Saturday, January 3, 2015

LEG 3 - VOLVO OCEAN RACE PREAPARATIONS

LEG3 - ABU DHABI TO SANYA


Leg 3 of  the Volvo Ocean race Abu Dhabi to Sanya is  exactly 12 hours away. The images below gives an idea of what the sea is going to look like tomorrow when the race commences at 12.00 midday. Leg 3 is substantially shorter than both legs 1 and 2 by about 1600 nautical miles which roughly equates to approximately 16 days of sailing. The sailors are in for some exotic eastern travel past India, Ceylon, Shri Lanka, Sumatra and Malacca where the navigation charts are not very good, then through the narrow Singapore channel,  across the equator. Braving the straits of Hormuz and tacking through the monsoon winds.  At this point it is quite hazardous  and would be good for all skippers to remember the fate of Vestas Winds, so the skippers would choose to sail either along the coast or  Vietnam or Malaysia / Borneo on towards Hainan China. Shipping  lanes in the Singapore channel  is quite light and  care should be taken to steer clear of merchant vessels. Good luck to each and every team!









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