Volvo Fleet Marches On

The six-boat fleet in the Volvo Ocean Race has already put in some heavy miles since starting Leg Two on Sunday. After an uncharacteristic stretch of light-air beating around the tip of the African continent, the fleet was met with some wild running through the wicked Agulhas current, which flows against the wind direction. Fortunately none of the boats reported serious damage as they traversed the Agulhas in breeze that topped out in the mid-30s and stirred up 20-ft waves.

After sharing the lead for much of the beginning of the leg, Franck Cammas’ Groupama and Chris Nicholson’s Camper aren’t looking as good now that the fleet has spread out some 100 miles. Rather it’s Iker Martínez’ Leg One-winning Telefónica that is looking primed to take advantage of a somewhat risky call by navigator Andrew Cape to delay heading east into the heart of the Indian Ocean.

From this point forward the Volvo Ocean Race will get even more interesting, as maritime security concerns have meant that the boats will soon enter a "stealth zone" where their respective positions will not be available to the public, and presumably pirates. After being escorted through this zone, the boats will sail to a safe port, where they will be loaded aboard a ship and transported closer to Abu Dhabi, the finishing port for Leg Two.