The VOR fleet has entered the doldrums. Or more properly, the…
The VOR fleet has entered the doldrums. Or more properly, the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), where the sun directly overhead heats the ocean and creates a 300-mile-wide belt of rising air, thunderstorms, and light, tricky winds.
The fleet has spread out on a wide front stretching 150 miles west to east, with the western boats doing better, at least so far. Brunel and ADOR, the two that concentrated on staying north and getting as far west as they could while passing the Cape Verde Islands, are now farther south than everyone else. They have a substantial lead, while being in a dead heat with each other according to the tracker.
In the middle, both west-to-east and in the standings, are Dongfeng, Alvimedica, and SCA. I’m looking forward to seeing video from SCA; I’m expecting some happy faces at their having worked their way back into the race.
Farthest east and trailing are Mapfre and Vestas, with both of them, especially Vestas, actually heading back east a bit in the 1255 update. They must be hoping for better wind in that direction.
It’s kind of a big roll of the dice for all the teams over the next few hundred miles. The ITCZ is chaotic, with big convection cells that rise up and leave the boats under them dead in the water, while boats on the edge of the cell get wind. The crews can try to stay alert and steer themselves around the worst of it, but with with limited maneuverability they mostly have to take whatever the wind gods dish out.
The fleet compressed front to back when it entered the doldrums, and it will stretch out again when it leaves. But which boats will leave first?
Reposted from http://ift.tt/1yg9gzR.
Tags: vor, volvo ocean race.
