Volvo Ocean Race

Plenty of wind, plenty of waves, plenty of action

Leg 7 is a West to East North Atlantic crossing, 3600nm that leaves tropical area and finishes in medium latitudes.

In late spring, the subtropical High Pressure is very solid, and this shapes the route towards North Atlantic latitudes, north of the Orthodromic line, to pick up the westerly flow and enjoy fast speed sailing. This is shown in the main image.

But this Volvo Ocean Race has showed us that there are many things that statistics doesn’t see and the reality can be very different sometimes.  In this leg, it is also possible to catch downwind trains at lower latitudes. This is inherent in a middle latitude weather, since all the weather is very dynamic, big eddies (lows, cold fronts, etc) can mess things up very quickly.

Key points on general stratgey
There are many factors that will affect Leg 7 but the main one is how to round the High Pressure. In average terms, you will have to round it by its northern part, sailing along the East Coast and connecting with the westerly’s close to New Foundland Longitude.

1. Gulf Stream
In this leg it will be a must to have a proper idea not only on the strength of it, but also the impact that this warm water flow will have on the wind, since the fleet will have to negotiate it right after the start. In Florida latitudes, it can reach speed from 3 to 5 kts, always pointing North.

The main question here is how much we want to use this big scale current system. The answer depends on the general strategy: if we choose the northern route, then we can use the extra speed during the first 3-5 days of sailing. In any case, what will prevail is the general strategy and Gulf Stream will only be an added value factor.

2. East coast lows
Low pressure systems often develop close to Cape Hatteras latitude, many times triggered by Northerly cold fronts. If you can catch them up on time, they can provide a good opportunity to head NNE. These systems follow a NNE path until they merge with the westerlies close to New Foundland.

3. Bermuda/Azores High
As we said, the average strategy is to round them, but there are opportunities when a cold front splits the high in two. I this situations you can cut the corner by the middle and it is not necessary to invest that much in North Latitude.

4. Westerlies (storm tracks)
In case the fleet has to climb north, they will pick up the storm tracks, which will propel them to the East, in a similar way as the Southern Ocean.

It’s important to point out that at these latitudes icebergs are a serious hazard to monitor. That’s why the race organisers defined an exclusion area south of New Foundland.

5. Lisbon approach
In June, there is a stable NNW wind that flows between Azores and the Portuguese coast called the Portuguese Trades. These winds are related to the position of the Azores High.

So, coming from the North Atlantic, the fleet will have to find a way to connect smoothly the storm track with this wind system.