Ericsson 4 leads the way into Marstrand at the end of Leg 8. Image copyright Rick Tomlinson/Volvo Ocean Race.
by Volvo Ocean Race media
Thursday, 11 June 2009, 03:25 GMT UPDATE
At the dock, a tired Grael reported, "It was a tough leg. It was a very difficult race; even though it was hard, everyone on board was in a good mood. This is a very nice step towards the main goal."
03:00 GMT UPDATE
Ericsson 4 wins leg 8 from Galway. It's the third win on the trot for Torben Grael and his men as they hold off a hard-charging PUMA. The victory gives them eight more points on the leaderboard, taking their total to 102.
02:30 GMT UPDATE
The first six boats are within sight of each other as Ericsson 4 closes in on Marstrand. A respectable spectator fleet of nearly 50 boats is escorting the leaders in towards Marstrand, now just four miles away. Look for a finish with 20 minutes.
PUMA surfing early on leg 8. Image copyright Rick Tomlinson/Volvo Ocean Race.
02:15 GMT UPDATE
PUMA, having passed Green Dragon nearly two hours ago is now taking a run at Ericsson 4. They are less than two miles back, having cut the Ericsson lead in half. But there is only about eight miles to run to the finish. Do they have enough runway? We're inside the final hour now...
02:00 GMT UPDATE
Telefonica Blue's Gabri Olivo talks to Guy Swindells as his boat approaches the finish line. You can listen to him speak about the battle with PUMA right here.
Torben Grael and Green Dragon off Denmark, onboard Ericsson 4, on leg 8 of the Volvo Ocean Race, from Galway to Marstrand. Image copyright Guy Salter/Ericsson 4/Volvo Ocean Race.
01:30 GMT UPDATE
There is a great battle shaping up between the Telefonica twins. Here, Roger Nilson, navigator on the Black boat, describes how close the racing is:
"At Horns reef just off the Espbjerg we had an unexpected rendez-vous with our stablemate Telefonica Blue. She appeared out of the mist as a Flying Dutchman and we crossed gybes, only 2 boat lengths behind her. After losing contact we met again tonight after we picked up a favourable wind shift but she is still a few hundred meters ahead...
"What a race! With this speed all the boats could finish within 1 hour and 45 minutes if the lifting N'ly holds all the way into Marstrand. More than ever I am longing for a good rest but in a few days we carry on to Stockholm. During this stopover we are not allowed to have the shore crew taking care of the jobs. As in the good old days we have to fix the repairs our selves, not something we are looking forward to during this brief visit in The Pearl of the Swedish West coast."
01:00 GMT UPDATE
Ericsson 4 are about 90 minutes away - 21 miles or so doing near 14 knots.
Ericsson 4 surfing early on leg 8. Image copyright Rick Tomlinson/Volvo Ocean Race.
00:30 GMT UPDATE
The leading boats are around the tip of Denmark now and about two hours from the finish line off Marstrand. Welcome to our leg finish blog. We'll keep you up to date iwth the latest information right here.
Currently, it looks like a finish time between 0200 and 0230 GMT, or just after 0400 local time in Sweden.
We have a boat on the water, with the leading bunch, and the report is that PUMA has just passed Green Dragon to take second place. Ericsson 4 is about four miles ahead of them both. The water is flat, the breeze is steady and the boats are making 12 to 15 knots.
Ericsson 4 surfing early on leg 8. Image copyright Rick Tomlinson/Volvo Ocean Race.
Volvo Ocean Race
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