Sport-heute: Sailing - GREEN DRAGON ARRIVES IN HOME PORT OF QINGDAO AFTER A BATTERING EN ROUTE

31. Januar 2009, 18:36

GREEN DRAGON ARRIVES IN HOME PORT OF QINGDAO AFTER A BATTERING EN ROUTE

Against all odds, Ian Walker/GBR has brought Green Dragon safely into their Chinese home port of Qingdao, to complete leg four of the Volvo Ocean Race and earn five points, bringing their overall tally to 27.5 points.

VOLVO OCEAN RACE 2009, 31.1.09 (mk) After 13 days at sea, the team finally crossed the finish at 12:42 GMT (20:42 LT) to a huge welcome from their Chinese home crowd. There were over 500 Chinese drummers lining the dock and hundreds of Green Dragon fans, all waiting to catch a glimpse of the crew and their local sailor Guo Chuan's arrival.

Although this leg has been a war of attrition for Green Dragon and others in the seven-boat fleet, skipper Ian Walker has always said that he and his team would keep fighting until there were no other options. 'It is amazing to reach Qingdao and what a reception!' said Walker. 'When we broke the boat and turned around, I am so proud of what the crew did and they allowed us to nurse the boat up here. We sailed very carefully nowhere near 100% but I said whatever happened we had to get to Qingdao. So it is great we are here and I kept my promise to everyone.'

Walker was full of praise for Guo Chuan/CHN, the Green Dragon's Media Crew Member. 'Guo has been a real rock. He has only been home once since starting with us. He has been so dedicated to the team so I am very happy to get him here to meet his family and friends in his hometown. He steered for the last hour and over the line, which was the least we could do. It was the best moment of the day.'

The jubilant Navigator Ian Moore/GBR added, 'My high point was definitely getting here and realising we made it. We thought our boat was tough but going upwind in these boats is so hard on them. We knew we were not the fastest upwind but we thought we could push hard and then we broke the boat. It would have been so easy not to make it here but we are and it is amazing. The repair they have done onboard is just incredible. There are eleven guys on this boat who can all look each other in the face and we all have a shared experience.'

Ian Walker and his crew were in fourth place and sailing in 17 knots of breeze upwind with a short, choppy sea, when the boat suffered a broken forestay, a crucial part of the rigging. Only quick reactions by the crew prevented the loss of the mast.

This was a bitter disappointment for the team, just as they were fighting to be back up with the leaders.

They nursed the damaged rig as best they could until, on day seven, a severe storm reaped havoc in the fleet. Green Dragon was, once again, a victim. This time, the boat had structural damage to the forward ring frame and Walker steered the boat for a safe haven in order to try to make a repair. They were not alone. The crew of Delta Lloyd (Roberto Bérmudez/ESP) were also licking their wounds in the same, sheltered bay on the western side of the Philippine Island, Luzon.

The crew made a huge effort to shore up the damaged ring frame, and set off towards the notorious Luzon Strait the following day. 'We are expecting a tortuous trip, where will have to balance preserving the boat with our makeshift repairs, against getting to Qingdao as quickly as possible,' wrote Walker as they left.

The team proceeded very carefully out into an angry head sea, but it wasn't long before Walker and watch captain Neal McDonald/GBR heard two, dreaded, cracks. 'The repair had held firm, but the bulkhead had let go either side of it,' Walker explained. They were 38nm south of Taiwan at the time, but made the decision to continue, nursing the boat as best they could.

Conditions eased by day 11, 28 January, and the Dragons found themselves sailing faster towards Qingdao than at any time in the leg. 'We feel we have escaped the worst,' wrote Walker, 'but we are not resting on our laurels.'

The team made it across to mainland China on day 12 in their crippled boat, and began the business of dodging the fish traps and commercial shipping that litter the East China seas. The rest, as they say, is history.

Leg Four Finishing Order Qingdao
1. Telefónica Blue ESP (Bouwe Bekking/NED) 8 points
2. PUMA (Ken Read/USA) 7 points
3. Ericsson 4 (Torben Grael) 6 points
4. Green Dragon (Ian Walker) 5 points

Overall Leaderboard (Provisional)
Ericsson 4: 45 points (FINISHED)
Telefónica Blue: 41.5 points (FINISHED)
PUMA: 38 points (FINISHED)
Green Dragon: 27.5
(FINISHED)

Teams that have suspended or retired from this leg will be assigned points by the race committee at a later date.

Ericsson 3: SUS
Delta Lloyd: SUS
Telefónica Black: DNF
Team Russia: DNS

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GREEN DRAGON LEG FOUR DAY 14 QFB; received 31.01.09 0721 GMT

We
are coming into Guo's (Guo Chuan - MCM) home town of Qingdao. After everything we have been through on this leg it looks like we are going to make it to Qingdao. We now have only 35 miles to go and a gentle seven knot wind that, knowing our luck, will probably die away to nothing soon!

It's been a funny leg that has been as much about survival as racing. The conditions have been bad but no worse than one might have expected in this part of the world at this time of year. These boats are brutal upwind and it is a very fine line between sailing safely and structural failure.

I am delighted to have got through this and with a boat that I think is reasonably intact. We have a broken forestay that could have cost us our mast and one broken bulkhead that we have been nursing but I am hoping there is no delamination in the hull. I have my team to thank for getting us here, not least Tom Braidwood and Neal McDonald and all their helpers for a fantastic repair job in the bow. Everybody has played a part and now we will hand over our boat to the rest of the team ashore. They have some long days and nights ahead of them to get everything checked, serviced and fixed for the in-port race next week and the start of leg five.

I can't wait to get to the dock as I am sure a tremendous Chinese welcome awaits the Green Dragon - I only hope for everyone that it is not at three in the morning. Qingdao is a real milestone for this team as this is the region where our Chinese sponsors are based and China is of course where the boat was built.

For Guo Chuan, our Chinese crew member who is the first Asian person to ever sail in the Volvo Race, this will be an even more special moment. Since the partnership with the Chinese began in June, Guo has lived and trained with the team, only once returning to China to get more visas!

Qingdao is his hometown and I cannot wait to let him steer the Green Dragon into the dock. Guo's contribution has been great - I cannot imagine how hard it must have been to live for so long in such a tight space with people from a different culture entirely. Guo you are a top man and our battle to Qingdao was as much for you as anyone else. You deserve this moment.

Ian Walker - skipper

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Guo Chuan/Green Dragon Racing/Volvo Ocean Race Andrew McLean onboard Green Dragon, on leg 4 of the Volvo Ocean Race, from Singapore to Qingdao, China

Guo Chuan/Green Dragon Racing/Volvo Ocean Race (l-r) Ian Budgen and Tom Braidwood, onboard Green Dragon, on leg 4 of the Volvo Ocean Race, from Singapore to Qingdao, China

30JAN09. PUMA Ocean Racing's Il Mostro is lifted out of the water in Qingdao. The shore crew will work on the boat in readiness for the in port race and the next leg to Rio de Janeiro.

30JAN09. PUMA Ocean Racing's Il Mostro is lifted out of the water in Qingdao. The shore crew will work on the boat in readiness for the in port race and the next leg to Rio de Janeiro.

30JAN09. PUMA Ocean Racing's Il Mostro is lifted out of the water in Qingdao. The shore crew will work on the boat in readiness for the in port race and the next leg to Rio de Janeiro.

Rick Tomlinson/Volvo Ocean Race Qingdao - China. Ericsson 4 is lifted out for repairs and maintanance in Qingdao, the boat will be housed in a purpose built heated building for repairs as the outside temperature is around 0 degrees