Eyes on the Scoreboard Volvo Ocean Race at Earth Ends

Image Source Volvo Ocean Race Leg 8

The World's toughest sailing event -Volvo Ocean Race entered its final days. After crossing all World Oceans, 11 ports and over 38.7 thousand nautical miles...after tailing two devastating cyclones in the Indian Ocean, cutting open the cold south Pacific, going through Gate Horn and escalating the entire Atlantic and crossing it, Volvo Ocean Teams eye the overall Scoreboard.

9 Legs - 8 done, 1 to go. On June 11th Volvo Ocean Race communicated final positions for Leg 8. Positions for the leg were surprising, Team SCA took lead with a historical victory, Team Vestas which recently returned to the regatta rode into France second, Abu Dhabi took third position consolidating their total score ranking lead, MAPFRE sailed in 4th obtaining an increase in the total rankings and Brunel took 5th, Alvimedica 6th and Dongfeng 7th.

The results of Leg 8 caused a consolidation and minor shakeup of the total Overall ranking. The only team which escalated positions in the ranking was MAPFRE but as teams SCA and Vestas which are still down in the total ranking took home less points Score leaders consolidated.

Volvo Ocean Race explains that with just one short stage to go Abu Dhabi is the probable winner of the Volvo Ocean Race 2014 2015. “Only a chain of remote fatalities could prevent it,” Volvo assured. MAPFRE on the other hand thanks to their escalation from 5th to 4th will sail all in to obtain a place in the first three and podium.

The Score now remains as follows. Race Overall Abu Dhabi 1st, Brunel 2nd, Dongfeng 3rd, MAPFRE 4th, Alvimedica 5th, SCA 6th and Vestas Winds 7.

Sport Section of El Pais described Leg 8 as “decisive stage”. Volvo Ocean stated that the Leg was short but a “killer”. With only 647 nautical miles, the shortest of all Stages of the World-Wide Regatta the Leg proved to be more than challenging. The reason? Teams had to face the Sea of Finisterra -Sea of Earth Ends.

For the first time in months Teams sailing the leg chose different strategies which caused a fleet division. Some headed North into the open ocean while others chose to stay near coast to later escalate North. A classic upwind competition unfolded in the midst of the full strength of the Sea of Earth Ends. Team members sailing the rough oceans assured that the waters, waves, winds and conditions imposed by Finisterra were as dangerous and exhausting as those imposed by the hardest water of the South Pacific, Indian Ocean or the rough Atlantic.

It was in the Bay of Biscay -heart of Finisterra Earth Ends where Teams faced winds of up to 40 knots and intrusive waves of up to 3.5 meters.

On June 10th Annie Lush of the leading of Leg 8 Team SCA gave onboard eyes on what it is like to navigate the waters of Finisterra. “Holding the breath. That is what we have been doing for the past 48 hours. We are hitting the sea through the Gulf of Bizkaia….we had our share of scares on the second night...for some it has been hell…” Lush reported.

On the same day Francisco Vignale of MAPFRE said “If there were hard days in this Volvo, yesterday would be on the top five. Perhaps not in intensity but in the strength of the ocean and even more sailing upwind. The guys are very tired after the beating that the Gulf of Vizcaya has given to us, it has been something to remember”.

MAPFRE logged winds above 30 knots, constant sail cutting and, fights against the winds, wave breaching, strange boat vibrations, nausea, headaches, 3 meter constant wave impacts and other beautiful souvenirs of Finisterra.

“The difference between hell and heaven,” the Team of MAPFRE stated inspired by their encounter with Finisterra.

Brian Carlin of Team Vestas Wind spent most of that day bailing water in the stern which he said came from “an unknown leak”. “I have not slept...it has been horrible. I have hit my head so bad that I believe that I have brain damage. I am wet from head to toe. I thought this stage was short…” Carlin of Vestas met the Sea of Ends Earths with cynic humour. Vestas logged winds of 40 knots and waves of 4.5 meters.

“Maneuvering while one is sleeping is something you don't want to do specially if winds of 35 knots are blowing,” Yann Riou Dongfeng Race Team stated.

Volvo Ocean Race explains that the Finisterra, name by Romans who believed that it was the location where the World ended, is a location totaly exposed to the storms of the Atlantic.

“The sea enrages as it meets shallow waters,” Volvo explained the influence of the dive of the continental shelf and its relationship with the Atlantic in that particular zone. Complex geology and intense marine traffic complicate the stage. Volvo adds that mythical locations of the basin have been set by historical wrecks. In 2014 a total of 484 search and salvage operations took place in Finisterra.

Conditions which Volvo Teams faced were so extreme that led to the suspension of the prestigious French Regatta Solitaire du Figaro.

Leg 8 seemed to be a reminded for Teams of the Volvo Ocean Race of all that which they faced throughout the entire World Wide Ocean crossing. This year´s edition was without a doubt one of the toughest ever. The Sea of Ends Earth Finisterra was not only a symbol of the entire challenges but a final pull of the ocean which in its full strength seemed to not want to let go of the sailors who after crossing the entire World just to meet once again tough conditions.

What remains ahead is the final Leg. Leg 9 Lorient France -Gothenburg Sweden. A final chance to cause a shake up of the ranking. After that it will be over...silence will master the World of Volvo Ocean...until the next edition is born.

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.