And this is what has happened in the last 24 hours as the race director suddenly announced that the Antarctic Ice Exclusion Zone, immediately to the south of Dongfeng and second-placed MAPFRE, would now move 200 miles north above the Kerguelen Islands.
The reason for this was the latest satellite reporting which showed a 60-metre iceberg north-east of the islands. As race director Phil Lawrence explained: “The safety of the crews is our first priority. We do not want teams surfing down waves at over 30 knots of boatspeed at night, in an area where we have been told there is a significant risk of encountering ice.”
But for the brainstrust on Dongfeng, skipper Charles Caudrelier and navigator Pascal Bidegorry, this certainly threw a spanner in the works as they continued their gybing battle with MAPFRE while also keeping an eye on Vestas 11th Hour Racing in third place.
Sailing a route further north than the leading pair, the course change came as a nice gain for Vestas and helped them cut their deficit on Dongfeng from around 100 miles to about 70.
This morning the game is still about trying to stay as far south as possible, sailing right along the edge of the Exclusion Zone where the most wind is as the crews continue to work with the weather system they originally picked up five days ago.
In response to the change in the Zone’s profile Dongfeng has been heading northeast on long port gybes and now has an 11-mile lead over MAPFRE with Vestas another 54 miles back. Team Brunel is fourth, nearly 100 miles further behind, with Sun Hung Kai Scallywag in fifth place nearly 200 miles behind Dongfeng.
French crewman Fabien Delahaye looks to have settled into life on board the Chinese red and white Volvo Ocean 65, sponsored by Dongfeng Race Corporation, after his later call-up for this leg to replace an injured Daryl Wislang.
Delayahe summarised the situation a few hours ago as follows: “We are approaching the ice limit – we are very close, sailing VMG downwind in strong conditions with 30 knots of wind and big waves – and there is more pressure in the south close to the ice limit…and so for the next few days there will be some gybes close to the limit.”
Although conditions have improved in recent hours, it has been a tough few days on board in cold and strong winds with tons of water exploding off the bow and cascading along the deck. The on-watch crew have been fully kitted up in survival suits, heavy gloves and helmets with visors. Around them the sea has been grey, with albatrosses diving in and out of the wave troughs, as Dongfeng carves a vanishing white highway through some of the most remote seas on earth.
Marie Riou of France is experiencing the Southern Ocean for the first time and she had no qualms about admitting the past few days have been an ordeal. “On deck it is really like a washing machine,” she said, taking a break down below. “You have to grab the winch pedestals to stay on board and you have to be safe and wear your life jacket and clip on your lifeline.
“I hope the wind will decrease a bit,” she added laughing, “because it’s good to have a little less wind. I think we have done a good job – we have been safe but fast and we are still ahead. The last three days were really difficult for me.”
