Sport-heute: Sailing - Ericcson 4 zeigt's allen!

25. Mai 2009, 00:08

Ericcson 4 zeigt's allen!

Ericcson 4 hat wieder die höchste Punktezahl erreicht. Genau um 0054 in der Nacht sind sie über die Ziellinie in Galway Irland gefahren - dem Heimathafen von Green Dragon. Auf der schnellen sehr schweren Etappe ist das Segeln so richtig im Vordergrund gestanden. Das Boot brauchte für die 2550 Meilen 7 Tage 10 Stunden und 33 Minuten und um genau zu sein noch 51 Sekunden. Skipper Torben Grael meinte: " Wir sind überglücklich, es ist ein weiterer Stein in unserem Mosaik und, dass wir das Ziel an vorderster Front erreichen werden. Die Schwierigkeiten auf dieser Strecke waren ganz klar die unterschiedlichen Temperaturen und der Nebel.

Brüttisellen, 24.5.09 (mk) Top Marks Again For Ericsson 4

Ericsson 4 again took maximum points this morning when she crossed the finish of Volvo Ocean Race leg seven in Galway in first position. She finished at 0054 GMT today after taking seven days, 10 hours, 33 minutes and 51 seconds to sail across the North Atlantic from Boston.

A huge and very excited Saturday night crowd was on the dockside, principally waiting to celebrate the arrival of Green Dragon, their hometown boat, but Ericsson 4 benefitted from a raucous welcome as they drew alongside.

After fighting his way ashore, Brazilian skipper Torben Grael said:

“It’s nice to get first place. It’s another big step towards our goal, so we’re pretty happy about it.”

The North Atlantic threw everything it could at the seven-strong fleet, which revelled in the fast downwind conditions. Many of the crews have declared the sailing on this leg as the best they have ever experienced and there was plenty to contend with. Thick fog, a myriad of lobster pots followed by a whale exclusion zone, a scoring gate – which Ericsson 4 rounded in third place – and an ice exclusion zone to negotiate all added to the mix before the high-speed drag race to the finish, which proved to be a nail-biting thriller.

Reflecting on Ericsson 4’s leg, Grael said, “The beginning was tough. There was a big decision once we realised we couldn’t get the first two positions at the gate, so we positioned ourselves for the rest of the leg.

“Then when we got this big front, we split from the fleet, which worked out well, but it was risky and it was a rough ride in. We had to push it to have a good position, so it was tough.

Ericsson 4 sailed the first half of this leg conservatively, only rising to the top of the pack on 19 May, day four. The remainder of the leg was spent either in first or second place, with the exception of a blip on day six when the team dropped briefly to fourth place.

“It’s always a matter of risk against return,” said Grael today. “If you think it’s worth running the risk, you take it. That’s the game. We were conservative at times on this leg but took some big risks as well.”

The next boat is to expected to cross the finish within an hour.

Leg Seven Finishing Order Galway
1. Ericsson 4: 8 points

Overall Leaderboard (Provisional)
1. Ericsson 4 (Torben Grael/BRA) 92.0 points (FINISHED)
2. Telefónica Blue (Bouwe Bekking/NED) 72.5 points (RACING)
3. PUMA (Ken Read/USA) 69.0 points (RACING)
4. Ericsson 3 (Magnus Olsson/SWE) 58.0 points (RACING)
5. Green Dragon (Ian Walker/GBR) 46.0 points (RACING)
6. Telefónica Black (Fernando Echávarri/ESP) 33.0 points (RACING)
7. Delta Lloyd (Roberto Bermúdez/ESP) 25.5 points (RACING)
8. Team Russia 10.5 points (DNS)

Scoring Gate Order
1. Telefónica Blue
2. PUMA
3. Ericsson 4
4. Ericsson 3
5. Telefónica Black
6. Delta Lloyd
7. Green Dragon
***************************************************

Delta Lloyd Beats Telefónica Black and Ericsson 3

The crew of Delta Lloyd just gets better and better. Although finishing in fifth place this morning in Galway at 0339 GMT, the team had been up in the lead during this leg and was in contention for a podium finish right up until the last moment.

As the crew gelled, their performance has improved and they scored a third place each in the in-port race series in Rio de Janeiro and Boston as well as being third at the scoring gate on leg six.

On stepping ashore, Spanish skipper, Roberto Bermúdez said, “We’re sailing against really good teams and really good people. We are trying to not make mistakes and to sail within our limits and that’s what we did here. And you enjoy the race so much more when you don’t ‘lose’ the fleet.

“You always think about the real big downwind sailing in the Southern Ocean when you think about this race, but these last couple of days were maybe the best downwind in the race. It was really good.

“It’s a happy team and we’ve enjoyed it a lot. Everybody sailed very well and we are really starting to feel like a close group.”

As the winner of the 2005-06 Volvo, Delta Lloyd already has one circumnavigation under her keel and the team’s first priority was to get to Galway in one piece, however, when the rest of the fleet put the throttle down, the crew of Delta Lloyd did the same.

The fight for fifth place was hard fought. Telefónica Black was also leader of the pack in the first third of the leg, but once the fleet cleared the ice exclusion zone and turned downwind, Telefónica Black did not flourish. They were, according to navigator Roger Nilson, “demolished” and finished at 0358 GMT, just 19 minutes behind Delta Lloyd.

Fellow Spaniard and skipper of Telefónica Black, Fernando Echávarri, commented, “We performed quite well. In the first half we were very comfortable with the boat and we did well. But we knew it was going to be really hard downwind.

“At the end we were really close to passing Delta Lloyd, but we could not. It was very exciting racing, very close. It is more interesting when you can see the other boats.”

For Ericsson 3, who finished two hours later in seventh position at 0558 GMT today, leg seven could have been a leg the crew would rather forget, but in his usual irrepressible way, skipper, Magnus Olsson was pragmatic.

“We are a little disappointed with the result, but that’s life. We think we’ve sailed the best ever, but this time it wasn’t enough. When we sail as well, we are normally fighting for podium positions, it was frustrating when we didn’t go so well and in the end, we took some chances. In the short term, our egos have taken a beating. And now we know how hard it is to really be up there.”

With Volvo fleet safely arrived in Galway, there is a full two weeks for the crews to enjoy the legendary Irish hospitality before the in-port race next Saturday 30 May and the start of leg eight the following Saturday 6 June.

Leg Six Finishing Order Galway
1. Ericsson 4: 8 points
2. PUMA: 7 points
3. Green Dragon: 6 points
4. Telefónica Blue: 5 points
5. Delta Lloyd: 4 points
6. Telefónica Black: 3 points
7. Ericsson 3: 2 points

Overall Leaderboard (Provisional)
1. Ericsson 4 (Torben Grael/BRA) 92.0 points (FINISHED)
2. Telefónica Blue (Bouwe Bekking/NED) 77.5 points (FINISHED)
3. PUMA (Ken Read/USA) 76.0 points (FINISHED)
4. Ericsson 3 (Magnus Olsson/SWE) 60.0 points (FINISHED)
5. Green Dragon (Ian Walker/GBR) 52.0 points (FINISHED)
6. Telefónica Black (Fernando Echávarri/ESP) 36.0 points (FINISHED)
7. Delta Lloyd (Roberto Bermúdez/ESP) 29.5 points (FINISHED)
8. Team Russia 10.5 points (DNS)

Scoring Gate Order
1. Telefónica Blue
2. PUMA
3. Ericsson 4
4. Ericsson 3
5. Telefónica Black
6. Delta Lloyd
7. Green Dragon

****************************************************

Puma Pips Green Dragon By Three Miles

It has been edge of the seat stuff watching the fight for the top three places in leg seven of the Volvo Ocean Race play out right to the bitter end. This morning, at 0219 GMT, PUMA pipped hometown boat Green Dragon to second place, but only by three miles. The Dragons finished 11 minutes later at 0231 GMT, greeted by a very large and noisy Galway crowd.

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Celebrations tonight in Galway are huge. With three Irish sailors on board - Ian Moore, Damian Foxall and Justin Slattery - the Dragon has completed her circumnavigation, and earned one of its strongest leg finishes to date.

“It’s unbelievable. Phenomenal,” said Green Dragon’s Irish navigator Ian Moore. “This is pretty special. Being an Irishman on an Irish boat finishing in an Irish port… I don’t think anyone will ever forget this.”

This leg has been far from easy for Green Dragon, who rounded the scoring gate in last place. ““To be so far behind at the beginning and then to catch up was just through hard graft… The guys worked so hard. We’re a bit slower than the others and the only way to catch up is to work harder,” Moore explained.

Ian Walker/GBR, skipper of Green Dragon, his first entry in the Volvo Ocean Race, was almost lost for words on arrival in Galway.

“I’m flabbergasted. The number of people, the number of boats. There must have been 500 boats out there. All at four in the morning. Some of them in little RIBs 30 miles offshore, shouting us on. Is the whole town here? Did anyone stay in bed tonight?

“Given our recent run, third place was beyond our expectations, but that is what we strive for. We knew if we got heavy downwind conditions, that was the one thing we could do well in,” he said.

For Green Dragon, the strategy was to stay in touch with the fleet and wait for the right moment to pounce. They did just that.

“I think we managed to just keep going, keep going… We did a number of things well. First, we stayed close. We stayed close enough that we could attack when it got windy. We managed to pull more miles and we chose the perfect place to gybe. I think we got just the right spot,” Walker explained

It has been 20 years since Ireland made its debut into what was then the Whitbread Round the World Race (1989-90) with NCB Ireland. Finishing third in their homeport means everything to the Green Dragon team.

“We desperately wanted to get third. We desperately wanted to get on the podium,” said an elated Walker.

Although PUMA has posted a string of second places (legs one, three, four and seven), the coveted winners’ position has, so far, eluded them, but the team was still thrilled with second place, particularly as they lost one of their rudders in the heavy seas two days ago and had to fit their emergency steering.

“This is as good as it gets,” said skipper Kenny Read. “That was some of the best sailing we’ve ever done in our whole lives. To come back after breaking the rudder like that. This crew is unbelievable. It’s almost like we thrive on adversity. We don’t know how to be normal. “

Telefónica Blue finished in fourth place at 0242 GMT. Yesterday, skipper Bouwe Bekking wrote, “We are fighting like gladiators, but we can’t get more speed out of our puppy. We feel we made improvements, but we are still missing that little bit of pace to stay up front.”

The finishing order tonight does not change the overall top three positions. Ericsson 4, who won this leg earlier today, continues to steal a march and top the leaderboard while just 1.5 points separate Telefónica Blue in second from PUMA in third. Green Dragon lies fifth overall.

Leg Six Finishing Order Galway
1. Ericsson 4: 8 points
2. PUMA: 7 points
3. Green Dragon: 6 points
4. Telefónica Blue: 5 points

Overall Leaderboard (Provisional)
1. Ericsson 4 (Torben Grael/BRA) 92.0 points (FINISHED)
2. Telefónica Blue (Bouwe Bekking/NED) 77.5 points (FINISHED)
3. PUMA (Ken Read/USA) 76.0 points (FINISHED)
4. Ericsson 3 (Magnus Olsson/SWE) 58.0 points (RACING)
5. Green Dragon (Ian Walker/GBR) 52.0 points (FINISHED)
6. Telefónica Black (Fernando Echávarri/ESP) 33.0 points (RACING)
7. Delta Lloyd (Roberto Bermúdez/ESP) 25.5 points (RACING)
8. Team Russia 10.5 points (DNS)

Scoring Gate Order
1. Telefónica Blue
2. PUMA
3. Ericsson 4
4. Ericsson 3
5. Telefónica Black
6. Delta Lloyd
7. Green Dragon
***********************************************************

Delta Lloyd Beats Telefónica Black and Ericsson 3

The crew of Delta Lloyd just gets better and better. Although finishing in fifth place this morning in Galway at 0339 GMT, the team had been up in the lead during this leg and was in contention for a podium finish right up until the last moment.

As the crew gelled, their performance has improved and they scored a third place each in the in-port race series in Rio de Janeiro and Boston as well as being third at the scoring gate on leg six.

On stepping ashore, Spanish skipper, Roberto Bermúdez said, “We’re sailing against really good teams and really good people. We are trying to not make mistakes and to sail within our limits and that’s what we did here. And you enjoy the race so much more when you don’t ‘lose’ the fleet.

“You always think about the real big downwind sailing in the Southern Ocean when you think about this race, but these last couple of days were maybe the best downwind in the race. It was really good.

“It’s a happy team and we’ve enjoyed it a lot. Everybody sailed very well and we are really starting to feel like a close group.”

As the winner of the 2005-06 Volvo, Delta Lloyd already has one circumnavigation under her keel and the team’s first priority was to get to Galway in one piece, however, when the rest of the fleet put the throttle down, the crew of Delta Lloyd did the same.

The fight for fifth place was hard fought. Telefónica Black was also leader of the pack in the first third of the leg, but once the fleet cleared the ice exclusion zone and turned downwind, Telefónica Black did not flourish. They were, according to navigator Roger Nilson, “demolished” and finished at 0358 GMT, just 19 minutes behind Delta Lloyd.

Fellow Spaniard and skipper of Telefónica Black, Fernando Echávarri, commented, “We performed quite well. In the first half we were very comfortable with the boat and we did well. But we knew it was going to be really hard downwind.

“At the end we were really close to passing Delta Lloyd, but we could not. It was very exciting racing, very close. It is more interesting when you can see the other boats.”

For Ericsson 3, who finished two hours later in seventh position at 0558 GMT today, leg seven could
have been a leg the crew would rather forget, but in his usual irrepressible way, skipper, Magnus Olsson was pragmatic.

“We are a little disappointed with the result, but that’s life. We think we’ve sailed the best ever, but this time it wasn’t enough. When we sail as well, we are normally fighting for podium positions, it was frustrating when we didn’t go so well and in the end, we took some chances. In the short term, our egos have taken a beating. And now we know how hard it is to really be up there.”

With Volvo fleet safely arrived in Galway, there is a full two weeks for the crews to enjoy the legendary Irish hospitality before the in-port race next Saturday 30 May and the start of leg eight the following Saturday 6 June.

Leg Six Finishing Order Galway
1. Ericsson 4: 8 points
2. PUMA: 7 points
3. Green Dragon: 6 points
4. Telefónica Blue: 5 points
5. Delta Lloyd: 4 points
6. Telefónica Black: 3 points
7. Ericsson 3: 2 points

Overall Leaderboard (Provisional)
1. Ericsson 4 (Torben Grael/BRA) 92.0 points (FINISHED)
2. Telefónica Blue (Bouwe Bekking/NED) 77.5 points (FINISHED)
3. PUMA (Ken Read/USA) 76.0 points (FINISHED)
4. Ericsson 3 (Magnus Olsson/SWE) 60.0 points (FINISHED)
5. Green Dragon (Ian Walker/GBR) 52.0 points (FINISHED)
6. Telefónica Black (Fernando Echávarri/ESP) 36.0 points (FINISHED)
7. Delta Lloyd (Roberto Bermúdez/ESP) 29.5 points (FINISHED)
8. Team Russia 10.5 points (DNS)

Scoring Gate Order
1. Telefónica Blue
2. PUMA
3. Ericsson 4
4. Ericsson 3
5. Telefónica Black
6. Delta Lloyd
7. Green Dragon

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Dave Kneale/Volvo Ocean Race Ericsson 4, skippered by Torben Grael (BRA) finish first on leg 7 from Boston to Galway, crossing the line at 00:54: 22 GMT 24/05/09

Sally Collison/PUMA Ocean Racing PUMA Ocean Racing, skippered by Ken Read (USA) finish second on leg 7 from Boston to Galway, crossing the line at 02:19: 56 GMT 24/05/09

Rick Tomlinson/Volvo Ocean Race. Green Dragon, skippered by Ian Walker (GBR) finish third on leg 7 from Boston to Galway, crossing the line at 02:31:18 GMT 24/05/09

Dave Kneale/Volvo Ocean Race Delta Lloyd, skippered by Roberto Bermudez (ESP) finish fifth on leg 7 from Boston to Galway, crossing the line at 03:39:58 GMT 24/05/09

Dave Kneale/Volvo Ocean Race Green Dragon, skippered by Ian Walker (GBR) finish third on leg 7 from Boston to Galway, crossing the line at 02:31:18 GMT 24/05/09