Volvo Ocean Race Leg 2 - South Africa to India

Cape Town, South Africa - The Volvo Ocean Race is back underway.  After some brief downtime, the fleet is off on the second leg of this crewed 'round the world challenge.  The eight crews said goodbye to their friends, families and supporters in Cape Town on Saturday, sailing out to cheers of farewell under the hot South African sun, and began the 4,450 mile leg to Cochin, India.

After a a slow passage out of Cape Town, the fleet rounded the Cape of Good Hope, and are enjoying sailing the open ocean once again. Matt Gregory, navigator on the yacht Delta Lloyd, said: “After some tense moments looking for wind, we made it out into the ocean. Both boat and crew feel more at ease out here. The Volvo Open 70 was not designed for round the buoy racing. It is not a surgical tool, it’s a sledge hammer [...] and it’s playground is the open ocean."

Leg 2 of the Volvo Ocean Race is expected to be take these Open 70 sailboats about 18 days, but with the unpredictable weather and wind conditions along this route, who will cross the line first in India is anybodies guess. “I have never entered a race or a leg of a race so confused about how the outcome may turn out. I’m expecting the unexpected in this leg," said Ken Read, skipper of the yacht Puma. ”This is certainly a road never travelled – rather than less travelled – so we have to be smart, with our eyes open, and also lucky in this leg too. There are many obstacles out there, both above the water, such as unlit fishing boats, but also in the water that we have to look out for.”

Fair winds to the eight Volvo Ocean Race crews as they begin their sail east into the Indian Ocean, and keep an eye out for those fishing boats and UFOs [Unidentified Floating Objects]!

- YachtPals Crew exclusively for YachtPals.com

Volvo Ocean Race Overall Leaderboard

1. Ericsson 4: 14 points
2. PUMA: 13 points
3. Green Dragon: 11 points
4. Telefónica Blue: 10 points
5. Telefónica Black: 7 points
6. Ericsson 3: 5 points
7. Delta Lloyd: 4 points
8. Team Russia: 4 points

Read more about Yacht Racing or the Volvo Ocean Race:

• Sailing Photo of the Week - Volvo Ocean Race
• Volvo Ocean Race - Worthy of the Hype?
• New 24 hour monohull record - Volvo Ocean Race Yacht Ericsson 4
• Ocean Sailing Basics
• Volvo Ocean Race in Cape Town, South Africa
• Volvo Ocean Race (all news, photos and videos about the Volvo Ocean Race)

Video 2: Volvo Ocean Race Start of Leg 2