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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Drama today in Marstrand as Telefónica Blue/Bouwe Bekking became wedged on a rock and suspended racing at 1231GMT while leading the fleet at the start of leg nine to Stockholm. 

The boat hit the rock while racing at around 14 knots of boatspeed and is hard aground in one-metre swells. The team immediately dropped the sails, but the boat’s keel is firmly wedged within the rocks whilst the rest of the fleet is sailing away.  A pilot boat and the coastguards are standing by and attempting to tow the boat clear.  All the crew are unhurt. 

Telefónica Blue was first across the start line, but PUMA quickly established a lead of around 10 boat lengths and Ken Read tacked a few metres away from the rocks, where the spectators enjoyed a grandstand view. 

Ian Walker took Green Dragon in to a very light patch of breeze immediately after the start and the crew unfurled their enormous code zero fleet as they headed towards the spectator fleet on the right hand side of the course.

 Out on the left, PUMA and Delta Lloyd had plenty of wind and for the first 20 minutes of this inshore lap, the left side of the course continued to pay very well, but the breeze was dying all the way across the racecourse. 

A big lumpy swell made it difficult for the teams drive the boats in just five to six knots of wind and it was painful to watch as the boats came to a shuddering halt on every wave. The new breeze, when it came, filled in on the right hand side of the course and Green Dragon with the luck of the Irish, and had the first taster of the eight or nine knots of breeze, giving them the advantage in the approach to the first turning mark. 

They took the lead followed one boat length behind by Telefónica Blue. PUMA and Ericsson 3 made up the top four, while Telefónica Black, Delta Lloyd and, unusually, Torben Grael and Ericsson 4 were the second string.

Racing downwind, the top three boats hoisted spinnakers, while the chasing pack stayed with their massive code zero headsails.  Enthusiastic race goers invaded the racecourse and PUMA sailed downwind escorted by a big spectator fleet.

By the time the leading four had reached the final turning mark, the order had changed again and there was action and drama aplenty.  Green Dragon had stayed out to the left of the course, nearest the spectator fleet, but the wind filled in from the right, causing them to lose their lead and allowing Telefónica Blue, Ericsson 3 and PUMA all to reach the mark ahead. 

 

 

Rounding the mark, Telefónica Blue showed a clean set of heels, while Ericsson 3 caught their spinnaker on their spreaders, which rendered them dead in the water.  PUMA powered in and quickly took the opportunity to nip between Ericsson 3 and the mark, as Ericsson 3 wallowed and the crew tried to sort out the mess. 

Meanwhile, Green Dragon approached at speed, and sailed inside both Ericsson 3 and PUMA.  They were not able to establish their position and it was Telefónica Blue, who led the fleet out into the Kattegat from archrival PUMA, Ericsson 3 and Green Dragon, until disaster struck and the boat struck the rock.

This is the second time that such a disaster has befallen Telefónica Blue.  The team struck a rock in Qingdao just before the start of leg five and the boat had to return to Qingdao to be hauled out for damage inspection.

As this press release is closed efforts continue to tow the yacht free from the rocks before the more serious damage is done.

Telefónica Black sailed a solid race to hold off Delta Lloyd, while Ericsson 4 remained mysteriously at the back of the fleet having also had a poor spinnaker drop at the leeward mark.

The 525 leg nine is expected to finish in Stockholm on Tuesday.

Overall Leaderboard
1. Ericsson 4 (Torben Grael/BRA): 102 points
2. PUMA (Ken Read/USA): 87.0 points
3. Telefónica Blue (Bouwe Bekking/NED): 86.0 points
4. Ericsson 3 (Magnus Olsson/SWE): 64.5 points
5. Green Dragon (Ian Walker/GBR): 59.0 points
6. Telefónica Black (Fernando Echávarri/ESP): 42.0
7. Delta Lloyd (Roberto Bermudez/ESP): 35.0 points
8. Team Russia (Andreas Hanakamp/AUT): 10.5 points

 

 

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