VOR: TELEFÓNICA BLACK LEG SIX DAY 3 QFB: received 13.04.09 2321 GMT

by Roger Nilson (navigator)

Right now we are fast reaching along, 70 nm off Cabo Caravelas, after quite a frustrating day. Going against one knot of current is one thing but seeing our closest competition, slowly but surely, sailing away from us is another far more frustrating fact.

Yesterday afternoon, when, after delayed delivery, the first breath of SE trades appeared, we had already noticed Delta Lloyd moving fast on the southern horizon. She was well offshore, passing us and others with help of the weak SE'ly gradient wind. Telefónica Blue and Dragon chose going close to land, picking up a weak sea breeze and also moved well.

Puma, Ericsson 3 and 4, were, like us hanging out in ‘no man’s land, just after Cabo Frio, an area with almost no wind which reminded us of the night before - again the four of us, being too far off from the coast in order to pick the nightly weak, but existing land breeze. Also not far enough to reach any wind offshore that might not even have been there within our reach.

We had all passed Cabo Frio, in the minimum of wind, when we managed to squeeze ahead of Puma, Ericsson 3+4. Then, finally, the south east wind came, much later then predicted, but still very welcome.

When the trades picked us up and threw us into the darkness of night, we were still barely ahead of our near rivals, Puma, Ericsson 3+4. Telefónica Blue and Dragon had again been smarter than the four of us, by clinging to the coast, trusting thermal sea breeze effect more then over optimistic computerised weather models which were frustratingly wrong when it came to timing!

As the night matured we could just notice how Puma passed us on the leeward side, Ericsson 3+4 on our windward side. Our new large masthead code zero looked fine, but the others were just a bit faster, passing us close, left and right, in the same breeze, not nice..!

Hope was changed into at least a temporary frustration. What to do next..? Just looking for new chances to be the overtaker instead of the overtaken. Otherwise all well on the Black boat. Happy to hear that Mike (Michael Pammenter) had no fracture in his foot, which means much faster recovery and a fit foot for next leg!

Volvo Ocean Race