Wednesday, 29 April 2009

VOR: ERICSSON 3 LEG SIX DAY 13 QFB: received 23.04.09 1146 GMT

by Gustav Morin

The hopes have changed a lot for us since the start of the race. We have gone from rookies in this race to actually winning the longest leg in its history.

Of course we are still very humble and of course we know that we have a lot more to learn, but once you have done well you want to do it again and again and when the results don't come, times get tougher.

For a couple of days we were racing our sistership Ericsson 4, side by side, gaining one sched and losing the next for days and days. After the scoring gate they had a small lead but we managed to catch up and started the cat and mouse race.

Yesterday they got a small edge on us and slipped away a couple of miles. We couldn't do much, other than checking everything was ok with the boat and just struggle on. It is pretty frustrating when you have had the same speed for days and then suddenly one boat starts to go a touch faster. But we are keeping the mood up.

Magnus Olsson is up and running and doing what he can to keep the spirits high and he helps with helming in the manoeuvres.

We are now getting close to what can be a crucial part of the leg. We have been sailing on starboard since the scoring gate and we are just about to gybe. We will soon after that get into colder water and we are expecting even more breeze. We have been sailing steadily over 20 knots the last 24 hours and now we are preparing for a last hard battle.

Volvo Ocean Race

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