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Volvo Ocean Race Southern Update
BY ADMIN • MAY 22, 2018 • BREAKING NEWS, HOMEMOSAIC, RACING • COMMENTS (0) • 45
Credit: Timeline Photos
The 7,600-mile Southern Ocean leg, from Auckland around Cape Horn and up the east coast of South America to the Brazilian port of Itajai proved to be the most challenging and interesting leg of this edition of the Volvo Ocean Race to date.
Sadly, it is also one that saw tragedy, when John Fisher, a crew member of SHK/Scallywag was lost overboard deep in the Southern Ocean in 45 knots of wind and could not be recovered. He is believed to have been wearing full safety gear, which includes an AIS unit that activates automatically when the lifejacket inflates, as well as a Personal Locator Beacon, and a survival suit. However, he had unclipped his harness to move forward in the cockpit when the boat crash gybed while surfing down a wave at close to 30 knots and he was struck by the mainsheet.
On board Brunel in the Southern Ocean. Credit: Yann Riou/Volvo Ocean Race
Although this type of sailing takes place in extreme conditions in some of the most remote places on the planet, it has a remarkably good safety record: only one other person – Hans Horrevoets – has been lost on this race for almost three decades. It’s a stark contrast to mountaineering, where loss of life is an annual event. Fisher’s loss therefore came as a shock to the sailing community and his fellow crewmates.
They spent four and a half hours searching in vain for him, before being forced to call off the search to reduce risk to the boat in an approaching storm. They then sailed to Puerto Montt on the west coast of Chile, where a delivery crew took over to take the boat to Itajai via the Magellan Straits, in preparation for the start of Leg 8 to the sailing mecca of Newport, Rhode Island.
Satcey Jackson on Vestas 11th Hour Racing ready to grind, before the boat lost its rig. Credit: Jeremie Lecaudey/Volvo Ocean Race
Overall race leader, Mapfre, was leading the fleet heading into Cape Horn, but had sustained damage to her mainsail track – and split the sail itself from luff to leech. This necessitated a 12-hour stop for repairs after rounding the Horn, which allowed Bouwe Bekking’s Team Brunel to win the leg just 15 minutes ahead of Dongfeng Race Team. Rounding off the podium was Team Akzonobel, two days behind the leading duo. Dee Caffari and her mostly young team of men and women on Turn the Tide on Plastic took fourth place – their best in the race so far and an impressive achievement for a relatively inexperienced team in an extremely tough leg.
A disappointing fifth place for Mapfre saw the overall lead change to the Chinese registered Dongfeng, with a one-point advantage. Another of the front-runners, Vestas 11th Hour Racing also experienced difficulties. After running second for much of the leg, the American/Danish flagged team dismasted just south of the Falkland Islands. This forced them to retire from the leg, completing the distance to Itajai under a combination of jury rig and engine power.
Captions/credits
On board Brunel in the Southern Ocean. Credit: Yann Riou/Volvo Ocean Race
Satcey Jackson on Vestas 11th Hour Racing ready to grind, before the boat lost its rig. Credit: Jeremie Lecaudey/Volvo Ocean Race