Volvo Ocean Race fans around the world were on the edges of their seats on Thursday as Team Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag’s emergence from “Stealth Mode” corresponded with two of their closest rivals ‘disappearing’ from the tracker.
© Konrad Frost/Volvo Ocean Race
Scallywag had a jump of just 40 miles on second-placed Vestas 11th Hour Racing when they went into Stealth Mode just before 1700 UTC on Wednesday, cloaking their position from their rivals and from fans for three consecutive six-hourly position reports.
At 1300 UTC they reappeared on the tracker back in the number one spot with only 500 miles left – but just when it seemed the action couldn’t get any more tense, podium challengers Vestas 11th Hour Racing and team AkzoNobel deployed Stealth Mode.
© Brian Carlin/Volvo Ocean Race
Team Brunel, locked in their own battle with MAPFRE and Turn the Tide on Plastic for fifth, also chose to go ‘undercover’, leaving only four teams on the tracker with 24 hours to go.
At 1300 UTC Scallywag were 37 miles ahead of Dongfeng, but both teams – and race fans – were left guessing as to where Vestas 11th Hour Racing and Akzonobel were. If we assume the Vestas team remains ahead of Dongfeng, the race to finish in Hong Kong is getting closer and closer.
Prior to emerging from Stealth Mode, Scallywag skipper Dave Witt hinted at just how tight it is at the top – and revealed that the race to the finish line could go down to the wire.
“I think it’s a good for some of our fans that we’ve been in Stealth Mode because there’s a few people who’d be having heart attacks if they knew how close it was,” Witt said. “We are in front, we are leading, but it’s really close. The others don’t realise how close it is.
“We haven’t trusted our weather routing software at all on this leg but now we want to because it says we’re going to beat Vestas in by an hour and a half. To all the Scallywag supporters in Hong Kong: say a prayer for us tonight.”
© Martin Keruzore/Volvo Ocean Race
Despite their proximity to the finish, the teams have several hurdles still to contend with.
First they must pick the right moment to gybe in order to thread their way through the islands of the Luzon Strait.
This must be done without getting caught in the huge wind shadow created by Taiwan, or the smaller islands of the northern Philippines.
Once they reach Hong Kong they may face a stretch of light winds as they navigate the final miles to the finish line.
These uncertainties mean that even at this late stage of the leg, anything can happen.
“It’s getting interesting now,” said Simon Fisher, navigator on Vestas 11th Hour Racing. “Everyone’s looking for their opportunities. The path past the Philippines and into the South China Sea is open to a number of options and some important choices will have to be made.
“We can easily see the fleet splitting which will no doubt lead to more tension as we close on the finish.”
The most up-to-date ETAs see the leaders arriving between 1600 to 2000 UTC Friday afternoon, with the back trio due in between 0200 and 0630 UTC on Saturday morning.
Leg 4 – Position Report – Thursday 18 January (Day 17)
Leg 4
Melbourne to Hong Kong
19 January 2018
Positions at: 10:00 UTC
DTL nm
GAIN_LOSS
STATUS
SPEED kt
COURSE
TWS kt
TWD
DTF nm
1
SHKS
0.00
0.00
RAC
19.9
299º
21.5
52º
130.10
2
VS11
49.84
0.03
RAC
23.4
298º
24.5
50º
179.94
3
DFRT
70.45
0.03
RAC
25.5
280º
23.8
41º
200.55
4
AKZO
133.75
0.00
RAC
20.2
295º
17.8
29º
263.85
5
MAPF
206.16
0.01
RAC
21.0
297º
21.3
68º
336.26
6
TBRU
244.89
0.06
RAC
23.3
300º
24.0
64º
374.99
7
TTOP
250.75
0.03
RAC
21.6
303º
23.3
79º
380.85
