11:20 PM Fri 12 Dec 2008 GMT
Leg 3 of the Volvo Ocean Race 2008-2009 starts Saturday, December 13. From Cochin (India) to Singapore, some 1,950 nautical miles of sailing past the southern tips of India and Sri Lanka, fighting for the scoring waypoint points at the Indonesian island of Pulau We and, finally, facing the challenging Malacca Strait to the finish line.
For Bouwe Bekking, the Dutch skipper on board Telefonica Blue, this is another notch to add to his belt.
'In terms of wind it will be tricky,' Bouwe recognises. 'We expect light sea breeze when we leave Cochin, before a short blast in north-easterly past Sri Lanka, and then an upwind bash in 5-20 knots towards the top of Sumatra. From there on, it will probably be a drift towards Singapore where anything and everything can happen!'
But the wind whims are just part of the challenges of this leg where 4 points are available for the first boat crossing the waypoint and another 8 for the first to reach Singapore. 'The current will be against us, thousands of fishing boats and their nets, plus the big merchant ships. At least, it won't be boring!' Bouwe laughs.
Leg 2 from Cape Town to Cochin offered a varied menu in terms of temperatures, from freezing air and cold water to warm winds and heat below decks. This time, at least in theory, the working conditions at Bouwe's 'office' will be steady: 'Since we will be sailing so close to the Equator, it will be very hot and sticky. Not much need for clothing this time!'
Telefonica Blue will be without Laurent Pages for Leg 3. The French sailor is still recovering from the shoulder injury suffered on Leg 2. To replace Laurent, Bouwe decided to ask Tom Addis, the meteorologist of the team, to jump on board: 'He is a good sailor, but his knowledge in meteorology will be the huge plus. We know how difficult the next leg will be and, for sure, with Tom we will be even stronger with our weather analysis. With more brain power onboard, deciding which way to go should be a little easier.' | Australian Tom Addis is to replace the injured Laurent Pages on Telefonica Blue (Photo: Maria Muina/Equipo Telefonica) Volvo Ocean Race 2008 - 2009 - Volvo Ocean Race © |
Mental agility, knowledge and experience are strong tools when facing a wide array of difficulties, especially when taking the right decision is sometimes more valuable than having good boat speed. But the Telefonica Blue team has one other potential problem to contend with, a risk which no one on board has faced before and for which there is no guaranteed answer: 'Pirates are a real threat in this region', Bouwe reminds, 'but there have been many other races going through this area previously and, so far, there have been no encounters, so touch wood we'll all be fine. Although, fortunately, we don't have any experience in this kind of situation, we have been briefed on how to deal with it in case it happens. The clearest advice has been 'don't play hero and give them all they want'. The safety of the crew comes first.'
It has been twelve days since Telefonica Blue arrived Cochin in second place, and in the process, jumping to second overall on the Volvo Ocean Race leaderboard. 'Twelve good days', in words of Bouwe: 'India is a country of opportunities and extremely friendly people, all very enthusiastic. I am still amazed by the set-up the organizers have achieved. Okay, it is very warm and not very pleasant working in these temperatures, but the facilities are good and you feel like there is a big event happening. I now understand why the Volvo Ocean Race organizers wanted to come here.'
During this short period, Bouwe took the opportunity to fly back home to Copenhagen for a quick, but very productive visit. A long trip, but the Dutch sailor is clear about the benefits: 'It was the best thing I could have done, pure vitamins for my mind and body! The trip from India to Copenhagen was long, but I got some real rest and a chance to switch off.'
While Bouwe was away, the Telefonica Blue shore crew were far from relaxed, carrying out a complete check of the Spanish VO70, which finished Leg 2 missing one daggerboard: 'We replacement boards are in and there shouldn't be any more problems', Bouwe explains. 'The shore crew has done again a fantastic job: thanks guys and girls, hopefully we will give them a good Christmas present in Singapore!'
Another area where the boat suffered a few problems in the last leg was the sails, but after some magic from the sailmakers, this is not expected to be an issue anymore: 'The sails are all in good shape', Bouwe says. 'We replaced some sections in the ones we broke, and we are really happy with the outcome. We made some changes to some shapes, and we think this will be a good improvement.'
On Saturday, Telefonica Blue leaves Cochin hoping to be able to reduce the gap to Ericsson 4 on the leaderboard. Despite the difficulties of the past two legs, Bouwe is optimistic: 'I think it has been a race of ups and downs. We won the in port race at Alicante, then had a few breakdowns on leg 1, which put us back, but we came back and scored a comfortable 5th in Cape Town. On the 2nd leg we had our share of problems to overcome and still managed to finish second on the water, putting us in second overall. I think the 'ups' are winning. Of course, it could be better, but it could be way worst!'
'On a personal level, it has been tough on the water', Bouwe recognizes, ' and the short stopovers put more pressure on myself to manage our time well. On the sailing side of course I would have liked to have done even better. But I keep reminding myself that we have a great sailing team, who are all keen as mustard. There is a great atmosphere onboard and it is very enjoyable to work with these guys. On the shore side we have a well-oiled machine, and another great bunch of people, so that makes life easy at the stopovers too.'
Although the speed record in this Volvo Ocean Race proves that a VO70 can cover more than 600 nautical miles in 24 hours, Bouwe knows that this time the average speed of the fleet will be much, much slower. 'The ETA Singapore varies; right now we just did a run and according to the data it will take us just over 7 days, but we have done other data runs which go out as much as 8 to 9 days.' These numbers would suggest an average speed of around 10 knots. Not that flash, but this race is not simply about speed, but crossing the finish line first.
Bouwe Bekking's personal website www.bouwebekking.com
by Bouwe Bekking
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