DONGFENG LEG 3 RACE WINNER

Dongfeng just raced into Sanya harbour at the Volvo Race village, completed and won leg 3. Congratulations to the entire race team for their amazing display of seamanship and competition. Since this morning 9:40 Dongfeng has progressively gained speed, only covering about 16 nautical miles in the three hours before midday. Then they progress some 20 nautical miles in the next three hours leading to mid afternoon.  Through dusk and early evening they covered about 27 nautical miles  and in the past 3 hour slot covered about 40 nautical miles racing through the Chinese sea. They are sailing a good three knots faster than the rest of the fleet. At this rate they are destined to beat the clock and arrive in Sanya China shortly before 00 UTC. This is really astounding, covering some  4670 nautical miles in 23 day 14 hours, which roughly equates to an average of 8.25 nautical miles per hour. Their time at sea was a little more than 550 hours at sea in constant motion.

Meanwhile the rest of the fleet lost momentum and time, with the closest competitor - Abu Dhabi, followed by Alvimedica then Mapfre, Brunel and lastly Team SCA who is expected to arrive by Thursday 29th. But they are doing really great in the Volvo Ocean Race considering the were short of "dead reckoning" when when their electronic navigation system gave up the ghost and their main head zero tore and the bowman suffered a back injury and forced to take shore leave. 

The Dongfeng Race Team

LEG 3 SANYA STOPOVER

VOLVO OCEAN RACE VILLAGE EXPO

It's about 72hrs to the end of Leg 3. But the last few hours of straight-line sailing is going to be most strenuous on the sailors. Currently the fleet is tacking upwind along the Vietnam coast with Dongfeng still in the lead by a good 40 nautical miles. Straight-line upwind sailing requires tacking every half hour to an hour, and it entails moving a half a ton of sails and kit from port to starboard and back against a heel of 20 to 30 degrees. To make matters worse, the swells are fairly large and frequent, causing all the yachts to be airborne for a few seconds at a time, only to smack their hulls when they drop back into the water. Something like surfing with a Volvo 65. But when a Carbon fibre hull beats on water, the sound is much louder than that of an aluminum or fibreglass yacht, frazzling  the nerves of everyone below deck and making the entire boat reverberate.  This kind of sailing action can cause the sails to tear. 

Apparently Team SCA tore their mast head zero on Friday and they had computer issues shutting down their electronic navigation for a few hours. Yep! its going be tough for everyone. In Vietnam several locals live on their boats and there are  thousands of  fishing boats in the water as well. Hopefully they will not get too close to the racing yachts as to obstruct their speed, let alone collide with one of them.  Talking about collisions: one big problem in Vietnamese water is that their fishermen catch prawn at night without any lights, so the racing fleet needs to be extra vigilant and extra careful not to run into one of these unlit fishing vessels  in the dark of night. With the moon in its last quarter, there won't be much light at night in anycase, so guys forget about sleeping, get out there and keep a watch for those submerged floating containers and those unlit fishing boats.

Dongfeng Race Team Best Performance in Leg 3 of the Volvo Ocean Race - Abu Dhabi to Sanya

Sanya Volvo Ocean Race village Expo fireworks display.

There is definitely enough wind in Sanya to get the fleet there in double quick time.

Dongfeng spectators or just interested Volvo ocean Race fans

The Volvo Race Expo displays shipped from Alicante to Cape town to Sanya.

Beating the drum is what the Chinese and the Indians have in common

Dongfeng cultural display artists wearing Indian motive clothing

Dongfeng cultural display with a  South American Indian flavour.

All eyes on the Volvo Ocean Race app.

Dongfeng Race Team members getting the lions share of attention because Dongfeng crew has exceeded expectations

LEG 3 ABU DHABI TO SANYA VOLVO OCEAN RACE DAY 18

Dongfeng Race Team is still in the lead and has been in pole position for at least the past 17 days. Within the next five days they will reach Sanya if all goes well and the weather holds. Speaking about whether, for the past few days the sailors on all the boats were all emotionally moved because of intermittent wind conditions  in the Malacca straits and with the strong currents dragging them in reverse causing them to down anchors and loose time and distance. Considering the  moon was almost full, its gravitational pull of springtide made sailing conditions even less ideal. Not to mention the heat of the equatorial conditions. The yachts were all between 4 nautical miles  to 10 nautical miles of one another.  The mood onboard Dongfeng was especially grim since their GPS showed their speed, going backwards. This could mean that the rest of the fleet may catch up or they could drift onto a sand bank. But regardless of conditions, Dongfeng has managed to enter the South China Sea between the Islands of Malaysia and heading towards the Spratly Islands north west of Brunei whilst the rest of the fleet is still at Singapore.

The Malacca Strait is  one of the largest areas for shipping in the world and the route for 80% of Oil tankers as can be seen in the images below. Shipping traffic near Singapore is really intense  and the straits of  Malacca is renown for abundance of  fishing boats, floating plastic debris, chunks of Styrofoam. There are even floating tree trunks and planks which could damage a rudder irreparably.

The Picturesque Sanya Hotel  Phoenix Island Hainan China

The 108 meter tall Guanyin Statue of NanHai Sanya Hainan Island China

Dongfeng GPS readings showing their speed is going backwards.

Dongfeng entering into the Malacca Straits.

Calm water and no wind in equatorial waters with fishing boat in background

The Doldrums, no waves, to tide, no wind.

Mapfre in close proximity to a fishing vessel dragging a net, in the Straits of Malacca.

The fleet sailing through the shipping lanes.

Fishing nets of these fishing vesels are of great concern to the yacht fleet

LEG 3 VOLVO OCEAN RACE DAY 9

VOLVO OCEAN RACE DAY 9

The fleet have now past the Maldives, a group of Islands quite similar to the islands of Mauritius, Seychelles Reunion, were Vestas Wind wrecked. All of them are  close to  the tip of India  passing Sri Lanka  sailing close to the recommended sailing guideline. Soon they  will approach the Andaman Islands in the bay of Bengal close to the Thailand coast, north of Sumatra. Dongfeng is still in pole position and has been in first place virtually from the start of leg 3.

The girls hasn't been doing too badly and still staying within binoculars distance from from the rest of the fleet.

LEG 3 VOLVO OCEAN RACE DAY 3

LEG 3 ABU DHABI TO SANYA

Dongfeng race team has been very consistent throughout the Volvo Ocean Race. They won 2nd place in both the Leg 1 and Leg 2 and even controlled 2nd position at the start of the race. Within hours after the start of the Volvo Ocean Race,  Dongfeng Race Team overtook the Abu Dhabi Race team in the early hours of the morning and has held the lead position ever since. Dongfeng lost pole position to Team SCA for some 3 hours but soon regained the lead. Meanwhile the rest of the fleet have been continually gaining and losing position to one another.  

It is day now day 3 of Leg 3  and  Dongfeng Race Team is still some six nautical miles ahead of its nearest competitor  where it has been for the last 72 hrs. This is a first in the Volvo Ocean race, that this happened and will probably never to be repeated. My predictions for Dongfeng Race Team was spot-on but let me not jinx it for them, so I will  say nothing more other repeat what I previously said.  "My money is on the Dongfeng Race Team" and it would be jubilation uncontrolled if they should sail into China ahead of the fleet. There is a good ten days or more of sailing to be done, through the Monsoon  Winds and the Doldrums and the narrow Singapore channel, all of which can play havoc with the sails and the speed of the yachts.

VOLVO OCEAN RACE EXPO

VOLVO OCEAN RACE EXPO

The Volvo Ocean Race is likely the largest tourists expo that Cape Town has ever seen. The waterfront is a huge tourist attraction with its Big Wheel, Shopping complex, International Hotels, Foods, Wines and restaurants and the ideal stopover for the Volvo Ocean Race sailors.

Table bay harbour with the City of Cape Town  between Devil's Peak, Table Mountain and Signal Hill.

The Volvo Ocean Race Expo in the waterfront and the yacht moorings.

A fish's eye view of the yachts mooring

Sailing academy training in the bay

Vestas Wind support crew

Bishop desmond Tutu and the Alvimedica Team at St georges Cathedral

Final briefing before the start of leg 2 of the Volvo Ocean Race

The Abu Dhabi crew behind the Palestinian Flag.

Spectator interest exceeded organizers expectations

Farewell to the Abu Dhabi Crew

Fairwell to the Brunel Crew

Rough seas and a 40 knot wind bids farewell to the Volvo Ocean Race fleet.

LEG 3 - ABU DHABI TO SANYA

OFFICIAL START OF THE VOLVO OCEAN RACE

ABU DHABI TO SANYA

As I'm writing this episode, the Volvo Ocean Race is due to start in the next 5 mins. It is quite misty but hopefully  there will be sufficient wind as to not delay the start of the race, as was the start of the Abu Dhabi In-Port Race.  Thus far, Alvimedica, Abu Dhabi and Brunel has won the In-Port races of the past three legs, namely Alicante Spain, Cape Town South Africa, and Abu Dhabi UAE respectively. Abu Dhabi also won the Leg 1 offshore race from Alicante to Cape Town and Brunel won the Leg 2 offshore race from Cape Town to Abu Dhabi. 

But consistence in any race is far more admirable. So that brings us to the Dongfeng Team who took 2nd place in both  the Alicante to Cape Town, and the Cape Town to Abu Dhabi races. So, fellow skippers, watch out for Dongfeng in the Leg 3. As I already mentioned in a previous blog, my money is on the Dongfeng Team. What an amazing feat it would be for the Chinese Team if they could sail into Sanya China ahead of the fleet. Jubilation from their countrymen like no other, I am sure. They are the least experienced sailors but have the most determination to win. In Leg 2 of the Volvo ocean Race, their boat sustained serious damaged caused by a rope that snapped which handycapped them severely, snapping the starboard wheel in half. This may have taken first position in the leg 2 away from them.

Two of the Chinese crew doing their very best

UAE, past India,  Malacca  into the narrow Singapore channel  past Vietnam or  Borneo to China.

Mist impacting on the start of leg 3 of the Volvo Ocean Race

Misty conditions are not ideal for the start of any race, but the Volvo ocean race must go on.

Misty conditions at the start of the Volvo Ocean Race with Team SCA in the foreground

Dongfeng is the race Team who I think is going to win the overall Volvo Ocean Race.

Dongfeng at the start of the Volvo Ocean Race

Misty conditions obscure visibility but the race goes on.

Aboard Dongfeng.  As can be seen, the damaged starboard wheel has been replaced.

Sailing at the start of leg 3

Waiting for the gun

Alvimedica right behind, Mapfre, SCA, Brunel and Dongfeng with Abu Dhabi in the lead.

Brunel sailing at 6 knots 

NB! Some images supplied courtesy of www.volvooceanrace.com