Yachting: Race fleet forced to trust in luck

Camper skipper Chris Nicholson and navigator Will Oxley hoist a sail during the first leg from Alicante to Cape Town. Photo / Hamish Hooper

A see-sawing battle has taken place at the front of the Volvo Ocean Race fleet as the boats prepare to enter the doldrums and put their trust in luck.

Late last night Emirates Team New Zealand remained in third place 157 nautical miles behind race leader Puma, which has been locked in a fascinating battle for the lead with Telefonica.

The lead swung between the two boats three times on day 10 of the race, as both crews enjoyed typical trade-wind conditions.

After surrendering their lead earlier in the day, Puma managed to edge back in front of the Spanish crew last night, holding an advantage of five nautical miles. But further reshuffling can be expected in the next 24 hours.

Overnight the fleet entered the most crucial stage of the first leg from Alicante to Cape Town, as the boats charged into the infamous area just north of the equator where weather systems converge.

The doldrums, officially known as the intertropical convergence zone, is a dynamic area of low pressure characterised by light winds but notorious for sudden squalls. Constantly changing shape, the doldrums are one of the trickiest areas of the planet to navigate and one that has caused the reshuffle of many an ocean race leaderboard.

Volvo Ocean Race chief executive Knut Frostad, a four-time veteran of the race, said the success of the teams through this patch has a lot to do with luck.

"The doldrums can give you cards to play with or no cards at all. It is a crucial point in the race. It's scary for the teams because it's one of the only times they have absolutely no control," he said.

"It's an especially tough time for the navigators. Weather conditions are localised so they can't be accurately predicted using computer software. Instead, the crews will have to rely on eyesight alone to deal with whatever Mother Nature decides to throw at them."

Camper skipper Chris Nicholson said conditions would be extremely difficult, but believes if they are considered and smart there is the chance to make significant gains on the leaders.

"We're confident that we've done our homework and can make some gains crossing them but there's always a good degree of luck involved," he said.

"We are likely to see the fleet compress in the near future and if we can do a better job than Puma and Telefonica in getting out of the doldrum conditions and into the southeast trades it will be game on."