VOR: More Images from the Start of Leg 6

PUMA Ocean Racing, skippered by Ken Read (USA) at the start of leg 6 of the Volvo Ocean Race, from Rio de Janeiro to Boston. Image copyright Rick Tomlinson/Volvo Ocean Race.


PUMA Ocean Racing, skippered by Ken Read (USA) at the start of leg 6 of the Volvo Ocean Race, from Rio de Janeiro to Boston. Image copyright Rick Tomlinson/Volvo Ocean Race.


Delta Lloyd at the start of Leg 6 of the Volvo Ocean Race. Image copyright Rick Tomlinson/Volvo Ocean Race.


Telefonica Blue, skippered by Bouwe Bekking (NED) at the start of leg 6 of the Volvo Ocean Race, from Rio de Janeiro to Boston. Image copyright Rick Tomlinson/Volvo Ocean Race.

Volvo Ocean Race

VOR: The Green Dragon Experiences Perfect Trade Wind Sailing

complete with fire hose conditions


The Dragon keeps an average speed of 26 knots. Image copyright Green Dragon Racing team.


It's wet on board the Dragon. Image copyright Green Dragon Racing team.


... very wet! Image copyright Green Dragon Racing team.


and time to wear the crash helmet when steering the Dragon. Image copyright Green Dragon Racing team.


Green Dragon battles the squalls. Image copyright Green Dragon Racing team.


Ian Moore and Ian Walker discuss navigation issues down below. Image copyright Green Dragon Racing team.


Rough seas in the Atlantic. Image copyright Green Dragon Racing team.


Fixing the starboard steering. Image copyright Green Dragon Racing team.


Skipper Ian Walker at the helm of the Green Dragon... with plenty of sun cream being worn on board. Image copyright Green Dragon Racing team.

Green Dragon Racing
Volvo Ocean Race

VOR: Green Dragon - The Drag Race Goes On

Sunlight on the water, as seen from Green Dragon in the Atlantic Ocean. Image copyright Green Dragon Racing team.

by Lucy Harwood

The pace is staying up across the fleet as they continue the drag race north in 20 plus knot reaching conditions. The chasing pack is whittling Telefónica Blue’s lead down, as she sails into a ridge of high pressure. It is clear that is not just a case of the boats behind sailing faster but of Telefónica Blue slowing down. They are now holding a 60 mile lead, 40 miles less than their advantage 12 hours ago. The pressure will be on the Spaniards as they watch the impact the compression will have on their lead over the next 24 hours.

Tactical options are limited over the next few days, as the fleet continue northwest, sail changes are virtually non-existent and it is now about putting the pedal down and covering miles. The three boats fighting it out for the tops spots, PUMA, Ericsson 3 and Ericsson 4 are all spread east to west across the race course. Torben Grael has chosen the most eastern route, the Nordics have taken the middle road and PUMA are hanging out to the west. Ian Walker and his crew are sticking close to PUMA’s line and the remaining boats, Delta Lloyd and Telefónica Black stay further out to the east.

Volvo’s race expert Mark Chisnell commented on the forecast ahead, “there are some serious gains and losses to be made, no more flat, even curves progressing steadily north-westwards. The routing has Telefónica Blue making huge gains on the run in. Things are about to get interesting. However, the five-day forecast is really unstable at the moment, so we’ll hold off a day or two before we get too fired up about the final 1,000 miles.”

Leg Six Day 10: 1300 GMT Volvo Ocean Race Positions
(boat name/country/skipper/nationality/distance to finish)

1. Telefónica Blue ESP (Bouwe Bekking/NED) DTF 2,027 nm
2. Ericsson 3 SWE (Magnus Olsson/SWE) +61 nm
3. PUMA Racing Team USA (Ken Read/USA) +61 nm
4. Ericsson 4 SWE (Torben Grael/BRA) +67 nm
5. Telefónica Black ESP (Fernando Echávarri/ESP) +100 nm
6. Delta Lloyd IRL (Roberto Bermúdez/ESP) +109 nm
7. Green Dragon IRL/CHN (Ian Walker/GBR) +131 nm

8. Team Russia RUS (Andreas Hanakamp/AUT) DNS

Green Dragon Racing
Volvo Ocean Race

VOR: TELEFÓNICA BLACK LEG SIX DAY 9 QFB: received 19.04.09 2003 GMT

by Fernando Echávarri (skipper)

This was not what you call a normal night. Too many incidents in a few hours. Just after midnight, we had just changed to the A5, when we hit a squall .In the squall we broke the gennaker sheet.

Two hours later we were going full speed, wind 20-22 knots from north east, beam reaching, boatspeed around 21 knots under one reef in main, high clew jib and staysail. Suddenly the boat slowed down to eight knots, and at the same time the boat luffed, came head to wind as the impact was on the keel pointing out 40 degrees to windward, max canting.

Then we bore off, got going again, but sailed slow for a while to inspect what we could see in the darkness of the night. No damage to the boat could be found.

After checking the structure of the boat we started go full speed again and a few hours later the jib halyard bullet broke. Surprising as the fitting is supposed to be ’bullet proof”. We think that the broken fitting could be caused by the previous collision. We spent nearly two hours fixing the problem. David Vera was at the top of the mast twice this morning.

This morning we could not see any damage, except possibly some paint shaved off from forward edge of the keel blade. Now going at full speed. Everybody was of course a bit shocked when it happened. David hit his leg and I fell at the impact and hit my back but now we are fine.

Looks like we had a few black clouds in our path last night. Now we are at full pace, good performance again. All onboard loves the sea and its animals and it has been a real shock for everybody to hit one of them.

Volvo Ocean Race

VOR: ERICSSON 4 LEG SIX DAY 10 QFB: received 20.04.09 1401 GMT

by Guy Salter

Trade sailing is warm sunny and very wet on the whole, I could almost advise any budding Volvo sailor who doesn’t like the cold to just take one of these boats into the trades to just go for a burn. It is very pleasant and extreme if compared with the normal sailing world, but relatively safe and tame in Volvo 70 terms. It is a great way to get hooked on the class!

The last couple of days have seen more than just competition on the sailing front. The other evening the duty officer delivered a message to my brother and me from Green Dragon’s very own Ians (Walker and Moore). It was challenge to see how many questions we could answer correctly on a pop quiz they had in their possession.
Now this was exactly what the doctor had ordered - a challenge, which was removed from the relentless obstacles thrown our way during a leg.

It was 100 questions of cryptic clues of various bands names. We had been told in our email from the two Ians that they had already 70 answers, so we had our work cut out.

It was a taxing couple of hours and we started to tick off plenty of band names - some obvious and one technique that worked relatively well was to think of a band from the 80s and then match the clue up to the band name. Some, however, definitely needed a little left field thought.

Luckily Jules (Jules Salter) was an avid pop follower in the ‘80s. Stu Bannatyne and a few of the lads joined in, but unfortunately the quiz was heavily favoured towards us Poms. After a bit of sleep and some distant thought we have managed to get 98 of the answers and are still troubled by the last couple.

Ian W came through and admitted that we may have won round one, but he was sending round two very soon - which we have just received. Fifty questions on English football teams in cryptic form. Along with the questions came a little note from Ian Walker saying that he was definitely within his comfort zone with this topic and also a quick dig from him about the state of Southampton FC (Jules and my beloved team).

The beauty of the football questions is that, as Southampton have made their dramatic decent through the English football leagues, I have followed them to some far off and distant football grounds throughout the UK - so hope that a few of the more obscure teams will be in the answers. Will have to see how we get on.

Today saw yet another birthday onboard - this time was the turn of Stu. He had a small package from his family onboard which contained some sweets and some lovely homemade cards from his kids. The sweets are going down very nicely and thoughts are to carry more lollies onboard for the latter legs.

So all good on Ericsson 4 - and if any of you are thinking of investing in a football team may I suggest Southampton FC - they will be a bargain and could easily be a champions league finalist in four years time - honest!

Volvo Ocean Race

VOR: DELTA LLOYD LEG SIX DAY 10 QFB: received 20.04.09 0758 GMT

Sleeping onboard Delta Lloyd, on leg 6 of the Volvo Ocean Race, from Rio de Janeiro to Boston. Image copyright Sander Pluijm/Delta Lloyd/Volvo Ocean Race.

by Wouter Verbraak (navigator)

It's got that Monday morning feeling to it.

Well, it looks like our weekend fun is coming to an end. We had an absolute blast with the speedo doing overtime clocking 23, 24, 25 knots under loud cheers from us on deck. From today that is all going to change. It really got that Monday morning feeling to it.

We are speed junkies without speed, drag racers with their perfect race track turned into a sandy road. I am sorry, but 17 knots of boatspeed just doesn't have that same adrenaline kick to it.

The weather ahead looks complicated too, which means I am stuck downstairs in the office. Forget the fun blast reaching; bring in lighter winds, confused weather models and nervous navigators and skippers. The weather models look so horrible that I am contemplating making lots of coffees for the guys, going on deck to help the guys out, check the clouds etc. Anything to get me away from the computer and the horrible stuff it is spitting out at me. Hey, stop that!

Hang on. Actually the difficult weather is perfect for us! It means opportunities to get some miles back on the big guys that have been making gain after gain in the high speed drag race. Difficult choices will have to be made, and not everybody is going to have it right. Also, Lady Fortuna is likely to through her dice and give us some unexpected curve balls.

Light winds first to the east, than in the west. High pressure bubbles with no wind and fronts with squalls and big wind changes. I am sure it is going to be an exciting game to watch over the next five days. Better go back to work and find a good way through.

Volvo Ocean Race

VOR: ERICSSON 3 LEG SIX DAY 10 QFB: received 20.04.09 0004 GMT

by Eivind Melleby (helmsman)

Happy birthday

It’s my birthday today and I am in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. A different way to celebrate, but still it is nice here now so I am happy.

I am turning 29 – again. Usually one would like to celebrate with a nice dinner with the family or a party with friends at home, but here I am and it is not bad at all. I got an email from my wife today saying how much she loves me and that they will still have the party in my honour. You might think I have a tough job, but I think she does a fantastic job there at home. She’s the best - I love her. I even got a present with candy and an FHM magazine followed by a card signed by my 20 month old daughter. I opened it today and treated the boys with Laban Jelly Men.

Spending time out here right now is great. Our skipper, the legendary Mange (Magnus Olsson) with a broken rib, got a smile on his face when he got a handful of jelly men. He is getting better and has started his quiz sports again. Nice to see he’s recovering and will be back in business soon.

The sailing right now is really fun. The team is doing a great job. Everybody is enjoying themselves and pushing all the time. Ericsson 3 is a happy ship and goes fast as well. I could not ask for more – except being with my family, but then again these boys are close enough to be family now after what we have been through together. We have a party on every watch.

Volvo Ocean Race

VOR: ERICSSON 4 LEG SIX DAY 9 QFB: received 19.04.09 1854 GMT

by Phil 'Blood' Jameson (bowman)

‘Wet wet wet’. Three words that best describe life onboard at the moment!

We're sailing along in absolutely beautiful conditions, across the top of South America toward our next stop in Boston. Unfortunately, to get such lovely sailing, we pay for it by getting completely soaked! What is nice is the fact that not many clothes are required at the moment.

Most of us are just wearing very light shorts and a short sleeve shirt under our wet weather gear. Not matter what you wear on the foredeck in these conditions; you are going to get drenched to the bone. What is nice is coming off watch and just hanging up your foulies and t-shirt, and jumping into your bunk with just wet shorts on. It's too hot for sleeping bags at this stage so you’re not getting anything else wet. By the time you have to come on deck again, your clothes are pretty dry again, and it's not too bad putting them on again for the 20th time.

At this wind angle, sleeping is very easy and because of the lack of clothing required. It’s pretty easy to get three hours and 20 minutes sleep during your four hour off watch. I know that doesn't sound like much, but in the Southern Ocean, you were thrilled when you only got two! Everyone seems to have iPods onboard for this leg and everyone is using them. I managed to steal my wife Kylie's iPod Touch with lots of movies on it. One movie in particular has been a huge hit with entire crew. ‘Stepbrothers’. I have seen guys wiping tears out of their eyes in their bunks, because of laughing so hard!

Thanks for bringing that little bit more happiness onboard our boat Kylie! I'm only sorry that I'm going to destroy the iPod in a few days when we end up in heinous conditions again. Basically, not matter how hard I try to protect it from damage, it will die. Everything down below will be airborne and wet again when we start getting close to the Eastern Seaboard. Lucky the USA has lots of Apple stores, so I can get a new one if need be.

Speaking of movies, we're all very excited about the Ericsson 4 movie that Hollywood is going to make on us. It sounds like all the actors have signed up to play the different crew members. Luckily for me, the serial killing doll 'Chucky' from the 'Childs Play' movies has agreed to play my part as the red headed bowman. Nicole Kidman didn't sound that interested as it turned out. Maybe she just isn't to happy around boats after her movie 'Dead Calm'.

We know where we are going to be shooting the movie now. Exactly in the stretch of water we are in now. It really is pretty cool sailing. I highly recommend it.
Well I'd better stop rambling on and go and try to get a solid three hours in the 'rack'. Need to make the most of it before the yucky stuff hits us again.
Otherwise all is well and everyone is doing fine aboard the good ship Ericsson 4.

Blood out

Volvo Ocean Race

VOR: TELEFÓNICA BLUE LEG SIX DAY 9 QFB: received 19.04.09 1549 GMT

Telefonica Blue, pick up speed, 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)

There is very little to complain about if you are sailing on Telefónica Blue right now! The weather is fantastic, the boat is going well and we are eating up the miles. We are well established into the daily routine now - sleep... eat.. grind... trim.. drive... grind a bit more then more eating and back to sleep again. A simple life really and really quite enjoyable if you don't mind being a little wet at times and are happy to deal with unusual hours!

This looks set to continue for at least another day before the winds start to ease on us as we approach the first of a couple of ridges we have to negotiate on our way up the Atlantic. No doubt these will make life a little more stressful as the chasing pack will start to close in on us but we will just have to take that in our stride and keep pushing onwards.

With everything going smoothly and going to plan there is little else to report on in fact. Boring maybe, but personally I'm happy for it to stay this way a little longer!

Volvo Ocean Race

VOR: PUMA - The Orange Test

Shackle onboard PUMA Ocean Racing, on leg 6 of the Volvo Ocean Race, from Rio de Janeiro to Boston, symbolising the way in which PUMA is shackled to the Ericsson twins on this leg. Image copyright Rick Deppe/PUMA Ocean Racing/Volvo Ocean Race.

by Kenny Read (skipper)

Approaching a 500 mile day on the fine yacht, gains on all the last position reports- boat is going well and the crew is happy. What's there not to like! Well, I will tell you one thing. The race is essentially starting over again and the two bloody Ericsson boats are right next to us- essentially tied with us in distance to the finish. We can't ever shake these boats. Magnus Olson said at the pre-leg press conference that he was going to shadow us because he thought we knew how to get to Boston fastest. Well I'm not so sure if that is true because the T-Blue guys seem to be doing a pretty good job thus far- but I didn't think he meant his comment so literally.

We’re kind of tired of looking at a mirror image of Ericsson boats- feels like we are getting teamed up on sometimes. Between you and me, we gauge if they are close or not by the fact we can see the orange head on their mainsails. We call it their pregnancy test. You know, you wait for the stick or whatever it is to turn the special color…something like that…well, their color turned orange. Orange pregnancy lines means they are positively close. No visual on the orange mainsail head means negative, they aren't that close. There have been a lot of positive tests for far this race.

The fire hose is still on full force on deck. I can say that this is some of the easiest 500 mile per day sailing that I have ever done. Warm, not sweltering, warm water, beautiful 20 knot trade winds, open ocean planning across the waves. Just fast, fun sailing that might bee some of the more pleasurable miles ticked off this entire race. It has been a long time coming waiting for days like this. Hopefully it lasts for a bit longer.

PUMA Ocean Racing
Volvo Ocean Race

VOR: Green Dragon - Approaching the Halfway Mark

Green Dragon in Rough Seas, on leg 6 of the Volvo Ocean Race, from Rio de Janeiro to Boston. Image copyright Guo Chuan/Green Dragon Racing/Volvo Ocean Race.

by Lucy Harwood

The fleet are nearing the halfway point of Leg 6 to Boston. Leg leader Telefonica Blue has a 100 mile cushion to the pack behind as the remaining fleet stay close and push hard to close the gap. The crew onboard Green Dragon have been working hard to reduce the miles from the boats in front and they are now three miles from Delta Lloyd in sixth place. Elsewhere Ericsson 3 have made some big gains and move up to second just a mile in front of their sister ship Ericsson 4. The fleet are now heading north west in more consistent 15 – 20 knot conditions as boat speed across the fleet remains high as they sail at around 20 knots.

It was a weekend of rituals onboard Green Dragon after they crossed the equator and King Neptune and Queen Codfish paid a visit to James Carroll (Green Dragon’s Boat Captain). This his second leg onboard the Dragon but his first equator crossing. This ceremony has a long history with its roots with Royal Navy, U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, and other navies which commemorates a sailor’s first crossing of the equator. Originally the tradition was created as a test for seasoned sailors to ensure their new shipmates were capable of handling long rough times at sea. Sailors who have already crossed the equator are nicknamed (Trusty) Shellbacks, often referred to as Sons of Neptune; those who have not are nicknamed (Slimy) Pollywogs. The ceremony is sometimes explained as being an initiation into the court of King Neptune.


Freddie Shanks celebrates his 29th Birthday, on leg 6 of the Volvo Ocean Race, from Rio de Janeiro to Boston. Image copyright Guo Chuan/Green Dragon Racing/Volvo Ocean Race.

Leg Six Day 9: 1300 GMT Volvo Ocean Race Positions
(boat name/country/skipper/nationality/distance to finish)

1. Telefónica Blue ESP (Bouwe Bekking/NED) DTF 2,449 nm
2. Ericsson 3 SWE (Magnus Olsson/SWE) +104 nm
3. Ericsson 4 SWE (Torben Grael/BRA) +105 nm
4. PUMA Racing Team USA (Ken Read/USA) +107 nm
5. Telefónica Black ESP (Fernando Echávarri/ESP) +140 nm
6. Delta Lloyd IRL (Roberto Bermúdez/ESP) +148 nm
7. Green Dragon IRL/CHN (Ian Walker/GBR) +150 nm

8. Team Russia RUS (Andreas Hanakamp/AUT) DNS

Green Dragon Racing
Volvo Ocean Race

VOR: ERICSSON 3 LEG SIX DAY 9 QFB: received 19.04.09 0902 GMT

Ericsson 3 chase down Telefonica Black, on leg 6 of the Volvo Ocean Race, from Rio de Janeiro to Boston. Image copyright Gustav Morin/Ericsson 3/Volvo Ocean Race.

by Aksel Magdahl (navigator)

Finally we are off and Boston looks much closer. Sailing to the scoring gate was nice, but the racing was boring. Maybe because we were not at the front.

We could not pass Puma on speed before the scoring gate, so we tried a flyer and lost a bit. After Fernando we picked our angles well to regain contact with the lead boats. Do not even count in Telefónica Blue as they are only a weather buoy to us at the moment. Funny to see how for once the fleet spread out when no one knew what the others were going to do - a pity for the navigators that we have the three-hourly position reports, or the fleet would have spread out much more.

We have done really well today, slowly gaining on everyone. We even gained on Ericsson 4, something almost unheard of. But we know well what sails to use and have set the boat up nicely. We also have very strong helmsmen and trimmers who can tweak a few tenths of a knot extra out of the boat.

Even with Magnus out of the watch system, we have four primary helmsmen in the rotation. These boats do not go fast by themselves - the crew makes a big difference. And through the race, we have become a much stronger team in all areas.

Also, we communicate well about what angles to sail. We are sailing about 20 degrees off course as the boat is much faster at a wider wind angle. So all the time, we work on whether we make most miles towards Boston by sailing a bit faster and further off course, or point more for Boston and sail slower.

Still a long way to go and we are very close with Ericsson 4, Puma and Telefónica Black. It is likely to get a little complicated a few days up the Atlantic road, so we try to stay sharp and anticipate the development in the weather systems.

Light wind means maintenance time. Anders Dahlsjö and Jens Dolmer used the Doldrums to repair the water ballast tank which was making a nice fountain in the aft compartment, to have it ready for the power reaching we are doing at the moment.

Martin Krite has done some replacements in the rig. On my area, the navigation systems, there has not been anything to do on this leg thanks to nice work by Ricka and Hutch in our shore team. And that really applies to the rest of the boat as well - very well prepared.

Volvo Ocean Race

VOR: DELTA LLOYD LEG SIX DAY 9 QFB: received 19.04.09 0651 GMT

Watchleader Nick Bice getting wet while trimming the main and Ben Costello helming, on leg 6 of the Volvo Ocean Race, from Rio de Janeiro to Boston. Image copyright Sander Pluijm/Team Delta Lloyd/Volvo Ocean Race.

by Wouter Verbraak (navigator)

Unleash the beast

“Guys, we are five per cent under polars. How does the boat feel?

“Very unbalanced now that we are lifted. It was good at 95 true wind angle, but now it is bad.”

“We have good data from this morning with the fractional zero indicating that we should be able to beat the polars with this wave state.”

“OK, let’s go to the frac zero.”

It is the middle of the night and although we are slow and not reaching targets, we are still doing 19.5 knots of boat speed and waves are crashing over the bow continuously. It is going to be a dangerous change, so we had better take care. We wake up three extra guys and bowman Gerd Jan Poortman runs us through the peel. Like always preparation and clear communication are key.

“Frac zero forward. Ed and I will hook it up, while you guys prepare things in the pit. Wouter can you prep the jib bag on the bow? Hoisting frac zero, then drop and pack the R1 genoa before we unfurl the zero. Too dangerous to unfurl first, we have to get the sail off the bow.”

With our skipper Roberto ‘Chuny’ Bérmudez on the helm we go into the change. Six guys on the grinders and the new sail makes it to the top in no time. The drop is the risky bit, but fortunately we have a ‘chicken line’ up along the luff of the genoa to grind her down quickly. She fires down, and with five guys we fish the back of the sail out of the water and jam it in the bag. A good five minutes wrestling later and the sail is safe on the stack at the back of the boat again. Good, everything safe and secure. Time to unleash the beast.

The acceleration is enormous and within moments we are more submarine than sailing vessel. Man, are these boats powerful! As usual I go back to the main pedestal to grind the main while Bocheca calls the trim. This is the easy job. With tons of water washing through the cockpit the other guys are desperately trying to secure the sheets and halyards. Lose one out the back and it is nearly impossible to pull it back in.

Through spray drops on the ski-goggles I have a blurry view of the instruments on the mast. The boat is leaping from wave to wave and big three meter high fountains of spray are crashing over the bow and submerging the mast and instruments completely. The boat speed goes to 20, 21, 22, 23 knots and just hovers there. This is where skipper ‘Chuny’ is in his element. Fantastic driving. What a machines these boats are.

I am loving it. I only have one little problem. The ski goggles are essential to keep the spray out and are doing a great job. However, some waves are bigger than others, and with the big dumpers I recognise an essential shortcoming. Through the air vents at the top of my goggles the water pores straight into my glasses. With no way out at the bottom, the goggles are slowly filling up! Put some fish in and it would be a great personal aquarium. Not ideal for grinding and watching the numbers though! Need to solve this tomorrow with some drain holes in the bottom.

Volvo Ocean Race

VOR: TELEFÓNICA BLUE LEG SIX DAY 9 QFB: received 19.04.09 0030 GMT

Lots of water running down the deck, 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)

It has been a good day of sailing today, flying along at 20 knots, with good breeze and pleasant weather. However, it is back to the fire-hose sailing with a continuous stream of water blasting down the deck at us.

The fireman and his hose are back with a vengeance which means after six hours on deck there is very little of you that hasn't been given a damn good soaking at some stage. Luckily though the water is warm and progress is good which makes it all the more tolerable.

Behind us there is a real battle going on between the fleet which makes us all the more grateful for the lead we have, from our vantage point we get to see it all unfold and react accordingly. We have been keeping pace with the guys behind though which gives us some comfort, however we are still pushing hard to maintain our position.

Really, at the moment, we have got very little to complain about, we are going well at the head of the fleet, the boat is in great shape and the crew is happy and healthy! Let’s hope it all stays that way!

Volvo Ocean Race

VOR: TELEFÓNICA BLACK LEG SIX DAY 8: received 18.04.09 1805 GMT

Great sailing conditions onboard Telefonica Black, on leg 6 of the Volvo Ocean Race, from Rio de Janeiro to Boston. Image copyright Anton Paz/Telefonica Black/Volvo Ocean Race.

by Fernando Echávarri (skipper)

We are working really hard and I am replacing Mike Pammenter, so no too much time!
After 1000 nm the final outcome at Noronha was decided by two squalls at the last miles. Exhausted work done by all the team, who fell down just after the island, completely worn out. Yes, we were a little bit frustrated... no doubt.

We were quite close to being third at the scoring gate and it went away in the last minute.

From there, the conditions have been quieter. Crossing the Doldrums this time has been easier because it has been narrower and without stops, except for the presence of squalls. Depending where you were when it catches you, you can expect big gains or losses, and always with the fleet really close.

The Equator has been really funny, as always on this boat, with Roger Nilson featuring the main role as King Neptune and with a great performance. David Vera and Antonio Cuervas as pirates, and Pablo Iglesias and Anton Mons ... the victims: the result: chopped hair and a terrible potion to drink.

From the Equator to the point where we are just now, it seems we have started race again only a few hours ago, with a really short distance between the fleet.

Going fast, trimming and from last night the ‘bomberos con manguera’ –firemen with hoses - are aiming us. Our eyes seem to be tomatoes and we are fully soaked. We are going to have a full week like this, so maybe this time we will arrive with goose barnacles on our bodies.

All is ok onboard, except with my bunk. Agh! It has got broken and we are trying to organise enough room to sleep. Boat is Ok, the next days are going to be a reaching ones, going really fast ... but from there we are not really sure about what we are going to face.

Volvo Ocean Race

VOR: PUMA - Fast Miles are a Good Thing

by Kenny Read (skipper)

A quick and gentle doldrums has lead to yet another drag race across the Atlantic- T-Blue with the jump, and the rest of us nip and tuck-careening through the tropics toward the North Atlantic.

I guess by now there are no surprises, especially when I say that we are in a very close battle with the two Ericsson boats. But we have a new friend joining our little grudge match. T-Black has joined the party and made it a four way sprint for Boston at this point. We have beautiful but very wet sailing conditions- 90 degree jib reaching in 18-20 knots of wind. We’re chewing up the miles after having done about 430 over the last 24 hours. Did I mention it was wet on deck?

And so it is with trade winds- a band of wind about as predictable as any in the world. It leads to a different style of sailing, not the "sail changing world championships" we have had over the past week. This is more "throw up all the rag you can and hold on" style of sailing. Fine tuning is a must. But at the same time, life on board is about as predictable as we get. Not like earlier in the leg where you lie down to sleep knowing full well that the wake up call for a sail change could be and will be minutes away.

Stories on deck are still unique on this yacht even with Jerry Kirby absent on this leg. He was home on his couch sending golf "Masters" updates last Sunday, and my brother Brad is key at sending American sports scores. Our news specialist, Guy Swindles from the Volvo office is the "official" sports news reporter to the fleet with emails of scores just about every other day. I give him a hard time though, that he somehow has missed American football, basketball, baseball and hockey- the big four in the states. He claims that those sports don't really exist as they are played outside of Europe and therefore are not news worthy. I am wearing him down though. He actually included baseball scores (begrudgingly) in his last update. I'll wear him out.

As we were exciting the doldrums, we very quickly and quietly crossed the equator for the final time on this around the world adventure- an equator crossing for the fourth time in fact. Since there were no "Pollywogs" onboard (first time equator crossers) the event came and went very nonchalant. On deck I guess a Southern "Hemisphereian" handed the helm to a Northern "Hemisphereian". No rum, no cigars, no member of the crew had a baby at home- nothing cool at all. I slept through it all at the nav station. Ricky claims he has a photo of this intensity for my future viewing pleasure.

In general, all is good onboard the fine yacht- a few days of the same old, same old. I guess I shouldn't complain about things settling down to a dull roar. Fast miles are a good thing.

PUMA Ocean Racing
Volvo Ocean Race

VOR: ERICSSON 3 LEG SIX DAY 8 QFB: received 18.04.09 1422 GMT

Richard Mason checking the tension of the topmast before hoisting the masthead zero onboard Ericsson 3, on leg 6 of the Volvo Ocean Race, from Rio de Janeiro to Boston. Image copyright Gustav Morin/Ericsson 3/Volvo Ocean Race.

by Eivind Melleby (helmsman)

The drag race is on.

I think we are out of the Doldrums now. It was very windy this time around. Now we race through the trades. Full on.

We had a few issues on the boat that we thought we could easily fix in the Doldrums when everything was nice and quiet, but we soon found ourselves increasing speed and had to do it when the boat was bouncing around. Well, we managed even though it was a bit difficult.

The competition is lined up, apart from Telefónica Blue, on a nice line and there are not many miles between us. We have nice conditions so far and have put the helmets on. I always wear a helmet as a helmsman.

We are currently doing about 20 knots average and the sun is shining. We need to push hard to pass our sistership Ericsson 4, whom we can see down here to leeward. This is fun. A couple more days of this I guess. Hope that we will not get any squalls that will kill us and let the others go by. We need to keep an eye on that situation. We have the Squall Management Group here onboard and they are having repeated meetings to assess the situation at all times.

So far so good on Ericsson 3. We will soon put in our last gear. That’ll show them I think!

Volvo Ocean Race

VOR: ERICSSON 4 LEG SIX DAY 8 QFB: received 18.04.09 1043 GMT

Heavy weather approaching Ericsson 4, on leg 6 of the Volvo Ocean Race, from Rio de Janeiro to Boston. Image copyright Guy Salter/Ericsson 4/Volvo Ocean Race.

by Joca Signorini (trimmer)

Hello from Ericsson 4!

It’s been a week since we left Rio and today we start to have better sailing conditions. I've just finished my watch and conditions were pretty nice. Seventeen knots reaching with good waves. So far has been a tough leg for us, with lot of bad clouds and close racing with others boats. At the moment we are trying to keep our second position and see what happens with Telefónica Blue that has been sailing well and is now extending her lead since Noronha.

It was not easy to leave Rio. The stopover was nice, but too short and busy. It was great to see lot of spectator boats during the in-port race and start. It’s always good to meet the friends and family and I have to thank them all for the great welcome during last leg.

Life onboard has been good, with lots of good food since we were a bit short by the end of last leg. Horacio Carabelli has been preparing a good combination of cheese, Parma ham and Italian salami.

Good winds

Volvo Ocean Race

VOR: GREEN DRAGON LEG SIX DAY 8 QFB: received 18.04.09 1057 GMT

Skipper Ian Walker takes time out to catch up on all the latest sailing news, on leg 6 of the Volvo Ocean Race, from Rio de Janeiro to Boston. Image copyright Guo Chuan/Green Dragon Racing/Volvo Ocean Race.

by Ian Walker (skipper)

It’s been an exciting 24 hours for us. First we gained lots of miles in the doldrums getting within sight of Ericsson 3 and Telefónica Black at one stage and then we had a third and final visit from King Neptune as this is the first time James Carroll has ever sailed across the Equator.

King Chuan (Neptune) and Queen 'Freddy Shanks' Codfish did a fine job of both their own outfits and conducting a rather prolonged ceremony. Clearly they had had plenty of time to prepare and Jimbo was the victim of everyone’s willingness to have some fun.

Guo forced James to repeat his confessions in Chinese and he was of course found guilty of all his 'crimes'. Punishments included the normal whipping, covering in food slops, administering of flying fish and, as Jimbo is the boat captain, he was forced to scrub the foredeck with the washing up brush. Phil 'the scissors' Harmer got in on the act and shaved the top of James' dense hair in his own words to make him 'look like the skipper' because 'that what was done to him'. Jimbo will be the one wearing a hat in Boston. Sorry Jimbo but you took it well - don't forget to put sun cream on your head like I have to!

Back on the race track the Doldrums had plenty of rain clouds and sail changes but the bottom line was we kept moving well in the right direction most of the time. It was crucial that we went well through this stage as four days of power reaching lie ahead of us.

We are now settled into reaching in 20 knot NE Trade winds which means we can rattle off over 400 miles per day straight at Boston - something that is unusual for this race so far.

We have just broken the bearings in the starboard steering system but replacements are onboard and being fitted as I type. Clearly a whole week on the same tack was too much for it! The next few days should be tactically tedious but nice sailing.

Volvo Ocean Race

VOR: TELEFÓNICA BLACK LEG SIX DAY 8 QFB: received 18.04.09 1259 GMT

Telefonica Black on leg 6 of the Volvo Ocean Race, from Rio de Janeiro to Boston. Image copyright Anton Paz/Telefonica Black/Volvo Ocean Race.

by Roger Nilson (navigator)

Today, a week since we started and I realise this long leg soon will be over, it is certainly happening faster than it looked like in the early stages.

Sure we have been fighting hard and certainly missed the power and enthusiasm of Mike Pammenter. We are not the biggest and strongest guys in the fleet! Parts of this leg have been very physical with lots of sail changes, especially just before the island where we lost PUMA, perhaps partly because we were tired.

The fleet has been amazingly tight together with the extra ordinary exception of Telefónica Blue who has sailed a flawless race so far. Hats off for her. Perfect start, the first 24 hours picking up the thermal breezes excellent, getting the approach to the gate well and finally getting away from the island before the rest of us were halted, slowed down by more doldrum-like conditions than she had. In the trade, the richer get richer and she was first into the strong breeze.

Only 24 nm separating the second and 7th boat leaves the finish order wide open. Telefónica Blue with her 100+ lead might be hard to reach but who will be next to finish?


The Media Station and sleeping area below decks on Telefonica Black. Image copyright Anton Paz/Telefonica Black/Volvo Ocean Race.

I feel we have sailed our Black boat really well this leg and it is also impressive to watch how much better Delta Lloyd is sailed.

We have had no breakdowns so far, touch wood, now testing our newly repaired hull in bumpy power reaching in the fresh North East trades. I feel now very confident that the boat is strong and healthy. The crew works very well together and manoeuvres are smoother than on earlier legs.

Yesterday the unfortunate two, Anton Paz and Pablo Iglesias passed the rough test from King Neptune and his two pirates ‘David from Hell’ (David Vera) and ‘Horrible Neti’ (Antonio Cuervas-Mons).

Volvo Ocean Race

VOR: DELTA LLOYD SIX DAY 8 QFB: received 18.04.09 0941 GMT

The crew of Delta Lloyd preparing a sailchange. Bowmen Gerd-jan Poortman and Morgan White take down the R2, while the Code Zero is being unfurled. Image copyright Sander Pluijm/Team Delta Lloyd/Volvo Ocean Race.

by Wouter Verbraak (navigator)

"The latest satellite picture is full of huge squalls. It is going to be a challenging day."

With this message to the watch captains on Team Delta Lloyd we enter the Doldrums. Goal: try to cross this messy area as quick as possible and find the north east trade winds on the other side. With this in mind together with PUMA and Telefónica Blue we opt for a slightly more northerly course than the rest of the fleet. A bit more distance, but a better wind angle and shorter crossing.

A day of cat and mouse follows with PUMA, with fantastic close racing and frequent lead changes. In the lighter code zero conditions we can almost match their speed, and play the game of dodging clouds. Great! We make good progress in the first part of the day and we manage to avoid some bad clouds and make use of two others that are well lined up. Gains on the fleet and good progress to the trades. Almost there. Life is good.


Pitman David Pella fixing a rope on the backstay, onboard Delta Lloyd, on leg 6 of the Volvo Ocean Race, from Rio de Janeiro to Boston. Image copyright Sander Pluijm/Team Delta Lloyd/Volvo Ocean Race.

A new huge cloud is blocking our path, and there is no way around it. It simply is too big. It stretches right to left all across the horizon and must be about the size of Holland. We get hurt. Badly. Together with PUMA we get stuck under this cloud for at least an hour. Next sched, 20 nm loss to the fleet. Disaster. Gone is our good position to the fleet. I am pulling my hair out with frustration, but soon realise that that is not going to do us much good. Up and onwards, at least we have now reached the trades and are done with the Doldrums, time for the speed game again. We are still to windward of the fleet and in third just behind Puma.

Yes, speed is what it is all about again for the next 2000 nm to past the Caribbean Islands. No big passing lanes, just full focus on squeezing very last tenth of a knot out of the boat. Bar the Green Dragons, the newer generation boats have significantly more stability than us, so we will have to work our hardest in the next 48 hours to keep up with them. After this at least the winds will shift right a bit, the wind angle will open up, and the stability will not weigh as hard.


Day two on leg 6 of the Volvo Ocean Race, from Rio de Janeiro to Boston. With only2-3 knots of wind, its good to move the weight as forward as possible, that means sleeping on the sails in the galley. Bowman Morgan White and watch leader Stu Wilson found themselves a good spot on the spinnaker. Image copyright Sander Pluijm/Team Delta Lloyd/Volvo Ocean Race.

Good to see that everybody here on the Team Delta Lloyd is giving it everything, and is always looking for that little extra. The atmosphere on board is good.

Determined, focused and always some smiles and a little joke around. Time to hammer out some big skeds, reaching is where these boats excel. Boston here we come!

Volvo Ocean Race

VOR: TELEFÓNICA BLUE LEG SIX DAY 8 QFB: received 18.04.09 0716 GMT

Tom Addis reads the report, 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 Bouwe Bekking (skipper)

The boats behind us have a nice race going on with hardly separation in between them. It always seems that by Rio most teams know how to get maximum performance out of their boats.

It is great to see that Delta Lloyd is doing so well. Of course I am still a bit Dutch, so I might swing a bit in their favour. But seeing them doing well, gives hope for the future, as more teams might pick up a boat from this race and enter for the following edition, with the knowledge that they can do well. Also we know there will not be major changes in the rule, so no big design improvements can be expected.

We have been going well and stretched away a nice amount, so it is up to us to keep this going until the finish. But we will compress again, as soon we start sailing in lighter air the others will gain quickly. It looks tricky ahead, so a matter of keeping our eyes open.

Volvo Ocean Race

VOR: King Neptune at the Equator

Telefonica Black


King Neptune visits Telefonica Black. Image copyright Anton Paz/Telefonica Black/Volvo Ocean Race.

Green Dragon


Guo Chuan as King Neptune on board Green Dragon. Image copyright Green Dragon Racing/Volvo Ocean Race.


Guo Chuan as King Neptune and Freddy Shanks as Queen Codfish on board Green Dragon. Image copyright Green Dragon Racing/Volvo Ocean Race.


King Neptune and Queen Codfish arrive on the equator. Image copyright Green Dragon Racing/Volvo Ocean Race.


Guo Chuan and Freddy Shanks enjoy dressing up on board Green Dragon! Image copyright Green Dragon Racing/Volvo Ocean Race.


Guo Chuan (aka King Neptune), James Carroll and Freddy Shanks (aka Queen Codfish). Image copyright Green Dragon Racing/Volvo Ocean Race.


James Carroll during his equator crossing. Image copyright Green Dragon Racing/Volvo Ocean Race.


James Carroll during his equator crossing. Image copyright Green Dragon Racing/Volvo Ocean Race.


James Carroll during his first equator crossing. Image copyright Green Dragon Racing/Volvo Ocean Race.


James Carroll is visited by King Neptune onboard Green Dragon for his first Equator Crossing. Image copyright Green Dragon Racing/Volvo Ocean Race.


Guo Chuan aka King Neptune reads James Carroll his rights. Image copyright Green Dragon Racing/Volvo Ocean Race.


James Carroll's new bald patch after the shaving ceremony on the equator. Image copyright Guo Chuan/Green Dragon Racing.

Green Dragon Racing
Volvo Ocean Race

VOR: High - Jinks on board Green Dragon

Fooling around on Green Dragon, on leg 6 of the Volvo Ocean Race, from Rio de Janeiro to Boston. Image copyright Guo Chuan/Green Dragon Racing/Volvo Ocean Race.


Andrew McLean is quite at home suspended in mid-air. Image copyright Guo Chuan/Green Dragon Racing/Volvo Ocean Race.

Volvo Ocean Race

VOR: TELEFÓNICA BLUE LEG SIX DAY 7 QFB: RECEIVED 17.04.09 1540 GMT

Telefonica Blue, skippered by Bouwe Bekking (NED) are first through the scoring gate of Fernando de Noronha at 19:58:56 GMT 16/04/09, securing 4 points, on of 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)

This leg is proving to be a leg of many milestones. Firstly there was the completion of our circumnavigation as we crossed our outgoing track, then the passing of Fernando de Noronha and the scoring gate and now, today, two more. We have successfully negotiated the doldrums and shortly after crossed the equator marking our return back to the northern hemisphere.

It has been a big day so far, and busy too. The doldrums brought many (more) clouds and (more) squalls as well as sudden calms and a truly hideous sea state to deal with. This called for many sail changes and a pretty exhausting watch.

However, now we are safely on the other side the wind has built and stabilized for us and the sea state has once again improved although life is still pretty bumpy.

Crossing the doldrums has been significant for us as we are now entering the good NE trade winds that will carry us north. While the boats behind battle with unstable winds this is now our chance to extend on the fleet and to try and build a lead that we will no doubt need later on!

For now though for me at least is some rest after a busy morning, something that right now I am very much looking forward too!

Volvo Ocean Race

VOR: TELEFÓNICA BLUE LEG SIX DAY 7 QFB: received 17.04.09 2129 GMT

Telefonica Blue, skippered by Bouwe Bekking (NED) are first through the scoring gate of Fernando de Noronha at 19:58:56 GMT 16/04/09, securing 4 points, on of leg 6 of the Volvo Ocean Race, from Rio de Janeiro to Boston. Image copyright Gabriele Olivo/Telefonica Blue/Volvo Ocean Race.

by Tom Addis (navigator)

A key milestone down for us today – reaching and extending in the north east trades.

This means a couple of key potential stumbling blocks are now out of the way, which is a massive relief for us all on board, Fernando and the doldrums ticked off, now its into some simple sailing again.

I’ve been promising the guys Bombaro action (Spanish for fireman with a hose – although probably horribly misspelled by me) for the last few days and that’s what we have now for the next couple of thousand miles if we are lucky – constant spray getting into every crevice. It is the VO70’s way of saying that she is going fast though so it’s all good! I hesitate to call these boats ‘she’, there isn’t much that’s feminine about them. I’d hate to meet the human equivalent in a dark alley!

With Fernando being a waypoint for us and with it being so close to the southern edge of the doldrums, our options on how to get through the ITCZ back into the north were limited but we did about as well as we could expect with the squalls and got to the trades first, which is a massive advantage as from there, you are in much more constant, reliable wind and you should be able to extend.

Well, I must say that it’s gone a tad better than expected but hey, you do what you can do and do what you think is best and let the rest take care of itself – the guys behind seem to be having a tougher time of it than we did.

On with the job at hand, can’t wait to see my beautiful family again in Boston.

Volvo Ocean Race

VOR: ERICSSON 4 LEG SIX DAY 7 QFB: received 17.04.09 1723 GMT

Heavy weather approaching Ericsson 4, on leg 6 of the Volvo Ocean Race, from Rio de Janeiro to Boston. Image copyright Guy Salter/Ericsson 4/Volvo Ocean Race.

by Tony Mutter (trimmer)

Well last night was one of those nights where everything that could happen did.
On the approach to Fernando about 20 miles out we got hit by a rain squall. It blew 31 knots up from 15. That was happy days for us, no problem. But the aftermath was what got the hearts racing. All of a sudden we were in 0 knots and watching Telefónica Black and Delta Lloyd come smoking up from behind. To make maters even worse it was only a short time later before we could see another two boats join the hungry pack.

So, just when we thought we had done alright, and had second place at the gate in the bag, the stress meter went off the scale. Lucky for us, the following pack of wolfs all slowed and we picked up the new breeze first.

We celebrated the points with some guys going to sleep after 14 hours of hard labour; some found something in a bottle that would warm the insides of a 2000 year old Egyptian mummy. Others had to stay on deck and keep the old girl rolling.
Well we are all now looking forward to arriving in Boston after being in some far out places.

Volvo Ocean Race

VOR: PUMA - Remembering the Old Days

Sail changes onboard PUMA Ocean Racing, on leg 6 of the Volvo Ocean Race, from Rio de Janeiro to Boston. Image copyright Rick Deppe/PUMA Ocean Racing/Volvo Ocean Race.

by Rick Deppe

After rounding the scoring gate at Fernando, our next milestone is the Equator, currently 70 miles up ahead. This will be our fourth and final crossing and mark our entry into the Northern Hemisphere. After the equator it is a mile straight shot to the next mark which is a whale exclusion zone off Cape Cod. It’s a lot of sailing- hopefully we can use the distance to get back to the leaders and make up for missing out on valuable points at the scoring gate where we were squeezed out by Delta Lloyd who rounded about 50 meters in front of us. It was an exciting rounding in the dark with the rocks about 200 meters to our left and the lights of the island clearly visible. The mood onboard is a little muted with the crew very focused on the task at hand. Not much of the usual PUMA banter or high jinks at the moment. My prediction is that the equator will pass with little ceremony. Everyone onboard has now crossed it many times so there's no reason for too much ceremony anyway.

It has been nice to race alongside Delta Lloyd for a while especially for Sid and Bob (Rob Greenhalgh). That boat used to be called ABN Amro and they both sailed it to victory as key crew-members in the last Volvo Race. I think it is safe to say that they both have a soft spot for that boat and they've even been getting a little whimsical talking about the old days! The Delta Lloyd team came to the race very late and they've had their fair share of problems, it's great to see them doing well (hopefully not too well for too much longer) and also a fantastic demonstration of a measurement rule working well. Hopefully a good omen for the next event, it would be nice to see a few of this year’s boats back out there for another crack at it.

The next few hundred miles will see us passing through the Doldrums once again. To the layman, the Doldrums would seem to be an area of light winds where not much happens. The reality is very different and already since Fernando, we have experienced a lot of cloud and squall activity with wind speeds between eight knots and 28 knots. These lulls and gusts can come with little or no warning and often the team must simply ride out the squall- often sailing for many minutes with the wrong sail up. A little earlier today we went though a particularly massive rain squall, fortunately it was one of the ones with not much wind so we were afforded the luxury of showers in the clean cool water running off the mainsail.

PUMA Ocean Racing
Volvo Ocean Race