IMOCA Ocean Masters Barcelona World Race: The Big Game

Source and Courtesy IMOCA Barcelon World Race -From Hemisphere to Hemisphere

The second major event of the IMOCA Ocean Masters championship, the Barcelona World Race has been sailing it out for the past weeks since it started December 31st - the promise from Hemisphere to Hemisphere.

The Route is designed for Teams to break through almost all macro-climatic zones of the world. IMOCA explains that the additional tactical challenges rise in the Mediterranean and during the passage of the Strait of Gibraltar. Teams will also be contributing to science through new innovative projects which combine sailing sports and scientific missions.

“The Barcelona World Race is the one and only double-handed round the world yacht race (two skippers per boat). It is a race without stopovers, where outside assistance is permitted, but this is subject to regulations (penalties),” IMOCA adds.

In its third edition the Barcelona World Race -from Barcelona to Barcelona around the world begins to speak a language of its own. Eight international teams have become masters of this language. Teams Chemines Poujoulat, GAES Centros Auditivos, Hugo Boss, Neutrogena, One Planet One Ocean Pharmaton, Renault Captur, Spirit of Hungary and We are Water entered the competition waters. Of the eight teams only seven remain on course as Hugo Boss dismasted after breaking speed records and having entered mild calm winds.

This year teams will be taking on scientific collaboration actions deploying special floats equipped with technology which will aid in scientific investigations and taking part in other international scientific projects.

To the date it is still to early in the day to make assumptions on leads and final rankings -the race is just warming up. IMOCA does speak about “The Big Game”, strategies in which teams are engaging to master the oceanic world current, wind dynamics and other elements which can benefit or damage positions. The race can be tracked lived from IMOCA main frame.

On January 20th IMOCA repotted on the Barcelona World Race and the start of the Big Game.

“In the end, you have to make a decision. We could stay in the range of 10-20 miles with Cheminées Poujoulat, or play the big game,” said Guillermo Altadill today, explaining Neutrogena’s bold split to the south.

Teams are looking into world wind conditions and known set winds to move up ranks and shake up positions.

On January 20th IMOCA reported that the Barcelona World Race leaders were nearly 400 miles apart, after second-placed Neutrogena split from current leaders Cheminées Poujoulat, gybing south in search of new weather systems and stronger westerly breezes.

Teams in the coming weeks are expected to drift away from each other, most likely out of sight.

Teams were also green lighted to launch the Argos floats. “Each float is about 22kgs in weight and 1.7metres high and they will help gather scientific information about the health and well being of our oceans and the planet,” IMOCA explains. Each float will remain afloat for about ten hours before diving itself to 1000 metres for ten days. Then it will descend to 2000 metres and then return to the surface. Each cycle will emit data on the salinity and temperatures at different depths. Good news for science.

But it was not the scientific news which attracted the attention of the international media. The dismasting of the leading boat Hugo Boss took over the sailing media on January 25th. The crew was able to reach safe land but lost the entire year.

Hugo Boss reported no major damage to lament “despite what the sailors themselves refer to as the intense rhythm”.

Before dismasting Hugo Boss broke a new record for Barcelona-Gibraltar registering 2 days, 5 hours, 50 minutes and Barcelona Equator in 11 days, 13 hours and 50 minutes a time difference of only 26 and 20 hours respectively. Hugo Boss prior to dismasting had lead the event since day one. The crew now thinks over the past days of gloary safe in land in Salvador de Bahia Brazil. The remaining seven teams push on throught to eventually encouter the harshest navigation routes known to human sailors.

Neutrogena reported to be sailing at 110% and registered to be the fasted boat of the fleet of competitors. Average Neutrogena speed was over 20 knots over a 6 hour period.

Teams knifed a section of the Atlantic renowned for record-setting speeds. Race meteorologist Marcel van Triest explained through IMOCA that “the combination of powerful low pressure systems and strong westerly winds – but moderate waves – makes this particular South Atlantic zone a sailing fast-lane”:

GAES Centros Auditivos and Cheminées Poujoulat were moving in fast through the gateway and passage.

Renault Captur, We Are Water and One Planet One Ocean Pharmaton were still behind double cutting the light winds zone of the St Helena high.

Founded in 1991 and recognised by ISAF -the International Sailing Federation since 1998, IMOCA is the class association, which takes care of 60-foot Open monohulls. The IMOCA class aims to make ocean racing more international and it brings together ideas about competitions, innovation, human adventure and safety.

In this year edition teams are engage in science mixing it up wind ocean sports. The boats taking part of the Barcelona World Race 2014-15 collaborate in several scientific projects. Teams take on “old schools marine science” the old fashioned way. A tribute both to historic sailing and the way ocean science started behind sails.

Projects correspondent to the Institute of marine Science, coordinated by the UNESCO-IOC. The results collected by the skippers will represent an important contribution to efforts being made by the scientific community and will play a fundamental role in the Barcelona World Race educational activities.

Projects include; measurement of salinity levels and sea temperature, measurement of the concentration of microplastics in the seawater, optical monitoring of the transparency, colour and fluorescence of the surface of the sea and Argo floats.

Ocean Life News in Brief

Ocean Level Increase Dropping Oceans Floor: International Press reported on December 5 on the findings of new research which assures that due to ocean level increase the ocean floor is sinking. The study published online in Geophysical Research Levels used mathematical equations to accurately measure the Ocean's floor impact driven by the increased of water volume weight. Using data from 1993 to 2014 researchers found that ocean level increase is causing the Ocean floor to drop globally by the milimeters. Ocean Dead Zones Up By Four: On January 8 New York Daily reported that Ocean Dead Zones have quadrupled.Researchers warned in a new study that oxygen-starved ocean dead zones, where animals and plants are struggling to survive, have increased fourfold and it may not be reversible. The new study was published in the Journal Science. The increase of Dead Zones was linked to climate change. La Niña´s Polar Wave Hitting Hard the US -Freezing Oceans: International Press reported on the Polar Wave hitting hard the US. The event is linked by experts to the influence of La Niña. “For the past couple of weeks, parts of North America have been chilling down to record temperatures, with massive snowfall and icy cold conditions putting life at a standstill for many,” media reported. The US East Coast has been particularly badly hit with the likes of Boston down to Philadelphia reaching bone-chilling lows of near 0°F , with icy winds making it feel closer to around -10°F to -20°F. Officially 18 were dead and 100 million affected. Government of Bali Declares a Garbage Emergency: On January 5 Ocean Conservancy reported on a New Waste Management Emergency in Bali. Massive amounts of ocean debri are affecting the island. The situation has reached its peak as the Government of Bali declared a “Garbage Emergency”. Clean up works have began. “Ivory Coast Village Swallowed by Ocean Increase,” Aljazeera Reports: On January 8 Al Jazeera reported that ocean increase levels are affecting infrastructure in the Ivory Coast. “Rising tides and more frequent, devastating storms are slowly destroying what is left of Lahou-Kpanda, the offshoot of what was once a major colonial town near the mouth of the Bandama River, the longest river in Ivory Coast,” Al Jazeera reported. Arctic Ocean Radioactive Levels on the Rise: IFL Science reported on January 3 on the findings of new report which assures that radioactive levels in the Arctic Ocean are on the rise. “Concentrations of radioactive radium-228 in the Arctic Ocean increased between 2007 and 2015,” the report reads. While levels have not yet reached a mark of concern the trend is worries experts. Lauren Kipp of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution addressed the issue. New World Wide Ocean Turtle Study Says 90% of Plastic Pollution Cases Result in Death: Earth Sky Org reported on January 7 that hundreds of marine turtles die every year after getting tangled in trash in oceans and on beaches. A research published in the journal Endangered Species Research took on a World-Wide Survey covering the major oceans where turtles live. They discovered that 91 % of the entangled turtles were found dead. They also suffered serious wounds from entanglement, leading to maiming, amputation or choking. Double Whirlpools Discovered for First Time: December 4 Press reported that Double Eddies have been registered for the first time in History. Tangled up Double Eddies can travel great distances affecting ecology significantly. Eddies are a natural part of the ocean environment but double whirlpools had only been theorized by mathematicians.