Wet, Hot and Manky
Leg 5 Day 6 - 14:25 GMT Thursday, February 19, 2009. |
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| It is still a hot port-gybe reach for the five boats engaged in the charge south during leg five of the Volvo Ocean Race. The fleet is currently 1,200 nm north of New Ireland in the Solomon Islands, the area where the doldrums are lurking and light and shifty breeze await. |
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Michael Muller onboard PUMA Ocean Racing, on leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race.
Photo © Rick Deppe / PUMA Ocean Racing / Volvo Ocean Race.
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| Top boat is Ericsson 4 (Torben Grael / BRA), with PUMA (Ken Read / USA) positioned neatly on her starboard hip, 45 nm to the northwest and only 10 nm astern. Ericsson 3 (Magnus Olsson / SWE) has chosen the middle road, while Ian Walker still has Green Dragon in the east, 156 nm further east than PUMA. Bringing up the rear is Telefónica Blue (Bouwe Bekking / NED), who is ploughing a lonely furrow almost exactly the wake of Ericsson 3, but 267 nm behind Ericsson 4. |
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Trimmer / Helmsman Tony Mutter uses cream to protect his face from the salt spray on Leg 5 from Qingdao to Rio de Janeiro.
Photo © Guy Salter / Ericsson 4 / Volvo Ocean Race.
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Although rather monotonous, reaching does have its advantages. There are no sails or gear to stack when the boat tacks and it looks as if this will be the case for at least another week.
"The stack has stayed pretty much in place for the best part of a week, apart from a bit of carting it forward and aft to help the trim of the boat," says Telefónica Blue’s Simon Fisher. |
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Heads down during a peeling onboard Telefonica Blue, on leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race.
Photo © Gabriele Olivo / Telefonica Blue / Volvo Ocean Race.
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The downside of reaching is the spray, which soaks the crew’s eyes with salt. "They get red and very sore," explains Ericsson 3’s MCM, Gustav Morin.
"We have helmets with eye protection and different kinds of goggles to protect them, but it’s tricky to see through the glass." |
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Martin Stromberg, sailmaker and trimmer for Ericsson 3, on leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race.
Photo © Gustav Morin / Ericsson 3 / Volvo Ocean Race.
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| Onboard Telefónica Blue, various fashion items have appeared to deal with the spray situation. "Whilst the majority have stuck with the trusty old surf helmet and visor, David Vera has mixed things up a little with a very fetching pair of safety goggles and Michael Pammenter is sporting a pair of scuba goggles. The latter, whilst looking a little ridiculous, seem to be pretty effective, although this was almost not the case as whilst getting them out of his bag, Mike managed to stamp on them, popping the lenses out," said Simon Fisher. |
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Rough weather for Green Dragon, on leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race, from Qingdao to Rio de Janeiro.
Photo © Guo Chuan / Green Dragon Racing / Volvo Ocean Race.
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Although the miles are clicking off nicely with around 2,000 nm already safely consigned to history, conditions for the fleet are, in the words of Ericsson 4’s watch captain, Brad Jackson, "wet, hot and manky", which is the ideal breeding ground for all sorts of nasty rashes and sores.
"I am not looking forward to what Ryno (Ryan Godfrey), Nipper (Guy Salter) and Blood (Phil Jameson) start coming out with. Over the length of this leg, there could be some new varieties," he said.
Hold that thought until 13:00 GMT tomorrow. |
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Cockpit action onboard PUMA, Rob Salthouse and Ken Read trimming during Leg 5 from Qingdao to Rio de Janeiro.
Photo © Rick Deppe / PUMA Ocean Racing / Volvo Ocean Race.
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Leg 5 Day 6 - 13:00 GMT Volvo Ocean Race Positions
(Boat name / country / skipper / nationality / distance to finish)
Ericsson 4 SWE (Torben Grael / BRA) DTF 10,549 nm
PUMA Racing Team USA (Ken Read / USA) +10
Ericsson 3 SWE (Magnus Olsson / SWE) +105
Green Dragon IRL / CHN (Ian Walker / GBR) +246
Telefónica Blue ESP (Bouwe Bekking / NED) +267
Delta Lloyd IRL (Roberto Bérmudez / ESP) DNS
Telefónica Black ESP (Fernando Echávarri / ESP) DNS
Team Russia RUS (Andreas Hanakamp / AUT) DNS
Visit www.volvooceanrace.org for all the latest news! |
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