Turn the Tide on Plastic skipper Dee Caffari has elected to put her team into Stealth Mode, beginning with the 0100 UTC position report.
© Sam Greenfield/Volvo Ocean Race
Here she explains her reasoning:
“So we have decided to exercise our stealth mode allowance for this leg of the race. Each boat has a 24 hr period to use stealth mode on each leg of the race so long as it is not at the beginning or end few miles of the leg…
“We know that tonight the breeze will drop and then we will see an increase tomorrow afternoon…
“I think the leading pack are still within AIS range so there is no benefit to a stealth mode (for them – ed), We are slowly making gains back on Scallywag and Brunel and would like to capitalise on this. It is a bit of an experiment and one we would like to see how it works.
“There may be another opportunity where this would be advantageous but we cannot see into the future so we have to gamble on it now. I know the concept was created to encourage us to make some bold decisions and moves on the fleet…
“We shall see and in the meantime keep trying to sail fast and close that delta on the rankings.”
Dee and Team TTTOP
Under the rules, Turn the Tide on Plastic will reappear on the 1900 UTC position report today (Friday).
—————
About Stealth Mode:
The boats are given position reports only four times per day, at 0100, 0700, 1300 and 1900 (all times UTC). But once per leg, each team has the option to go into ‘Stealth Mode’ whereby its position report is withheld from the rest of the fleet (and us) for three consecutive position reports. This can be used to tactical advantage to make a break for what is perceived as better wind, or to hit a layline, or choose what side to pass an island, etc. The only restriction is that teams are not allowed to go into Stealth Mode when they are within 200 miles of the finish. The approach to the doldrums is a classic opportunity to utilise this tactic.
