SHIPPING UP TO BOSTON

The Volvo Ocean Race fleet is scheduled to start leg six from Rio de Janeiro to Boston at 15:00 local time (18:00 GMT) on Saturday afternoon. While the start port is home to Ericsson 4 skipper Torben Grael, the finish line represents the race coming to the hometown of the PUMA OCEAN RACING team.

“I won’t lie, it’s good to be going home, I haven’t been home since September 1st of last year and to have family, friends, supporters, sponsors all waiting on the dock to see their boys and their boat and that’s going to be really good,” PUMA skipper Ken Read said at the leg press conference on Friday, from the Marina da Gloria in Rio.

“But with it comes the added pressure of everybody saying, ‘this is the one you have to win’. It’s a pressure I’ve felt with the team this week and we’re trying to downplay it. This is just another leg, we have to stay consistent, and let the chips fall where they may. But with that said, it’s really good to be going home.”

Significantly, for Volvo Ocean Race veterans, this is just the second ‘traditional’ leg in this edition of the race, and it comes on the heels of four legs which visited new ports in Asia.

“I think the last two legs we’ve talked about boats breaking and been asking, ‘Will we get there?’” said Green Dragon skipper Ian Walker. “This leg, it doesn’t seem like we will have all those hurdles, but it’s still an ocean leg, a lot of things can still happen. As a team, we don’t want to underestimate this leg.”

At nearly 5,000 nautical miles, the sixth stage of the race is less than half the distance of the marathon leg five which brought the fleet here to Rio. There is a scoring waypoint at Fernando de Noronha, where four scoring points are available to the leading boat (diminishing by a half point for each of the subsequent boats).

“This will be a boat speed leg,” said Telefonica Blue skipper Bouwe Bekking. His team is in third place, two points behind PUMA and 11.5 back of the leader, Ericsson 4. And they need a good result. “It is crucial for us. We have to be first at the scoring gate and we have to be first in Boston, because we have to pick up the points.”

At the head of the fleet, Ericsson 4 is in an enviable position, with a 9.5 point lead over PUMA. But with nearly half of the race points yet to be contested, skipper Torben Grael says it’s way too early to be changing strategy. He says his team needs to sail their own race.

“The position we are in is a good one, for sure,” Grael said. “But there is a long way to go still, especially on points. So there are some situations where you can be a little conservative, but if you’re too conservative all the time, you’re not going to win the race. We have to go and fight for the points.”

Tomorrow’s start marks the return of Telefónica Black and Team Delta Lloyd to offshore competition. Both boats were shipped to Rio after being damaged on the race to Qingdao; they missed the last leg. Both skippers are eager to make a mark again.

“This is our opportunity,” said Fernando Echavarri, the skipper of Telefónica Black. “We don’t have any excuses. We have a new sail inventory and I think the boat is in good shape to push to be on the podium in this leg.”

“It will be difficult. Every team has very good sailors but if we can get a good finish in Boston, it would be great for us,” agreed Delta Lloyd skipper Roberto Bermúdez.

Ericsson 3 won the longest leg in the history of the race to get to Rio. Skipper Magnus Olsson joked that he’s planning to stay close to PUMA for this leg, perhaps hoping to glean some local knowledge on the approach to the finish in Boston.

The forecast for start time on Saturday is for light south-westerly winds in the 4 to 9 knot range under mostly sunny skies. Predominantly light to moderate winds are expected for the first days of the leg.

You can follow the start of leg six of the Volvo Ocean Race live on www.volvooceanrace.org, where there will be full coverage from the race course, including live commentary of the start, beginning at 14:45 local time, 17:45 GMT.

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VOLVO OCEAN RACE CREW LIST LEG SIX: RIO DE JANEIRO – BOSTON

DELTA LLOYD

1. Roberto Bermúdez De Castro/ESP – skipper
2. Wouter Verbraak/NED – navigator
3. Sander Pluijm/NED – media crew member
4. Stuart Wilson/NZL – watch captain
5. Nick Bice/AUS – watch captain
6. Andre Fonseca/BRA – helmsman
7. Ben Costello/NZL – helmsman
8. Ed Van Lierde/NED – trimmer
9. David Pella/ESP – trimmer
10. Gerd-Jan Poortman/NED – Bowman
11. Morgan White/AUS – bowman

On: Wouter Verbraak/NED – navigator
Ben Costello/NZL – helmsman
Ed Van Lierde/NED – trimmer
Nick Bice/AUS – watch captain

Off: Frits Koek/NED – navigator
Edwin O’Connor/IRL – trimmer
Martin Watts/GBR – trimmer
Guillermo Altadill/ESP – watch captain

ERICSSON 4

1. Torben Grael/BRA – skipper
2. Jules Salter/GBR – navigator
3. Guy Salter/GBR – MCM
4. Brad Jackson/NZL – watch captain
5. Stu Bannatyne/NZL – watch captain
6. Dave Endean/NZL – pitman
7. Horacio Carabelli/BRA – trimmer
8. Tony Mutter/NZL – trimmer
9. Joao Signorini/BRA – trimmer
10. Ryan Godfrey/AUS – bowman
11. Phil Jameson/NZL – bowman

No changes

ERICSSON 3

1. Magnus Olsson/SWE – skipper
2. Aksel Magdahl/NOR – navigator
3. Gustav Morin/SWE MCM
4. Thomas Johansson/FIN – helmsman
5. Richard Mason/NZL - watch captain
6. Magnus Woxen/SWE – trimmer
7. Eivind Melleby/NOR – helmsman
8. Martin Strömberg/SWE – trimmer
9. Jens Dolmer/DEN – pitman
10. Anders Dahlsjö/SWE – bowman
11. Martin Krite/SWE – bowman

On:   Richard Mason/NZL - watch captain

Off:  Arve Roaas/NOR – trimmer/helmsman

GREEN DRAGON

1. Ian Walker/GBR – skipper
2. Ian Moore/IRL – navigator
3. Guo Chuan/CHN – MCM
4. Neal McDonald/GBR – watch captain
5. Damian Foxall/IRL – watch captain
6. Anthony Merrington/AUS – helmsman/trimmer
7. Phil Harmer/AUS – helmsman/trimmer
8. Andrew Mclean/NZL – pitman/trimmer
9. James Carroll/IRL – pitman/trimmer
10. Justin Slattery/IRL – bowman
11. Freddy Shanks/GBR – bowman

On: Ian Moore/IRL – navigator
Anthony Merrington/AUS – watch captain
James Carroll/IRL – pitman/trimmer

Off: Wouter Verbraak/NED – navigator
Tom Braidwood/AUS – pitman/trimmer
Chris Main/NZL – helmsman/trimmer

PUMA OCEAN RACING

1. Ken Read/USA – skipper
2. Andrew Cape/AUS – navigator
3. Rick Deppe/GBR MCM
4. Sidney Gavignet/FRA – watch captain
5. Robert Greenhalgh/GBR – watch captain
6. Rob Salthouse/NZL – helmsman/trimmer
7. Justin Ferris/NZL – helmsman/trimmer
8. Erle Williams/NZL – helmsman/trimmer
9. Shannon Falcone/ANT – bowman/pitman
10. Casey Smith/AUS – bowman/helmsman
11. Michael Müller/GER – helmsman/bowman

On:  Shannon Falcone/ANT – trimmer/pitman
Off:  Jerry Kirby/USA – bowman/pitman
TELEFÓNICA BLUE

1. Bouwe  Bekking/NED – skipper
2. Tom Addis/AUS – navigator
3. Simon Fisher/GBR- strategist/helmsman
4. Gabriele Olivo/ITA – MCM
5. Jonathan Swain/RSA – watch captain
6. Jordi Calafat ESP – helmsman
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

On:  Laurent Pages/FRA – trimmer
Daryl Wislang/NZL – bowman
Pepe Ribes/ESP – bowman

Off: Iker Martinez/ESP – co-skipper/helmsman
Michael Pammeter/RSA – bowman
David Vera/ESP – bowman

TELEFÓNICA BLACK

1. Fernando Echavarri/ESP – skipper
2. Roger Nilson/SWE – navigator
3. Anton Paz/ESP – media crew member
4. Antonio (Ñeti) Cuervas-Mons/ESP – bowman
5. Gonzalo Araujo/ESP – watch captain
6. Jaime Arbones/ESP – watch captain
7. Pablo Iglesias/ESP – helmsman
8. Javier de la Plaza/ESP – helmsman
9. David Vera/ESP -  trimmer
10. Maciel Cicchetti/ARG – trimmer
11. Michael Pammenter/RSA – bowman

On:  Anton Paz/ESP – media crew member
Maciel Cicchetti/ARG – trimmer

Off:  Mikel Pasabant/ESP – MCM
Francisco Rivero/ESP – bowman

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It was a great win in the ‘Light In-Port Race’ for Bouwe Bekking’s Telefónica Blue after a long postponement in Rio de Janeiro today.  PUMA (Ken Read/USA) put in a solid performance to take second, but the surprise result was the outstanding performance by the rejuvenated Delta Lloyd with Spaniard, Roberto Bérmudez in charge, who took the third podium position.

Only one race was run due to the two hour postponement, but once the sea breeze filled in, there was a solid seven to 10 knot southerly breeze on the Guanabara Bay.  Ian Walker and Green Dragon led the fleet off the pin end of the start line, with Ericsson 4 (Torben Grael/BRA), sailing with HRH the Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden onboard, and Delta Lloyd looking good at the windward end. 

 

  The new era of Team Delta Lloyd was welcomed with a maiden podium finish, but Bouwe Bekking had the biggest grin at the end of the ‘Light In-Port Race’ in Rio de Janeiro today.

His Telefonica Blue team were seemingly out of the running when they passed the first turning mark in fourth place, 27 seconds off PUMA’s well-earned lead.

But, having chosen the left-hand side of the track (looking upwind) on the downwind run, they profited from a wind shift and stormed to the front of the fleet.

Ken Read elected to start on port tack, and out in the clear air on the right hand side of the course, the choice paid off.  At the first mark PUMA led the field, followed closely by Ericsson 3, the winner of leg five, with Magnus Olsson as skipper.

The main action today was towards the middle of the fleet, an unusual position for the multiple Olympic medallist and local lad Torben Grael, when he found himself in a race between Green Dragon and Telefónica Black (Fernando Echávarri/ESP). 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today’s results do not change the order on the overall leaderboard, but do close the margin between Ericsson 4 at the top and PUMA and Telefónica Blue in second and third place.

And so Delta Lloyd get today’s honourable mention, not just for picking the right side of the first run, along with Telefonica Blue, but for two calls by Andre Fonseca. The tactician held his nerve and held his line on port tack, when crossing Ericsson 4 by the slenderest of margins at the bottom of the first run, and again at the bottom of the second run. The slightest misjudgement would have cost them a penalty and third place. But there was no misjudgement, Delta Lloyd past clear ahead both times, and recorded their best result of the event so far.

 

 

 The start of leg six, 4,500 nm from Rio to Boston begins next Saturday, 11 April.

The Light In-Port Race Rio de Janeiro Results (Provisional)
1. Telefónica Blue 4.0 points
2. PUMA 3.5 points
3. Delta Lloyd 3.0 points
4. Ericsson 4: 2.5 points
5. Telefónica Black 2.0 points
6. Green Dragon 1.5 points
7. Ericsson 3: 1 points
8. Team Russia DNS

Overall Leaderboard
1. Ericsson 4 (Torben Grael/BRA): 66 points
2. PUMA (Ken Read/USA): 56.5 points
3. Telefónica Blue (Bouwe Bekking/NED): 54.5 points
4. Ericsson 3 (Magnus Olsson/SWE): 44.5 points
5. Green Dragon (Ian Walker/GBR): 41 points
6. Telefónica Black (Fernando Echávarri/ESP): 23 points
7. Delta Lloyd (Roberto Bermudez/ESP): 15 points
8. Team Russia (Andreas Hanakamp/AUT): 10.5 points

  

 Both Ericsson 4 and Telefónica Black managed to beat back Green Dragon to post fourth and fifth at the finish, pushing Ian Walker and his men into sixth place. After their superb start, Green Dragon was never really in contention and Ian Walker will no doubt be disappointed with his result today.  Ericsson 3’s day was effectively over when she had to take a penalty for a port/starboard infringement with Telefónica Black. 

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Skippers Rio (Photo By Rick Tomlinson/Volvo Ocean Race)

The Volvo Ocean Race fleet returns to sea this weekend for the ‘Light In-Port Race’ on Guanabara Bay, just off the Marina da Gloria in Rio de Janeiro.

Two races are scheduled on Saturday, beginning at 13:00 local time (16:00 GMT), and they will be scored as a series. The winner on the day will be awarded four scoring points towards the overall Volvo Ocean Race leaderboard.

A light to moderate sea breeze is forecast for Saturday afternoon, with conditions clearing, following what has been an overcast and wet week in Rio.

Torben Grael, the skipper on the overall race leader, Ericsson 4, is a man with plenty of experience on Guanabara Bay. The Brazilian Olympic medallist says it will be a tricky place to sail and he hopes to use his local knowledge to his advantage.

“It’s not an easy place to sail normally,” he said at a press conference on Friday. “It’s not a place with the same pattern every day. It looks like we’re going to have a sea breeze which is the best we can have for the race here. The rain is going to clear up and we’ll have perfect conditions for the race.”

That’s good news as Ericsson 4 is scheduled to have a very special guest on board: Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden, Duchess of Västergötland. She has been visiting the Volvo Ocean Race Village in Rio today, and will sail with Grael and his team, tomorrow.

Ken Read, the skipper of the il mostro, is the closest challenger to Ericsson 4. He said they’ll be looking to sail their own race, while acknowledging Torben is surely going to be feeling at home on the water here.

“We have to go and try to teach the master his own game,” he said. “It’s not easy sailing against somebody who’s sailed so much in this area. We’ll have one eye on them and one eye on trying to win a boat race.”

The ‘Light In-Port Race in the Volvo Ocean Race’ also sees the return of Telefónica Black and Team Delta Lloyd, both of whom arrived in Rio by ship, missing the leg from Qingdao after suffering damage during Leg 4 of the race. Both teams are eager to make up for lost time.

“The ‘new’ Delta Lloyd has a new bow, a new mast, and a few new good sails too. We’ve spent two weeks testing everything and I think we’re ready for the in port and next leg,” said skipper Roberto Bermudez. The team has also added three new crew members, all with Volvo Ocean Race experience.

Similarly, Telefónica Black expects a boost for the in-port race from the addition of double Olympic Gold Medallist Luis Doreste, who will sail as tactician.

“It was disappointing to miss the leg, but now we are coming back,” said skipper Fernando Echavarri. “I think the boat is healthy now and we are trying – as always – will do our best.”

The ‘Light In-Port Race in the Volvo Ocean Race’ will be broadcast live with English commentary on www.volvooceanrace.org. The site will also carry live English and Spanish audio commentary, and of course, we’ll have full reports and reaction along with photos from the race course.

 

 

 

CREW LIST FOR THE LIGHT IN-PORT RACE IN THE VOLVO OCEAN RACE RIO DE JANEIRO 4 APRIL 2009

1. Torben Grael BRA, skipper      
2. Jules Salter UK, navigator
3. Guy Salter UK, media
4. Brad Jackson NZ
5. Stu Bannatyne NZ
6. Horacio Carabelli BRA
7. Tony Mutter NZ
8. Joca Signorini BRA
9. Ryan Godfrey AUS
10. Phil Jameson  NZ
11. Dave Endean NZ
12. Joe Spooner NZ
13. Brian McInnes CAN

ERICSSON 3

1. Magnus Olsson SWE, skipper
2. Magnus  Woxén   SWE, navigator
3. Rasmus Kostner DEN, tactician
4. Gustav Morin SWE, media
5. Arve Roaas NOR
6. Richard Mason SWE
7. Thomas Johanson FIN
8. Eivind Melleby NOR
9. Martin Strömberg SWE
10. Anders Dahlsjö SWE
11. Jens Dolmer DEN
12. Martin Krite SWE
13. Jann Neergaard DEN

GREEN DRAGON

1. Ian Walker GBR, skipper
2. Ian Moore IRL, navigator
3. Guo Chuan CHN, media
4. Neal McDonald GBR
5. Damian Foxall IRL
6. Christopher Main NZL
7. Anthony Merrington AUS
8. Tom Braidwood AUS
9. Andrew McLean AUS
10. James Carroll IRL
11. Freddie Shanks GBR
12. Johnny Mordaunt IRL
13. Julien Cressant FRA
PUMA OCEAN RACING

1. Ken Read USA, skipper
2. Andrew Cape AUS, navigator
3. Rick Deppe GBR, media
4. Sidney Gavignet FRA
5. Rob Greenhalgh GBR
6. Rob Salthouse NZL 
7. Justin Ferris NZL
8. Casey Smith AUS
9. Michael Muller GER
10. Kimo Worthington USA
11. Joe Fanelli USA
12. Andrew Taylor NZL
13. Shannon Falcone ANT

TELEFÓNICA BLUE

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

1. Fernando Echávarri ESP, skipper
2. Luis Doreste ESP, tactician
3. Pedro Campos ESP, helmsman
4. Roger Nilson SWE, media
5. Gonzalo Araujo ARG
6. Jaime Arbones ESP
7. Pablo Iglesias ESP
8. Javier  de la Plaza ESP
9. Maciel Cicchetti ARG
10. Antonio Cuervas-Mons ESP
11. Michael Pammenter RSA
12. Iñigo Losada ESP
13. Anton Paz ESP

 

 

 

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At 03:55 GMT, in the early hours (00:55 local time) of a rainy Sunday morning, Telefónica Blue eased across the finish line off the Marina da Gloria in Rio de Janeiro to take fifth place in leg five of the Volvo Ocean Race.

The elapsed time for leg five for Telefónica 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/NED and his team. Following two consecutive leg wins, Tom Addis was promoted from strategist to navigator. And after changing to larger rudders for this leg, the Telefónica Blue squad had high hopes of closing the gap with the front-running Ericsson 4.

But before the race had started, the team ran aground on a submerged rock outside the harbour in Qingdao. Skipper Bekking quickly made the decision not to take the start and instead Telefónica Blue returned to the Olympic harbour in Qingdao where the boat was hauled out for the damage to be assessed.

In the event, there was no structurally significant damage and the team resumed racing just shy of 19 hours after the start of the leg. From then onwards, the Telefónica Blue was on the back foot.

They fought hard to get back into the mix with the rest of the fleet, but 20 days into the leg, a broken forestay forced the team to make heroic efforts to save the mast from tumbling down, but at that point, their competitive hopes in leg five were all but extinguished as the team was restricted to using smaller headsails.

A late charge on the final section of the race course brought the team within hours of fourth-placed Green Dragon, but to no avail – four points, from a fifth place finish drops the team to third place on the overall leaderboard behind Ericsson 4 and PUMA.

“I think we have a really good chance actually,” Bekking said when asked about the impact of this leg on the overall leaderboard. “I think Ericsson 4 will be scratching their heads a little bit because they haven’t been winning the last three legs. They are definitely beatable I think.”

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 (Provisional)
1. Ericsson 4 (Torben Grael/BRA) 63.5 points (FINISHED)
2. PUMA (Ken Read/USA) 53 points (FINISHED)
3. Telefónica 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. Telefónica Black 21 (DNS)
7. Delta Lloyd 12 (DNS)
8. Team Russia 10.5 (DNS)

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Ken Read/USA guided PUMA over the finish line this morning in Rio de Janeiro at 0427 GMT (0127 local) to claim the third podium place on leg five of the Volvo Ocean Race, a result good enough for Read to retain second position in the race overall at this halfway stage.

Ken Read and his team now have 53 points on the scoreboard having added six leg points and six gate points to their tally. This keeps them in second place, but only a whisker ahead Telefónica Blue, whose total will be 50.5 points at the end of this leg, assuming they hold their current position. Even if Telefónica Blue should beat Green Dragon on this leg, which now seems unlikely, it will not affect PUMA’s overall second place standing in the race.

Read is skippering an entry in the event for the first time, and on this leg he had his first taste of the Southern Ocean and the experience of rounding Cape Horn. On reaching the dock in the Marina da Gloria, Read said: “It was a really long race. I wondered if we would end up having to try and pace ourselves, but the fact is, there’s no such thing. If you try to pace yourself, you just lose, so you can’t.” The team recorded an elapsed time of 40 days 23 hours 26 minutes 60 seconds.

On the approach to the finish, Read wrote,   “The last sunset.  The final miles.  The end to this epic adventure.

If my count is right, this is our 41st day at sea.  The trip from Qingdao was everything that we thought it would be and more.  More days that is. Sure we were told that the leg could last somewhere between 34 and 40 days. My guess is that none of us ever thought it would be the longer of the two.

The boat and team have held up exceptionally well under the circumstances. I guess in a way we had to, mainly because we have to do this all over again in two weeks or so.  Although the next leg will be different.  No 40 days and the light at the end of that tunnel is HOME.  A very different feel for sure.

Excitement is around every corner out here.  Even when we have a nice night-time sail with clear skies, flat seas and 10 knots of wind reaching at 12 knots toward the finish.  All of a sudden last night around 1 pm GMT a smallish light ship came out of the darkness ahead and to leeward and fired off a flare and began flashing lights on us.  Capey (Andrew Cape) got them on channel 16, realized he didn’t speak Portuguese and was lucky enough that a member of the ships crew spoke English.  The ship explained that just in front of us there was another ship towing 14 six- mile long seismic cables. Now that would ruin your night running into that buzz saw. 

They told us to head up 70 degrees for about five miles to get around the cables which we happily obliged even though it meant rolling up our spinnaker and going on the wind away from Rio.  Sure enough, a few miles later they called back and told us we could go back on course.  Interesting little turn of events and enough to get your heart rate up for a few minutes.

On the racing front, the two Ericsson boats went stealth.  Not really sure why you would use it then but anyway, it made for interesting topics of conversation on the boat for a while anyway.

And while I am at it, on behalf of the entire PUMA Ocean Racing Team I would like to congratulate the Ericsson3 team for a job well done.  They made the break at New Zealand and made it hold up all the way to the finish.  A great effort by their squad and hard earned.

As for the rest of us, we will have this experience to look back on forever.  Although I don’t think the magnitude of this leg will really sink in until after the completion of the race.  It says a lot when you can’t get the route that is to be sailed on one computer screen.  The routing software, scaled out as far as it will go, nearly includes half of the planet.  Not enough to fit this leg on the same page.  Where we have been, what we have seen, the laughs, the frustration, the hardships and the moments in time that one can never forget…none of it can be taken away.  We have successfully put some points on Telefónica Blue, yet lost a few more to Ericsson 4. A tough boat to beat for sure.

But, with half the points in this race still available it is still anyone’s game, not only for the podium but for victory.  Anything can happen out here. Last night’s near miss is the perfect example.  We will stay on our toes and keep pushing as hard as we can until someone grabs our lines in St Petersburg.

THE leg is over.  Two weeks off.  Somehow this finish will be different. Our families will smile wider, the food will certainly taste better (and I will never look at mashed potatoes quite the same way again as that has been our filler food for the last four days) and the beer colder.

Thank you IL Mostro.  You have delivered your crew safely through 12,300 miles of the unknown. Get some rest because in two weeks it is time to head for Boston and Home Sweet Home.

If you need to find me over the next couple weeks, safe bet is I am eating somewhere.”

Throughout the leg, PUMA was consistently in the top three, only dropping to fourth momentarily and on three occasions leading the fleet. From day 24, 9 March, they settled into third place and held that right through to the finish today.

Leg Five Finishing Order Rio
1. Ericsson 3: 8 points
2. Ericsson 4: 7 points
3. PUMA: 6 points

Overall Leaderboard (Provisional)
1. Ericsson 4 (Torben Grael/BRA) 63.5 points (FINISHED)
2. PUMA (Ken Read/USA) 53 points (FINISHED)
3. Telefónica Blue (Bouwe Bekking/NED) 46.5 points (RACING)
4. Ericsson 3 (Magnus Olsson/SWE) 43.5 (FINISHED)
5. Green Dragon (Ian Walker/GBR) 34.5 (RACING)

6. Telefónica Black 21 (DNS)
7. Delta Lloyd 12 (DNS)
8. Team Russia 10.5 (DNS)

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Ericsson 4 Heading To Rio At Sunset (Photo By Rick Tomlinson/Volvo Ocean Race)

 

 

 

Champagne was sprayed, crew members were mobbed and all against the backdrop of a leaderboard that puts Ericsson 4 firmly in control of this race. But Torben Grael and his crew were in no mood for premature celebrations when they finished leg five in second place tonight.

“This race is a long way from over,” the Brazilian said. “It feels fantastic to be here, but the race is not over until it’s over.”

“Anything can happen,” added Brad Jackson, Grael’s watch captain. “If we don’t finish a leg the others will catch up pretty quick.”

“There are plenty of conditions where we’re not the fastest boat,” said navigator Jules Salter.

It is the kind of reality check that this team seems intent on repeating, the need to convince themselves and others that nothing should be taken for granted.

At this stage, it would appear they could afford to relax the stance. They are now 10.5 points clear of second place PUMA, while Telefonica Blue could be as much as 13 adrift, depending on their finishing position relative to Green Dragon. But complacency has never been evident in this team and they have no intention of starting now.

“The time we start to relax is when we’ll get caught,” said Stu Bannatyne. “We just need to keep on ticking off the points until we cross the line.”

“We might be two thirds of the way round in mileage, but there’s nearly half the points still available,” added Horacio Carabelli. To be precise, 27,700 miles from a track of 37,000 miles have been completed, but 64 points from a pre-race maximum of 136 are still available for a team that wins each remaining leg, in-port race and scoring gate.

“Too early to think we have won,” said Grael.

It is a conservative attitude partially reflected in their sailing at the moment.

They were winning leg five after nearly three weeks when, like sister ship Ericsson 3, they saw the option of boldly going north at the 36-degree south scoring gate. But instead of adopting the strategy that ultimately gave the Nordic crew a leg win, they crossed the gate in first place and then ploughed south with PUMA and Telefonica Blue, their two main rivals.

“We stayed in front of who we need to stay in front of,” Jackson said. “You have to be conservative and smart about it. We are winning overall and it didn’t feel like it was a necessary risk. It was an option (staying north) but probably a higher risk than the traditional route.”

It was also an omen of what might lie ahead, with several crew members hinting the team will place continued emphasis on marking their main rivals. “Quite possibly,” said Bannatyne.

In this case it was enough to stretch their overall lead, but at the expense of an Ericsson 3 win. “I think they deserve it,” Grael said. “They made a huge effort to finish the leg in China and then start this leg late. And then to do a 40-day leg and arrive here first, I think they did a very good move after the gate in New Zealand and they deserve the result.”

Though there were times when it got close. Grael and his crew closed to within six miles when Ericsson 3 got caught in light wind shortly after rounding Cape Horn, but could never get past.

“It was always a case of first in – first out,” Salter said. “But even once we got out (of the no wind area) we were kind of stuck in the middle with PUMA going well behind us and Ericsson 3 extending ahead.”

Thereafter it was a fruitless race up the coast to home for three of the crew members. The reception was overwhelming, culminating in Joao Signorini being held aloft by the crowd while Grael and Carabelli gave countless interviews.

“It’s great to be home,” Grael said. “We are getting closer (to winning this race), but there is a long way to go. We won’t be underestimating anyone.”

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ERICSSON 4 NEXT IN LINE

After the euphoric welcome given to Ericsson 3 this morning when she crossed the finish line in Rio de Janeiro to win leg five of the Volvo Ocean Race, Ericsson 4’s turn will come, but later on today.

Ending her StealthPlay this morning when she came within 50 miles of the finish, at 1300 GMT today Ericsson 4 had 46 miles to run, but her boat speed is down to a miserable two knots, promising a long and drawn out affair.

PUMA in the third spot, (DTF 92 nm) is fairing fractionally better, achieving an average speed of 5.8 knots during the past three hours.  However, both Green Dragon and Telefónica Blue are making excellent progress a double the speed of PUMA, but have a lot of miles yet to cover.

Ericsson is predicted to finish around 2030 GMT today, provided she is not completely becalmed, with PUMA expected later tonight, but both Green Dragon and Telefónica Blue will have at least another two days at sea before they can sample the culinary delights of Rio de Janeiro.

Leg Five Day 41: 1300 GMT Volvo Ocean Race Positions
(boat name/country/skipper/nationality/distance to finish)

Ericsson 3 SWE (Magnus Olsson/SWE) FINISHED
Ericsson 4 SWE (Torben Grael/BRA) DTF 46nm
PUMA Racing Team USA (Ken Read/USA) +46
Green Dragon IRL/CHI (Ian Walker/GBR) +438
Telefónica Blue ESP (Bouwe Bekking/NED) +626
 
Delta Lloyd IRL (Roberto Bermudez/ESP) DNS
Telefónica Black ESP (Fernando Echávarri/ESP) DNS
Team Russia RUS (Andreas Hanakamp/AUT) DNS

Cape Horn Scoring Gate
(boat/date/rounding time/gate points)

Ericsson 3: 17.03.09 1222 GMT: 4 points
Ericsson 4: 17.03.09 1448 GMT: 3.5 points
PUMA: 17.03.09 2046 GMT: 3 points
Green Dragon: 18.03.09 0215 GMT 2.5 points
Telefónica Blue: 19.03.09 1339 GMT 2 points

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