Sport-heute: Sailing - Auf der Green Dragon wird heute gefeier

17. März 2009, 22:24

Auf der Green Dragon wird heute gefeier

Ericcson 3 zuerst am Kap Horn - sie holen 4 Scorer Punkte

Ericcson 3 hat heute um 1222 das Cape Horn umfahren. Damit sind sie die Ersten, die die vier Scorerpunkte gutschreiben können. Dicht auf den Fersen ist ihnen Ericcson 4 vor Puma. Auf dem Green Dragon wird kräftig gefeiert, den heute ist St.Patrick's Day, die irischen Besatzungsmitglieder wissen diesen Tag gebührend zu geniessen.

Volvo Ocean Race, 17.3.09 (mk) Die Mails direkt von den Yachten

ERICSSON 3: FIRST AT 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.

“It looks like the Ericsson 3 boys have managed to hold us off – and fair play to them – they played a good move early after the last scoring gate, a move which none of the rest of us were brave enough to play,” said Ericsson 4’s MCM Guy Salter.

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.

Spain’s Guillermo Altadill, who has rounded the Cape six times, describes the experience:

“I can only imagine it must be similar to a marathon runner on arrival at the stadium, with only 400 metres left after his epic 26 miles, to look up and see the public awaiting him. Except that, on that rock there is no public. And when you are lucky enough to get close enough, and on a clear day, you look up at that black rock with its lighthouse and all the legends that surround it, and it makes you think that whatever happens from that moment onwards, you have fulfilled your objective: to arrive in one piece.”

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.

“There has been a chat about rights earned for passing the Horn: earrings, feet on the table at meal times, and tattoos of tall ships under full sail,” says Salter in anticipation.

All Ericsson 3 has to do now is to turn north and keep the fleet at bay. No easy task, when the skipper of the chasing Ericsson 4, Torben Grael, is one the golden boys in Olympic sailing and close quarter, tactical racing is what he excels at. They now face a long battle of over 2,000 nm to the finish in Rio.

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

Ericsson 3: 1222 GMT: 4 points

Distance to Cape Horn at 1222 GMT
Ericsson 4 - 36.91nm
PUMA - 141.21 nm
Green Dragon - 229.49 nm
Telefónica Blue- 766.86 nm

Leg Five Day 32: 1300 GMT Volvo Ocean Race Positions
(boat name/country/skipper/nationality/distance to finish)

Ericsson 3 SWE (Magnus Olsson/SWE) DTF 2264 nm
Ericsson 4 SWE (Torben Grael/BRA) +18
PUMA Racing Team USA (Ken Read/USA) +119
Green Dragon IRL/CHI (Ian Walker/GBR) +210
Telefónica Blue ESP (Bouwe Bekking/NED) +746

Delta Lloyd IRL (Roberto Bermudez/ESP) DNS
Telefónica Black ESP (Fernando Echávarri/ESP) DNS
Team Russia RUS (Andreas Hanakamp/AUT) DNS
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TELEFÓNICA BLUE LEG FIVE DAY 32 QFB: received 17.03.09 0217 GMT

Hi there,

Twenty-four hours on and the furious fifties have got a little more furious! The wind has been steadily building and the sea state has been building to match. Added to this there is a big south westerly swell rolling in resulting in some waves that are really very big and very steep.

Luckily with our new, bigger rudders, we have a little more control than in the past to deal with these monsters, but, inevitably, there are some waves that you go down that you just cannot escape. You take off downhill and see the boat speed rising into the thirties, the bow starts to bury as you are frantically looking for a way out, however sometimes all the exits are closed so you have no choice but to brace yourself and prepare for impact!

The spray pitches up as the nose goes under and you feel the boat decelerate. All of a sudden the boat is pointed 45 degrees down. At this stage, you can see nothing but water and you hang on hoping to maintain control, the spray settles, hopefully you are still going straight and then you are off again until the next one!!

Despite the toughening conditions, it has at times, been a beautiful day with bright sunshine and a bright blue sea, however, when the clouds roll over, the sea quickly changes back to its cold grey colour as if someone has switched the colour off and turned the surroundings into black and white once again...

The sun is just setting now though and darkness is encroaching, this means more excitement as we can no longer see the waves that we were hurtling down earlier in the day...

Cheers,

Simon Fisher - helmsman
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GREEN DRAGON LEG FIVE DAY 32 QFB: received 17.03.09 1426 GMT

It must be fate that the Green Dragon, a project born out of Ireland, has reached the most famous sailing landmark of them all on Irelands National Day. The crew of Green Dragon would like to wish everyone a very Happy St Patricks Day from Cape Horn!

It is morning here and we still have 175 miles to go but we will be rounding the Cape at nightfall on St Patricks Day. I say 'rounding' loosely as we are in for a hard time. The forecast is for 40 knots and we will have to stand off the Cape to avoid the worst wind and waves. This will cost us an hour or 2 in the race which is frustrating but Cape Horn is no place to be cutting corners in rough weather.

Right now we are approaching 57 degrees South, the furthest we have been South all race. Conditions onboard are miserably cold and damp. The air and water temperature is about 7 degrees, it is 25 knots and everything onboard is a struggle. Nothing is more of a struggle than getting out of a warm sleeping bag, putting on cold, wet thermals and standing your watch on deck for 4 hours in the freezing cold.

This is a good time for me to reflect on my fantastic crew and their total commitment to the cause. Not once has anybody shirked a watch, even when ill, nor has anyone not done what has been asked of them by Neal (Neal McDonald), Damian (Damien Foxall) or I. Each would put their body on the line to help another and each wants nothing more than for the Green Dragon to succeed.

Thank you guys, I owe you a lot.

With deteriorating weather the next 24 hours seems like it may be our biggest challenge yet. I have dreamt about rounding Cape Horn since I was a little boy and this is the moment. I wish it was going to be a nice sunny day and we could go in close to the rocks and take lots of footage and photos, but sadly it will be windy, rough and dark.. Cape Horn is going to give us something to remember it by. Any celebrations will be put on hold until first light tomorrow when I am pleased to say we will be round the Cape and pointing at the Emerald Isle for the first time since we left Cork in August. Happy St Patricks Day and see you all in Galway in May!!

Ian Walker - skipper
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ERICSSON 4 LEG FIVE LEG FIVE DAY 32 QFB: received 17.03.09 1240 GMT

Not far now until we are round the Horn - the border between the Pacific and the Atlantic oceans - looks like the Ericsson 3 boys have managed to hold us off - and fair play to them - they played a good move early after the last scoring gate - a move which none of the rest of us were brave enough to play, and go against all that is traditional with the NZ to the Horn leg - but then this leg hasn’t really been very traditional.

A northerly route was a little surprising for all.. But the race does not finish at the Cape and it’s all go for the rather long sprint to Rio. I know that there are a few of the lads on the good ship Ericsson 4 who are extremely hungry for his leg victory.

The cold doesn't automatically turn off when we round the Horn - there is a hell of a lot of sailing before the survival suits get packed away and the thermals slung in a plastic bag to fester until wash day ashore. There will no doubt be some light spots to deal with also as we head north.

We are expecting a bit of a storm as we round the Cape - so it will be the full Horn experience and maybe not the time for us to tuck into our nice cigars that I have stashed within my water testing kit. But even if they come out in a day or so, I’m sure we will all enjoy them as they will be something a little different to the mundane, day to day activities.

Everyone is excited about the Horn rounding with untold media requests. I just hope that we can deliver all that is expected. As I sit here at my office desk, I can see untold stumbling blocks lining up for a hectic few hours.

The top of my desk sits about knee height from the hull surface and around my ankles is about 40mm of fresh saltwater, which ingresses through a small leak below the media desk. It’s like typing whist sat in a kid’s paddling pool. This water obviously isn’t good for any of the electronic equipment we use aboard. It’s probably the reason why I have only one camera which works - so long as I cook it in the engine bay a few times a day.

I have avoided getting my Mac out of its waterproof case for the last few days as we have been getting thrown around a fair amount and also, when we broke our steering a few days ago, the wave we buried in also found a couple of other areas to pour inside the boat - all within a metre of the media area. So, apart from some bailing, there has been a lot of plugging going on.

We have a scheduled broadband outage also today, where the satellites get turned off for a few hours plus some live broadcasting planned which, if it works will be great but the satellites and the conditions need to be playing ball. So hopefully all will line up and the day will go without a hitch - but seeing as we are still in the Southern Ocean, I’m expecting untold dramas.

There has been a chat about rights earned for passing the Horn: earrings, feet on table at meal times and tattoos of tall ships under full sail. Ryan (Ryan Godfrey) is contemplating doing it all but I’m sure in reality he may not bother. I have often thought of the tattoo, but then thought against the idea as I’m sure it wouldn't suit - plus my Mum would probably get a little upset - as mothers do!, After all we are all still six years old in their eyes.

Guy Salter - MCM
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