This Sunday 12 February, the Volvo Ocean Race fleet will leave Melbourne, Australia to start leg three of the 31,250 nautical mile race around the world. The teams will head off on a 1,450 nautical mile leg to Wellington, New Zealand, where they are expected to arrive four to five days later.
The Melbourne stopover has been action packed for the Ericsson Racing Team, which has been busy conducting modifications to its keel movement system, replacing its titanium rams with a more robust steel set, testing out sails and checking every piece of equipment on the boat. "We would have liked more time to test the new keel movement system," commented crewmember Richard Mason (NZL). "However, we have been sailing offshore in racing mode and we have acquired a good level of confidence in the system."
Looking forward to the next leg, many of the teams are treating leg three and four of the race with a unified approach as, unless they want to take a two hour time penalty in New Zealand, they will have to load the boat with all of the sails, food and equipment to see them through to Rio de Janeiro.
"The next two legs will be very important for the Ericsson Racing Team," comments skipper Neal McDonald (GBR). "We're expecting changeable conditions en route to Wellington and an odd combination of sprint and endurance. It's a difficult length - not long enough to get into a good routine, but too long to go flat out all the way - so it will be very tiring. The hardest part or the 'make or break' could be getting out of the bay tomorrow."
The start line for leg three will be positioned right off the Melbourne waterfront at Station Pier, in front of a huge spectator fleet as well as thousands on shore. Once the gun goes the boats head south to a set of gates and marks of the course to the exit from Port Phillip Bay. From there, it's the Bass Strait, the Tasman Sea and the Cook Strait before going through into Wellington Harbour and up to the finish line.
The next leg bares great significance for Australian born kiwi, Richard Mason. His lasting memory of returning to his homeland was taking the helm of Assa Abloy in the last Volvo Ocean Race, when they won the leg under the captaincy of Neal McDonald. "It will be fantastic to sail to my homeland," comments Mason. "It's always nice to go back to the shaky isles. Hopefully we can get a good result and storm in there at the front of the pack!"
Looking at the predicted forecast, the boats could be in for a swift ride to Wellington, with a predicted arrival on 16 or 17 February. Ericsson Racing Team meteorologist, Chris Tibbs, predicts the following forecast for tomorrow's start:
"It will be hot and sunny with a light northerly breeze, around 10-15 knots. There is a strong possibility of the sea breeze filling in throughout the afternoon and an approaching cold front is likely to arrive early Sunday evening. Once the front goes through the wind will swing to the west or south west, and there will be around 25-30 knots of breeze."
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Quotes:
Richard Mason (NZL): "The past few days have been spent refining the modifications we have made to the keel movement system. There has been a lot of pressure to get the new system installed and it's a huge relief to have that behind us. Now it's family time today, packing up belongings and getting ready for the next move.
"It will be fantastic sail back home. It's always nice to go back to the shaky isles. Hopefully we can get a good result and storm in there at the front of the pack!"
Guillermo Altadill (ESP): "The first 24 hours will be quite important because there is not much difference between the boats, so it will be important to get positioned at the front of the fleet and control rather than having to take more risks. I imagine everyone will push hard and the fleet will be close together - if you get behind, it won't be easy to get back to the front."
Tom Braidwood (AUS): "My goal for the next leg it to win of course! We need to have a good showing between Melbourne and Wellington. The next leg to Rio is different. It's a long and difficult ride, so we will need to be strong and consistent. This boat is very capable of finishing in the top three, so we will have to play it wisely. After Rio there will be no holding back; we will just have to put the throttle down and go."