Ericsson 3’s hard-earned lead was slipping away. It was day 29, 14 March and the boats in the Volvo fleet were benefitting from a low-pressure system as they raced through the Southern Ocean towards Cape Horn and the points that could be scored there. The chasing pack was closing on Ericsson 3, and closing quickly. After 30 days at sea, Torben Grael had brought Ericsson 4 to within 33 miles of Magnus Olsson and Ericsson 3, and what had looked like certain leader’s points at the scoring gate a few days ago, now seemed to be doubt. She had 854 miles to run to the gate.
By day 31, the fleet was down to 54 degrees south, and the ‘furious fifties’ were in full force. Ericsson 3 had managed to pull out her lead again in conditions that Green Dragon’s Ian Walker had described as ‘brutal’.
It was day 32, 17 March, when Ericsson 3, still in pole position passed Cape Horn and collected maximum points. Ericsson 4 was just 36 miles behind her and PUMA followed in third place.
With a tantalizing 902 miles to race to the finish of the epic 12,300 nm journey that leg five of the Volvo Ocean Race has become, Magnus Olsson and his boys on Ericsson 3 is still in control of the fleet. However, according to Green Dragon’s navigator, Wouter Verbraak, conditions on the racecourse are something of a minefield of light winds, erratic weather models and unexpected twists.
At 1300 GMT today, Ericsson 3 was dealing with yet another high-pressure system, which was slowing their progress considerably.
Ericsson 4 (DTF 86 nm) and third-placed PUMA (DTF 205 nm) have followed almost in the wake of Olsson. Over the past 24 hours, the margin between Ericsson 3 and Ericsson 4 has only reduced by one mile, while PUMA slipped back 12 miles. The big loss, however, is for Green Dragon, who took an expensive detour to the west, losing the team 141 nm in the last 24 hours. They now trail by 413 nm.
It is an agonising time for Ericsson 3 as Magnus Olsson watches the rest of the fleet catching him as his team fights yet another high-pressure area, which sits between them and the finish of leg five in Rio de Janeiro.
Over the past 24 hours, second-placed Ericsson 4 has closed the gap to 57 nm, gaining 29 miles. PUMA too has knocked a dent in the deficit and is now just 116 nm behind Ericsson 3, a gain of 89 nm in 24 hours. These three yachts are now 400 nm of the coast of Uruguay, roughly parallel to Cabo Palinio.
Green Dragon is still closer inshore, 210 nm off Mar del Plata in Argentina, which was a stopover in the 1981-82 Whitbread Race. Their inshore move, while looking disastrous yesterday, has gained the team 78 nm, just as navigator Wouter Verbraak hoped it would.
With just 771 miles still to run for Ericsson 3 before crossing the finish line in Rio and the safe haven of Marina Da Gloria where hot showers, cool beers and famous Brazilian food await, boat speeds are down to under 10 knots and yet the distance is tantalisingly close.
