Volvo Ocean Race: Cold front hits fleet as E4 has fresh water problem

12:13 PM Fri 24 Apr 2009 GMT

'Anders Dahlsjo during a sail change, onboard Ericsson 3, on leg 6 of the Volvo Ocean Race, from Rio de Janeiro to Boston' Gustav Morin/Ericsson Racing Team/Volvo Ocean Race &copy

Another interesting day on Leg 6 of the Volvo Ocean Race, as the fleet heads to Boston.

Onboard Ericsson 3 its organised chaos, on Telefonica Blue its anxious times, Ericsson 4 discovers they have a problem with their watermaker and Delta Lloyd is waiting for the cold front.

ERICSSON 3 LEG SIX DAY 14 QFB: received 24.04.09 0915 GMT

People are shouting on deck and the boat is moving dramatically from side to side. It is pitch black and the wind has rapidly increased to over 30 knots and at the same time same time headed a lot.

We are trying to change to a smaller head sail and to reef the main one step more. All hands are on deck. The sea state has quickly become pretty bad. The boat is slamming into the waves and the entire boat is rocking from the sails flapping when the helmsman sometimes has to steer head to wind in attempts to merge the boat through this crazy front. It is a messy situation, to say the least. But under control, organised chaos.

Last 24 hours we have had everything from five to 35 knots of wind and the temperature has dropped dramatically. The dawn is coming closer and sometime it is important to get the guys some proper breakfast. That can make the mood turnaround instead of getting even worse.

Gustav Morin - MCM

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TELEF?NICA BLUE LEG SIX DAY 13 QFB: received 23.04.09 1843 GMT

The anxious times have continued on board here on Telef?nica Blue as the fleet has continued to compress. 'The Blue Train is coming...' Jono has been saying, referring to the two Ericsson boats coming up behind us.

The added pressure however, has just continued to make everyone work harder in an effort to stave off the attack from behind. Although it is not easy to see a lead disintegrate, it is all part of the game and something we have to take in our stride and use as motivation to drive on even harder. There is no doubt really that we will keep fighting to the last.

The game gets interesting here too; we have a cold front to deal with, the currents of the Gulf Stream and the high pressure extending out over the course again. Not only will there be the ongoing drag race to deal with, but a tricky tactical battle as well. These options could well throw the race wide open again. Despite having led this leg for so long, we may have to be on our A game to bring home the bacon...

Cheers,

Simon Fisher - helmsman

Telefonica Blue, skippered by Bouwe Bekking (NED) - Gabriele Olivo-Telefonica Blue-Volvo Ocean Race &copy

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ERICSSON 4 LEG SIX DAY 13: received 23.04.09 1700 GMT

In the middle of all our cloak and dagger tactics of the stealth play we had a disaster onboard Ericsson 4, we discovered - or I should say Phil Jameson discovered that we had an issue with our watermaker. Dave Endean was quick onto the situation and discovered that we had blown a fitting off the end of the water membrane, through which salt water is pushed under high pressure and some of the smaller water molecules are separated from the sea water.

So it's definitely not an ideal situation to be in, as water is the only thing that we will really need over the next few days - we drink it, we cook with it and occasionally we wash in it!

We have immediately banned coffee and tea and our meals will be significantly reduced. We have decided on a dangerously low 1.5 litres per person to drink and have separated up each quota into a bottle, which the individual will be responsible for. I have been given the task of managing the water - I have become the water boy - so I expect some grief from everyone as they get dehydrated and start to get the withdrawal effects from the lack of caffeine.

We have taken out the larger of our emergency watermakers, which are a reverse osmosis, hand operated device. So we are now taking it in turns to pump for 30 minutes which is no mean feat. The prize is a slow dribble of water which should, fingers crossed, add up to around three litres per hour. Anyone who avoids their duties will be named and shamed and I hate to say it, but there are a couple of likely candidates onboard who may try to avoid their share of pumping.

We do carry 50 litres of emergency water onboard but it is unknown as to whether, if we did use this, we would be open to a penalty at the discretion of the race committee - so we are trying to avoid the consumption of the contents of that jerry can in particular.

Dehydration is one of the biggest problems in this race and you are always forcing everyone to glug down as much fluid as possible as even a few per cent of dehydration can result in a significant decrease in brain and physical performance - if you feel thirsty it is already way to late. So having such a small amount is far from ideal.

Looks like it will be a tough last few days onboard and discussion is already leading to the rain water we are likely to confront in the next weather system we are due to meet in the next 12hrs.

Other than that we have been having a good ride with speeds often around the 30kts mark - but that's all I'm allowed to say at the moment until the stealth play has lifted.

Guy Salter - MCM

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DELTA LLOYD LEG SIX DAY 14 QFB: received 24.04.09 0752 GMT

'How many hours to the front now?' 'Is the wind going to build more?' 'What wind can we expect in the front?'

It is like I am on a quiz show with the challenge to answer 1000 questions within three minutes.

It is a big day for us out here with strong winds, big waves and lots of squalls, we are sailing on the limit all the time and any small mistake is going to snowball into something big.

On top of this there are some big choices being made with fleet opting for different options to attack the front and two boats in stealth play. We are on edge, and the adrenaline is pumping. Solid information is key to keeping our heads cool, and so we are checking the weather and position reports the minute they come in to keep updating our game plan.

We are in a fierce battle for fifth with Telef?nica Black. They have opted to gybe early, which can be a winning move with a better angle in the westerly winds that we are expecting after the front. We are choosing a more northerly course to stay in the stronger winds longer and have an easier crossing of the light winds in the front. We are gaining back 15 miles as we are blasting towards the front.

Twelve hours later and we are in the new wind after the front, making fast progress to Boston again. We are got the fifth position! Good stuff, but Telef?nica Black has gone through the front OK and is now only but a few miles behind us in distance to the finish and will for sure be fast with a better wind angle. The big news though is that Green Dragons are back in the game. They had a much better crossing of the front and are now only 11 miles behind us..

It looks like these 700 miles to the finish are going to provide us with ocean racing at its best. Close racing in the fleet. Gulfstream, fronts and a light wind high pressure system to cross. What more do you need?

Wouter Verbraak - navigator