PUMA, who is now assured second place overall, led the Volvo fleet out of Sandhamn, on the outer edge of the Stockholm archipelago today – a spectacular day where conditions were perfect for the start of the tenth and final leg of the Volvo Ocean Race 2008-09 to St Petersburg in Russia.

Sailing confidently in 10 -12 knots of breeze, PUMA, Telefónica Blue and Ericsson 4 were the front runners off the start line and a huge spectator crowd needed no excuse to get out on the water and watch what these ocean greyhounds do best.  A steady breeze and flat water ensured plenty of white water spilled from the bows as the boats started a leg for the last time, fully powered up and under a cloudless sky. 

 

Leading round both buoys marking the traditional ‘sausage’ before heading to out to sea, the crew of PUMA had set the black boat up perfectly and extended their lead, while behind, Bouwe Bekking’s bowmen wrestled with their heavy code zero sail, which had remained furled and unused on the bow and was slowing the blue boat down.  Green Dragon scorched past overall race winner Ericsson 4, who had the pressure put on by sister ship Ericsson 3, while Telefónica Black and Delta Lloyd were in the second string.

Team Russia joined the pack once the racing fleet had completed the inshore loop, to sail, but not to race, homewards to St Petersburg, with owner Oleg Zherebtsov working the bow as he did in the earlier legs of the race. 

 

Although speeds were good as the fleet left Sweden behind, the leg is expected to be predominantly upwind to Russia and race rules allow for Race Director, Jack Lloyd, to shorten the 400-mile course if necessary.  The fleet must arrive in St Petersburg on Saturday morning in order to clear customs and pass through two bridges, which will be raised specially in order to let the fleet into the historic city.

PUMA has now clinched second place overall, their performance improving hugely in the second half of the race.  Telefónica Blue will take third after losing the battle for second when they finished last in leg nine after going aground in Marstrand, while Ericsson 4 is the runaway leader, winning the race with a leg to spare.

Overall Leaderboard
1. Ericsson 4 (Torben Grael/BRA): 110.5 points
2. PUMA (Ken Read/USA):  98.5 points
3. Telefónica Blue (Bouwe Bekking/NED): 92.0 points
4. Ericsson 3 (Magnus Olsson/SWE): 73.5 points
5. Green Dragon (Ian Walker/GBR): 64.0 points
6. Telefónica Black (Fernando Echávarri/ESP): 50.0
7. Delta Lloyd (Roberto Bermudez/ESP): 39.5 points
8. Team Russia (Andreas Hanakamp/AUT): 10.5 points

 

TELEFÓNICA BLUE LEG TEN DAY 1 QFB:  received 25.6.09 2044 GMT

We just tacked with Ericsson 4 just few minutes after us. The last three hours have been a bit up and down, the wind was shifting quite a bit from something like 20 to 60 degrees TWD. The two Ericsson boats managed to  climb up quite well on us thanks to some lifting puffs and we did the  same thing to PUMA. We’re only 200 metres in front of Ericsson 4, nearly one mile in front of Ericsson 3 and same distance behind PUMA. We’re now all on port for another 30 minutes or so, after that we’ll all tack again towards the channel. Everyone is hiking hard pushing the boat. It’s going to be pretty long.

Gabri Olivo – MCM

GREEN DRAGON LEG TEN DAY 1 QFB:  received 25.06.09 1616 GMT

Here we go again – sailing upwind and slowly losing miles. I will not miss this when the race ends. Fortunately, it cannot last for days, as St Petersburg is less than 300 miles away.

What a great city Stockholm is – it is definitely another place on my list that I will need to come and visit again. That city is built to host maritime events and the Archipelago is built for cruising. After the long but picturesque motor to the start off Sandhamn, we made a good start to the leg and enjoyed holding off Ericsson 4 and others for a leg or two. Now everybody is engaged in a drag race on port tack and we are nearly halfway to Estonia. Hopefully, something will change in the weather at some point to shake up proceedings. For now, it is a question of doing the best we can to stay in touch with the other boats. The conditions are perfect with flat water, medium winds and sunshine – who knows maybe we can get to St Petersburg without getting wet?

Ian Walker – skipper

ERICSSON 3 LEG TEN DAY 1 QFB:  received 25.06.09 1800 GMT

I was a bit pessimistic in the first blog. I guess I was tired and Stockholm was too good to leave without a sad feeling. But once we got outside Sandhamn to the starting area, the mood got better.

Sun, flat water and 15 knots of breeze would make anyone happy.  Unfortunately, we did not come of the start line in a good way. We were stuck with no speed and our poor positioning did not improve by an override with the sheet for the headsail.  But we sorted it out quickly and once we had rounded the last mark, we were just a couple of metres after Ericsson 4, with PUMA and Telefónica Blue a bit further in front.

Now, at 1800, the positioning is pretty much the same. The Russians are behind us to leeward, Delta Lloyd and Green Dragon are straight to leeward. PUMA is still in front and Telefónica Blue and Ericsson 4 are following closely behind.

The most action-filled incident we had so far was when our Finnish guest had to jump overboard.   Mason helped her get the drysuit on, then he led her down to leeward, lifted her up and held her with one arm above the surface until he thought the chaseboat was close enough. Then he let her go. Splash and gone! You really understand why you don’t want to fall overboard from one of these boat. To turn around and pick someone up would just take ages
Magnus has cheered up a bit and is now smiling more. He still tired and he knows this will be though.  “It’s a bit of an anticlimax but we have to fight on and finish this race in a good way”, he says.

On the last legs we have had a big problem with tiredness. People just don’t get enough sleep. This time we are going to use the ‘standby watch’ system a bit more and everyone will get down to rest as soon as they can.

Gustav Morin – MCM

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It was like the end of a school term at the skippers’ press conference in Stockholm today as the Volvo Ocean Race fleet prepares to tackle Leg 10, a final, short, sprint to the overall finish line in St. Petersburg.

With just 400 miles remaining in a race around the world that measures over 37,000 nautical miles, and the leaderboard almost entirely decided, the finish line – the real one – is now in sight.

One leaderboard duel does remain. With a maximum of eight points available to the winner of the leg, PUMA leads Telefonica Blue by 6.5 points in the battle to finish second overall in the race.

The forecast is promising for the start on Thursday afternoon. A light Northeasterly breeze of 8-10 knots is expected. But as the leg progresses, the wind is forecast to ease. It could be a long 400 miles.

“This weather forecast is not perfect for us,” said PUMA skipper Ken Read. “We don’t want it to turn into a light air crap shoot because anything can happen that way. Telefonica can go and win the leg by 100 miles if they want; (but) we just have to beat one boat.”

“I think, realistically, they have sewn it up,” countered Telefonica Blue skipper Bouwe Bekking. “But it’s yacht racing and hopefully they sail the wrong way, come last and we come first. There would be a lot written if that happened. We’ll certainly be pushing hard for a win.”

Also making an appearance at the press conference today was Team Russia skipper Stig Westergaard, who brought the Russian boat, Kosatka, into Stockholm last night. They haven’t competed since Leg 3 and the team is now engaged in a race against time to get rule compliant ahead of the start.

With Ericsson 4 having mathematically won the Volvo Ocean Race on the leg into Stockholm, the rest of the teams are sailing for pride. And, according to Telefonica Black skipper Fernando Echavarri, that will be motivation enough.

“This is the last chance we have to win a leg and we’ll try to do that,” he said. “It’s more about personal pressure and trying to finish with a leg win, rather than pressure on the overall standing. It’s going to be good (weather) conditions for our boats so we’ll try to do our best to arrive in St Petersburg in the top position.”

Ericsson 4 skipper Torben Grael agreed it will be a competitive race: “We all owe it to our sponsors to get a good result and we are all very competitive people. A win is important to us.”

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Team Russia At Sea (Photo by Dave Kneale / Volvo Ocean Race )

A familiar face is on the horizon. Team Russia are on their way to Stockholm with the intention of taking part in the leg 10 sprint to their home port of St Petersburg, Russia.

In what  amounts to a race against time for the team, who are currently at sea en route from Gothenburg and expect to be in Stockholm by Tuesday afternoon or evening. The leg 10 start is on Thursday

The team suspended racing in Singapore after leg three as a consequence of insufficient funds, and have since been trying to source funding to resume.

In the meantime, they have largely changed their management and crew – Stig Westergaard has taken over from Andreas Hanakamp as skipper and, along with founder Oleg Zherebtsov, is the only returning member of the sailing team – and they now face a difficult task in being declared eligible to race.

Race Director Jack Lloyd said  ”We haven’t seen the boat since Christmas time when they left Singapore so we have no idea of the state of the electronics or the measurement condition of the boat. She just has to comply with the rules, like any other boat. All other boats have to maintain the boat in measurement trim and their crew have to qualify. They just have to go through that process.

“Their old crew has disbanded so probably about eight of them – if they want to take a full crew – have to take a safety course. We have got to do medicals and a little bit of other training, plus we have to get the boat back into measurement trim and get all the electronics done.”

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After an extremely disappointing leg nine, which saw second overall in the Volvo Ocean Race 2008-09 slip away when Telefónica Blue ran aground and had to return to Marstrand for emergency repairs, Bouwe Bekking and his men made a remarkable comeback today, to snatch the in-port race in Stockholm from nearest rival PUMA.  Telefónica Black was third.

The rocks and islands surrounding the course set today for the final of the in-port race series in the Volvo Ocean Race were black with thousands of spectators, while out on the water, in the Stockholm Archipelago,  spectator boats lined both sides of the course and masts could be seen as far as the eye could see.  The well-behaved spectator fleet was expertly marshalled by the Swedish Navy.  It was the perfect day for racing.

As the breeze built to nine knots for the first of two races, the fleet of seven Volvo Open 70s, sailing with plenty of heel and producing foaming white water from their bows made a clean start, led by Delta Lloyd. 

The two local boats, Ericsson 3 and Ericsson 4, fought for the pin end of the line and chose the far left of the course.  After a slightly sticky start, PUMA, followed Green Dragon out to opposite side of the course, where she gained clean air and took a lead, which she held on to until the end of the race.  Ericsson 3, using their expertise in the lake-like sailing conditions, which are their home waters, were a consistent second. 

Telefónica Blue, who was last on the first beat, made a terrific comeback and climbed steadily up through order to take third, which, coincidentally, was the same top three finishing order as the second of the Galway in-port races.   So close were the next two boats, it was difficult to call the finish, however Ericsson 4 eventually beat Telefónica Black by a short head (one second) to take fourth, while Green Dragon was sixth, and, after a very promising start, Delta Lloyd completed the line up in seventh place.

It was in race two that the outcome for the day was decided as the breeze increased to 12 – 14 knots and a fog bank started to roll in across the course.

Telefónica Blue put in her usual polished performance and led the fleet from start to finish.  Telefónica Black, with syndicate head, Pedro Campos at the helm, sailed a perfect race and spoilt the show for PUMA by finishing second in race two, a result which prevented PUMA from claiming overall victory today.  With a third and a first for Telefónica Blue and a first and a third for PUMA today, the tie was broken in favour of the results in the second race, which left Telefónica Blue as the clear winner, from PUMA and Telefónica Black.

It has been an exceptional day of racing and although the order on the overall leaderboard remains unchanged, Telefónica Blue has crept a little closer to second place overall, and is now 6.5 points behind PUMA, with one more leg of the race still to come.

 Race One Stockholm In-Port Race Finish Position
1. PUMA
2. Ericsson 3
3. Telefónica Blue
4. Ericsson 4
5. Telefónica Black
6. Green Dragon
7. Delta Lloyd

Race Two Stockholm In-port Race Finish Position
1. Telefónica Blue
2. Telefónica Black
3. PUMA
4. Ericsson 4
5. Delta Lloyd
6. Ericsson 3
7. Green Dragon

Stockholm In-Port Race Results (Provisional)
1. Telefónica Blue 4.0 points
2. PUMA 3.5 points
3. Telefónica Black 3.0 points
4. Ericsson 4 2.5 points
5. Ericsson 3 2.0 points
6. Delta Lloyd 1.5 points
7. Green Dragon 1.0 points

Overall Leaderboard
1. Ericsson 4 (Torben Grael/BRA): 110.5 points
2. PUMA (Ken Read/USA):  98.5 points
3. Telefónica Blue (Bouwe Bekking/NED): 92.0 points
4. Ericsson 3 (Magnus Olsson/SWE): 73.5 points
5. Green Dragon (Ian Walker/GBR): 64.0 points
6. Telefónica Black (Fernando Echávarri/ESP): 50.0
7. Delta Lloyd (Roberto Bermudez/ESP): 39.5 points
8. Team Russia (Andreas Hanakamp/AUT): 10.5 points

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While Ericsson 4 has mathematically locked up the overall race title, the battle for second place is still alive. PUMA has built a seven-point margin over Telefónica Blue, after the Blue boat ran aground and finished in last place in leg nine. But, with 12 points still available between now and the race finish in St. Petersburg, the battle is still alive.

Telefónica Blue has the best record of all the teams in the in-port race series, including wins in Rio de Janeiro and Boston, along with second place in Galway. But the winner in Ireland was PUMA. So, with the leaderboard the way it is, Telefónica Blue skipper Bouwe Bekking is expecting some special attention from PUMA.

“We will see. They will probably try and sail us to the back of the fleet, but they are so comfortable (with the seven-point lead),” he said. “We are just trying to win and see where we end up. If they want to make it a match race, it is still very tricky with other boats around.”

The forecast is for light winds in the morning, with a sea breeze forecast to build near 10 knots by race time. Bekking says anything between five and 15 knots is possible on the day.

It will be a special race day for the two Ericsson boats as well, sailing in home waters. Ericsson 4 is sailing with the same 11 core crewmembers it has used for every leg and in-port race to this point. And, for Ericsson 3′s Nordic crew, the opportunity to sail in front of a home crowd is sure to be inspiring.

There will be full coverage of the Stockholm in-port race available on www.volvooceanrace.org , including a race blog and live audio commentary.

And if you’d like to see the action, there’s live web TV on www.volvooceanrace.tv  .

Both audio and video live coverage begins at 12:45 local time, 10:45 GMT.

Overall Leaderboard

Ericsson 4 (Torben Grael/BRA): 108 points
PUMA (Ken Read/USA):  95.0 points
Telefónica Blue (Bouwe Bekking/NED): 88.0 points
Ericsson 3 (Magnus Olsson/SWE): 71.5 points
Green Dragon (Ian Walker/GBR): 63.0 points
Telefónica Black (Fernando Echávarri/ESP): 47.0
Delta Lloyd (Roberto Bermudez/ESP): 38.0 points
Team Russia (Andreas Hanakamp/AUT): 10.5 points

 

 

 

DELTA LLOYD

1. Roberto Bermúdez De Castro/ESP – skipper
2. Wouter Verbraak/NED – navigator
3. Sander Pluijm/NED – MCM
4. Stuart Wilson/NZL – mainsheet
5. Nick Bice/AUS – pit
6. Andre Fonseca/BRA – tactician
7. Ben Costello/NZL – trimmer
8. Ed Van Lierde/NED – grinder
9. David Pella/ESP – pitman
10. Gerd-Jan Poortman/NED – bowman
11. Morgan White/AUS – mid bow
12. Marcelo Ferreira/BRA – trimmer
13. Dave Miller/NZL – grinder

1. Iker Martinez/ESP – skipper 
2. Bouwe  Bekking/NED – tactician
3. Simon Fisher/GBR- navigator
4. Gabriele Olivo/ITA – MCM
5. Jonathan Swain/RSA – trim
6. Jordi Calafat /ESP – mainsheet
7. Xabier Fernandez/ESP – trimmer
8. Pablo Arrarte/ESP Spanish – trimmer
9. Laurent Pages/FRA – trimmer
10. Daryl Wislang/NZL – bowman
11. Pepe Ribes/ESP – bowman
12. Federico Giovanelli/ITA – grinder
13. Carlo Castellano/ITA – grinder
TELEFÓNICA BLACK

1. Fernando Echávarri/ESP – skipper
2. Luis Doreste/ESP – Tactician
3. Roger Nilson – MCM
4. Antonio (Ñeti) Cuervas-Mons/ESP – trimmer
5. Gonzalo Araujo/ESP – watch captain
6. Jaime Arbones/ESP – watch captain
7. Pablo Iglesias/ESP – trimmer
8. Javier de la Plaza/ESP – trimmer
9. David Vera/ESP -  bow
10. Michael Pammenter/RSA – bow
11. Maciel Cicchetti/ARG – trimmer
12. Iñigo Losada/ESP – grinder
13. Pedro Campos/ESP – helmsman

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Leg nine of the Volvo Ocean Race is one that the skipper and crew of Telefónica Blue would rather forget.  Instead of anticipated heated racing against PUMA for second place in the event overall, Telefónica Blue became securely wedged on a rock just outside Marstrand moments after the start last Sunday and had to return to the harbour for repairs. 

Today, as the team completed the leg and arrived in safely Stockholm, the mood was sombre onboard and what turned out to be more of a delivery from Marstrand to Stockholm had been no fun for the crew who had sailed silently, reflecting upon their misfortune.

“Finally we have finished, but not easy,” wrote skipper Bouwe Bekking shortly after the crossing the line. “No cheers, no handshakes, as we crossed the line. We know we had an absolute shocker and have given a better podium place away.

“On a personal note, this was the leg I have been looking forward so much to; sailing through home waters, going around a lot of corners, a leg which suited us well on paper, but the opposite happened. Now we will focus on the in-port race, where have the best track record by far, and then it will be sweet to finish on top in St. Petersburg.”

His feelings were echoed across the team: “Since we left, there was not much talking going on.  Everyone was pretty much into his own world, dealing his theoretical philosophy of what has happened,” said MCM Gabri Olivo.

The team will be ready to race in Sunday’s in-port race and the crew is hoping to salvage their pride by winning both this, the final of the in-port race series, and the last leg of the race to St Petersburg in Russia.

“This is the only way we can finish this race on a decent note.  There is a lot of talent onboard as well as a lot of pride.  We are a team and, as such, we want to show it to everyone.  We will be back on the water as strong as never before.  This is a must,” said Olivo.

At the time of the incident, skipper Bouwe Bekking offered his special thanks to Kimo Worthington, Neil Cox, Shaun Healey and Will Oxley from the PUMA team, all of whom were out on a chase boat at the leg start and did not leave Telefónica Blue’s side until she was back in the harbour, even taking over the towing ropes to the big vessel. 

Ericsson  Racing Team quickly offered the use of their work container with all its boat building equipment, and it took the crew and shore crew two and half days to repair the boat in order to restart the leg on 17 June at 1916 GMT.

Bekking and his men now trail PUMA by seven points. In the immediate aftermath of the grounding, Bekking conceded that “most likely, second place is gone.” 

However, PUMA’s skipper, Kenny Read, is taking nothing for granted.  “It was a huge shame what happened to them.  We are really happy that everybody is healthy and that nobody got hurt.  They are, mathematically, not out of it by any means.  We still have a battle on our hands,” said the skipper whose team claimed line honours in the leg. 

Telefónica Blue has just one in-port race worth half leg points and the final leg to St Petersburg in which to make up the deficit.  It will be a thrilling finish. 

Leg Nine Finishing Order Stockholm
1. PUMA
2. Ericsson 3
3. Ericsson 4
4. Telefónica Black
5. Green Dragon
6. Delta Lloyd
7. Telefónica Blue
8. Team Russia DNS

Overall Leaderboard
1. Ericsson 4 (Torben Grael/BRA): 108 points
2. PUMA (Ken Read/USA):  95.0 points
3. Telefónica Blue (Bouwe Bekking/NED): 88.0 points
4. Ericsson 3 (Magnus Olsson/SWE): 71.5 points
5. Green Dragon (Ian Walker/GBR): 63.0 points
6. Telefónica Black (Fernando Echávarri/ESP): 47.0
7. Delta Lloyd (Roberto Bermudez/ESP): 38.0 points
8. Team Russia (Andreas Hanakamp/AUT): 10.5 points

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A third place finish in leg nine has been enough for Ericsson 4 to provisionally win the Volvo Ocean Race 2008-09.  The team now has a 13-point lead over PUMA, with just 12 points available in the rest of the race.

“We made a few errors on the leg, but we got what we wanted so we’re pretty happy,” said Ericsson 4 skipper Torben Grael.  “We were very close in Marstrand, but now it’s done. It’s finished. We can really enjoy it.”

 

It was a good night for PUMA as well.  After a fearsome catfight with the crew of Stockholm-based Ericsson 3, whose crew wanted a win here in front of their home crowd more than anything, PUMA stole victory on the finish line tonight in Sandhamn (an island in the Stockholm archipelago just east of the capital city), and claimed full points for Volvo Ocean Race leg nine. 

Today’s win was PUMA’s first leg victory in this 10-leg race, although they have had a good showing during the in-port racing.  Their score of 95 points so far strengthens their second place overall at this stage of the event. 

 

 

 

“It feels fantastic and it’s wonderful to be here in Stockholm. We feel a little sad to spoil Ericsson 3′s homecoming, but it’s a great win, and a hard-earned win,” said American skipper Kenny Read.

 

“Man do we know how to make it hard. I don’t think it has to be this hard, but somehow that’s the only way we seem to have success.  We let them [Ericsson 3] go, on a little squall by lighthouse, and they went from half a mile behind, to overtake us.  We had to battle back, but none of these guys quit. They sailed a great race and it was quite a drag race.

 

“When we let them get ahead of us at the lighthouse, I think most teams would have quit right there, but adversity seems to be our friend and we got a little break when they got their jib hung up on the radar dome. It’s a great relief to get our first leg win out of the way,” Read said.

Fighting PUMA for second place overall is Telefónica Blue/Bouwe Bekking, who had the terrible misfortune of being grounded on a rock outside Marstrand shortly after the start. The crew expects to complete this leg and be in Stockholm in time to contest the in-port race on Sunday and thereby pile the pressure back on PUMA.

The largely Nordic crew of Ericsson 3, skippered by the hugely popular, Magnus Olsson, and winners of leg five, the longest leg of the race, had to settle for second place tonight, bringing their overall score to 71.5 points.

“It was very close. That was enough tacks for a lifetime. We wanted so badly to win and now Ken Read has destroyed my party. How mad do you think I am? From now on, I’m really going to pick on him,” joked skipper Swedish Magnus Olsson, when he stepped ashore.

The final podium spot went to Ericsson 4, which ensures her overall victory in the Volvo Ocean Race 2008-09.  Although there is still one leg left to complete before the team crosses the finish for the final time in St Petersburg on 27 June, it is now not possible for them to be beaten. 

Skipper Torben Grael said, “We are finishing Ericsson 4′s circumnavigation. The boat was built here and left here nearly a year ago, so she’s back after sailing around the world and winning the race. It couldn’t be any better.

“We have a wonderful crew. A lot of experience. They have been fantastic on the whole leg, the whole race around the world. It’s a pleasure to sail with them and get back to Stockholm in this position,” he said.  Read Ericsson 4’s full race statistics here: http://press.volvooceanrace.org/?p=3030#more-3030  

Fourth, fifth and six spots were filled by Telefónica Black, Green Dragon and Delta Lloyd. 

Leg Nine Finishing Order Stockholm
1. PUMA
2. Ericsson 3
3. Ericsson 4
4. Telefónica Black
5. Green Dragon
6. Delta Lloyd
7. Telefónica Blue SUSPENDED RACING
8. Team Russia DNS

Overall Leaderboard
1. Ericsson 4 (Torben Grael/BRA): 108 points
2. PUMA (Ken Read/USA):  95.0 points
3. Telefónica Blue (Bouwe Bekking/NED): SUSPENDED RACING 86.0 points
4. Ericsson 3 (Magnus Olsson/SWE): 71.5 points
5. Green Dragon (Ian Walker/GBR): 63.0 points
6. Telefónica Black (Fernando Echávarri/ESP): 47.0
7. Delta Lloyd (Roberto Bermudez/ESP): 38.0 points
8. Team Russia (Andreas Hanakamp/AUT): 10.5 points

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 And it’s the gun for PUMA as they take their first leg win here in Sandhamn, Stockholm. Ericsson 3 is about 10 boat lengths behind, but the wind dropped away.   It was a duel to the finish with PUMA taking the lead over Ericsson 3 and holding them off in a tacking race to the finish.

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