7:48 PM Thu 20 Nov 2008 GMT
In the Volvo Ocean Race, it was a good day onboard Green Dragon as Ian Walker and his crew stormed over the scoring gate picking up three valuable points along the way. This now places them joint second overall alongside Puma as they make the tricky tactical decisions to head north for India.
The Dragon has taken the gamble to bag points at the gate, navigator Ian Moore updated us from the race course, 'So we have a new game, learning to sail without a boom, getting third at the scoring gate and you never know maybe even a result on the leg. We can see by the length on the Scheds that we are not the only ones having a few issues out here. It will be fascinating to see what the stories are from other boats but if we can carry on dealing with our adversities the way we have been, then we might be able to claw some points out of what looked like a last in leg situation.' Read his full blog here
The race north has begun, Green Dragon were the first boat to gybe north last night at 1900 GMT, with the rest of the fleet following suit soon after. Green Dragon is holding onto third place behind the two Ericsson boats. PUMA are 28 miles behind them in fourth position, with Telefoncia Black bringing up the rear some 194 miles behind current leader Ericsson 3. Soon the fleet will be sailing into lighter conditions and back into the heat as they approach the equator. For the crew onboard Green Dragon this provide an opportunity to repair their broken boom, 'We hope to start the repair when conditions improve and when the temperature rises a bit for the glue and resin we have onboard to cure.' commented Ian Walker this morning. The forecast ahead shows a band of high pressure waiting for the fleet, it will be a huge hurdle for the boats to navigate through or around as they sail to India, once through this system the fleet will be back into the kinder south east Trade Winds. You can see this system on the Race Viewer click here
Update from Skipper Ian Walker: 'We are thrilled to get third place and three points at the Mauritius scoring gate. This has been our sole focus since breaking the boom two days ago. We seem to be able to sail downwind with spinnakers quite well and even now reaching with one reef seems ok. It is the upwind sailing that we must hope to avoid. Our gybe went very well too thanks to a catamaran style sheeting system rigged up by Justin Slattery. India still feels an awful long way away right now. We hope to start the repair when conditions improve and when the temperature rises a bit for the glue and resin we have onboard to cure. I am not wildly optimistic but I think the lads are looking forward to the challenge. I just have to stop them cutting the boat up in the process!'
www.greendragonracing.com
Team Russia fourth and 'Foot to the Floor'.
Team Russia, skippered by Andreas Hanakamp, crossed the scoring gate at longitudinal 58 degrees east on the second leg of the Volvo Ocean Race 2008-09 in fourth position this morning at 09.36 GMT to pick up 2.5 points.
Crashing though huge waves and taking everything the roaring fourties had to throw at them, Andreas and his men, battled on overcoming a massive broach and unbearable conditions to race ahead to a fanatastic fourth place at the scoring gate. Now across, Kosatka will point her bow north for the 3,000-mile home stretch to Cochin.
Andreas reports from the boat, 'We are very happy with the 2.5 points we just picked up at the scoring longitude of 58E with boat, sails and crew all in one piece. We had a lot of discussion during the preparation period about the concept of the boat and to be honest, it feels very good to sit on a solid boat in the midst of the Southern Ocean.
'I would be surprised if we were the only boat that broached heavily and certainly not the last. Of course there is a certain luck factor not to break anything, but a solid boat helps as well. Also during some of the bigger leaps with the A6 and the Q9 in the bigger waves there were no scary noises from the structure of the boat, just the big bangs when you slam on the water with 30knots, which is scary and deafening by itself.
Andreas continues, 'Everybody is glad we are pointed the bow north as this promises warmer and finally drier weather. Being constantly wet and cold is tiring, I must admit. Already the northwest wind we are sailing in feels less chilly then the southwest we had for the last few days.'
The next days will be quite interesting from a strategic point of view. Kosatka not only managed to pick up points at the gate, but have also set themselves up in a position to skirt around the high pressure system in the north. 'Having the right wind speed and angle is critical even though the fleet will be compressed later on. This could still well change but at the moment there is no holding back and relaxing, we've got our foot to the floor,' promises Hanakamp.
Ericsson 4 was the first to cross the line at 03:45 GMT today, Ericsson 3 followed her sister ship and crossed the waypoint at 06:51 to pick up 3.5 points. Next it was Green Dragon 3 points and then Team Russia.
According to Race Meteorologist, Jennifer Lilly, as the fleet heads north-east ovet the 24-48 hours 'they will be looking forward to a few days of trade wind sailing'.
A blessed relief from the mauling they have taken in the Roaring Forties.
www.teamrussia.org
by Green Dragon media/Team Russia media
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