Volvo In-Port Race Galway

PUMA won the in-port race series in Galway today after two thrilling races were held on Galway Bay. This is the first time that PUMA has been on top of the podium for the Volvo Ocean Race and it brings her closer to second place in the overall standings. Telefónica Blue, second today, maintains second place overall, but only by one point and Ericsson 4’s slightly disappointing performance shaves her overall lead from 14.5 points to 13 points.

In race one, Team Telefónica clearly dominated in what started out as perfect conditions, with blue skies and a building breeze. While local heroes, Green Dragon, opted for a committee-boat start followed by Delta Lloyd, Athens Olympic Gold Medallist Iker Martinez (49-er) quickly steered Telefónica Blue to the left of the course and into a clear lead, which he held until the finish gun. Telefónica Black, with America’s Cup helmsman and syndicate head Pedro Campos in charge, made it a one-two for the Spanish team in conditions that clearly suited the two Farr Yacht Design boats.

PUMA put in a good performance to take third, from Ericsson 4, just as the wind began to die and seriously shift. A big cloudbank swept across the racecourse sucking the breeze with it and causing a headache for the race committee who had to reposition the windward and leeward marks several times during the course of the race.

Ericsson 3, Delta Lloyd and Green Dragon all had their problems during the race and found themselves trailing the leaders on the procession to the finish line after the windshift.

After a short postponement, race two got underway and the clouds parted to allow the blue sky and sun to shine through. A new westerly breeze of around 10 knots meant a new course was set, slightly closer to the shore.

Delta Lloyd made a blinding start at the pin end of the start line and led the fleet early. Telefónica Black was on course side and had to dip back behind the line and re-start, but made quick recovery. Green Dragon tacked, dipping behind the whole fleet and headed out to the right hand of the course.

Good work from Kenny Read and his men onboard PUMA meant they rounded the first mark in the lead from Telefónica Blue and Ericsson 4. The order at the front of the fleet remained unchanged at end of the first downwind leg, while, further back, Telefónica Black overtook Delta Lloyd and Green Dragon, who was struggling in the lighter conditions.

On the second beat, Telefónica Black came right back into contention and followed Telefónica Blue through the mid course gate to the right hand side of the course. Green Dragon also chose the right hand side, nearest the beach.

The fleet converged on the windward mark for the last time with PUMA leading the fleet safely round. Second place was very close with Ericsson 3 coming in from the left hand side and the two Telefónica boats approaching from the right. Ericsson 3 got the better of the two Spanish boats and rose up through the fleet from fourth place to round the mark in second place, from Telefónica Blue, Ericsson 4 and Telefónica Black.

On the final spinnaker leg, PUMA remained in control to complete the second race in first place, confirming her win today on a tiebreak, which takes the results of the second race as the decider. Ericsson 3 remained in second place and Telefónica Blue finished third in front of Telefónica Black.

Overall, it was a team affair, with PUMA taking maximum points today, followed by Telefónica Blue and Telefónica Black, Ericsson 3 and Ericsson 4, Delta Lloyd and Green Dragon.

Delta Lloyd Leads!

The breeze is up and the Volvo fleet is rocketing downwind towards a predicted finish in Galway, Ireland early on Sunday morning. It’s the kind of sailing that everyone has been looking forward to and it is almost certainly the last time the boats will have the chance to show off their paces in the open ocean. The sailing conditions are absolutely stunning. Downwind, 25-30 knots, flat water and a red morning sun. It is smiles all round too on Delta Lloyd, who are in the lead today. Ahead of the cold front, the crews are playing the fortunes of the Gulf Stream, which, if in the right place, can give a boat a boost of nearly three knots. Scrutinising satellite images and recording surface temperatures gives a rough guideline as to where to look for the best current, the temperature gauge being the best tool as it shows the transition from colder to warmer water.

A New Game Starts

The fleet, led by Telefónica Black, is converging on the southeast corner of the ice exclusion zone just over three nautical miles ahead, where sheets will be eased and spinnakers hoisted as a new and exciting downwind game begins.

The crew of Green Dragon has been looking forward to this point of the leg. The forecast is for downwind sailing and much of it will be in very windy conditions. Earlier, when Telefónica Black set off along the 175 nm southern perimeter of the ‘ice fence’, quite suddenly they hooked into the warm waters of the Gulf Stream – two knots of east setting current and 16 degrees Celsius water temperature. Currently, just 12 miles separate pathfinder Telefónica Black, from Ericsson 4 and Telefónica Blue. Delta Lloyd leads the second string from PUMA, Green Dragon and Ericsson 3 who are having a torrid time after losing three positions at the scoring gate.

Telefónica Blue has averaged the highest boat speed of 17 knots over the past three hours and also holds the fastest 24-hour run of 269 nm. Computer routing software is predicting a finish in Galway early on Sunday morning based on current performance.

All Finished VOR Leg

Green Dragon skipper Ian Walker led his crew over the finish line outside the Marina da Gloria, in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday afternoon to claim fourth place in Leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race, crossing the finish line at 18:59 GMT (15:59 local time). The fourth place finish means the team collects 5 points towards its total on the overall leaderboard. Green Dragon sits in fifth place, four points behind Leg 5 winner Ericsson 3.

At 03:55 GMT, in the early hours (00:55 local time) of a rainy Sunday morning, Telefonica Blue eased across the finish line in Rio de Janeiro, to take fifth place. The elapsed time for leg five for Telefonica Blue was a daunting 42 days, 22 hours and 55 minutes. This wasn't the way it was supposed to be for skipper Bouwe Bekking and his team.

Leg Five Finishing Order - Rio de Janeiro

1. Ericsson 3: 8 points

2. Ericsson 4: 7 points

3. PUMA: 6 points

4. Green Dragon: 5 points

5. Telefonica Blue: 4 points

Overall Leaderboard

1. Ericsson 4 (Torben Grael / BRA) 63.5 points (Finished)

2. PUMA (Ken Read / USA) 53 points (Finished)

3. Telefonica Blue (Bouwe Bekking / NED) 50.5 points (Finished)

4. Ericsson 3 (Magnus Olsson / SWE) 43.5 (Finished)

5. Green Dragon (Ian Walker / GBR) 39.5 (Finished)

6. Telefonica Black 21 (DNS)

7. Delta Lloyd 12 (DNS)

8. Team Russia 10.5 (DNS)

Ericsson 4 and Puma Finished

Ericsson Racing Team made it a one/two today in leg five of the Volvo Ocean Race when Ericsson 4 crossed the finish line at 2257 GMT (1957 local time) in skipper Torben Grael’s home port of Rio de Janeiro, to stand second on the podium next to Ericsson 3 (Magnus Olsson/SWE) who took line honours earlier today.

Ericsson 4 now extends her overall lead to 63.5 points; 10.5 points ahead of PUMA (Ken Read/USA) who, finished this leg in third position, retains second place overall.

After being at sea for 40 days 17 hours 57 minutes and 44 seconds, to the delight of the large and noisy home town crowd who had been waiting for this moment all day, the Brazilian skipper, said: “We have been dreaming of this moment all week long and it is great to be home. The reception has been beautiful.”

Ericsson 4 was the leader of the pack when the Volvo fleet was faced with the decision as to how to tackle the islands of Fiji on day 16, 1 March. Skipper, Torben Grael chose the easterly option, along with Ericsson 3 and Green Dragon and led the field across the first scoring gate to earn four points. Ericsson 3 then made her brave move to the north and Ericsson 4 was left to fight for second place with PUMA (Ken Read/USA).

PUMA Ocean Racing, skippered by Ken Read (USA) finish third into Rio de Janeiro on leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race, crossing the line at 04:27:00 GMT 27/03/09

Ericsson 3 Finished 1st!

Ericsson 3 has finally crossed the finish line in Rio De Janeiro, to win Leg 5.

After an agonising march to glory, Swedish skipper Magnus Olsson and his men officialy finished at 10:37:57 GMT. Ericsson 3 started eight half hours behind the scheduled starters after a pit stop for repairs in Taiwan en route to the leg start in Qingdao. Olsson admitted the victory seemed a long way off at the time. In a reference to the gamble on snubbing perceived wisdom and heading north in the Southern Ocean at the scoring waypoint at 36 degress south he added: "It was the fantastic strategy that convinced us that we take that risk. We all wanted to take it and the execution of that was very good. We sailed very well."

Stealth Mode

It is day 40 of this 12,300 nautical mile jaunt from Qingdao, China to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and in the closing stages, the leading boat, Ericsson 3, has opted to play her stealth card. She has gone into hiding and will only reappear 24- hours later, or once she is within 50 nm of the finish in Rio. This is the first time on this leg that the stealth card, newly introduced for the 2008-09 Volvo Ocean Race, has been played. Ericsson 3 began her ‘StealthPlay’ to give it its official title, immediately after the 1000 GMT position report this morning and her position in the fleet and all her onboard data will now be secret.

However, at 1000 GMT this morning, the last position report before she ‘disappeared’ from the world’s radar, Ericsson 3 had 194 miles to run to the finish as was parallel with Sao Paulo. She was averaging a double-figure boat speed of 10.5 knots and had achieved a run of 262 nm in the past 24 hours.

Her nearest and deadliest rival, Ericsson 4, with the hugely talented Torben Grael at the helm in what are his home waters, was a safe 103 nm behind her. But, spicing things up in the last hours of the leg, Grael too opted for StealthPlay shortly after today’s 1300 GMT positions were released and now the whereabouts of the man who has five Olympic medals to his name and who knows the waters off Rio like the back of his hand, will be unknown for 24-hours. At 1300 GMT today, prior to announcing their StealthPlay, Ericsson 4 had 254 nm to run to the finish, with third-placed PUMA a further 86 miles astern.

Less Than 1000nm to Finish

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.

Cape Horn

Magnus Olsson and his team of Nordic sailors onboard Ericsson 3 rounded the legendary Cape Horn at 1222 GMT today in pole position and in daylight, gaining maximum points at the scoring gate. Ericsson 4 (Torben Grael/BRA) will be the next boat to round the Cape, which marks the border between the Pacific and the Atlantic oceans. At the time of Ericsson 3’s rounding, Ericsson 4 was 36 miles astern, a gap that has now closed to 18nm. For Ericsson 3, Cape Horn almost lived up to its notorious reputation, producing 25 knot winds and massive seas, but Ericsson 4 is expecting full storm conditions when they round next in line. The crew is looking forward to it. PUMA became the third boat to round Cape Horn on this marathon Leg 5 when Ken Read's men passed through the iconic toll booth at 20:46 GMT and banked themselves three points. Further back in the fleet, the deficits to the Irish-Chinese entry Green Dragon, seeking something to celebrate on St Patrick's Day, was 98 miles from the waypoint. Telefonica Blue was 654 miles adrift.

For every sailor, the achievement of rounding this notorious Cape, which is the tip of one small island with a lighthouse, situated in one of the most remote areas in the world, is never diminished, no matter how many times they do it.

Volvo in the Ice

Down at 50 degrees south, Green Dragon has seen ice. Three bergs, that skipper Ian Walker estimated were 100 metres across and the size of a football pitch, were spotted shining in the darkness. The boat passed two bergs to windward and one to leeward. Daylight came as a relief to the crew who have now gybed north towards the safety of the gate that was supposed to keep the fleet away from ice.

On PUMA, skipper Ken Read reports that the crew are commenting on how thin each is looking. Meanwhile, in the drag race to the ice gate, Ericsson 3 - the freight train at the head of the fleet - is beginning to slow as she too drops off the weather system that abandoned the chasing pack yesterday. Her average speed is down to 13 knots allowing small gains to be made by Ericsson 4, PUMA and Green Dragon. Read reports that PUMA is blasting along between 18 and 24 knots and that the boat is jumping around and banging in the most violent way imaginable. Not so for Telefónica Blue who is trapped by light airs in the south.

Ericsson 3 Still Leads

Ericsson 3 (Magnus Olsson/SWE) is stretching out a substantial lead in leg five of the Volvo Ocean Race as the team rides a weather system, which is sweeping them quickly towards Cape Horn and maximum points at the next scoring gate.

Magnus Olsson and his men have now pulled out a lead of 208 nautical miles as they continue to average a boat speed of 24.3 knots, almost four knots faster than the chasing duo of Ericsson 4 (Torben Grael/BRA) and PUMA (Ken Read/USA). Their latest 24-hour run of 516 nautical miles is 83 nm better than overall race leader Ericsson 4 in the same period.

Ericsson 4 and PUMA remain engaged in battle, a little over 200 miles astern of the leader. At 1300 GMT yesterday, PUMA led from Ericsson 4 by seven miles, but today, when the grey mist cleared briefly, the Ericsson 4 could see PUMA two miles behind. They have since extended the margin by 12 miles.

Green Dragon and Telefónica Blue are both in a position with big breeze and the right angles to cash in and regain some of the massive losses they have suffered to the leading trio.

Ericsson 3 Seize Control

The leaderboard has been turned on its head in the past 24 hours with Ericsson 3 (Magnus Olsson/SWE) seizing control as the fleet reaches the halfway point of this 12,300 nautical mile marathon en route to Cape Horn. Navigator Aksel Magdahl’s gamble on a northern heading, away from the pack and against conventional Southern Ocean wisdom, soon after the scoring gate at 36 degrees south, is paying off for Ericsson 3:

1- Ericsson 3 SWE (Magnus Olsson/SWE) DTF 6152nm
2- PUMA Racing Team USA (Ken Read/USA) + 110
3- Ericsson 4 SWE (Torben Grael/BRA) +152
4- Telefonica Blue ESP (Bouwe Bekking/NED) +176
5- Green Dragon IRL/CHI (Ian Walker/GBR) +228

Thru the Scoring Gate

As the Volvo Open 70 fleet drag raced towards the scoring gate at 36 degrees S, it was all to play for, up to the very end. With the eventual winner of the first points of leg five being Ericsson 4 (Torben Grael/BRA), yet it was Ericsson 3 (Magnus Olsson/SWE) who received all the interest after their crossing.

Grael and his International crew picked up four points at 00:21 GMT last night as they crossed the gate and were closely followed by their stable-mate Ericsson 3 at 00:53 GMT. The Nordic crew then decided to make their brave move and immediately tacked to the north-east, away from all the fleet. Olsson has officially put all his trust in his young navigator Aksel Magdahl, who believes that the best course is to the north of the high pressure between them and Cape Horn and not the south.

Despite PUMA’s (Ken Read/USA) crew pushing flat out towards the gate, they finally crossed the line a mere 10 minutes after the Nordic crew. Next came Telefonica Blue (Bouwe Bekking/NED) followed by the Green Dragon just over an hour behind them at 04:31 GMT.

So as four of the fleet head south to get around the high pressure and inevitably make their way further into the Southern Ocean, it is PUMA in the lead at 13:00 GMT with Ericsson 4 a mere nine nm behind on the leaderboard. Yet, in reality Ericsson 4 are 103 nm to the south-west of il Mostro with Telefonica Blue and Green Dragon to the north-west of them with only two miles separating them.

VOR Approaching Scoring Gate

With the satellites all back up and working after their re-organisation in space, the Volvo Ocean Race fleet found itself approaching the Doldrums on their port reach south towards the islands of Fiji, an area where receiving satellite weather information is key to success.

Ericsson 4 (Torben Grael/BRA) was the first boat to ‘officially’ park as the wind died and the backmarkers started to make serious inroads in to the lead. The fleet was picking its way through the Marshall Islands, a group of 29 atolls and five islands and an area so interesting that most of the teams were absorbed in the digital version of the Pacific Pilot book. Ian Walker had elected to keep Green Dragon as far to the east as possible, a move that would take a week to play out. PUMA (Ken Read/USA) had closed to within 21 nm of Ericsson 4 and Ericsson 3 (Magnus Olsson/SWE) was just three miles further back. But the gap of over 200 nm separating Telefónica Blue (Bouwe Bekking/NED) who had started 19 hours after the rest of the fleet after a ‘rocky’ experience at the start had begun to close and both she and Green Dragon started to cash in.

The two islands of Fiji have split the pack of five as they race in leg five of the Volvo Ocean Race towards Rio de Janeiro. Telefónica Blue (Bouwe Bekking/NED) and PUMA (Ken Read/USA) opted to dodge reefs and atolls and sail between the two Polynesian islands, while the rest of the fleet went to the east. Luckily, for PUMA and Telefónica Blue, the job was completed during daylight hours, which made avoiding uncharted hazards less of a problem, and gave the two crews the chance to plan their next family holidays to these exotic islands. However, it did involve constant tacking and stacking, almost hourly, which was time consuming and costly.

After more than 5,000 miles of racing, PUMA (Ken Read/USA) takes the lead, but has both Ericsson 4 (Torben Grael/BRA) and Ericsson 3 (Magnus Olsson/SWE) in sight. Slightly further west, Telefónica Blue (Bouwe Bekking/NED) lurks just over the horizon, with Green Dragon (Ian Walker/GBR) close by. Sailing is no different from other sports in that when the competition is close, the pressure is on to up the game. The scoring gate at latitude 36 degrees south is just 433 nautical miles away, a tantalisingly close distance, but still more than a day’s sail at the current speeds of around 12.5 knots. Currently, the seas are calm and the wind moderate, and for the first time since the start in Qingdao, the Volvo Ocean Race fleet has spinnakers set. In fact, it all sounds perfect.

VOR Heading to Fiji

The Volvo fleet is rumbling down the track towards Fiji, which is not a mark of the course or a scoring gate, but it is a significant milestone mentally for the five crews racing in this 12,300 nm leg of the Volvo Ocean Race, the longest in the 36-year history of the event. After passing Fiji, there is still approximately 1000 nm to run to the first of two gates, where the first points will be scored. The western-most boat in the fleet, fourth-placed Telefónica Blue (Bouwe Bekking/NED), is having to sail at the tightest angle since the start of the leg and the yacht feels more constrained than before. Competition is very close. PUMA (Ken Read/USA) and Ericsson 3 (Magnus Olsson/SWE) are just 23 and 24 nm from Ericsson 4 and both Telefónica Blue and Green Dragon (Ian Walker/GBR) are making some fast runs. Everything is still open for the first scoring gate at 36 degrees south. Now the thinking is that the teams are out of the worst of the ‘squall zone’, and the sailing is starting to settle down.

Squalls Bring Gains &Losses

All five boats racing down the South Pacific Ocean in leg five of the Volvo Ocean Race are engaged in a battle with nature. The doldrums and the associated clouds and squalls are causing big gains and huge losses across the fleet as the boats get pushed further away from their optimum courses by the unstable weather. With clouds, come big gains and losses. Two days ago, Ericsson 3 (Magnus Olsson/SWE) sailed into PUMA’s world and has been their constant companion ever since.

Making the most of the conditions and very much back in the game is Ian Walker’s Green Dragon. The team is 86 nm to the east of Ericsson 4’s track and averaging a steady 13.5 knots. Telefónica Blue (Bouwe Bekking/NED) is in fourth place, but closing quickly and averaging 10 knots of boatspeed. Bekking is still playing it conservatively, following the pack and not making any radical decisions. Their track takes them 84 nm west of the tracks of PUMA and Ericsson 3.

1-Ericsson 4 SWE (Torben Grael)
2-Ericsson 3 SWE (Magnus Olsson)
3-PUMA Racing Team USA (Ken Read)
4-Telefónica Blue ESP (Bouwe Bekking)
5-Green Dragon IRL/CHI (Ian Walker)

Qingdao to Rio Day 10

It’s day 10 of the 12,300 nm leg of the Volvo Ocean Race from Qingdao to Rio, and Ericsson 4 (Torben Grael/BRA) has fought off her opponents and still leads the race south as the team crossed into the southern hemisphere. However, there has been plenty of excitement on the race track and also some narrow escapes with wildlife in the last 24 hours. Controlling the pack, Ericsson 4’s crew are describing the sailing conditions as glorious. The crew of third placed Ericsson 3 (Magnus Olsson/SWE) is fully back in the game.

Ian Walker/GBR and his Green Dragons are reaping the reward of their easterly course as they reel in the leaders, gaining 147 nm from 1300 on Saturday to 1300 GMT today. The team is still well over 100 nm to the east of where the leaders passed and this could mean big gains or huge losses if things go against the team. They have overtaken Telefónica Blue (Bouwe Bekking/NED) who is sailing in the wake of the leading trio, but not without a very close incident with a huge whale first thing this morning. As the fleet races on through the endless atolls and islands, the crew of Telefónica Blue was rather shocked to receive a message on their navigational warning system, which indicated volcanic activity very close to a position the team crossed two days ago.

Hard Night For Green Dragon

Saturday 21 February has been a difficult night aboard the Green Dragon, but Ian Walker and his men feel they may soon start to reap the benefits of their easterly positioning. Gaps are apparent at the front and the rear of the field as boats find themselves in different weather patterns on the approach to The Doldrums. Meanwhile, Green Dragon's Damian Foxall is
honoured by his countrymen. The front-runners, Ericsson 4 and PUMA, are midway between the Islands of Micronesia and the Marshall Islands situated in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, just west of the International dateline and still north of the equator. With 2,500 miles of this 12,300 marathon covered, Ericsson 4 has stretched its advantage over PUMA to 50 miles, a loss for PUMA of over 40 miles in the last 24 hours. Ericsson 3 has also lost ground and now has a deficit of 101 miles.

Volvo Update

It is still a hot port-gybe reach for the five boats engaged in the charge south during leg five of the Volvo Ocean Race. The fleet is currently 1200 nm north of New Ireland in the Solomon Islands, the area where the doldrums are lurking and light and shifty breeze await.

Top boat is Ericsson 4 (Torben Grael/BRA), with PUMA (Ken Read/USA) positioned neatly on her starboard hip, 45 nm to the northwest, but only 10 nm astern. Ericsson 3 (Magnus Olsson/SWE) has chosen the middle road, while Ian Walker still has Green Dragon in the east, 156 nm further east than PUMA. Bringing up the rear is Telefónica Blue (Bouwe Bekking/NED), who is ploughs a lonely furrow almost exactly the wake of Ericsson 3, but 267 nm behind Ericsson 4.

Reaching, although rather monotonous, does have its advantages. There are no sails or gear to stack when the boat tacks, and it looks as if this will be the case for at least another week.

Volvo Leg 5

Ericsson 3 skippered by Magnus Olsson finished Leg 4 on start Day for Leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race from Qingdao, China, to Rio De Janeiro. They arrived in Qingdao at 10:01 GMT or 18:01 local time. At 19:50 local time, (11:50 GMT) Ericsson 3 crossed the start line of leg five, nearly seven hours after PUMA, Ericsson 4, and Green Dragon. It will be another 12,300 nautical miles for this crew until they can relax.

In a dramatic opening to leg five of the Volvo Ocean Race, minutes before the start gun fired, Telefónica Blue (Bouwe Bekking/NED) dropped her sails and returned to port, leaving a fleet reduced to three boats to contest the start in Qingdao. Minutes before the five-minute warning signal, the crew of Telefónica Blue (Bouwe Bekking/NED), currently second in the overall standings and winner of the last two offshore legs, dropped their mainsail and skipper Bouwe Bekking turned his boat back towards Qingdao. He had informed the Race Committee that his team were suspending racing, which under the rules, must be for a minimum of two hours.

The boat was immediately hauled out of the water assess the damage caused when the boat went aground briefly, at a speed of six or seven knots. A crewman immediately went into the water, but was unable see clearly the extent of the problem and Bekking made the decision to suspend racing. The boat could possibly need a full structural check, something which could take up to 24 hours.

At first mark, PUMA had gained control and, with a man at the top of the mast searching for wind, rounded 53 seconds ahead of Green Dragon. Ericsson 4 (Torben Grael/BRA), sailing with the same crew that started the race in Alicante, was in third place, seven seconds behind. The team resumed racing last night, 19 hours behind the fleet. At 1300 today, they were 202 nm in arrears, amounting to approximately nine hours in the current conditions.

Green Dragon (Ian Walker/GBR) was first over the line in a slow-motion start in-front of her home town crowd, only to relinquish to the lead to PUMA (Ken Read/USA) as the reduced fleet began their epic journey of 12,300 nautical miles around the infamous Cape Horn and into Rio de Janeiro in Brasil.