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Volvo race yachts head for Aus
02/01/2006 12:50 - (SA)
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| An unidentified crew member of the Swedish yacht, Ericson, scales the mast at the V&A Waterfront, in Cape Town, South Africa. (Obed Zilwa, AP)
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Cape Town - One of the world's most prestigious yacht races gets underway in Cape Town on Monday when the gruelling second leg of the Volvo Ocean Race heads for Australia.
Race officer Dee Siebert said a light wind could see a slow start for the seven yachts still in the race.
"They could just wallow in Table Bay. It will be a hard slog to Sea Point, where they round a marker, before putting up their sails to Melbourne," she said, adding this was the likely scenario should the south easter fail to blow.
Siebert told Sapa excitement was mounting ahead of the 13:00 start which will see the yachts set off from the breakwater at the end of the V&A Waterfront.
Saluting guns from a naval vessel will signal the start, with many spectator craft expected in the water away from an exclusion zone to protect the racers.
The 6 100 nautical mile second leg heads for the Southern Ocean and sailors will have to negotiate extreme cold, icebergs and whales.
"It is a very windy, wet and wild part of the world. Throw in some icebergs, some growlers [small floating icebergs] and a couple of Russian fishing fleets and it is an obstacle course which will provide for some interesting weeks and some very nervous times," said Mike Anderson, skipper of lead boat Abn Amro One in a statement.
Two additional waypoints have been added as a safety precaution to prevent the world's fastest monohulls heading too far south into iceberg-infested waters.
The yachts are capable of reaching speeds of 35 knots and the boats could reach Melbourne in as little as 15 days, with the first boat predicted to dock around January 16.
The first three yachts are Team Abn Amro One, Brasil 1 and Team Abn Amro Two.
The Volvo Ocean Race is a round the world yacht race featuring nine offshore legs, over 31 250 nautical miles. The 2005-06 features an inshore race at each of the main stopover ports.
- SAPA
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