VOR: ERICSSON 3 LEG SIX DAY 16 QFB: received 26.04.09 1031 GMT

by Aksel Magdahl (navigator)

Not too much was decided in the ‘decisive gybe’ a couple of days ago. It made it more difficult for some and easier for others, but since then we have had lots of opportunities:

Big breeze, significant wind shifts, strong current around the Gulf Stream and no wind before the exclusion zone.

Now, we have almost parked at the NW corner of that zone. And the forecast for the coastal sailing today does not look too promising for those teams who are happy with their position, with opportunity for another game-opener in the end. Basically, in these light conditions, it is always so variable that it is possible for boats to sail around each others.

We sailed within throwing distance of Ericsson 4 today. Back to two boat testing, except this time testing ended early as they did an ‘horizon job’ on us in a couple of hours. And Puma and Telefónica Blue got inside our horizon from behind. We were missing our downwind sail that we sailed over a few days ago. I don't have words that can describe how disappointing that was. And still is; we may get use for it again before the finish. It does not make it easy for us to sail with a handicap against these strong teams.

Onboard it is very intense; there are lots of points and glory to gain in a short time. We do not want to give away a single boat length. The wish to win releases an extreme amount of energy, so we are able to do much more than normal. And the expectations to our performance are very high.

I think that every mistake we make may cost us a placing, and I do not want to be at the finish knowing that we could have done better without a small mistake. That is a terrible feeling, so better to do our absolute maximum out here.

Now we have Ericsson 4, Puma and Telefónica Blue within sight again...

Volvo Ocean Race