champions Sailing Cup series for 2015.

Miami silver medallists Hannah Mills-Saskia Clark, Ben Saxton-Nicola Groves and Megan Pascoe will also be in action in their respective 470 Women’s, Nacra 17 and 2.4mR events, with former British Sailing Team RS:X windsurfer Connor Bainbridge flying the British flag in the invitational kiteboard racing event.

Stay with us at www.britishsailingteam.com or on Facebook or Twitter @BritishSailing for further build up to the Palma regatta, and the latest news and information when the event gets underway on 30 March.

British Sailing Team Line-Up For The Princess Sofia Trophy:

470 Men

Luke Patience-Elliot Willis

470 Women

Hannah Mills-Saskia Clark; Sophie Weguelin-Eilidh McIntyre Amy Seabright-Anna Carpenter; Jess Lavery-Megan Brickwood

Laser Radial

Alison Young; Chloe Martin; Hannah Snellgrove; Georgina Povall; Ellie Cumpsty

Laser

Lorenzo Chiavarini; Elliot Hanson; Alex Mills Barton; Martin Evans; Jack Wetherell; Henry Wetherell; Michael Beckett

49er

James Peters-Fynn Sterritt; Jack Hawkins-Christopher Thomas; Chris Taylor-Sam Batten; Rory Hunter-Neil Hunter

49erFX

Charlotte Dobson-Sophie Ainsworth; Kate Macgregor-Kirstie Urwin

Nacra 17

Ben Saxton-Nicola Groves; Lucy Macgregor-Andrew Walsh; John Gimson-Hannah Diamond; Tom Phipps-Nikki Boniface

Finn

Giles Scott; Ben Cornish; Peter McCoy; James Hadden; Hector Simpson

RS:X Men

Tom Squires; Joe Bennett; Sam Sills; Kieran Martin

RS:X Women

Izzy Hamilton; Noelle Finch; Saskia Sills; Imogen Sills

2.4mR

Helena Lucas; Megan Pascoe; Will Street; John Brooker; Jonathan Currell

via British crews gearing up for European season opener in Palma | The British Sailing Team | RYA.

A massive one kilometre-wide iceberg has forced the Volvo Ocean Race to change the positioning of their ice gates to keep the fleet clear of trouble in the Southern Ocean on Leg 5 (full story below).

– Huge 1km wide iceberg forces organisers to act

– Find out here why this leg is such a challenge

– Follow the fleet all the way on our App

ALICANTE, Spain, March 20 – A massive one kilometre-wide iceberg has forced the Volvo Ocean Race to change the positioning of their ice gates to keep the fleet clear of trouble in the Southern Ocean on Leg 5.

The berg was heading towards the path of the six-strong fleet, so organisers and their advisers, French company CLS and Dutch weather expert Marcel van Triest, opted late on Thursday night to move the current ice limit route further to the north.

The main iceberg is not the only concern. Growlers – pieces of ice that have broken away and float semi-submerged in the icy cold water – are also a major threat to the fleet.

A new higher resolution image for the relevant area will be delivered to Race HQ on Sunday, but this new information will not necessarily lead to further re-positioning of the ice limit in that area (from 150W to 115W).

The race has pre-set ice gates, or ice limits, on this leg to keep the fleet clear from icebergs. Race management can change them according to conditions as the leg unfolds.

Boats will be penalised if they sail over these boundaries towards hazardous areas.

Meanwhile, organisers have brought forward the most likely arrival time for Leg 5, destination Itajaí, from April 7 to April 4 after the fleet made surprisingly rapid progress through the first 1,000 nautical miles (nm) of the 6,776nm stage from Auckland to Brazil.

The boats have been flying through the South Pacific and out into the Southern Ocean at a consistent 20 knots thanks to the effect from the aftermath of Cyclone Pam, which caused such devastation the previous week and led to at least 13 deaths on the archipelago of Vanuatu.

Team Alvimedica (Charlie Enright/USA) continued to lead the fleet early on Friday (1240 UTC), with Team Brunel (Bouwe Bekking/NED) and Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing (Ian Walker/GBR) closest on their tail, some 20nm behind (see panel).

It was very early days, however, in the longest and most treacherous leg of the race, and MAPFRE (Iker Martínez/ESP), Dongfeng Race Team (Charles Caudrelier/FRA), and Team SCA (Sam Davies/GBR) were all still very much in the hunt.

Caudrelier, however, was on Friday predicting the most challenging of all legs for his inexperienced crew after surprising many by joining Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing at the top of the leaderboard on eight points after four legs.

“There is a long way to go and it looks complicated. Although the leaders will stretch away in the short term, in the mid-term it looks like those at the back will come back – so maybe not catastrophic,” he wrote from the boat in a message to his team.

“Regardless, this leg will be the hardest for us as we have less experience on board than any other boat in the fleet.”

Maybe, but he has recruited the hugely experienced helmsman Damian Foxall (IRL) for the leg – a crewmate of Caudrelier onboard 2011-12 winners Groupama. That could yet prove a very canny decision as the fleet navigates through such challenging waters.

via Dodging the giant iceberg| Volvo Ocean Race 2014-2015.

Volvo Ocean Race’s six-strong fleet were stuck in Groundhog Day as they raced through the South Pacific – and they were not particularly enjoying the experience on Thursday (full story below).

– Time stands still for fleet as they pass international dateline

– Aftermath of Cyclone Pam leads to a very rocky ride

– Follow all the action every day on our App

ALICANTE, Spain, March 19 (AFP) – Volvo Ocean Race’s six-strong fleet were stuck in Groundhog Day as they raced through the South Pacific – and they were not particularly enjoying the experience on Thursday.

In the famous Hollywood film, the hero played by Bill Murray, finds himself trapped in time over the same 24 hours, and the crews now know exactly how he felt.

They found themselves crossing the international dateline, which meant that the clock, for a while, turned back to March 18.

The conditions after passing New Zealand’s East Cape, were hardly conducive to comfortable sailing – 30 knots of wind (56 kilometres per hour) and a much heightened sea state.

They have avoided by far the worst of Cyclone Pam, which wrought havoc in the South Pacific towards the end of last week, killing at least 11 on the archipelago of Vanuatu.

That weather system also led to a three-day delay in the departure of the Volvo Ocean Race fleet from Auckland on Wednesday before the 6,776-nautical mile (nm) Leg 5 to Itajaí in south-east Brazil.

Nevertheless, they could still feel its aftermath for a very rocky ride early on Thursday.

All on board are hardened professional offshore sailors, but many have been reporting severe bouts of seasickness as they speed through the South Pacific towards the Southern Ocean.

Amory Ross (USA), Onboard Reporter for second-placed Team Alvimedica (Charlie Enright/USA), gave a graphic description of life on the boat in his latest dispatch on Thursday.

“Even in her subdued state, ‘former’ Cyclone Pam is packing one heck of a punch,” he wrote. “I’d be lying if I said our enthusiasm for getting out here is unchanged.

“Now that we’re actually here, everyone’s either green or exhausted and often both. The sea state is really confused and it makes doing anything abnormally difficult.

“We talk a lot about racing these boats, the demands and skills it requires. But when the conditions are like they are now, simply living takes considerable effort too.”

Team SCA’s Abby Ehler (GBR) added: “It’s bumpy, it’s wet and it’s wild. It’s like being on a rodeo horse or a rollercoaster. It’s just intense and requires 100 per cent concentration, not only helming, but when you move around.”

Team Brunel (Bouwe Bekking/NED), third overall, were making the early pace in the toughest of the nine Volvo Ocean Race legs, with Ross’s Team Alvimedica just 2.9nm behind.

The rest of the fleet – race leaders Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing (Ian Walker/GBR), Team SCA (Sam Davies/GBR)), Dongfeng Race Team (Charles Caudrelier/FRA), and MAPFRE (Iker Martínez/ESP) – were then spread within 17nm of the pace-setters (0940 GMT, Thursday).

The boats are expected to reach their Brazilian destination, in a stage in which they pass the key landmark of Cape Horn, around April 7.

via Uggh! It’s Groundhog Day!| Volvo Ocean Race 2014-2015.