Volvo Ocean Race – Leg 9 – Galway of Bust

Volvo Ocean Race 133 comments

                            Yann Rious-Groupama Team Sailing-Volvo Ocean Race

               When you’re riding high, everything seems to go your way, and that’s how the Bretagne In-Port Race played out. Large crowds cheered on local hero Franck Cammas and Groupama as they mastered the upwind/downwind course off of Lorient. CAMPER banged the start and led all the way to the last downwind mark when they got caught in light air trap, allowing Groupama to steal the race in the last few meters.

                            Yann Riou-Groupama Team Sailing-Volvo Ocean Race

                “We snatched defeat from victory,” grumbled CAMPER Skipper Chris Nicholson.

                                                  IAN ROMAN-Volvo Ocean Race

                CAMPER barely hung on to beat PUMA but closed the overall VOR gap between second and third to four points heading into Leg 9, a 550-mile sprint to Galway, Ireland. Leading by 25 points over PUMA, Groupama needed only to finish fourth to claim overall victory.

                                                  IAN ROMAN-Volvo Ocean Race

                Ideal sailing conditions were the order of the day for the Leg 9 start. Blasting along at over 20 knots, the fleet quickly covered the 6.5-mile in-shore course and then headed into the treacherous Bay of Biscay.

                                                  IAN ROMAN-Volvo Ocean Race

                This might have been the shortest leg of the race but there many surprises ahead as the fleet sailed south into a stiff westerly breeze, leaving the small islands of Ile de Groix and Belle Ile to starboard. Telefónica led the charge with CAMPER and Groupama close behind.

                                                  IAN ROMAN-Volvo Ocean Race

                The final leg was all about picking the right sails for the wildy-fluctuating conditions and not making any mistakes; with the boats sailing within sight of one another for the entire race, an extra knot of boat speed, a poor sail change, or an untimely tack would determine the winner.
                A few hours into the leg, rain squalls descended and main sails were quickly reefed as fierce winds and waves battered the fleet.

                                                  IAN ROMAN-Volvo Ocean Race

                The first daring breakaway came when PUMA sailed to the west of Ile de Sein, a tiny island off the western tip of France.

                                                  IAN ROMAN-Volvo Ocean Race

                Ken Read, PUMA’s wily skipper, explained his strategy. “We’re going to go a slightly bigger distance but we think it’s going to pay in the long run.”

                                                  IAN ROMAN-Volvo Ocean Race

                CAMPER led the pack across the stormy English Channel as darkness descended. Up ahead lay the Leg 9 exclusion zone, a perilous no-sail area encompassing the busiest shipping channel in the world.

                                                  IAN ROMAN-Volvo Ocean Race

                At this point, only a mile separated first from fourth place, with PUMA and Groupama to the west and CAMPER and Telefónica to the east as the fleet entered the notorious Celtic Sea where the ocean recoils off the continental shelf and radiates with jack hammer waves.
                                                  IAN ROMAN-Volvo Ocean Race    
            After a nasty night at sea, Telefónica held a tenuous lead with CAMPER a half mile astern as the sun rose and the fleet approached the next waypoint, the infamous Fastnet Rock, the most southerly point of Ireland.    

                                                  IAN ROMAN-Volvo Ocean Race

                PUMA’s westerly route paid off and the black cat rounded Fastnet Rock a minute ahead of Telefónica with CAMPER and Groupama less than five minutes behind.

                                                  IAN ROMAN-Volvo Ocean Race

                Rounding Blasket Island on the southwest tip of Ireland the boats drag raced downwind along the west coast of Ireland passing the misty Aran Islands, their towering dark cliffs guarding the entrance to Galway Bay at the breathtaking Eiragh lighthouse.

                                                  IAN ROMAN-Volvo Ocean Race

                It was now a four boat chess match. PUMA sailed the shortest route straight up the middle of the bay, while her rivals took slightly different lines, hoping to catch a little more wind or less current while trying to avoid the wind holes lurking around each headland.

                                                  IAN ROMAN-Volvo Ocean Race

                With 125 miles to go PUMA was a few hundred yards ahead of CAMPER.

                                                  IAN ROMAN-Volvo Ocean Race

                Hamish Hooper aboard CAMPER set the final stage. “We have been sailing along some of the most stunning coastline I have seen anywhere in the world. It is rugged and cold and harsh – the perfect backdrop for the final fight of this leg. We are now downwind running to the mark with our A4 spinnaker, which we are desperately hoping will be our golden ticket to be first across the finish line.”

                                                  IAN ROMAN-Volvo Ocean Race

                Hooper’s wish proved prophetic because while all of the other boats decided to carry lots of equipment to stack on deck for the bumpy ride across the English Channel, CAMPER skipper Chris Nicholson was convinced the race would be won in the last thirty miles. The weather forecast predicted a warm front would pass through in the wee hours of the last morning, delivering dying winds. So CAMPER was traveling light. They were also the only boat carrying a huge A4 light wind spinnaker and that proved to be the difference when the winds petered out.
After so many heartbreaking close finishes, CAMPER saved the best for last and snagged its first leg victory and leapfrogged PUMA for second place overall.

                                                  IAN ROMAN-Volvo Ocean Race

                Groupama finished seven minutes behind CAMPER and PUMA finished third, followed by a disappointed Telefónica.
                Groupama were the first team to represent France in the VOR since Eric Tabarly’s La Poste in 1993-94 and only the second French winners.

                                                  IAN ROMAN-Volvo Ocean Race

                Special kudos go out to the 100,000 Irish loonies who greeted the boats at 2:30 in the morning, fired-up on Guiness and cheering wildly as Mike Sanderson and the never-say-die crew of SANYA edged out Abu Dhabi after finishing last in every race in the only Volvo retread.

                                                  IAN ROMAN-Volvo Ocean Race

                With the overall Volvo Race winner decided, the Galway in-port race would determine who would get to raise the Volvo In-Port Trophy. CAMPER and PUMA were tied at 39 points, one point ahead of Groupama. On a rainy day in the Emerald Isle, Ken Read and PUMA nailed the downwind start and led from wire to wire in the shifty flat water conditions, taking the tenth and final Volvo In-Port Race, ahead of CAMPER and Telefónica, to secure the in-port series trophy by one point.

                                                 IAN ROMAN-Volvo Ocean Race

Next Stop – Galway Pubs

FINAL VOLVO OCEAN RACE SCOREBOARD

GROUPAMA                                      253


CAMPER                                              231


PUMA                                                   226

Telefónica                                           213


Abu Dhabi                                          131


SANYA                                                   51

http://www.volvooceanrace.com/en/news/6735_Only-the-strong-survive.html

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