Looking out towards Green Dragon, onboard Telefonica Blue, on leg 6 of the Volvo Ocean Race, from Rio de Janeiro to Boston. Image copyright Gabriele Olivo/Telefonica Blue/Volvo Ocean Race.
by Simon Fisher (helmsman)
Rio has been good to us, good for relaxing, good for eating and, consequently, good for putting on all the lost weight from leg five! However, despite being back to the freeze dried once more, it is great to be back on the water once again.
The first 24 hours of the race has been pretty much as expected - light and tricky! It has been a game of snakes and ladders and overnight we have had plenty of both! We have been up and down the fleet several times but fortunately the balance of things has been in our favour and we are hanging onto a lead with Green Dragon just behind us.
As usual though there is no time to relax and with night approaching once more we must brace ourselves for more trickiness ahead. This stretch of coastline is often littered with clouds and calms that could easily turn the fleet inside out so until we are safely in the trades we will no doubt be looking over our shoulders...
We spent much of the night creeping along the coast line, close enough to hear the roar of the breaking waves smashing onto the beach. The sea state has been pretty bad as a result and this has made things all the more challenging. However, we have since cleared Cabo Frio and worked our way offshore out into more open ocean and thankfully flatter water which not only improves boat speed but makes life a little more comfy too!
So, all in all no complaints here on Telefónica Blue, it is great to be racing again, good to be back in the hunt and I think we are all looking forward to the days ahead!
Volvo Ocean Race
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