Sport-heute: Sailing - Ericcson 4 und Puma segeln davon!

18. Februar 2009, 22:56

Ericcson 4 und Puma segeln davon!

Nur 4 Meilen voneinander getrennt, sind die Yachten von Ericcson 4 und Puma. Dahinter öffnet sich bereits ein grosses Tor. Ericcson 3 folt schon mit 142 Meilen Abstand und Grenn Dragon liegt 207 Meilen zurück. Telefonica Blue segelt gut, ja sehr gut. Der Abstand mit 284 Meilen bleibt mit 19 Stunden Startverspätung im Rahmen.

VOLVO OCEAN RACE 2009, 18.2.09 (mk) Originalberichte direkt von den Yachten

A FLAT OUT DRAG RACE

Fast, warm reaching is on offer today for the five-boat Volvo Ocean Race fleet as it races on through the Pacific Ocean on leg five, the longest leg of the course at 12,300 nm.

Ken Read is delighted that PUMA is able to keep in touch with race leader Ericsson 4 (Torben Grael/USA), who is known to excel in fast reaching conditions. PUMA is only four miles behind Ericsson 4, making up four miles in the last 24-hours, and the pair is beginning to open up a substantial lead over the chasing three.

Ericsson 3 (Magnus Olsson/SWE) is a safe 142 nm astern of Ericsson 4. Although they have added 63 nm to their deficit since 1300 GMT yesterday, it is still good enough for third place. In spite of the loss of miles to the leader, the atmosphere onboard is one of high spirits, as the team presses the boat as hard as they can. The wind has been shifty and Gustav Morin MCM reports that it has been difficult to keep good speed and make the right choice of sails. 'We have between 10 - 20 knots of wind and the angle has constantly been going back and forth from 30 to 55 degrees,' he said.

The two new crewmembers onboard Ericsson 3, Norwegian Arve Roaas and Sweden's Magnus Woxen are blending well with the old crew and are enjoying racing the latest generation of Volvo Open 70. They are beginning to feel more comfortable about housekeeping rules such as knowing where to put their boots and socks while sleeping, and how to fit into a sleeping bag and climb up into a bunk, which has only 20cm headroom.

For Ian Walker's Green Dragon, it has been a tough 24-hours and the team has paid a high price for its northerly position. They are now 207 nm adrift of the leading pair losing a further 82 nm in the past 24-hours. 'We didn't mean to be quite so far north, but we had a long period of light and lifted winds two days ago, that ushered us north,' explained Ian Walker. He said that the crew was very philosophical about the miles lost and that his team's game plan of sailing, what they believe is the right way irrespective of other boats, will not change.

Late starter, Telefónica Blue (Bouwe Bekking/NED) still has plenty of catching up to do. 'We are slowly coming into better breeze, so we may be able to stop the bleeding soon, but we still aren't seeing any major passing lanes,' explained navigator Tom Addis.

Although the last few days of sailing may not have offered an opportunity for tactical decisions, at least the miles are clicking down. The wind will steadily head the fleet, which will slowly curve down to the south to pick up the southeast trade winds. Onboard PUMA, the goal is to meet up with the trade winds far enough to the east to prevent the boat from being hard on the wind. They will also try to position themselves to the east of some light air near the doldrums.

As the temperatures rise, shoes are being swapped for boots, thermals for shorts; and sun cream and sunglasses are making their first appearance. Life onboard the racing yachts has settled down after the first bumpy 36-hours. Speeds hover between the 16 - 18 knot mark and the fastest 24-hour run belongs to PUMA at 442 nm, although Ericsson 4 has recorded a maximum boat speed of 26 knots.

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

Ericsson 4 SWE (Torben Grael/BRA) DTF 10886 nm
PUMA Racing Team USA (Ken Read/USA) +4
Ericsson 3 SWE (Magnus Olsson/SWE) +142
Green Dragon IRL/CHN (Ian Walker/GBR) +207
Telefónica Blue ESP (Bouwe Bekking/NED) +284

Delta Lloyd IRL (Roberto Bermudez/ESP) DNS
Telefónica Black ESP (Fernando EchÃ¡varri/ESP) DNS
Team Russia RUS (Andreas Hanakamp/AUT) DNS

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ERICSSON 3 LEG FIVE DAY 5 QFB: received 18.02.09 1012 GMT

There is good mood among the guys. Everyone is joking, telling stories and laughing while we are trying to make the boat go as fast as possible. This is the seventh day at sea for the guys who sailed the boat from Taiwan. The new guys, Magnus 'Bagi' Woxen and Arve Roaas, have been blending in well with the old crew.

Arve sailed the race with the Norwegian syndicate Djuice 2001-02 with the VO60s. And he is thrilled about the new boats.

'The VO 70s are better in every way. They are a lot quicker and actually a bit drier, under deck that is' And if the swing keel system is as reliable as I hear it is, it's a lot better than the water ballast system.'

Magnus Woxen, 38, is one of the most experienced ocean sailors of his age in Sweden with experience from the three latest Ocean races. Just after a couple of hours sailing with us he was amazed with the differences between the old VO 70 and this one.

'It's a complete different boat, so much quicker and more controllable.'

How does it feel to join the race so late and for the longest leg?

'I have been keen on doing this leg since I heard about it,' he says and continues:

'It includes everything, tropic conditions, Southern Ocean, Cape Horn and finish in Rio. Very challenging, of course, but fun. And it feels good to be on the Nordic boat. It very seldom happens that I can speak Swedish when I sail, so that is fun. I only knew two of the guys from before, but so far I like everyone and it feels great to be a part of this crew.'

Arve Roaas adds:

'Yeah, I feel the same. There is a good spirit in this crew and I feel I am blending in quickly. Also I start to get a good feeling on how to handle the boat and I get more confident with it every day.'

Today the sun is shining and the temperature is really comfortable. But the wind has been very shifty and it's been tricky to keep good speed and making the right choice of sails. We have between 10 and 20 knots of wind and the angle has constantly been going back and forth from 30 to 55 degrees

Obviously the other boats are in the same situation. The results we see on the scheds are a lot up and down.

Everyone is pretty happy about having less wind and warmer air and water. We have been punched around pretty hard in the cockpit the last couple of days and everyone is a bit bruised. Some have twisted their knees and ankles and hit their ribs, but nothing really serious.

'It has really been an inferno of water,' Arve Roaas says. 'But my body is now getting use to this environment. I am also starting to get use to taking on and off the wet clothes, knowing were to put your boots and socks while sleeping and how to fit in to the sleeping bag and climb up in my b unk which has only 20 cm to the roof. It feels like we have a good setup for making a good result to Rio. We seem to have alright food and fortunately a lot of snus,' he ends, laughing.

Gustav Morin - MCM

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ERICSSON 4 LEG FIVE DAY 5 QFB: received 18.02.09 1125 GMT

Ahoy from Ericsson 4

Dry-out time aboard today. The temperature has really made a change for the better and this afternoon has been a great opportunity to pack up the double layer sleeping bags and mattresses. It's also been nice to see all the condensation moisture that forms throughout the boat start to evaporate away. It's still high speed and crashing waves on deck, but the warm water and relatively dry interior make life so much more pleasant aboard the mighty Ericsson 4.

Racing-wise, things are going really well. The boat loves these reaching conditions and with every sched we gradually build our lead over the chasing Il Mostro. Our team mates aboard Ericsson 3 have done a top job getting back into the race after a late start and it's a great reflection on the skills of our shore crew that that boat is up and racing at 100% so quickly and that Ericsson 4 is so well prepared that we can be pushing at the front of the fleet in what, at times, have been pretty full conditions.

There is already some talk of bets on when we will round Cape Horn, but with 11000nm still to go to the finish, I think I might hold off a while yet before making my call.

I hope all the families and shore guys got home alright and perhaps even get some time to relax and enjoy the break from Volvo life.

Ryan Godfrey - bowman

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PUMA LEG FIVE DAY 5 QFB: received 18.02.09 1006 GMT

When we started this journey Sidney Gavignet promised me that we would do some phenomenal sailing that I would remember for the rest of my life. Clearly the last two days were the ones he was describing. Fast, warm reaching down the Pacific. A little moist on deck, but a little water is always involved when you mention the word fast.

As for the race itself, we are pretty pleased at this point to be holding on to Ericsson 4 in conditions they have excelled in on past legs, and we are constantly stretching on the rest of the pack. And it really has been a flat out drag race. All of this ocean to choose from and the five boats are essentially travelling down very similar paths. The goal is to meet up with the easterly trades far enough to the east so we aren't hard on the wind. Also, we will try to position ourselves to the east of some light air near the doldrums.

Hopefully we will make it though the dreaded doldrums a little more unscathed this time. So far, as Jochen Zeitz (the head of PUMA) pointed out, we are pretty much 0-2 while trying to get through the dreaded doldrums. Since we have two more passages though there we are trying in vain to even the score.

As Jochen said "I hate the doldrums!" Believe me Jochen, when I say that every sailor out here shares your sentiments exactly.

Life onboard has really settled in and fortunately some of the bumps and bruises that were received by a few of the boys in the first 36 hours are healing up. Doesn't look like anything terminal. Clearly Kirby's (Jerry Kirby/USA) storytelling hasn't taken a hit. Shannon Falcone has taken a breather in order for Jerry to hop back on board for this leg. As Jerry's wife Kim knows, the peace and quiet on board is now gone and Jerry can be heard laughing and bringing up another story pretty much at all hours of the day.

Don't tell him I said this, but he is the perfect guy for a leg like this. Believe me, there is never a dull moment with Mr Kirby around. And he actually knows when to take things serious as well. Something that I think it has taken all of his years to learn!

Tonight, the train may come to a halt as we run into some lighter air later and then the trades start up at a tighter angle. Still some nice sailing but not quite the bullet train that we are riding now. Plenty more to come.

Kenny Read - skipper

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TELEFÓNICA BLUE LEG FIVE DAY 5 QFB: received 18.02.09 1052 GMT

Hi there,

When someone shook me awake this morning I was suddenly filled with optimism that we may have a sunny day ahead of us, however, by the time I had pulled my wet weather gear on, dragged all the stack forward downstairs to compensate for the ever- lightening wind and forced down some breakfast, the sun had once again disappeared and the light was flat and grey once again.

This has been the story for the last few days, grey, overcast with little life around us. Every now and then we see a ship in the distance and this morning we sighted the first bird for several days. Even the flying fish seem to be scarce in this part of the Pacific.

With so much sailing on the same angle in similar conditions you could easily think it's Groundhog Day! This is the way it looks to continue for the next few days at least. Reaching, reaching, reaching.... The wind will steadily head us and we will slowly curve down to the south to pick up the trades to take us south.

Despite a slight feeling of monotony amongst the crew, everything onboard is going well. The cuisine is as good as ever, with Spanish jambon, Italian parmesan and even a few fresh oranges are a treat to the palette with while stocks last! Conditions are now also much warmer so the thermal clothing is slowly being peeled away. The only bad things we have to deal with at the moment are a few people's smelly feet! So bad in fact that Jono (Jonathan Swain/RSA) was moving around downstairs wearing a ski mask on his face! The worry is, if the smell is this bad now, what are we going to do in 30 days!!

For me now it's lunch time, then sleep and the owners of the smelly feet are on deck so I best get to s leep before they return!!

Cheers,

Simon Fisher -
strategist/helmsman

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