© Chris Cameron / DPPI
While Estrella Damm and Groupe Bel are sidelined in the New Zealand capital working on their respective repairs and counting down through their mandatory 48 hours which they are required to be tied to the dock, the Spanish duo Rivero and Piris passed the longitude of Wellington at a little after midday UTC, ready to take the full benefit of the very favourable northerly winds which are likely to be with the Renault Z.E Sailing Team for at least 48 hours, and perhaps longer.
Partly due to the technical stopover of the two boats which held third and fourth, but also the effects of the high pressure zone which has effectively barred the entrance to the Cook Strait over recent days, the main body of the Barcelona World Race fleet is now much more compressed. A week ago between third and ninth there was 1523 miles separating third from ninth in the fleet, now today that is less than 700 miles.
For Rivero and Piris there is every chance of making their third place a solid one as the northerly airstream will decay behind them, presenting them with a welcome resurrection, leaving New Zealand with around 736 miles of deficit to the leader, when on the eighth February they were more than 1100 miles behind the leaders.
Ironically the duo were curiously quiet through the Cook Strait today, no doubt tired after the intense 48 hours during which they have been working hard to make sure they would not have to stop. Indeed they reported that it is only in the last 24 hours that they had made the decision not to halt, a welcome difference for Rivero who stopped there with Mutua Madrileña in the first edition of the race.
But they did extend their best wishes to their Barcelona team-mates Pepe Ribes and Alex Pella of Estrella Damm, acknowledging what a great race they had been making until they had to stop with their forestay split and furling drum problem.
The catch up is also significant for Boris Herrmann and Ryan Breymaier on the 2004 build Lombard designed Neutrogena, who are less than 60 miles from Wellington this afternoon and looking set to pass into fourth, their best placing since the Straits of Gibraltar:
“ Now we have a very good opportunity to get through and overtake Groupe Bel and Estrella Damm, very likely on the forecast we have a good light breeze which should take us through by daylight. We should pass Wellington tomorrow morning, that should give us a good advantage, and closing in on Renault. I think we just have some lucky times on this boat.” Said Herrmann today.
At the front of the fleet the pursuit of Virbac-Paprec 3 by MAPFRE is relentless. The Spanish Olympic medallists for the first time are less than 100 miles behind the 2007-8 Barcelona World Race winner Dick and Loïck Peyron. MAPFRE, with the continuous advantage of being further from the high pressure system, have more breeze and are likely to keep eroding that margin for another 24 hours at least. And, to add to the tension, with 900 miles to the next ice gate both are taking full advantage curving to 54 and 53 degrees south, into ice territory.
Loïck Peyron said of their increasingly worthy opponents: “ I did not know them well before the start, but I learned in Barcelona to observe them. They are among the best, they have a common experience and are complementary characters. These are very serious customers, on a boat no less serious. We have never taken them lightly and they are not far behind. And not for nothing are they there. To have our Iberian friends close to us, it motivates us.”
Quotes:
Dee Caffari (GBR) GAES Centros Auditivos: “It was a big goodbye from the Indian Ocean, a taste of what the real south is about. We survived, the boat did really well and I think Anna secretly enjoyed it. Now the conditions are much more comfortable and we are making really good progress towards New Zealand. The breeze seems to be coming with us and it looks like it will stay with us all the way to New Zealand, typical though it is going to be upwind, but it is windy Wellington for a reason.
Touch wood, at the moment we have no plans to stop. Even though it would be lovely to have a nice shower, and a bit of a rest and some fresh food would be lovely, we have had a pretty difficult week where there have been jobs on the list every single day. I think the boat is at that half way stage where it is tired and, a bit like us could do with some TLC, but there is nothing we are not on top off, and so we will keep going.
It is a hard decision for those who stop. It puts them back in the proximity of us which is quite exciting, but it disappointing for them. But that is what the race is all about and there is a long way to go. We were confident something was going to happen and some benefit, some will miss out slightly, but equally there is still 15,000 miles to go. But for those starting out again they get re-freshed, and they get their jobs done on board and they get some nice fresh food on board, and are really ready to go for it. And we just need to find the strength to keep going, and keep in the race.
I would not like to speculate, but the damage I am reading about is the top section of their mast track which is not an easy job to fix tied to the dock side, let alone when sailing. And I think for Andy and Wouter to push hard, I think they are going to want the boat good again because the Pacific is awfully long way with nowhere to stop. Rumour has it there are a few Hugo Boss people present in Wellington. I am thinking the guys will just be letting us slip ahead and then will be back, hot on our heels again. They have chased us down once and I am confident they would want to do it again. It is nice to have the competition and it would be nice for us to be in front of them again!”
Boris Herrmann (GER), Neutrogena“We have had a fantastic day out here today, we have plenty of breeze, we had a good opportunity for a rig check, the first shower for 30 days, and an opportunity to dry out things in the sun and being close to New Zealand and to the Cook Straits and we have still kept moving in the light breeze and flat seas, so a very good day for us.
We monitor the distance to Mirabaud as well and they have caught up 20 miles or so. We are not sure about Renault.
We had our rig check and also I had a little dive to the keel and so we are happy to carry on. Of course we have one or two technical issues ourselves here and there, but we feel very happy to carry on non-stop.
Absolutely now we have a very good opportunity to get through and overtake Groupe Bel and Estrella Damm, very likely on the forecast we have a good light breeze which should take us through by daylight. We should pass Wellington tomorrow morning, that should give us a good advantage, and closing in on Renault. I think we just have some lucky times on this boat.
I was on phone to the father of the guest family that I stayed with during the Portimao Race stopover and it is very exciting to be rounding the same Cape that we rounded two years later, and it evokes some very good memories of the six weeks we spent there on the stopover. It is a fantastic country and a fantastic city. And we worked a lot with our rigger, Gordy, and he has just told us by mail he is working for Estrella Damm and Groupe Bel.”
Loick Peyron (FRA) Virbac-Paprec 3:“It is going well, a little bit less than our rivals behind, but that is normal. The night is very dark. We always seem to have something on the go, small DIY surprises and apparently we are in an iceberg zone. Since we left New Zealand we knew that our pals behind would be better off than us. Over the next two or three days that will be the case because we are closer to the anticyclone in front of us, and the more we get to it the less wind we have. But in the future it will be reversed we will be the first to get clear of this system and into the breeze. To Cape Horn it looks like the Pacific will live up to its name, for it is going smoothly at the moment, for us at any rate.
We are right back into the rhythm of the race, as it is had never really left us.
I do not know them well before departure, but I learned in Barcelona to observe.”
them. They are among the best, they have a common experience and complementary. These are very serious customers, on a boat no less serious.
We have never taken them lightly and they are not far behind.
And not for nothing are they there. To have our Iberian friends close to us, it motivates us.”
Pachi Rivero (ESP) Renault Z.E Sailing Team: “ We have had intense days of small repairs we have made just to make sure we can avoid the technical stopover. Today we made the final decision not stop after we had tested the mainsail mast track. Cook has been very quiet with an impressive moon. Now the wind has built and we go express towards the south east.
We send a special hug to Pepe and Alex who must be having a hard time after the lesson they have been giving us.”
Rankings at 1400hrs Sunday 20th February
1 VIRBAC-PAPREC 3 at 10763 miles to finish
2 MAPFRE 98 miles from the leader
3 RENAULT Z.E at 736 miles
4 GROUPE BEL at 768 miles
5 ESTRELLA DAMM Sailing Team at 768 miles
6 NEUTROGENA at 824 miles
7 MIRABAUD at 884 miles
8 HUGO BOSS at 1211 miles
9 GAES CENTROS AUDITIVOS at 1410 miles
10 FORUM MARITIM CATALA at 2941 miles
11 CENTRAL LECHERA ASTURIANA at 3285 miles
12 WE ARE WATER at 3701 miles
RTD FONCIA
RTD PRESIDENT
From : Barcelona World Race
