12:03 AM Sun 26 Apr 2009 GMT
 | | 'Very tense moments at the Telefonica Blue navigation station as Bouwe Bekking, Tom Addis and Jordi Calafat looking at the weather and images from the same routing software used by Sail-World on leg 6 of the Volvo Ocean Race, from Rio de Janeiro to Boston'
Gabriele Olivo/Telefonica Blue/Volvo Ocean Race © |
Ericsson 4 is still on course to win Leg 6 of the Volvo Ocean Race, however at latest reports she is only 6nm ahead of Ericsson 3 and that margin is predicted to decrease to just 2nm as the yachts close to the final turning point before heading for the finish - a 100nm leg which will see winds back making for a fast finish.
One of the yachts, US entry Puma Racing has invoked a Stealth Play where her position is blocked from the other competitors, however Sail-World's prediction information generated by PredictWindand Expeditionindicate that her options are not much more than follow the leader as they reach around the Exclusion Zone in 20kt winds.
PredictWind and www.iexpedition.orgare predicting an arrival at the northern most corner of the Exclusion zone around 0300hrs on 26 April and the first yacht to finish should cross the line off Boston mid-morning on the 26 April
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Once around the imaginary or virtual mark, at the Exclusion Zone the fleet will turn and run down the Massachusetts coast for the final 100nm to the finish.
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The final stretch will be in 20kt plus winds - which will back as the fleet heads south. The rate at which the wind backs will essentially determine the finish time, as initially they were predicted to have to beat the last 100nm, however an approaching strong wind system from the north has changed all that.
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The images used in this story have been generated by Expeditionwhich is a tactical and navigation software application which has been developed by veteran Volvo Ocean Race navigator and Whitbread winner, physicist Nick White, initially for his use in the 2001-2 Volvo Ocean Race with Team News Corp and the Stars & Stripes Americas Cup team.
Since then, Expeditionhas been continually refined by a core group of world-renowned navigators and two-time America's Cup winning navigator Peter Isler has consulted closely in the development of the system. Expedition supports more instrument systems, is easier to use and has the most powerful and useful functions for the racing navigator.
Expedition is now has PredictWind integrated into the application as an option for PredictWind subscribers.
The wind data and prognosis used to produce these images also uses software developed by PredictWind, an application developed by Jon Bilger a top NZ youth and Olympic sailor who turned his hand to wind and weather prediction, and helped Alinghi to their outstanding victories in the last two America's Cups.
Now that same technology is available to the weekend sailing and club racers, the cruising fraternity or professional sailors around the world. Select any region in the world of interest to you and PredictWindwill monitor the area for you and provide updated predictions on demand.
PredictWind is a subscription system, with a number of options. While some may feel the wind is free, the ability to get a five day detailed wind forecast for an area of interest creates great peace of mind, allowing forward planning and decision making to be made with some certainty. The time and money saved through being able to work with a high degree of confidence, is more than offset by the relatively small cost of the subscription.
But don't take our word for it, get PredictWindnow and have a 30 day trial for free, and see for yourself.
by Richard Gladwell, Sail-World.com
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