The first points of leg six of the Volvo Ocean Race have been earned, on April 16 evening. Telefónica Blue claimed the maximum four points as she led the seven-strong Volvo fleet through the gate at Fernando de Noronha. It was the first time that Telefónica Blue has been in pole position at a gate, and it wasn’t easy. Heavy squalls and rain reduced the visibility and, 10 miles before the gate, the breeze dropped from 23 knots to three knots. Telefónica Blue has led the fleet from the start. Telefónica Blue was in the enviable position of being able to watch the battle unfold over 100 miles behind them.At 0700 GMT of day 13, Ericsson had inched to within six miles of the blue boat and skipper Bouwe Bekking was faced with an important tactical decision. Running hard downwind, the wind direction had called for a gybe, and Bekking’s dilemma was when should he carry out the maneuver. He took the decision to play his Stealth card, keeping secret the moment he made his move. She’s been in the lead for the entire leg.
Telefónica Blue was first at the scoring gate. She had a lead of over 100 nm, but, she lost it all when Ericsson 4 came steaming in to steal her thunder. As the Volvo fleet approaches Boston and the finish of leg six, they have one more hurdle to clear. A high-pressure ridge has stopped the leaders and has given the followers another chance at the podium. Once through the ridge, the fleet will have a clear run to cross the finish line.
Ericsson Racing Team continued its dominance of the Volvo Ocean Race 26 Apr when Torben Grael (Ericsson 4) and Magnus Olsson (Ericsson 3) finished first and second on leg six from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to Boston. Ericsson 4 crossed the finish at 2105 GMT (1605 local) recording an elapsed time of 15 days, 10 hours 30 minutes and 54 seconds. A fearsome battle played out in the closing stages of the leg to decide the points for second place, which culminated in Ericsson 3 taking second, finishing at 2117 GMT, just over five minutes ahead of Telefónica Blue (2123 GMT), after 4,900 nm and nearly 16 days of ocean racing.
