http://lamp5.ocvision.co.uk/index.php en Liz.Rushall@teamrussia.org Copyright 2008 2008-12-23T05:37:20+00:00 http://www.teamrussia.org/en/blog/view/happy_xmas_from_kosatka_the_whale_to_kosatka/ http://www.teamrussia.org/en/blog/view/happy_xmas_from_kosatka_the_whale_to_kosatka/#When:04:37:20Z In Russian waters we celebrate Christmas on 7th January. It’s nearly Christmas. This is one of the biggest days in your western calendar. Of course in Russian waters, we celebrate Christmas on 7th January. Please don’t forget us, your underwater friends, in your celebrations as you sit around the fire in your warm houses eating and drinking with your families. We too are social mammals. We don’t have Christmas, but we have families and celebrations. And we need our homes in the sea to be protected. That’s the gift we would most like for 2009.  Donate for the whale! Kosastka 2008-12-23T04:37:20+00:00 http://www.teamrussia.org/en/blog/view/singapore_here_we_come_as_battle_rages_throughout_the_fleet_in_the_malacca_/ http://www.teamrussia.org/en/blog/view/singapore_here_we_come_as_battle_rages_throughout_the_fleet_in_the_malacca_/#When:09:35:36Z If by some fluke you are reading this Mr Woolgar or Mr Buck, my old Geography school teachers, I hope I’ve made you proud; I can promise you that I’ve mended my ways and no longer operate on ‘cruise control’, this is life at the extreme after all!! Singapore here we come as battle rages throughout the fleet in the Malacca Straits - Honestly it is this exciting despite the relatively slow speed of the fleet! So a quick geography lesson for you all, as certainly before the race I wasn’t aware of just how this whole area all links together. Singapore is an island at the south eastern end of the Malacca Straits and is similar in shape and size to the Isle of Wight. Just like Monaco see...there are strong links between the Isle of Wight and the principality of Monaco!!), Singapore is a city state. The Malacca Straits run northwest to south east, between Sumatra on the southern side (one of the biggest, if not the biggest of the Indonesian islands) and Malaysia on the northern side. Thailand is then just above Malaysia with Cambodia and Vietnam on the same latitude as Thailand but further to the east. Right now we’ve just passed the latitude of Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia and have another 190 miles to go!!  If by some fluke you are reading this Mr Woolgar or Mr Buck, my old Geography school teachers, I hope I’ve made you proud; I can promise you that I’ve mended my ways and no longer operate on ‘cruise control’, this is life at the extreme after all!! So back to the race; up at the front, the Ericsson boats are fighting it out with Telefonica Blue and Puma, whilst we are hanging on to the wake of Telefoncia Black and Green Dragon, who right now are only 7 miles ahead of us and clearly in sight. Apart from Delta Lloyd, who have had a tough leg and are now suffering with keel problems, the whole fleet are within about 60 miles. As the passing lanes run out and we straight line it to the finish, boat speed is now king as we seek to avoid the adverse current and make the most of the gradient winds, with any local effects such as sea breezes reducing as the land mass surrounding us diminishes. We know from racing in the early part of this leg that we have a great chance to close the gap on the ‘Queen Wagon’, as they have affectionately become known as onboard, and all the crew are pulling out the stops to make this a finish and a Christmas (yes it is looking like we will get there in time!) to remember. Right, I better get out of the sweat box that is the nav station, put some clothes on (sorry for the mental image) and jump on deck! Here we go. Nick Bubb 2008-12-22T09:35:36+00:00 http://www.teamrussia.org/en/blog/view/hungry_wolves_hunt_the_best/ http://www.teamrussia.org/en/blog/view/hungry_wolves_hunt_the_best/#When:12:13:48Z With X-mas dinner on our minds now almost all the time as we have rationed our food, we are more hungry than ever to get through this next stretch Today is known on our boat as D-Day: Do or die, make or break. We will have to punch through and if we do our X-mas ETA is looking pretty good. If we don’t, well, we might spend here a while and have to ring the shore crew to have some x-mas leftovers sent to us. So right now, we are pedal to the metal in the stronger wind fan that precedes the windless passage. Life is good, and the Malacca straits are giving us some of the best sailing in the world. Sure there is plenty of traffic, but our AIS system is doing a fantastic job. Mandatory for the Singapore Straits, this devise sends our direction and speed to all commercial ships within 20 Nm range. We appear on their screens as a dot with a tag: “Kosatka Racing Yacht, limited maneuverability”. So far, this has worked like a very powerful insect repellent. None of the cargo ships want to have anything to do with us, and whilst we are blasting (or drifting, like last night) along, the armada of cargo ships magically opens up in front of us. Brilliant! The weather models are far from reliable here, so we are relying heavily on the position reports. They are pretty much our weather forecast for the next 150 NM. A sea-breeze is forecast to develop this afternoon along the Malaysian shore, so we are aiming for that. The exact transition between the NE winds that we are in now and the Westerly sea-breeze however is as crucial as it is difficult to predict. If we can reach the zone in good shape, we will have good breeze for the remainder of the afternoon. So, every report is awaited with even more eagerness than before, and any delay in it coming in via our satellite communication is making us eat our hats. With X-mas dinner on our minds now almost all the time as we have rationed our food, we are more hungry than ever to get through this next stretch. That is a big up according to some on the boat, quoting: “Hungry wolves hunt the best”. Yeah, “whatever”, I could do with a good steak right now - just fine. Thinking of that, the next position report is due in every minute. Better check it out! Wouter 2008-12-21T12:13:48+00:00 http://www.teamrussia.org/en/blog/view/is_it_chess_or_rolling_the_dice/ http://www.teamrussia.org/en/blog/view/is_it_chess_or_rolling_the_dice/#When:12:07:25Z Hours over sat pics, grib files and quickscat, heads together for Nick, Stig, Wouter and myself and still the question is it a plan we have, or pure speculation?  So far, the models haven’t been too good in this part of the world. As the fleet is getting compressed we see opportunities on the horizon, 300 mile to the finish. Our closest friends, Green Dragon and Telefonica Black have split and we want to catch at least one of them. Hours over sat pics, grib files and quickscat, heads together for Nick, Stig, Wouter and myself and still the question is it a plan we have, or pure speculation?  So far, the models haven’t been too good in this part of the world. The first mark of the exclusion zone is currently dead downwind, so one side will pay and we have chosen the eastern side. Fingers crossed. The amount of shipping in the straits is impressive and the AIS is extremely valuable in finding the lanes between the bigger brothers. Yesterday we were racing “Matilda”, a sizeable tanker for hours in the absence of a sailing yacht. In the end she couldn’t keep up with our pointing, was footing off a bit and gained ground to leeward. Getting closer to land, the garbage in the water increases and we regularly dodge plastic, cans, timber and other bits and pieces giving evidence of close civilization. 2008-12-21T12:07:25+00:00 http://www.teamrussia.org/en/blog/view/half_way/ http://www.teamrussia.org/en/blog/view/half_way/#When:13:40:11Z But to get up or move is not so easy. The boat is always throwing itself from the waves with the deafening bang as it lands in the foot of it. We experienced very different conditions on the left side of the course. From 5 knots breeze with calm seas to 18 knots and 3 meter waves. In such wind we’re going 12 knots under the reefed main and jib. It’s very easy to find out what happening on board, I have just to open the stern hatch behind my head at the MCM desk. But to get up or move is not so easy. The boat is always throwing itself from the waves with the deafening bang as it lands in the foot of it. And it’s impossible not to slip on the smooth black and slippery carbon. Against our wet and bumpy ride, the team feels pretty comfortable. This is because we’re in the Indian Ocean, with the warm sea and warm wind. Not as it was in roaring forties of the Southern Ocean. The only thing that makes us bothered is that we have food only for 10 days without any reserve. That’s why Rodion has started to cut the daily allowance and set up emergency stock in the media station. 2008-12-20T13:40:11+00:00 http://www.teamrussia.org/en/blog/view/land/ http://www.teamrussia.org/en/blog/view/land/#When:08:03:12Z Spirits are high and we are hungry. Pirates, fishing boats, massive traffic? Bring it on, they are our passing opportunities over the next days. For the first time since we left the southern tip of India we have seen land again. Even some hints of civilization were greeting our eyes this morning on the hills of the island of Palau We. Being the very most northern tip of Indonesia this apparently is a perfect place for antenna masts as there are more than a dozen scattered on the hill tops.Even some houses can be identified, and it makes us wonder: who is it that are living at this isolated northern tip of Sumatra? What’s keeping them busy? Do they have any idea that eight boats in the Volvo Ocean Race have spend seven days beating upwind to pass by their houses?  Can just imagine someone waking up this morning with the curious sight of some Volvo 70s at their doorstep! Passing Palau means passing the scoring gate as well as entering the Straits of Malaca. Traffic has tripled, there are big cargo ships everywhere, there are plenty of floating objects in the water, and the seas have flattened. What hasn’t changed is our wind angle. Uphill we continue with our 1000 NM beat from hell. By the end of today that will come to an end. Reaching and downwind spinnaker sailing is on the menu, and we are all looking forward to a flat world. Living at 23 degrees of heel just makes everything rather inconvenient you see. Mugs and food bowls slide and tip. We go through life one handed as the other one is used to hold on, and the neck gets rather sore from being angled 23 degrees to one side all the time.  No, downwind under spinnaker is the way to go for sure. Over the last day we have closed the distance to the group considerably, and we have now all our guns pointed at the Chineese-Irish Green Dragon team. Although they are currently 30 Nm ahead of us, we are on the verge of entering the flukey winds of the Straits in which such a distance can be eaten up in a matter of hours. Spirits are high and we are hungry. Pirates, fishing boats, massive traffic? Bring it on, they are our passing opportunities over the next days. Wouter 2008-12-20T08:03:12+00:00 http://www.teamrussia.org/en/blog/view/knocking_on_wood/ http://www.teamrussia.org/en/blog/view/knocking_on_wood/#When:07:58:53Z We were very happy last night with our performance, gaining with every sched on the whole fleet.  Very sorry for the guys on Delta Lloyd, I hope that they will make it save to Singapore. Once in the Malacca Strait, they should be alright and will have no disadvantage in the light downwind conditions. Still, the amount of serious damage to boats the race has seen so far is concerning and for sure a matter of discussion what modification the vo70 rule needs for the next race. Our design brief to the Humphreys design office was for a boat that will not break in the Southern Ocean or on the beat to China, because we simply cannot afford to rebuild the boat several times throughout the race. I hope we will get rewarded for the concept at some stage of the race. We were very happy last night with our performance, gaining with every sched on the whole fleet. The boat seems to be quick in these upwind conditions and we can push the boat hard, not fearing any breakages (knock on wood again and again). It seems we are laying the mark and the fleet will have to tack, how close we can come and whether we can overtake any boats is depending on speed and the wind direction the fleet will experience after tacking. We will keep fighting for every mile until the finish line in Singpore. Ericsson 4 shows impressive speeds whenever they line up with other boats and Ericsson 3 is not far from that, we all could envy them a little bit. Less than a week to Xmas and no Xmas feelings on board. It is too warm, too wet, the lack of lights in the streets, xmas songs and shopping orgies. Still I hope we make it in time to spend Xmas with our families in Singapore or at home. 2008-12-20T07:58:53+00:00 http://www.teamrussia.org/en/blog/view/watch_those_nets/ http://www.teamrussia.org/en/blog/view/watch_those_nets/#When:04:18:51Z Kosatka the Whale reminds the fleet about the dangers of fishing nets - for boat keels and whales. Leg 3 certainly includes some challenges, one is by far the largest for my air breathing whale and dolphin friends in the world’s oceans - fishing gear. Fishing nets can be a threat both to whales and dolphins and to sailing boats, as Kosatka the boat, already experienced during leg 2 when she sailed into what is called a ghost net. On the way to Singapore, we will sail through intense fishing areas. But, while it can mean lost time for racing vessels, for us - whales and dolphins - it simply means death … a long and dreadful end. Whales and dolphins need to come to the surface to breath and predominantly use sound to communicate and navigate. Fishing gear is often hard for us to detect. Once caught in a net, we hold our breath and suffocate from a lack of oxygen. WDCS, the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society has just launched a report “shrouded by the sea …”, which summarizes the suffering caused by entanglement in nets. The document, addressed to governments, highlights that there is a huge unseen and hidden tragedy taking place under the surface of the sea, causing great suffering and the death of at least 300,000 whales and dolphins all around the world annually. I’m sure many people will wonder whether the same tragedy would be allowed to take place if it was happening on land. However, there are some good news: WDCS experts achieved that governments decided earlier this month that in the near future range states shall develop an action plan to protect whales and dolphins in the Indian Ocean and Southeast Asia. Also, some coastal and artisanal fishermen have already started talking to those people who speak out for whales and dolphins to see how they can minimise the threat. That’s a promising vision, I’d say. Kosatka PS: more information about the WDCS Report can be found at www.wdcs.org. PPS: here you can sign for the whale, helping to make the world’s oceans a safe place for whales and dolphins. 2008-12-19T04:18:51+00:00 http://www.teamrussia.org/en/blog/view/bashing_upwind_in_25_knots/ http://www.teamrussia.org/en/blog/view/bashing_upwind_in_25_knots/#When:16:00:03Z Finally, just a brief moment to express our heartfelt sorrow for Mike Golding and the ECOVER sailing team.... Not the easiest of conditions to type, bashing upwind in 25 knots but no complaints, any wind in this part of the world is a blessing! I’ve just come off watch after one of the more arduous nights this leg. We seem to have spent the whole night in a shipping lane whilst being constantly attacked by vicious squalls. In the middle of the night we were caught out in pitch black with only one reef when the breeze gusted to 37 knots and torrential rain reduced visibility to about 1 metre. It was pure ‘seat of the pants’ sailing, with no instruments visible I just tried to find what was a pretty much non-existent groove and keep the rig on top of the yacht. Thankfully, the boys trimming did a wonderful job and we got through with everyone and everything intact. After what seems like days, we have finally tacked onto the lay line for the scoring gate…..500 miles away, and are settling down for a long hard 2 day slog east. The rest of the fleet is south of us and we have a few hours to make up but the latest routing shows us arriving just 7 hours after the leading pack and ahead of Delta Lloyd. With the run into the finish looking so tricky, we should still have it all to play for. Life onboard is still pleasant despite the bumpy conditions, however Wouter’s own special wind is causing some discomfort to those sleeping near the nav station and Scotty is keeping Neptune happy by adding his sunglasses, sun hat and shorts to the food bowl and loo roll he lost earlier. Finally, just a brief moment to express our heartfelt sorrow for Mike Golding and the ECOVER sailing team, of which I was part of before signing up with Team Russia. Mike was leading the Vendee Globe, solo non-stop around the world, when a few days ago he was dismasted in gale force conditions 1000 miles south west of Australia. Losing all of the rig and most of his sails he is now making v slow progress towards the Australian coast. Despite obvious limitations I’ve been following Mike every step of the way and I can say for sure that all of Team Russia have been behind him and so when we got the news onboard, we were all devastated for him and of course the rest of the team. We were all thoroughly impressed by his outstanding effort and wish him the best of luck for a safe and speedy return to land. Best of luck to the rest of the guys still out there racing!! That’s all for now Cheers, Nick 2008-12-18T16:00:03+00:00 http://www.teamrussia.org/en/blog/view/close_racing1/ http://www.teamrussia.org/en/blog/view/close_racing1/#When:09:41:01Z Our new bowman for this leg Scott Gray is fitting in well as expected, although having lost one of our precious food bowls, he then proceeded to throw away a whole roll of loo paper. He may find himself short of a t-shirt or two should things get tight in that department later on! Tuesday morning, 65 hours into leg 3 and still we can see some of our competitors. In fact for most of this leg we have been locked in battle with Ericsson 3. As Wouter likes to put it, this is a ‘street fight’. Typical of the Indian Ocean we have unreliable forecasts and we have to sail by the seat of our pants. Every time we separate from Ericsson 3 there is nervousness onboard, as confident as we may be in our reading of the situation, you just never know what is going to be thrown at you next! We seem to have changed between the genoa and code zero tens of times already, as the wind strength rather annoyingly, hovers permanently around that crossover. Thankfully right now we are several miles clear ahead of Ericsson 3 with the potential for a great position report relative to Green Dragon too. Delta Lloyd right now are suffering some of the same luck we had on leg 2 and are well behind, so in general we are happy with things so far. Our new bowman for this leg Scott Gray is fitting in well as expected, although having lost one of our precious food bowls, he then proceeded to throw away a whole roll of loo paper. He may find himself short of a t-shirt or two should things get tight in that department later on. With a huge renewed focus amongst the crew, all idle chit chat is strictly restricted to off watch and this now focuses on the great debate, will we make it in for Christmas?! Personally I’m not feeling too confident but then again I don’t have flights booked home or family coming out so it’s not quite such a concern for me! Unfortunately my dog Shackleton couldn’t get a visa for Singapore in time! Anyway, as usual I have a few small running repairs onboard to make so I’d better go. Thanks for all the messages of support via our team website (http://www.teamrussia.org), please keep them coming. Fingers and toes crossed as we try to reel the leaders back in, now 25 miles ahead. Cheers, Nick 2008-12-16T09:41:01+00:00