Wednesday 24 December 2008

VOR: TELEFÓNICA BLACK LEG THREE DAY 6 QFB: received 18.12.08 1335 GMT

by Mikel Pasabant, media crew member

Hi all

The last 24 hour have seen us lose a couple of positions in the fleet, which is nothing to be surprised with considering we have been sailing for more than 12 hours with the wrong headsail, because of the breakdown of the genoa halyard.

We were considering the possibility of getting up the mast to place an external lock but the call was made to wait until this morning, as conditions, mainly the waves, were a bit hazardous to get a man to the top of the mast at night. So the night passed with the J4 instead of the J2, and as dawn came, and with Puma steaming on top of us, with our longed awaited J2, we bore off and took David Vera up to fix the external lock, with complete success. And it means that we made the correct decision, you know, safety first. When we ended up, Puma was 3 miles away, but this is just a very long distance run... and we guys on board are the first to be concerned about it.

The positions are so close that it is going to be a very close approach to the scoring gate, and we to the south expect a slow and continuous shift to the gate. Wouldn't it be great?

So we keep on a nice beat to the Pulau We island scoring gate, with 340 miles to go, and then, the amusement park awaits us!

Cheers from TELEFÓNICA NEGRO

Volvo Ocean Race

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