Sport-heute: Sailing - ERICSSON 4 SETS NEW RECORD - ERICSSON 4 BREAKS THROUGH 600-NAUTICAL MILE BARRIER

30. Oktober 2008, 10:26

ERICSSON 4 SETS NEW RECORD - ERICSSON 4 BREAKS THROUGH 600-NAUTICAL MILE BARRIER

GREEN DRAGON LEG ONE DAY 18 QFB: Received 28.10.08 2059 GMT

ERICSSON 4 BREAKS THROUGH 600-NAUTICAL MILE BARRIER

Tonight at 1854 GMT, Ericsson 4 (Torben Grael/BRA) broke through the magic 600 nm barrier, when she extended her historic 24-hour run to reach 602.66 nm, however, as with all sailing records, the exact distance will have to ratified by the World Sailing Speed Record Council before it can be made official.

At 1310 GMT today, Ericsson 4 (Torben Grael/BRA) obliterated the 24-hour record run for a monohull when the team recorded a run of 593.23 nautical miles.

The previous record (562.96 nm) was set by ABN AMRO TWO/Sebastian Josse/FRA during leg two of the previous Volvo Ocean Race in 2006. The new mark is subject to ratification by the World Sailing Speed Record Council.
PUMA (Ken Read/USA), in second place, has covered 561 nm, just short of ABN AMRO TWO's record. The new mark translates into an incredible average speed of 24.71 knots in conditions not best suited for a record-setting run.

International Ocen (mk) Skipper Torben Grael and his crew have been pushing the boat hard all night, first eclipsing the previous mark at 0355 GMT. They have been adding to the record since then, although the current 30 knots of wind is likely to ease.

'It is a great achievement, but we were not really looking for it,' said Grael in a radio interview this morning. 'What we were looking for was a good ride on this weather system, and to stay in it as long as possible.'

Grael said: 'We are doing 30 knots of boat speed. The wind is around 28 - 32 knots but the waves (around eight metres) are not very good for us. Conditions are marginal. I think we have been pretty much on the edge. Perhaps if we had a better sea state, we might be able to go faster, but it is hard to go faster with waves like this.'

This will be the third time that Juan Kouyoumdjian has produced a record-breaking design. The Argentinean was responsible for drawing the lines of the two ABN AMRO boats both of whom held the record in the previous edition of the race, as well as the current Ericsson 4.

For some days now the teams have been anticipating the possibility of a record-breaking run as they ride the current weather system, but concern over damage has led some to back off a little bit.

Simon Fisher, navigator of Telefónica Blue (Bouwe Bekking/NED) paid tribute to Grael and the crew of Ericsson 4. Fisher was the navigator on ABN AMRO TWO when it set the previous record.

'We have been way too close to the edge too early and, consequently, had to throttle back whilst watching the leaders streaking off into the sunset with a new 24 hour record,' Fisher wrote this morning. 'Each position report has had the same frustrating story - more lost miles to the leaders. However at the same time it has been hard not to smile a little when you see the pace that Ericsson 4 has laid down. Deeply, deeply impressive to say the least. It is a shame to see our old record from ABN AMRO TWO go, but, at the same time, these things are made to be broken and those boys are certainly doing it with style.'

Last night, Ian Walker/GBR, skipper of third-placed Green Dragon, and a newcomer to this race, wrote: 'This is insane. Thirty-five knots of wind, pitch black, 1500 miles from land and we are desperately trying to squeeze more speed from a boat that feels and sounds like it is going to self destruct any second.' The boat is currently sailing at around 29 knots.

From Team Russia (Andreas Hanakamp/AUT), navigator Wouter Verbraak says that on deck the spray-helmets are out and everybody on deck has their harness clipped on. 'Below decks we are desperately trying to hang on in our bunks. The crashing, banging and squeaking of the rudders, the roaring of the water over the deck and the rushing of the water along the hull are just insane, and it is only when you put some music on your iPod that you can escape from this world of violence.' Both Team Russia and Delta Lloyd (Ger O'Rourke) have taken a dive south to reach the favourable westerlies.

At 1300 today, Ericsson 4 was positioned slightly north of PUMA with Green Dragon behind them. Further north still is Ericsson 3 (Anders's Lewander/SWE) with Telefónica Blue (Bouwe Bekking/NED) and Telefónica Black (Fernando EchÃ¡varri/ESP) behind and to windward.

Telefónica Black has ripped two sails, which according to MCM Mikel Pasabant, made last night even harder, but the team was cheered to see their first Albatross, considered to be a good omen.

'Let's see what happens. He is a magic bird, the way he flies, without moving a single feather, effortless' amazing,' described Pasabant.

Leg One Day 19: 1315 GMT Volvo Ocean Race Positions
(boat name/country/skipper/nationality/distance to leader)

Ericsson 4 SWE (Torben Grael/BRA) DTF 1694
PUMA Racing Team USA (Ken Read/USA) +34
Green Dragon IRL/CHN (Ian Walker/GBR) +76
Ericsson 3 SWE (Anders Lewander/SWE) +113
Telefónica Blue ESP (Bouwe Bekking/NED) +145
Telefónica Black ESP (Fernando EchÃ¡varri/ESP) +155
Delta Lloyd IRL (Ger O'Rourke/IRL) +315
Team Russia RUS (Andreas Hanakamp/AUT) +337

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'This is insane - 35 knots of wind, pitch black, 1500 miles from land and we are desperately trying to squeeze more speed from a boat that feels and sounds like it is going to self destruct any second. We have to push hard to stay ahead of the front.'

Ian Walker - skipper

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GREEN DRAGON LEG ONE DAY 19 QFB: received 29.10.08 1433 GMT

Hats off to E 4 for a storming 24 hours. By my calculations they can't be far off 600 miles. We have just about been able to match them when we have had a steady 3 hours but sail changes, reefing and backing off at night has kept our 24 hour mileage in check. We must be somewhere near the old record but nobody will speak of that anymore.

More importantly we have been able thus far to stay ahead of the front, but we have had to head further north than we would like to do. We are starting to see the effect of 'stepping off the train' on Delta Lloyd and Team Russia and we want to delay that as long as we can. Sooner or later it will happen to us but the faster we go the later it will be. We are now directly east of our closest competitors for 3rd place so they should suffer first.

Life on deck is very wet and the occasional nosedives have meant a few bangs and bruises. Everyone is bearing up well but tonight will be a long night.
God only knows how the boat puts up with the stresses we put on it but apart from the usual disintegration of the head we are in good shape.

Ian Walker - skipper

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TELEFÓNICA BLUE LEG ONE DAY 19 QFB: received 29 October 0805GMT

It's been a tough 24 hours since the breeze arrived here on Telefónica Blue. To say this thing is a bit of a handful in the breeze would be a major understatement. If Ringo Starr wanted some new inspiration for another Submarine song, it's right here.

We have been way too close to the edge too early and consequently had to throttle back whilst watching the leaders streaking of into the sunset with a new 24 hour record. Whilst I think we would be a serious contender for the most water over the deck in the last 24 hours, it comes as little consolation. Having to watch the hard-fought miles slowly ebb away really hurts.

Each position report has had the same frustrating story - more lost miles to the leaders. However at the same time it has been hard not to smile a little when you see the pace that Ericsson 4 has laid down. Deeply, deeply impressive to say the least. It is a shame to see our old record from ABN AMRO TWO go, but at the same time these things are made to be broken and those boys are certainly doing it with style.

As for us the battle goes on, the guys on deck are doing a good job of trying to tame the beast in seriously difficult conditions and we are still fighting for every mile as we will continue to do so until we get across the finish.

Cheers,

Si Fi

Simon Fisher - navigator

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ERICSSON 3 LEG ONE DAY 19 QFB: received 29.10.08 1616 GMT

"The worst watch of my life." It takes quite a lot to hear those words from a guy like Richard Mason who has done two Volvo Ocean Races before and a huge amount of other yachting. But this morning, when he stumbled down the hatch at eight, he said it. "We were in a squall for four hours and it was pitch black, absolutely no visibility at all. I couldn't see the waves and no horizon and we had everything from 19 to 46 knots of wind, he says, catches his breath and continues:

"Going with the chute up in that much breeze on one of these boats, when you can't see a thing, is as terrifying as it gets. It is usually pretty easy when the breeze is steady but it just doesn't get any harder than it was tonight. The guys did a great job to get the boat and ourselves through it in one piece."

Was there an option to take the gennaker down?

"To be honest we were caught with our pants down. There was never a chance to get the damn thing off! It was pretty much survive or die! And, we survived."

Gustav Morin - MCM

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ERICSSON 4 BREAKS THROUGH 600-NAUTICAL MILE BARRIER

Tonight at 1854 GMT, Ericsson 4 (Torben Grael/BRA) broke through the magic 600 nm barrier, when she extended her historic 24-hour run to reach 602.66 nm, however, as with all sailing records, the exact distance will have to ratified by the World Sailing Speed Record Council before it can be made official.

Grael and his crew, which is one man short since Tony Mutter was taken off the boat at the Cape Verde islands last week with an infected knee, have been pushing the boat hard for well over 24 hours. They first toppled the record of 562.96 nm set by Sebastian Josse and the crew of ABN AMRO TWO in the 2005-06 Volvo Ocean Race at 0355 GMT this morning with a run of 566.57nm. They raised the bar repeatedly and, by 1300 GMT, 593 miles were on the board as the magical 600-mark grew nearer. By 1425 GMT, they had clocked 594.23nm as they moved onwards and upwards.

Guy Salter, MCM onboard Ericsson 4 said tonight, 'It's not everyday you get to have a ride as we have had over the past day or so. To get a new 24-hour record has been superb, but the reality of that feat out here hasn't really sunk in. We know we have a record but what is more on the fella's minds is getting to Cape Town and hopefully at the front of the pack, avoiding damage to ourselves and the yacht. All the boys look really drained - sleep is not the easiest on Ericsson 4 - I can only describe the motion as I would imagine re-entry on the space shuttle is like.'

Meanwhile, further back in the fleet, the westerly gale continued to whip up seas in excess of eight metres. Sailing at around 25 knots, Telefónica Black (Fernando EchÃ¡varri/ESP) launched off a particularly large wave, momentarily lost control of the boat and crash landed only to find that one of the rudders had sheared off and part of a daggerboard and the bowsprit were gone. None of the crew was injured and the damage to the yacht was quickly assessed. The crew has mounted an emergency rudder and are continuing on course to Cape Town, albeit rather more slowly.

Telefónica Syndicate Head, Pedro Campos, said that the safety of the crew was the first priority and reported that all are well and unhurt. He confirmed that the damage to the yacht was not thought to be structural in any way but, understandably, the crew is very disappointed to have to nurse the yacht into Cape Town. He praised the crew for their professionalism and the seamanlike manner in which they dealt with the situation.

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ERICSSON 4 LEG ONE DAY 19 QFB: received 29.10.08 2113 GMT

What a day!

It's not every day you get to have a ride as we have had over the past day or so, and to get a new 24 hour record has been superb, but the reality of that feat out here hasnt really sunk in. We know we have a record but what is more on the fella's minds is getting to Cape Town and hopefully at the front of the pack, avoiding damage to ourselves and the yacht.

All the boys look really drained - sleep is not the easiest on E4, I can only describe the motion as I would imagine re-entry on the Space shuttle is like. Everything is bouncing - including every cell in our bodies and the mundane tasks are near impossible.

On deck the boat is surrounded in a ball of spray. I wonder how we don't show signs of secondary drowning. The waves arrive very frequently and hard. Everyone is clipped on but you still need to brace and hold on tight. Tere is tons of water passing over deck every minute, sometimes knee-deep as it pours over and back from where it came. Your eyes sting and become red from the salt water, or you wear a helmet or visor, these help but don't cure.

Down below is harder, so your best off in the bunk, for your own safety and some well earned rest.
The boat is screaming from the speed - and loud. I'm sure that there would be something in the laws of combat about this sound torture - ear plugs are essential, but your ears still ring.

Cooking is nearly impossible but important, it would make a great test in the 'Generation Game' tv show. You have to traverse around the boat using as many points of contact as possible - the saying 'one hand for you, one hand for the boat' kind of goes out of the window as you need at least 2 hands for yourself. I find myself walking around in full primate fashion, with my arms swinging above my head in Gibbon style - I guess this is why being from the Isle Of Wight (island situated off the south coast of UK) has its advantages - after all we only came down from the trees in 1976!

The thought of our loved ones, some good food and maybe a beer pushes us closer to the finish line.

Guy Salter - MCM

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