[Source: Volvo Ocean Race] Volvo Ocean Race CEO Knut Frostad issued a statement on Wednesday expressing his concern at the continuing instances of boats suffering serious damage in the 2011-12 edition.

Frostad, who competed in the race four times himself, said it was not acceptable to have so many incidents of boats failing in a Volvo Ocean Race. Frostad said race organisers would continue to do everything possible to get the boats not currently sailing back in the race as soon as possible.

Text of statement, which was released after Groupama sailing team announced they had suffered a broken mast, leaving only two boats currently racing in Leg 5 from Auckland in New Zealand to Itajaí in Brazil:

“It’s too early to conclude exactly why this has happened but we are obviously concerned about seeing so many incidents of damage to our boats both in this leg and in the race as a whole.

“It is not acceptable that in a race like this we have so many failures. It is not unusual for boats to suffer problems, and sailors and shore teams are used to having to deal with some issues with their boats, but this has been on a bigger scale than in the past.

All boats, with no exception, had to suspend or abandon racing at some stage. Photo copyright Amory Ross / Puma Ocean Racing

“It’s important that we don’t leap to any conclusions about why these breakages have happened. Some of them are clearly not related. However, we will take the current issues into account as we make decisions on rules and technology we will be using in the future.

“We have already put in a lot of work, discussing with teams, designers and all other stakeholders about the boats and the rules we will use in the future, and we expect to be in a position to announce a decision on that before the end of the current race.

“For the time being, our focus continues to be on the safety of the sailors. We are doing everything we can to help Groupama, and the rest of the teams not currently sailing, get back in the race as soon as possible.”

It’s very hot inside Groupama 4

[Source: Volvo Ocean Race] The complete Volvo Ocean Race line-up will head into battle for the first time in more than a month on Sunday, January 22, as the second stage of Leg 3 gets underway to the Chinese city of Sanya.

The leg start is scheduled for 0800 UTC and will see the six-strong fleet race more than 3,000 nautical miles across the Indian Ocean, through the Malacca Strait and into the South China Sea.

The fleet will have to tackle monsoon winds, painfully long stretches of upwind sailing through rough seas and there will be container ships to dodge as they pick their way through some of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.

The five teams currently being shipped to an undisclosed port in the Indian Ocean are expected to arrive in the early hours of Saturday where they will be reunited with Team Sanya, forced to suspend racing during the first stage of Leg 2.

Once docked at the safe haven, the five boats will be unloaded and work will begin to prepare them for the second stage of the third offshore leg of the Volvo Ocean Race.

Just seven points separate overall leaders Team Telefónica on 71 points and second placed CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand on 64, while third placed Groupama sailing team lie 20 points behind Telefónica with 51 points.

PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG and Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing are split by just five points on 36 and 31 points respectively, with Team Sanya on 11 points.

After a string of consistent results but no leg win, CAMPER skipper Chris Nicholson said Leg 3 Stage 2 could fall in their favour.

“We just have to bide our time for this next leg,” he said. “There’ll be a bit more upwind which we’re comfortable with and just keep chipping away at where we’re weak.

“We have a lot of homework in regards to the weather and geographical obstacles that we have in the next leg.

“I don’t think the next leg will be won by boat speed, it will be won with being smart and keeping the boat in one piece and going the right way.”

For Mike Sanderson’s Team Sanya, stage two of the Leg 3 represents an opportunity to race into their home port as heroes.

“A nice end for us will be to secure a solid result in Sanya after a decent run,” he said. “Obviously, a win in the in-port race at home would be a dream come true but just finishing the leg will be a milestone after all we’ve been through.”

Leg 3 Stage 2 comprises of three sections: firstly, a stretch of more than 1,000 nautical miles to the northern tip of Sumatra, an area prone to monsoons.

The next section will see the fleet take on the Malacca Strait, a narrow stretch of water between Sumatra and Malaysia notorious for shipping hazards.

Volvo Ocean Race Chief Meteorologist Gonzalo Infante said this stage could prove costly for any team not 100 percent focused on the task ahead.

“It is very tricky, you can lose everything you gained in the Indian Ocean with one bad decision or lack of attention in here,’’ he said. “It’s unlikely that the yachts make big gains, but you can certainly make big losses.”

The final stage will see the teams race upwind for up to a week through the shallow South China Sea in potentially boat-breaking conditions.

“They are likely to be beating for one week in conditions that are very hard on the boat,’’ Infante added. “The waves could reach four to five metres, and could be very steep.’’

The course is tipped to take the teams around two weeks to complete, with a finish in Sanya in early February.

<strong>[Source: Groupama Sailing Team]</strong> Little wind and glorious sunshine coloured this return to racing after a few days rest in Abu Dhabi: between five and seven knots of SE’ly wind graced the coastal course which involved a great deal of manoeuvres and various sides of the race zone, which was encircled by spectator boats. Indeed, though the fleet only had eight miles to cover (in less than an hour for the Emirati winner), there were no fewer than seven marks to be rounded with a spinnaker start, a few short stretches of reaching, two beats and another section under spinnaker in a relatively stable wind in terms of direction.

With Laurent Pagès calling tactics, Franck Cammas was put into a difficult position just prior to kick-off by Chris Nicholson, Camper keen to hang onto her pole position at the Committee boat end of the start line, leaving Groupama 4 in her wake… In the middle of the line, Puma was also knocked off course a bit as Telefonica managed to block her and a light contact forced Ken Read to perform a penalty turn after the start, which caused him to lose contact with the head of the fleet as he was already sailing under spinnaker before beginning the 360° move!

Good speed in light airs

Franck Cammas had us believe that the performance by Groupama 4 should be improved in breeze of less than eight knots. In this way, today’s In-Port was an opportunity to confirm that the newly adjusted rig and the arrival of a new Code 0 (large genoa for sailing with eased sheets) could bear fruit. From the first spinnaker dash, the French crew were piling the pressure on the New Zealanders. Indeed by gybing just before Camper, Groupama 4 managed to reposition herself to windward in a little gust of breeze, which enabled her to cover her rival and overtake her prior to the first course mark. On the opposite side of the racetrack, `local boy’ Ian Walker on Azzam, was first to round mark 1, with a lead of three boat lengths over the French boat, which was just ahead of Camper. Telefonica and Puma had already dropped back considerably by that stage. The first beat saw Franck Cammas, furthest to the right hand side of the race zone, cross in front of the Emirati boat, which was forced to bear away to avoid him. Azzam snatched back the lead at the end of this upwind section but only had a 43 second lead at mark 2, whilst the New Zealanders appeared to be less at ease in these light airs and the Spanish on Telefonica made a series of mistakes during their manoeuvres.

After two short sections of reaching, Ian Walker was controlling the fleet, shadowed by Franck Cammas, whilst the rest of the fleet were losing more and more ground. In this way Camper lost another minute to Groupama 4 after another spinnaker run, the wind still only reaching eight knots. For the Spanish meantime, a catastrophic spinnaker drop destroyed any chances of them making a comeback and their only hope was to continue their duel with Puma… As such the only teams vying for the two top spots were Abu Dhabi, unquestionably more at ease in these conditions, and Groupama 4, which was really hanging on in there! Indeed, the second beat enabled Ian Walker to open up his lead a little more on the French boat. The two final sprints with eased sheets, where Franck Cammas and his crew hoisted their Code 0, enabled them to make up over fifteen seconds in the last six minutes of the race…

Auguring well!

After Groupama 4′s victory in the coastal race between Sharjah and Abu Dhabi and following this second place in the In-Port race, the French boat stands a good chance of scoring well in tomorrow’s coastal course between Abu Dhabi and Sharjah, the first part of the third leg of the Volvo Ocean Race. Indeed, the NW’ly breeze is set to hit nearly twenty knots during the long reach, after a warm-lap off the Emirati port. These conditions should favour Groupama 4 and the ease of manoeuvring experienced by Franck Cammas’ crew today confirms that the sailors have made good progress in these short race formats. As regards the overall standing, the top three have bunched together following a poor performance by the Spanish today, whilst the Americans are now sixteen points shy of the French boat.

Quotes from the boat

Franck Cammas, skipper-helmsman on Groupama 4:
“It was a fine battle and a very fine score. Particularly of note was a fruitful confrontation with Camper, which is a real specialist in this type of short course. Our consistent performance enabled us to get past them. It’s also great for Ian Walker and his crew on Abu Dhabi! They weren’t the best conditions for us but we managed to get some good boat speed and that’s good news for the next stage… We have to believe in what we do, take the initiative and be aggressive: we have to keep up the work we’re doing. We’ve adapted the boat for the third leg where there will be a fair bit of close-hauled sailing and light airs and today’s results back up our options: it’s getting better and better aboard the boat in terms of communication and refining the trim. Even the best crews, such as that on Telefonica, can lose races, but we know that we’re all very similar in terms of performance and the Volvo Ocean Race is very long! Things are working well for us at the moment and it’s very hard to say who’s going to lose and gain places over the coming legs…”

Laurent Pagès, tactician on Groupama 4:
“We’re very happy with the result: some very good work by the whole crew and the tactics weren’t easy, even though the conditions were relatively stable. On a personal level I’m really fond of courses where it’s possible to play with the wind, both upwind and downwind. A spinnaker start is always very interesting. We had the opportunity to put more pressure on Abu Dhabi when it crossed just behind us on the first beat: we preferred to control Camper (currently more dangerous in the overall standing) which is still a threat to us at this stage of the race. I don’t regret our decision and it’s a very good thing for Azzam to have won today… I won’t be at the start of the next leg, but I’ll feel the same tension as the sailors! I have complete trust in the group which is homologous and really getting to grips with Groupama 4, an excellent boat, even in light conditions like today. We have no reason to have any hang-ups…“

Start of sprint to Abu Dhabi onboard Groupama

Times are very difficult in the sport of sailing, even for the world’s premiere offshore race, even in the country where offshore racing is hugely popular, drawing hundreds of thousands of spectators, and offshore sailors are household names. While Knut Frostad, CEO of the Volvo Ocean Race, was inaugurating the spectacular race village in Abu Dhabi, an article in Ouest-France, the biggest French newspaper, painted a much bleaker picture for the stopover in Lorient.

Lorient Grand Large, the stopover organizers, have been unable to find private sponsorship to cover a budget that the newspaper estimates at 3 million euros. As a result, the city council decided to loan Lorient Grand Large 1.5 million euros in order to pay “the first bills” of all the activities during the two weeks the stopover will last. Always according to the same article, it is indeed a loan the organizers will have to repay and not grant but its terms are not revealed.

So far, according to Ouest France, the only major partner is the Region of Brittany, to the tune of 360,000 euros. A number of smaller companies, such as Azimut (communication and computer services), Interpole (temp agency) and Lori Si (printing), are suppliers to the event but with value-in-kind deals. Finally, a number of business owners have bought hospitality tickets at different price levels, depending on the services provided but according to the newspaper, they still haven’t been quantified.

Even in the home city of legendary oceanic sailor Franck Cammas, the sport of sailing is, unfortunately, going through dire straits…

[Source: Groupama Sailing Team] For their ninth day at sea since starting out from Cape Town, Franck Cammas and his crew have made a superb comeback on the leading pack in the Volvo Ocean Race.

Indeed the numbers speak for themselves since between Monday at 1400 hours and this Tuesday morning at 0200 hours, Groupama 4 has made up 48 miles on the leader, which equates to an average speed differential of 4 knots.

Positioned further East of her rivals and hence to windward of them, the French monohull is benefiting from a better angle in relation to the tradewinds (15 à 20°) and less heavy seas.

Already renowned for her performances with points of sail involving eased sheets, Groupama 4 is exploiting a positioning which was specially sought after by her navigator, Jean-Luc Nélias and her skipper Franck Cammas.

Sometimes criticised for a navigation which tends to consider the weather phenomena with the same degree of importance as the positioning of their rivals, this duo are reaping the rewards of an approach that the Anglo-Saxons rarely get a taste for.

Leading for some days now, the Spanish on Telefonica, neck and neck with the New Zealanders on Camper, have been overtaken by the Americans on Puma, whilst Abu Dhabi is bringing up the rear, without a possible opening for some days.

As for Team Sanya, she’s about fifty miles from the new Port d’Ehoala, at the south-east tip of Madagascar, which she’s set to reach this afternoon and where she’ll be able to replace the faulty element of her rig.

Positions at 0700 UTC
1. Groupama
2. Telefonica 5.8 miles astern of the leader
3. Puma 6.8 miles
4. Camper 15.0 miles
5. Abu Dhabi 106.5 miles