Telefonica Teams Jump Out to Early Lead in Volvo Ocean Race

The first in-port race in the 2008-2009 Volvo Ocean race took place on October 4, marking the start of another edition of this round the world race.  Many questions were answered about which teams look competitive, while many more remain.  Winds were relatively light, and the two Farr designed Telefonica boats looked quite fast in these conditions.  Telefonica Blue took the spot on the day winning both races.  Telefonica Black took a 2nd and 3rd to claim 2nd overall on the day.  Puma stands in third after posting a 6th and 2nd.  Ericsson 4 lost a tie breaker with Puma after posting a 4,4.  They claim 4th overall.  Green Dragon came in close behind Puma and Ericsson in 5th with a 3rd and 6th.  Delta Lloyd sits in 6th, Ericsson 3 in 7th, and Team Russia in 8th. Note that Ericsson 3 actually finished the day in 6th, but had to take a penalty for their illegal keel fin dropping them down a position. 

In the first race of the day Bouie Bekkings Telefonica Blue got a decent start and showed great boat speed to jump out to an early lead, which they never relinquished.  The start belonged to Green Dragon, and they sailed a great race to hold onto third, though they just didn't quite have the same speed as the two Telefonica boats.  Telefonica Black turned a lot of heads holding onto the second spot.  The Russians looked good off of the line and were battling with the top three up the first leg, though they got stuck on the right side of the course when the wind came in on the left.  Puma and Ericsson 4 got into a bit of a scuffle at the start and both teams suffered and couldn't find the right passing lane to get back into the race. 

The story of the second race was really the Puma team and their code zero headsail (see photo).  While their maneuvering was a bit limited, they showed great upwind boat speed with this sail and appear to have a killer tool in the bag of tricks for the upcoming voyage.  After today it appears as though Puma is the only team with this sail designed for upwind sailing.  Likely all other teams have a sail more geared towards tight reaching.  If the wind gets light and on the nose, I would certainly bet on Puma to make huge gains.  Puma led the race at every mark but the finish, as Telefonica Blue nailed a shift on the last downwind leg to pass and finish first.  Further back was a battle between Ericsson 4 and Telefonica Black for 3rd, with Telefonica Black having the edge at the finish.  Russia and Delta Lloyd had a bit of an altercation at the start of the race as the Russians tried to sneak in between Delta and the committee boat.  Russia ended up hitting both Delta Lloyd and the committee, and neither team could recover to get back into the front of this race. Hopefully the repairs to both Russia and Delta Lloyed won't be too bad and both will make the start of the first offshore leg in a week.  

All in all, it looked like a good day of sailing and we gained some insight into these monster boats.  The Telefonica teams certainly look quick in the light stuff, but it remains to be seen how they will handle the heavier wind.  The Juan K designed Ericsson boats may have been missing a tick of speed in this light air, but I think it was more the case that they didn't have good starts and couldn't quite claw back from there.  Puma showed that they have a sail inventory and the team work to win this race.  I think we also learned that the race will likely have many contenders, which will make it exciting to watch.  It will be interesting to see how this all plays out with the wild conditions these teams are about to face in the open water.

photo credit: http://www.volvooceanrace.org