Hungry wolves close on Rio

Spare a thought for the Volvo boats, denied their big Rio party by a lack of wind in the past few days. Snacks have run out on some of the boats but Ken Read, skipper of PUMA, seems to have the right attitude.

I love his comment about the chocolate bars his wife smuggled aboard that "I break in half and throw on deck to the wolves from time to time." Having met the crew I know just what he means.

Fighting to the finish in Volvo Qingdao leg

With just over 200 miles - less than a day's fast sailing - left ahead of them as the surviving boats from the gruelling fourth leg of the Volvo Ocean Race close on Qingdao, the leaders have set up an exciting finish.

Every boat in the fleet has suffered damage in battering winds that have forced three retirements from the leg. Ericsson 4 is sailing without instruments while PUMA is sailing without a boom. Both boats are within a mile or two of each other and have been gaining on the race leader Telefonica Blue, still more than 30 miles ahead of them.

In fact as I have been writing this short note, PUMA has moved up in to second place! If Telefonica loses its wind before the finish as skipper Bouwe Bekking fears, anything could happen. As it stands Telefonica looks as if it will secure the win but if PUMA can hold on to its second place Ken Read and his crew can feel proud of their come back from such a serious breakage.

For full details, click on the Volvo link to the right where there are also links to the Vendee Globe race and Pete Goss's Cornish lugger voyage to Australia. There's plenty happening at sea just now.

Puma leads by a whisker

Puma is leading by a whisker in what is expected to be a cold, harsh, fourth leg of the Volvo Ocean Race to Qingdao in China. I sailed with the Puma crew a few days ago in Singapore and their preparation looked superb. Team Origin member Rob Greenhalgh has fitted in well, trimming the main. Imagine a concentrated 2,500 mile sprint with no let up the whole way.

"It’s ridiculous," says Ken Read, Puma's skipper. "Every moment of the day at sea is spent trying to make the boat run fast. We get three hour position reports so the intensity is maintained the whole time. It’s like a day race that just happens to last weeks at a time."

Whale threat

The news that Roland Jourdain has hit a whale will do nothing to boost the confidence of his fellow round-the-world sailors. I'm thinking not only of the remaining Vendee Globe skippers but also the crews of the Volvo Ocean Race Open 70s.

I was chatting with Ken Read, skipper, of Puma Ocean racing in Singapore yesterday. He said that a collision with a whale is the one thing that keeps sailors awake in their bunks on these high speed ocean-racing events.

The threat of submerged objects, including whales, is a recurring topic of conversation among the Volvo crews when they're on shore between stages.

It's not good news for the whales either. Some must be getting badly injured or even killed in these collisions.

The organising bodies of sail racing need to address this issue for the sake of competitors and also for the sake of marine conservation.

The possible use of echo sounders, ultra sound detection and other devices should all be on the table for discussion. Something needs to happen as a matter of urgency.