All I Want For Christmas Is A Podium Finish
Leg 3 Day 2 - 12:13 GMT Sunday, December 14, 2008. |
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Since the Volvo Ocean Race fleet left Cochin in India yesterday at the start of leg three to Singapore, most of the teams have had their moment in the sun at the head of the fleet. But yesterday afternoon, Guy Salter, Media Crew Member (MCN) onboard overall race leader Ericsson 4 explained that his crew was concerned about the yachts inshore.
"We were looking good against them in the last sched, but the worry is that they have more wind and are slipping up the inside." |
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Jules Salter watches the opposition
as the boats hit light wind, at the start of leg 3
of the Volvo Ocean Race.
Photo © Guy Salter / Ericsson 4 / Volvo Ocean Race.
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They were right to worry, as Telefónica Blue (Bouwe Bekking / NED) and Green Dragon (Ian Walker / GBR) did just that. The Dragons who also made a good start however were soon swallowed up and spat out by the rest of the fleet.
"We seemed to be way off the pace for two position reports and were bringing up the rear of the pack," said Ian Walker. However, this allowed them to follow their plan of staying close to the shore and by first light, they had every boat in the fleet in sight of them, and only Telefónica Blue in front.
Walker thinks the fleet will compress again, but for now he says it is nice to be up with the leaders. Steve Hayles, the British navigator who is standing in for Ireland’s Ian Moore on this leg, can rest easy in the knowledge that his first call as navigator for the Dragons has been a good one. |
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Green Dragon at the start of leg 3
of the Volvo Ocean race, from Cochin, India to Singapore.
Photo © Rick Tomlinson / Volvo Ocean Race.
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Telefónica Blue currently leads Green Dragon by five miles, with overall race leader, Ericsson 4 (Torben Grael / BRA) in third place a further two miles astern.
Onboard PUMA and currently in fourth position, skipper Kenny Read says it is all beginning to feel very familiar - the warm water and bad food. "Pretty much status quo," he says adding, "except for this leg at least there is no large low pressure brewing as of yet to knock our socks off as in the last two legs."
PUMA also made a good start, only to see their initial lead evaporate as the leading bunch all took turns at the front of the field. Read says that in terms of weather conditions, they have had exactly what was expected in the first 20 hours of the race. Hot, light, tricky and very variable conditions. |
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PUMA Ocean Racing after
the start of Leg 3 of the Volvo Ocean Race 2008-09
from Cochin, India, to Singapore.
Photo © Dave Kneale / Volvo Ocean Race.
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Telefónica Black (Fernando Echávarri / ESP) takes up fifth place, just a mile astern of PUMA while Ericsson 3 (Anders Lewander / SWE) occupies sixth place and the crew is disappointed. In the bright moonlight, the entire fleet gathered in sight of one another. There was almost no wind at all and it was essential for each gust to be harnessed.
"We did not do very well. We missed a few chances to make better gains and we feel we are not very fast in the light and we have to improve quickly. We haven’t really followed our own strategy and now we have only two boats behind us. We are not happy with that," says Swedish watch captain Magnus Olsson. |
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Ericsson 3 at the start of Leg 3 of
the Volvo Ocean Race 2008-09 from Cochin, India, to
Singapore.
Photo © Dave Kneale / Volvo Ocean Race.
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In seventh position today at 10:00 GMT is Kosatka Team Russia (Andreas Hanakamp / AUT), who has stripped everything possible from their boat in order to improve speed. Andreas Hanakamp says that the first 15 hours of racing were closer than ever before.
"This morning, the fleet was summoned within sight of each other and at one stage at dawn, we would have been able to talk directly to IL Mostro and Ericsson 3 at the same time. What a great race and it feels good to be able to race the other boats that close," he said. |
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Team Russia change sails, at the start
of leg 3 of the Volvo Ocean Race.
Photo © Sergey Bogdanov / Team Russia / Volvo Ocean Race.
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Bringing up the rear this morning is Delta Lloyd (Roberto Bermudez / ESP). They are now 32 miles behind Telefónica Blue.
"If we are lucky," writes navigator Matt Gregory from the USA, "we will be in Singapore for Christmas. For the past couple of days, all the wives and girlfriends have asked me if my forecasting models will get us to Singapore in time for Christmas. I didn’t have the heart to tell them directly what I was thinking. The truth is, I don’t care when we get to Singapore. All I want for Christmas this year is a podium finish." |
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Delta Lloyd at the start of leg 3
of the Volvo Ocean race, from Cochin, India to Singapore.
Photo © Rick Tomlinson / Volvo Ocean Race.
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Leg 3 Day 2 - 10:00 GMT Volvo Ocean Race Positions
(Boat name / country / skipper / nationality / distance to finish)
Telefónica Blue ESP (Bouwe Bekking / NED) DTF1690
Green Dragon IRL/CHN (Ian Walker / GBR) +5
Ericsson 4 SWE (Torben Grael / BRA) +7
PUMA Racing Team USA (Ken Read / USA) +12
Telefónica Black ESP (Fernando Echávarri / ESP) +13
Ericsson 3 SWE (Anders Lewander / SWE) +20
Team Russia RUS (Andreas Hanakamp / AUT) +27
Delta Lloyd IRL (Roberto Bermudez / ESP) +32
Visit www.volvooceanrace.org for
all the latest news! |
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