Ericsson 4 arriving in Galway late on Saturday night. Image copyright Oskar Kihlborg/Ericsson Racing Team.
by Victoria Low
Ericsson Racing Team won its third consecutive leg of the Volvo Ocean Race early this morning when Ericsson 4 arrived here to a rapturous midnight celebration at the conclusion of Leg 7.
Skippered by Brazilian Torben Grael, Ericsson 4 crossed the 2,550-nautical mile course from Boston, USA in 7 days, 7 hours, 34 minutes and 22 seconds.
"We're very, very happy," said Grael, 48, the winner of two Olympic gold medals and five overall. "It was a rough ride into Galway. We pushed the boat hard and she responded well. It's fantastic teamwork to have a boat so sound that we can push in those conditions. The shore team has done a fantastic job setting up the boat and the boatbuilding and design teams have done a wonderful job giving us such a nice boat. The guys did a wonderful job pushing the boat without risking too much."
Meanwhile sistership Ericsson 3, skippered by Sweden's Magnus Olsson finished some five hours later, but were philosophical about their position.
Ericsson 3 safe in Galway, and sharing jokes with the Mayor (whom they have turned into a Viking), after an arduous leg. Image copyright Oskar Kihlborg/Ericsson Racing Team.
"We're all disappointed," said Olsson. "It's going to hurt for two or three days, and then we'll forget about this. We sailed boat very well. We just didn't make it this time."
Ericsson 3 had a fantastic beginning to the leg. The crew enjoyed the tight reaching in the first 30 hours of the leg and either held the lead or was in the battle for it for a day and a half.
However, on the second day Ericsson 3 collided with a whale, damaging its port side daggerboard and the keel fin. The crew replaced the daggerboard with the spare it had onboard, but the damage to the keel fin couldn't be repaired.
"We had a loss in performance after hitting the whale," said navigator Aksel Magdahl. "We think we sailed well, but we could see pieces of the leading edge and trailing edge falling off the faster we went."
Ericsson 3 arriving in Galway Bay just after sunrise. Image copyright Oskar Kihlborg/Ericsson Racing Team.
VOLVO OCEAN RACE LEADERBOARD
(After conclusion of Leg 7)
1. Ericsson 4, 92 points
2. Telefónica Blue, 77.5
3. Puma, 76
4. Ericsson 3, 60
5. Green Dragon, 52
6. Telefónica Black, 36
7. Delta Lloyd, 29.5
Ericsson Racing Team
Volvo Ocean Race
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