Outimage Australia - VOR 2008-2009 - Ericsson 3’s Brave Move - Leg 5 Day 19

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Ericsson 3’s Brave Move
Leg 5 Day 19 - 15:20 GMT Wednesday, March 4, 2009.

As the Volvo Open 70 fleet drag raced towards the scoring gate at 36 degrees south, it was all to play for, up to the very end. With the eventual winner of the first points of leg five being Ericsson 4 (Torben Grael / BRA), it was Ericsson 3 (Magnus Olsson / SWE) who received all the interest after their crossing.

Grael and his International crew picked up four points at 00:21 GMT last night as they crossed the gate and were closely followed by their stable-mate Ericsson 3 at 00:53 GMT. The Nordic crew then decided to make their brave move and immediately tacked to the north-east, away from all the fleet. Olsson has officially put all his trust in his young navigator Aksel Magdahl, who believes that the best course is to the north of the high pressure between them and Cape Horn and not the south. We will all have to see if this pays off for the crew or makes them lose precious miles.

Ericsson 3's new crew memeber Norwegian Arve Roaas (right) hoisiting together with pitman and boat captainn Jens Dolmer (left), on leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race.

Photo © Gustav Morin / Ericsson 3 / Volvo Ocean Race.

Despite PUMA’s (Ken Read / USA) crew pushing flat out towards the gate, they finally crossed the line a mere 10 minutes after the Nordic crew. Next came Telefónica Blue (Bouwe Bekking / NED) followed by the Green Dragon just over an hour behind them at 04:31 GMT.

Read described his disappointment this morning. "Sadly. In the end it was not to be and they [Ericsson 4] beat us to the gate by about 5 miles with E3 sneaking into second two miles ahead of us. On top of this the conditions last night and today have been nothing short of horrible: blast reaching in 25 to 30 knots is the most uncomfortable angle on these boats - wet, really wet!"

Sleeping sea boots onboard PUMA Ocean Racing, on leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race, from Qingdao to Rio de Janeiro.

Photo © Rick Deppe / PUMA Ocean Racing / Volvo Ocean Race.

Sleeping sea boots onboard PUMA Ocean Racing, on leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race, from Qingdao to Rio de Janeiro. Photo copyright Rick Deppe / PUMA Ocean Racing / Volvo Ocean Race.

So as four of the fleet head south to get around the high pressure and inevitably make their way further into the Southern Ocean, it is PUMA in the lead at 13:00 GMT with Ericsson 4 a mere nine nm behind on the leaderboard. Yet in reality, Ericsson 4 are 103 nm to the south-west of il Mostro with Telefonica Blue and Green Dragon to the north-west with only two miles separating them.

Bekking on Telefónica Blue was a happy man today to pass the Dragon to take fourth at the gate.

"So we beat the odds to actually pass one team to the scoring waypoint, I had never expected that. But it showed again today, close reaching we seem to be slippery. So now on our way into the Southern Ocean, which looks to be a very tricky affair. This meant as well that one boat [Ericsson 3] has taken the option for a northerly route. If that route will win them the leg, they will write history, as up to now in all the legs down south, the south has won."

Stacking onboard Telefonica Blue, on leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race, from Qingdao to Rio de Janeiro.

Photo © Gabriele Olivo / Telefonica Blue / Volvo Ocean Race.

Stacking onboard Telefonica Blue, on leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race, from Qingdao to Rio de Janeiro. Photo copyright Gabriele Olivo / Telefonica Blue / Volvo Ocean Race.

Leg 5 Day 19 - 13:00 GMT Volvo Ocean Race Positions
(Boat name / country / skipper / nationality / distance to finish)

PUMA Racing Team USA (Ken Read / USA) DTF 6,978 nm
Ericsson 4 SWE (Torben Grael / BRA) +9
Ericsson 3 SWE (Magnus Olsson / SWE) +46
Telefónica Blue ESP (Bouwe Bekking / NED) +56
Green Dragon IRL / CHI (Ian Walker / GBR) +58

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!

The Volvo Ocean Race 2008-09 will be the 10th running of this ocean marathon. Starting from Alicante in Spain, on 4 October 2008 with in-port racing, it will, for the first time, take in Cochin, India, Singapore and Qingdao, China before finishing in St Petersburg, Russia for the first time in the history of the race.

Spanning some 37,000 nautical miles, stopping at 11 ports and taking nine months to complete, the Volvo Ocean Race is the world's premier yacht race for professional racing crews.

The official website: www.volvooceanrace.org

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