Friday 19 June 2015

VolvoOceanRace 2014-2015 ONE & ONLY Pitstop.


It is a first in this VolvoOceanRace, a Pitstop. During the last Leg from Lorient to Gothenburg a 24+hrs Pitstop has to be made in The Hague, either to give some rest to the tired skippers and sailors or to honor the interest of Volvo in the Netherlands.

Alvimedica, first to make a Pitstop in The Hague
After a tricky first half of Leg 9, there was a large exclusion zone in the Channel, closing about 80% of the water and leaving only small stretches of water on either side close the White British cliffs and the French beaches  Alvimedica won the pitstop.
They will get out as first Boat starting Saturday 20 June from 1000 UTC , following in sequence by the other Boats, with a time interval for starting according to the arrival in the piistop.

Thus Alvimedica gets a nice 2hrs advance for the short stretch left till Gotherburg, and have a fair chance for Victory in this last Leg 9.

If there are no further changes in the order, it will be a very close call for the 2nd Overall postition.

Now, if the standings in Gothenburg are as in the pitstop:
1. AbuDhabi        -19 points with 5  brings 24 points  - winner Overall
2. Brunel            -27 points with 4 brings 31 points   - (depend on In-Port )
3. Dongfeng        -29 pionts with 2 brings 31 points   -(Brunel<>Dongfeng)
4. Maphre           -31 points with 3 brings 34 points   - (depend on In-Port)
5. Alvimedica       -33 points with 1 brings 34 points  - (Maphre<>Alvimedica)
6. SCA                -44 points with 7 brings 51 points   - 6th
7. Vestas             -54 points with 6 brings 60 points  - 7th

Now in the In-Port races , Brunel is 5 points ahead of Dongfeng, so a finish for Brunel as 5th will put Brunel on the 2nd place Overall.

Between the other two, Alvimedica is 2 points ahead of Maphre, so has to stay ahead of Maphre or allow Maphre just be in front of them, to secure the 4th place Overall.

The final Gothenburg In-Port race will be sailed on Saturday 27 June. 

See how important the results from the In-Port race can become.

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