The 4th leg of the 2018 Volvo Ocean Race kicked off on 2 January, one of the most unusual, challenging and contrasting in terms of weather conditions. Unlike the previous section of the regatta, which ran through the harsh Southern Ocean, the route from Melbourne to Hong Kong offered participants several high pressure zones with weak winds, a scattering of Pacific archipelagos and an area of equatorial calm, familiar to the teams from Stage 2.
Among the new recruits were sailing stars such as Volvo Ocean Race 2011/12 winner Franck Cammas, who replaced injured Pascal Bidegorry, navigator of the Dongfeng Race Team.
aboard Team Brunel were «American Cu»p winners Rome Kirby and Sam Newton and two-time Women's Sailing World Champion Sally Barkow.
The teams entered the 6,000-mile sea battle after a short break, with no extra points to play for in the port race. AkzoNobel's squad had especially little time to rest, arriving in Melbourne only on December 27 due to a serious mast damage.
The fleet was in a tight group until Cape Howe, but then the Dongfeng Race Team and Team AkzoNobel separated from the main group. The red-and-white and blue-and-purple boats took the lead west as the rest of the fleet continued closer to shore, and by the end of the second day of the race had a 30-mile lead.
The crews who took the lead chose unusual tactics to exploit ocean currents, and this risk paid off.
A day later, however, both teams (also in tandem) made the same mistake, repeating the manoeuvre. This decision cost them a reduction of the gap to 16 miles, and then the loss of clear advantage altogether.
The entire fleet flattened considerably over the weekend as the leaders hit less stable wind conditions, allowing the laggards to reduce their distance.
The boats are now passing through the equatorial depression zone with very unpredictable weather.
One of such unpleasant surprises was waiting for the Brunel crew the day before yesterday, as they were sailing in 6th place within 20 miles of the main line-up of the regatta.
«A steady breeze changed momentarily and before it happened we were stationary," said crew skipper Bouwe Bekking, "Then a fierce lightning strike followed, with sparks flying off the mast and rigging».
The current leader of the race is difficult to determine, as five of the seven boats are moving in a tight group in a northeasterly direction, moving away from the theoretical route line.
Tomorrow, competitors will have the opportunity to be swept up by fast northeast trade winds. How the teams take advantage of this brief opportunity will play a crucial role in the allocation of podium places for this leg.
