Wave in the cockpit of Green Dragon. Image copyright Guo Chan/Green Dragon Racing.
by Lucy Harwood
There is some relief across the fleet after the wind shifted to the north west this weekend and the downwind conditions have begun once again. The big move by Ericsson 3 on Friday has meant a jackpot for them as they have extended from the fleet and now hold a rather comfortable 200 mile lead over their nearest competitor, their own sister ship Ericsson 4. PUMA are also chasing hard less than 20 miles to the stern of Ericsson 4 as they both try and hold onto the low pressure system and stay within some touching distance of the young Nordic crew.
On board the Dragon they are hatching a new plan and have stayed south, along with the wounded Telefonica Blue, as they try to hook into the new low pressure system which is building in the south.
The move to stay on a more northerly route, was a gamble compared to the more traditional southerly routes but it has paid dividends for the young crew onboard Ericsson 3 and the fleet are all in agreement that the navigator’s decision was a great one.
After the next ice gate, the teams will be lining up to round one of the most famous landmarks in sailing history, Cape Horn. But all of the crews had hoped to be closer to Horn than they are at the present time. The predicted 30 day leg, is looking more like a 40 plus day one.
Leg Five Day 24: 1300 GMT Volvo Ocean Race Positions
(boat name/country/skipper/nationality/distance to finish)
Ericsson 3 SWE (Magnus Olsson/SWE) DTF 5,227 nm
PUMA Racing Team USA (Ken Read/USA) +208
Ericsson 4 SWE (Torben Grael/BRA) +222
Green Dragon IRL/CHI (Ian Walker/GBR) +346
Telefónica Blue ESP (Bouwe Bekking/NED) +499
Delta Lloyd IRL (Roberto Bermudez/ESP) DNS
Telefónica Black ESP (Fernando Echávarri/ESP) DNS
Team Russia RUS (Andreas Hanakamp/AUT) DNS
Green Dragon Racing
Volvo Ocean Race
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