Rudder problems for Telefónica Blue

As the two Ericsson boats pull out a useful lead at Gibraltar only to be becalmed

Suffering the curse of thedailysail form guide, the first night at sea for the second Volvo Ocean Race in a row for skipper Bouwe Bekking, proved a costly one. After the fleet had blasted down towards the first major headland (to the east of Cartagena) in their passage towards Gibraltar last night at speeds into the high 20s with Ericsson 4 in the lead and Puma holding second, so at around 1530 GMT Bekking's Telefónica Blue appeared to gybe north and lose speed. As she dropped back to eighth place it quickly became apparent this was more than just a tactical error.

"We were going at a good speed when all of a sudden we heard a ‘crack’," reported Bekking later. "Part of the steering system broke 20 miles from the start. Only one rudder was working, so we made a beauty wipe-out. We had to take the spinnaker down and have been sailing slow for nearly six hours, when in the meantime Pepe (Ribes) and Xabi (Fernandez)  were working on the repair.

"At one stage we tried to put up a big spinnaker, but we were totally out of control so quickly changed back to a small jib. Of course an option was to stop, but since the breeze is going to die, this would mean a long and painful sail out of the Med."

The part of the steering system was not Telefónica Blue's spindly starboard rudder breaking as the rumour mill was touting, but the lever arm on the rudder stock for the steering cables.


Pepe Ribes at work while a concerned Bouwe Bekking looks on

After the incident Bekking and his crew were investigating their options. Making an effective running repair would be the ideal option as stopping would require them to stay in port a minimum of 12 hours (under race rules). But with the whole leg and the length of the Atlantic ahead of them?

"If we are going to stop and take the 12 hour penalty, we know it will be expensive, as the boats ahead will always sail in more pressure and will stretch away from us," said Bekking. “Our shore team are ready and waiting and I have until Gibraltar to decide. The good thing is that the other boats are close again, although it looks like the Ericcsson boats are playing a different game”.

In the end with the breeze dropping Telefónica Blue pulled into Algeciras (8km due west of Gibraltar) and officially suspended racing at 18:53:26 GMT (Sunday). Why the lever arm on the rudder stock broke is an issue that will no doubt be perplexing the crew, but we can imagine that the lever arms on both rudders will be being beefed up substantially overnight tonight.

Meanwhile the fleet remained tightly bunched with Puma pulling ahead of the two Ericsson boats as they rounded the second headland (to the east of Almeria) where the two Ericsson boats and Green Dragon gybed in towards the coast where they found better pressure, Ericsson 4 edging ahead sailing substantially deeper than her rivals. Meanwhile Puma and Telefonica Black opted to remain offshore making 12-13 knots to the 17-18 the boats to the north were enjoying.

By midnight with the boats gybing their way east some 100 miles away from Gibraltar, the Ericssons and Green Dragon had opened out a lead of more than 10 miles over Puma. The wind dropped continuously through the night, as forecast, but the Ericsson boats made the best of what there was off Malaga and by 0600 were neck and neck having pulled out 27 miles over Green Dragon. Impressively by 1000 it was Anders Lewander's Nordic team on Ericsson 3 which had pulled into the lead after their teammates put in a hitch to the north.

Still within sight of one another the Ericsson boats passed Gibraltar at around lunchtime becoming the first to make it out into the Atlantic - a welcome morale boost for the team after the difficulties they have had in port prior to the start. At this point they had extended their lead to 35 miles over third placed Green Dragon - a really impressive debut for the two boats. Tactically they appeared to have played this opening and possibly crucial first stage of this leg perfectly.

However...

Typically it would be nice to leave the Med and blaze away into the Atlantic to bank and build on your advantage. Not so for the Ericsson boats who came out into the Atlantic only to be becalmed. The Bracknell chart for 1800 shows a very shallow depression barring their path to the southwest. The Ericsson boats spent the afternoon wallowing, allowing those astern to close in on them, Ian Walker's team on Green Dragon reducing their deficit to 25 miles at one point.

Green Dragon ghosted past Gibraltar at around 2000 just a mile ahead of Puma and Telefonica Black. The forecast overnight is marginally better with 10 knots northeasterlies forecast, but this is dead downwind. These are set to build and back to the NNE by Monday afternoon. In terms of the weather Mr Bekking is a very lucky man.

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