The Volvo Ocean Race got under way today with eight teams
racing into strong winds and choppy seas seeking to claim one
of sailing's most prestigious prizes.
Winds blowing at 28 knots and a white-capped sea made it hard
to hear the start gun as the 37,000 nautical mile round-
the-world race from Alicante to the finish line in St
Petersburg, Russia, got under way.
Ericsson 4, skippered by Torben Grael, made the
fastest start through heavy swells, leading around the first
two markers off the southeastern Mediterranean coast, It was
a minute ahead of Puma, with Telefonica Blue in
third place.
Team Russia ran into early problems and was in last place as
the boats headed away from port.
The 11-man, all professional crews will race southwest to the
Strait of Gibraltar before veering south to tackle the
Atlantic Ocean on the 7,840-mile first leg to Cape Town in
South Africa.
Before reaching the Atlantic, however, the boats will have to
endure storm conditions around Gibraltar which have caused
two cargo ships to run aground.
The 35,000 ton cargo ship Fedra with 31 crew aboard
hit rocks and broke in two and the Liberian-flagged
Tawe with 22 crew beached, both in Algeciras Bay. All
the merchant crew members were rescued safely, the regional
government of Andalucia said.
The yachts taking part are among the fastest so far designed,
leading to an expectation that the race record for the
fastest 24-hour run by a monohull will be broken.
The boats are easily capable of covering 500 miles - and more
- in a 24 hour period given the right conditions. The current
24 hour record of 562.96 nautical miles was set by ABN
AMRO 2 in the last edition of the race.
There are 10 legs and six in-port regattas where teams can
score points before crossing the line in St Petersburg,
Russia in June 2009.
Spanish yacht Telefonica Blue has an early lead with
four points after sweeping two in-port races at Alicante last
week. Sister ship Telefonica Black claimed 3.5 points
with Puma third on 3 points.
After Cape Town, crews will follow new race routes to India
and China, aiming to steer well clear of the east coast of
Africa, where Somalian pirates have attacked more than 60
boats in the past year.
Organisers have taken precautions so that crews won't have to
take too many risks on their way to Cochin, India. Each boat
reportedly has a hot line connected to naval forces along the
route.
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