Ericsson 4, skippered by Torben Grael (BRA) at the start of leg 7 from Boston to Galway. Image copyright Guy Salter/Ericsson 4/Volvo Ocean Race.
by Ryan Godfrey (bowman)
Well here we go for a busy night ahead. The first five Volvo 70s are all with in a few miles of each other and there is only 170 miles to the scoring gate. With virtually no difference in boat speed between each team, the race to the gate is sure to be a tight fight.
The dense fog is also stopping any visibility of the opposition, making any effort to cover the yachts astern near impossible. Hopefully the good ship Ericsson 4 will come good for us at the right time, as she has done time and time again, and we will collect some of the ever increasingly important race points. I expect little sleep tonight as we push hard towards the line.
The temperature both on deck and below is seriously chilly now and everyone has emptied their crew bags of any extra thermals and layered up in an attempt to keep warm. Unfortunately for myself, my sea boats have already become wet inside so it looks like a week of cold, damp feet ahead. I guess on the upside, a week doesn’t seem like too long at sea any more.
We passed close by a huge whale this afternoon which made a magestical sight with the low, heavy fog and glassy ocean. Shame Nipper (Guy Salter MCM) wasn’t ready with his camera as the whale soon disappeared into the deep upon sensing our presence.
Hopefully we will be able to report some good news tomorrow.
Volvo Ocean Race
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