Sport-heute: Sailing - GREEN DRAGON LEG FOUR DAY 11 QFB: received 28.01.09 0126 GMT

28. Januar 2009, 13:12

GREEN DRAGON LEG FOUR DAY 11 QFB: received 28.01.09 0126 GMT

Hi everyone,

Well we are still going, still making our way to Qingdao, slowly and safely, trying our very best not to hurt our little boat anymore.

VOLVO OCEAN RACE 2009, 28.1.09 (mk) TELEFÓNICA BLUE LEG FOUR DAY 10 QFB: received 28.01.09 0905

It has been a glamour day, sailing in blue skies and flat water. Most of the time we sailed with our code zero and staysail, but now have hoisted our big spinnaker and are still making good mileage to the finish.

TELEFÓNICA BLUE LEG FOUR DAY 10 QFB: receiveTELEFÓNICA BLUE LEG FOUR DAY 10 QFB: receiveWe have haven't lost much against the two boats behind us, but still not feeling very comfortable, as the models show hardly any wind for us at the finish, where the boats behind still have breeze. Thirty miles ahead sounds a lot, but this can get eaten up in no time when one is parking up. Remember the last leg, where Ericsson 4 had a healthy lead, and then they made a wrong choice and ended up without wind, and there we appeared, like sharks with no mercy.

So another night where our nerves will get a good test. I think it will become extremely cold tonight, the sun is starting to go down and you feel the temperature dropping rapidly, the water temperature is only 5 degrees. Brrrrr.

Pepe (Pepe Ribes/ESP) had an encounter with a wave on the foredeck, and you saw on his face how cold the water is feeling, his hands ended up numb for minutes. I think it will be the first time for most of the guys to sail in under zero degrees conditions, as that is for sure going to happen. In Holland everybody would become nervous if you had a day like this, as freezing temperature means ice will form to go skating. I hope I have time in Qingdao to find an outdoor ice rink. Having a bad back or not, it will be vitamins to do a couple of laps.

Back to the boat: Downstairs we have very manageable temperatures, we have the generator running non-stop to create some extra heat and good sleeping bags are doing their job. Jono (Jonathan Swain/RSA) got his birthday present but he was a bit disappointed when he saw it was chocolate, as we have plenty of that onboard for this leg.

We had today a good check through the entire interior and checked all the bondings of all the bulkheads and the big hull panels; nothing was noticeable which was a big relief. But we will have another good check once we are in the harbour by the real specialists, our shore crew.

So we have a long cold night ahead, luckily we get an update every three hours to see where the other two boats are, so at least we can try to cover them as best as possible. It is so simple, stay in between the finish and your opponents, piece of cake on paper, but I am sure we will have a bit on.

Cheers,

Bouwe Bekking - skipper

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PUMA LEG FOUR DAY 11 QFB: received 28.01.09 0738 GMT

It is amazing how short a human being's memory can be. Well, maybe just offshore sailors.

Today we are sailing in 12-15 knot easterlies, reaching right at Qingdao, with flat water and bright sunshine. It's a bit chilly. No need for ice cubes in the water that's for sure. But, it is beautiful, none the less. Spirits are incredibly high and there has been almost no mention of the wild scenes we have dealt with for the past week. In fact, I think that we all got our first good sleep in a week and it has made all the difference in the world. Life is good again for PUMA's il mostro team. Our short term memories have been wiped clean, but not so for some of our colleagues.

We have heard of the severity of the damage caused by the weather done to Delta Lloyd, Ericsson 3 and Telefónica Black, which caused them all to seek safe harbour. Thank goodness they all made it in with no further issues. Let's just hope that the damage is manageable so they can get back on the starting line soon. This race needs them all.

From a racing perspective, we reeled in Tele-Blue to about 30 miles from over 200 a couple of days ago, but my guess is that they have a plenty safe lead from here on out. Ericsson 4, on the other hand, is approximately 1.601 miles dead ahead (I have them on radar right in front of me). They were about 120 miles ahead a couple days ago. Here we are, in a drag race with them as usual. And given the severity of the weather and the different routes and even the fact that we all left the Philippines at completely different times, it is unbelievable to me that we are right next to each other again.

Tonight should be interesting. Hopefully we can create a passing lane with our buddies. There are some serious fishing nets out here that we have seen today - mostly unlit and unmarked. Don't be surprised if a fishing net helps determine the difference between second and third place. Oh yeah, and it will be a bit chilly tonight as well.

Finally, as I mentioned the cold earlier, we are really getting a bit of a reprieve for this time of year. Typically, we would still be going upwind here off of China, and that would be a lot colder than what we have now. This time last year the harbour was frozen where we are going, hopefully they won't be breaking up ice to get us in there. If that's the case this year, it would be the perfect ending to this leg!

Kenny Read - skipper

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GREEN DRAGON LEG FOUR DAY 11 QFB: received 28.01.09 0527 GMT

What a difference a day makes. Since we left the Philippines and managed to break Tommy's (Tom Braidwood/AUS) repair to the forward ring frame, we have been nursing the boat with three reefs and a storm jib, the other sails downstairs and the keel on centreline. Just occasionally we would find an area of flatter water and shake a reef out for a few hours. Inevitably, we would fall of a few big ones, get scared and reef again.

Now we have escaped the grips of the Kuroshio current and the sea, although not completely flat, is 'almost normal'. We have a stack on deck for the first time in five days, the keel is fully canted, and we are making almost 11 knots on course. It doesn't sound like much, but at times we have been slowing down to five or six knots just to keep the impacts down to an acceptable level. It feels like we are racing again.

Tommy and Neal (Neal McDonald/GBR) have further repaired the port side of the ring frame and, touch wood, it seems much stronger. We are still a wounded Dragon, and I shouldn't tempt fate, but for the first time in a while it feels like we might make it to Qingdao without have to stop again.

Ian Moore - navigator

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Gustav Morin/Ericsson 3/Volvo Ocean Race Ericsson 3 getting closer to the Taiwan coast on leg 4 of the Volvo Ocean Race, from Singapore to Qingdao, China

Gustav Morin/Ericsson 3/Volvo Ocean Race Watch Captian Richard Mason (NZL)

Guo Chuan/Green Dragon Racing/Volvo Ocean Race The Green Dragon crew brave the storms, on leg 4 of the Volvo Ocean Race, from Singapore to Qingdao, China

Guo Chuan/Green Dragon Racing/Volvo Ocean Race The Green Dragon crew brave the storms, on leg 4 of the Volvo Ocean Race, from Singapore to Qingdao, China

Dave Kneale/Volvo Ocean Race The official opening of the Volvo Ocean Race Qingdao Race Village. Welcoming speeches were given by Madam Zang, Executive Vice President of the Organizing Committee of the Volvo Ocean Race 08-09 Qingdao Stopover, and by Knut Frostad, CEO of the Volvo Ocean Race, before the celebrations began featuring fireworks, drumming and chinese lions.

GREEN DRAGON LEG FOUR DAY 11 QFB: received 28.01.09 0126 GMT

Hi everyone, Well we are still going, still making our way to Qingdao, slowly and safely, trying our very best not to hurt our little boat anymore.

Hi everyone,

Well we are still going, still making our way to Qingdao, slowly and safely, trying our very best not to hurt our little boat anymore.