Concentration onboard PUMA Ocean Racing, on leg 8 of the Volvo Ocean Race, from Galway to Marstrand. Image copyright Rick Deppe/PUMA Ocean Racing/Volvo Ocean Race.
by Kenny Read
I don't know where to start. Many people have asked if I could write a book about this Around the World adventure and the truth is I could write a book about this leg only! It has been an amazing ride--and to think it has only 4 1/2 days.
Without getting into the gory details of the entire leg, let me re-start from yesterday, when I wrote one of the most depressing blogs of my Volvo career. Trying to sound upbeat was hard. We were dark. We were wondering how we got into the mess we were in, and we had to split from the fleet, certainly not something we wished to do. But we also had a plan B and we were going to execute it come hell or high water. Capey (Andrew Cape – navigator) was on his game and we had a plan.
The low pressure centre was clearly positioned more east than we thought, and that was the way it gobbled us up. So in looking back on it, this was also the reason we could escape to the west quickly as well. Two hours of near drifting in the middle and the most horrible three hour position report possible with the entire fleet putting something like 35 miles on us. Well that was only to get worse. Because I think it was the same for the next three scheds as well.
Next came the gale. Yup, 40 knots upwind again, while reading the reports of the rest of the fleet having a lovely sail to Sweden. This was the price we had to pay to get to the northerlies that would eventually catapult us back into the game. And came they did. The high side of the low, where the wind died to 20 knots and we had a roaring reach back to the fleet, while it was their turn to sit in the middle of the centre of the low. But the final spot was still quite unclear.
Now we needed a final bit of luck. And finally lady luck was on our side. We were well positioned offshore the north side of Denmark to get into more breeze hopefully. But we didn't expect a 20 knot squall that shot us down the coast on a reach, while the rest of the fleet was inshore beating off the beach. Jackpot. We had our chance and took it. The next sched we were back in third and knew that we had a bit of reaching to go and we had an outside chance at the Dragons in that stuff.
And reach we did. Right through another rain squall and when it lifted there were the Dragons about 100 metres to leeward! Scared the heck out of the group on deck. We got over the top of them and defended to the most improbable second place finish I have ever seen, or been a part of. And I know I keep saying that. I mean it.
And it is driving us crazy that we can't just sail normally. The toll it takes both physically and mentally is
Unreal. Tonight's sleep will be a good one.
Finally, a couple comments about this team, especially Andrew Cape. We all had a chance to quit on this one. Things looked bleak. Our broken spinnaker turned into an unlucky mistake and things looked really bad, really bad. But Capey said...we can follow them all in, or we can at go get our ass kicked by Mother Nature and have a shot at them. I agreed of course. And off we went. Not a complaint in the bunch. We went for it and were rewarded and I can't thank this sailing team enough for their determination and desire. I am very proud of this team. Very proud.
Now off to bed. I think we have to do this again really soon.
Maybe some day before the end of this adventure we will just do something normally... I doubt it.
Volvo Ocean Race
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