There are only five teams left in the Volvo Ocean Race, as competitors in the self-described, “Everest of Sailing,” speed on their way from Qingdao, China. The "lead-bottomed money-gobblers" will be passing New Zealand, then Cape Horn on their way to Rio de Janeiro. The race began in October 2008 s in Alicante, Spain and concludes in St Petersburg, Russia, during late June 2009. Sailing over 37,000 nautical miles of some of the world’s most treacherous waters, the boats only stop in Cape Town, Kochi, Singapore, Qingdao, around Cape Horn to Rio de Janeiro, Boston, Galway, Goteborg and Stockholm.
These massive schooners are each crewed by eleven professionals, who train for years to battle the hunger, extreme temperatures and sleep deprivation experienced during runs that are sustained, at times, for longer than 30 days.
Beginning in 1973 as The Whitbread round the World Race and renamed in 2000-2001, the Volvo Ocean Race is arguably the most dangerous, as well as exhausting, of global sporting events.
The teams sailed in 20-to-30-knot winds gusting to 40 knots for a 36-hour period during the weekend and saw boat speeds of 36 knots. Four knots of the warm-water Kuroshio Current, also known as the Black Tide, played into this amazingly-fast rate of speed. The sailors on-board have reported they are relieved to at least have the whitewater spray a comfortable temperature, for now. That will change in approximately 14 days as the fleet enters the Southern Ocean.
Last heard, Ericsson 4 (Torben Grael/BRA) was leading PUMA (Ken Read/USA) by 16 nautical miles. PUMA received some damage when a wheel ploughing into the bottom of a big wave snapped in half. They’ve also reported having a mechanical issue with a steering quadrant.
With her keel having been recently replaced, Ericsson 3 passed Green Dragon while another later starter returning from repairs, Telefónica Blue (Bouwe Bekking/NED), was striving to make up lost time, lagging just over 10 hours (197 nm) behind Ericsson 4.
Leg Five Day Three: 1300 GMT Volvo Ocean Race Positions
(boat name/country/skipper/nationality/distance to finish)
(boat name/country/skipper/nationality/distance to finish)
Ericsson 4 SWE (Torben Grael/BRA) DTF 11,653 nm
PUMA Racing Team USA (Ken Read/USA) +16
Ericsson 3 SWE (Magnus Olsson/SWE) +63
Green Dragon IRL/CHN (Ian Walker/GBR) +74
Telefónica Blue ESP (Bouwe Bekking/NED) +197
PUMA Racing Team USA (Ken Read/USA) +16
Ericsson 3 SWE (Magnus Olsson/SWE) +63
Green Dragon IRL/CHN (Ian Walker/GBR) +74
Telefónica Blue ESP (Bouwe Bekking/NED) +197
Delta Lloyd IRL (Roberto Bermudez/ESP) DNS
Telefónica Black ESP (Fernando Echávarri/ESP) DNS
Team Russia RUS (Andreas Hanakamp/AUT) DNS
Telefónica Black ESP (Fernando Echávarri/ESP) DNS
Team Russia RUS (Andreas Hanakamp/AUT) DNS
Race reports are issued daily to the media at 1300 GMT (1000 GMT Saturdays) by email; however, positions are updated every three hours on www.volvooceanrace.org where you will also find the latest news, feature stories, images and video. Full press information can be read and downloaded from: http://press.volvooceanrace.org.
About the Photo: Puma Ocean Racing Leg 5 start of the Volvo Ocean Race 2008-2009 from Qingdao to Rio d Janeiro. Only 3 boats started this leg on time, a marathon 12,300 mile leg of offshore ocean racing. Photo Sally Collison/PUMA Ocean Racing
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