(Alicante Spain, November 5, 2011 to Galway Ireland, July 7 2012 )
(see interactive version at: http://www.volvooceanrace.com/en/ports.html)
I've sailed once; in a race, on Lake Erie. As a deck hand I almost fell off the boat in the middle of the race while assisting with trimming the jib sail. We won.
A week ago I was reading about a regular errant ball fetcher for the San Francisco Giants who had recently drowned in a sailing accident during a race off the Pacific coast. A web site called Sailing Anarchy covered the story really well and I ended up following on Twitter. I love the name, 'Sailing Anarchy'.
Yesterday in my Twitter stream, a tweet link to a video:
Image of Tweet - click on Image, see original Sailing Anarchy tweet (in new tab)
On a Volvo Ocean Race2011-12 leg stop-over in Miami, Sailing Anarchy's Scot Tempesta interviews speedsailing veteran Mike Sanderson, Skipper of VO-70 "Team Sanya" about funding, the VOR classification - and having his boat's rudder ripped out of the vessel in fifth leg of the race.
Speedsailing is the leading edge design classification yacht race - it's the F-1 of yacht racing. It allows the most advanced technology available, towards speed - in a race around the globe that follows the fastest trade winds, the fastest ocean currents, in the world's fastest sailing boats.
It's Extreme Sailing.
"Volvo Open 70" according to National Geographic:
Formerly known as the Whitbread Round the World Race, the Volvo Ocean Race sends superfast sloops circling the globe—the hard way.
Following the prevailing winds, the course is deliberately plotted through some of Earth’s most inhospitable environments. As a result, the eight boats competing in the 2001-02 race can expect to face three-story swells, iceberg-strewn seas, and ship-swallowing squalls.
Sailing around the clock, the 12-person crews suffer for speed. Fresh food, mattresses, pillows, and even reading material are verboten—too heavy. Everyone shares a single cabin, which wouldn’t be so bad if they had the time and the means to bathe.
The winning crew doesn’t get a cash prize—but they can count on a crystal trophy, a slap on the back, and perhaps sailing’s best bragging rights.
"Rudder Blow Wounds Sanya"
Today (Saturday, May 26th) an update from Team Sanya off the coast of Nova Scotia, sailing the Gulf Stream with an assist from a swirl of tropical storm Beyrl (circled in red in the image).
SSEC Composite Image Global Montage May 25, 2012, 12:00 noon - UTC
SSEC Real time storm frame (forecast for May 26, 2012, 13:20 UTC - Tropical Storm Beyrl)
Live X with Aksel Magdahl - Leg 7/Day 5 - Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12
Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12
http://www.volvooceanrace.com/en/home.html
2011-12 Volvo Ocean Race Youtube Playlist - Leg 5 - http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3C27EC20FA6C06C1&feature=plcp
THE VOLVO OPEN 70 RULE / Version: 3 / Amendment: 3 / Date 01/02/11 - http://www.volvooceanrace.com/media/files/m3082_volvo-open-70-rule-v3-including-amendment-3.pdf
mh
No comments:
Post a Comment