Volvo Ocean Race / Team Vestas Wind statement:

At 1510 UTC, Saturday, November 29, Team Vestas Wind informed Race Control that their boat was grounded on the Cargados Carajos Shoals, Mauritius, in the Indian Ocean. Fortunately, no one has been injured.

We are in contact with the boat to establish the extent of the damage and ensure the crew is given the support needed to enable it to deal with the situation.

The Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) in Reunion Island is aware of the problem.

The crew has informed us that it is currently grounded on a reef but nobody is injured. Volvo Ocean Race and Team Vestas Wind’s top priority is to make sure the crew is safe.

The crew has informed Race organisers that it now plans to abandon the boat as soon as possible after daybreak.

Team Alvimedica and two other vessels are in contact with Team Vestas Wind to assist.

We will give you more information as it becomes available.

Wouter must feel awful. What could have happened?

Reposted from http://lies.tumblr.com/post/103907033091.

24 Hours with Team Vestas Wind:

by Brian Carlin as told to Marina Thomas Intrepid Team […]

I liked this brief “as told to” article in which Brian Carlin describes his daily schedule as the Team Vestas OBR on Leg 1.

Reposted from http://ift.tt/14bZci7.

Navigator Wouter Verbraak fist bumps crew member Nicolai Sehested aboard Team Vestas Wind. Source.

Here’s what I love about this clip. Vestas is in the process of making a huge gain, such that as of the latest update (0040 UTC on October 30), they’ve gone from being in the middle of the fleet to essentially being in a three-way tie for the lead. They made that gain because of a high-risk strategic decision that must have been Wouter’s call (along with Chris Nicholson, the skipper).

As a former offshore racing navigator (not on anything like Wouter’s level, but still) I think I have a degree of insight into what was going through his head in this moment. And yeah, he’s sharing the joy with Nicolai, and complimenting his good job on the helm.

But Wouter knows, and I know (and Nicolai and the unidentified crewman filming and probably everyone else on the boat knows), awesome driving at most gets you a fraction of a knot over the competition. You want a 6-knot advantage over a 6-hour period? That takes a navigator.

Go Wouter. :-)

Reposted from http://ift.tt/1rTUuKL.

Navigator Wouter Verbraak on Vestas Wind talking about their strategy entering the doldrums.

Actually, at the moment there is an option to go east, which is very rare. So I’m scratching my head and double-checking that it is actually the case, because statistically it is a very dangerous strategy to go east. So I’m about to get the next satellite picture, which will be important to verify whether the models are in line with what is actually happening, or whether we should again, like so often in this leg, throw the models in the bin and go for what we see in the satellite pictures.

Apparently they decided to take the risk, because Vestas is way out there now, 35 miles east of the nearest competitor, Mapfre, and more than 150 miles east of the current leader, ADOR. As of the 1840 update (Oct 21) the eastern route doesn’t appear to be working, but that could change based on what happens in the next 24 hours.

Reposted from http://ift.tt/1DxOONY.