The eight yachts taking part in the grueling round-the-world Volvo Ocean Race are poised to challenge new seas in a bid to avoid pirates off the coast of Somalia.

For the first time in its 35-year history, the event has included an Asian stop on its itinerary. The traditional second leg from Cape Town to Australia or New Zealand — a journey of howling storms, fierce seas, biting cold and icebergs — has been replaced by the unknown dangers awaiting the boats on a 4,450-mile journey to the Indian port of Cochin that begins on Saturday.

“I’ve never entered a leg of a race so confused about how the outcome might turn out,” Ken Read, the American skipper of second-placed PUMA, said on Friday.

“There are so many obstacles out there, not just above the water but under the water, that we have to worry about. It’s going to be the luck of the draw. It’s a bit unnerving, but we just have to learn how to put the pedal down and hope like crazy there’s nothing in the way.”

PUMA is one point behind Ericsson 4 in the quest for one of sailing’s most prestigious prizes. The race started in Alicante, Spain, and ends in St. Petersburg, Russia, in June 2009 after 10 legs and six in-port regattas.

After a stopover of nearly two weeks, the yachts will leave Cape Town and head south in the hope of picking up strong westerly winds and avoiding the Cape Aghulas current that is notorious for the treacherous waves it spawns on the shallow shelf close to South Africa.

The yachts have to pass through a wide “scoring gate” between Antarctica and the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius along the meridian of 58 degrees east before picking up the trade winds and heading north to India, where they are due to arrive in early December.

Race organizers set this course in a bid to keep the yachts from the pirate-infested waters off Somalia. The skippers, however, have been warned to take extra precautions and had to attend a briefing on piracy during their stay in Cape Town.

“We are not going to be paranoid about sailing this route,” said Fernando Echavarri, the skipper of Telefonica Black. “But now we are aware of what might happen and what to do if it does.”

One of the biggest risks is the density of commercial and fishing traffic. Read said he was particularly worried about his high-tech, high-speed vessel hitting a small, unlit wooden fishing vessel.

“Whoever makes it through unscathed without many problems under water or above water could have a really good leg,” he said.

Several of the boats suffered storm damage on the first leg, and the crew of Ericsson 3 was busy replacing a keel on Friday, less than 24 hours before the race restarted.

Third-placed Green Dragon, staffed by a mainly Irish team with Chinese sponsorship, hit an unknown object on the way from Spain, and had sail problems during a test run on Thursday. British skipper Ian Walker said spare parts were on their way and predicted his vessel would be in good shape for the departure.

The winner of the first leg has often gone on to claim overall victory, but Ericsson 4 skipper Torben Grael said there was no room for complacency.

“There will be plenty of risks,” said Grael, a Brazilian of Danish descent. “It’s going to be a very tough race and whoever wins it will have to earn it.” (source: cnn.com)

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