At 0715 GMT on 24th January, Delta Lloyd (Roberto Bérmudez/ESP pictured) turns back from the Luzon Strait for the calmer waters of the coast to repair a damaged steering wheel, ripped mainsail and a damaged mast track. The team suspended racing at 1010 GMT, (under race rules for a minimum of 12 hours), and is currently anchored in harbour, in a bay just north of Vigan, with Green Dragon anchored about 100 metres away. Image copyright Sander Pluijm/Team Delta Lloyd/Volvo Ocean Race.
by Volvo Ocean Race media
Green Dragon has joined Delta Lloyd in suspending racing and is also sheltering off Salomague Bay in the Phillipines to effect repairs to structural damage sustained on a day of attrition for the fleet.
The storm that struck early this morning in the Luzon Strait has exacted a heavy toll. Delta Lloyd has a broken wheel and torn sails, Green Dragon, wounded two days’ ago by a broken forestay, has bow damage while PUMA snapped its boom.
Telefonica Black, meanwhile, is also sheltering by the coast after a crack developed in the hull. They are in contact with their shore crew and are assessing the situation before deciding on a course of action for the remainder of this leg.
Under the Race Rule both Green Dragon and Delta Lloyd must stand down for a minimum of 12 hours as a result of their decision to suspend racing.
Green Dragon skipper Ian Walker believes they will be sidelined for a little longer. In an email this afternoon, he wrote ... “Salomague Bay in the Phillipines is not exactly what I had planned for tonight but here I am sedately typing away in a beautifully calm anchorage.
"We have decided to 'suspend racing' which means we have to wait at least 12 hours to rejoin the race but we will need at least that to fix the Dragon. We thought long and hard about stopping for 24 hours to save the boat and sails but instead decided to carry on at a far reduced pace. This was a compromise that would mean 12-24 hours of hard going but then very good conditions from then on.
"Unfortunately we didn't last the tough going as we sustained damage in the bow of the boat.
”Fortunately we spotted it quickly and managed to stop the boat and get downwind before damaging the hull skin. As I type this at 3am Tom Braidwood, Neal McDonald and Justin Slattery are chiselling, sanding, cutting and preparing to bond back all the broken bits.
"We have to hope their repair holds out to get us to Qingdao. I am hoping to get underway again soon – as soon as the conditions subside. The race is on to get to Qingdao before the weather turns against us again up North.”
"It feels totally bizarre to be anchored during a race and I am quite looking forward to daylight to see what this place looks like. The funniest thing is that no more than 100 metres away from us sits Delta Lloyd who has also turned back and sought shelter – the locals will not know what has hit them when they see two VO70s moored outside in the morning.”
Edwin O'Connor, from Delta Lloyd, gave details of the onditions that the fleet have found themselves in to date.
"Early on the afternoon it was pretty full on. I guess you could describe the conditions as truly horrible," he said. "Standing waves in 50+ knots of breeze. Even the big tankers and car ferries running to Taiwan and China are sheltering in here."
Delta Lloyd will take time to assess the damage and tackle the jobs list that the storm left in its wake. "We've just ripped our main and smashed a steering wheel, but spirits are still good onboard and we intend to restart as soon as possible."
PUMA are anchored on the same coastline in a bay south of Vigan. Media Crew Member Rick Deppe summed up a day which started with them sitting at the top of the leaderboard. “Today started well but ended badly,” he said. “We did some damage to the boat and now find ourselves anchored up off some beach in the Philippines.
“We are about two miles out but can see people on land I wonder who lives here and what they do? One strange looking boat did come out to see us and the guy who may have been called John.
"Having said that I can't imagine how the "monster" must have looked to him, big, black and red and somewhat reminiscent of a shoe, with a bunch of big burly guys onboard wearing tight pants. Too much information. He did however seem very happy to see us.”
Meanwhile, out on the race track, Telefonica Blue continues to lead the Ericsson twins. By the 19:00 GMT Position Report, E3 had headed back out into the Strait and was trailing Bouwe Bekking’s men by 85 miles. E4, hugging the coast, was 110 miles adrift of the Spanish team leader.
Gustav Morin, the MCM on E3, gave a graphic description of life on board. “Today we have seen wind of almost 50 knots and seas that I’m pretty sure measured around eight metres,” he said.
"You’re looking straight up in the sky when it hits you, and well over the top it’s free falling. One, two three and bam! When you land you don’t know if to laugh or cry. It’s surrealistic. Like sitting in the head of a sledgehammer when the worlds strongest man is smashing it through a block of cement.
"The bangs and crashes are sometimes so brutal that you really wonder when and not if the is going to break. And if you don’t hold on properly, and have a good place too put your feet, you will hurt yourself, badly.
"Today there has been some mailing going on between the teams about suspending racing. But as long as we feel OK with continuing we are going to go for it.”
Volvo Ocean Race
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