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5:42 PM Fri 28 Nov 2008 GMT
While overnight, it has been doom and gloom for most of the Volvo fleet, for Ericsson 4 and Telef?nica Blue, life is looking pretty rosy. Both teams have made more gains and Telef?nica Blue stole a march to move up to second place, 111 nautical miles behind Ericsson 4. Computer routing software is predicting an early Sunday morning finish for race leader Ericsson 4.
Today, day 14, just when the teams were in the closing all hopes of an early arrival evaporated as the wind died, leaving the crews frustrated, tired and anxious to get ashore. However, while overnight, it has been doom and gloom for most of the fleet, for Ericsson 4 (Torben Grael/BRA) and Telef?nica Blue (Bouwe Bekking/NED), life is looking pretty rosy.
Both teams have made more gains and Telef?nica Blue stole a march to move up to second place, 111 nautical miles behind Ericsson 4, but with Ericsson 3 (Anders Lewander/SWE) a safe 119 nm astern.
'All of a sudden, we are in second place,' exclaimed Bouwe Bekking. 'The guys in the east parked up badly and we take the glory for the time being, but I am holding my breath, especially as, during the last couple of hundred miles, everything can happen.'
For Ericsson 3 and the rest of the pack in the centre lane: Green Dragon (Ian Walker/GBR), Delta Lloyd (Roberto Bermudez/ESP), PUMA (Ken Read/USA) the racing is difficult and frustrating.
'An anticlimax, that's what this is. We have been racing hard in strong winds and rough seas for over a week, and now there is a restart again,' said Gustav Morin MCM on Ericsson 3.
Last night, Delta Lloyd (Roberto Bermudez/ESP) who is right up in the hunt in fifth place, hardly moved at all, stuck, bobbing like a cork, but with three boats in sight - Ericsson 3, Green Dragon (Ian Walker/GBR) and PUMA (Ken Read/USA). On Delta Lloyd, the atmosphere is more positive.
'Considering our slow pace, it is exciting racing out here,' wrote navigator Matt Gregory from the USA early this morning. 'Every zephyr moved us forward a couple of metres at a time, and each metre was a gain on the others. We keep chipping away, little by little.' But, it was a night of metres and not miles, which made Cochin, about 500 miles ahead, seem like a far off land.
Onboard Green Dragon, the crew is beginning to consider their food and diesel supplies. Without diesel, they cannot make water. The team has provisioned for 19 days, but the wind is dropping to nothing again, and the forecast is for worse.
Ian Walker and his team are considering their options which vary from the ultimately professional attitude of staying patient, fighting for every inch and maintaining the intensity in desperately trying circumstances, to, jokingly, switching on the engine and heading for a cool beer and fresh food in the Maldives.
'We are still focussed on the professional approach, but I suspect that, in a week's time, when we are still stuck out here, option two will look pretty good,' he said wryly.
At 13:00 GMT today, Ericsson 4 holds a substantial lead of 111 nm over Telef?nica Blue. Ericsson 3 is a further 119 nm behind, in third place. But, there is no time to relax on Ericsson 3. Green Dragon is snapping at her heels, just 10 miles behind, and Delta Lloyd is putting the pressure on the Dragons, just two miles astern.
PUMA is in sixth position, five miles behind Delta Lloyd and 242 nm behind the leaders, but t the gap widens to Telef?nica Black (Fernando Ech?varri/ESP), who has had a string of breakages and now trails the leader by 274 nm.
With just 335 nm to go to the finish, computer routing software is predicting an early Sunday morning finish for Ericsson 4, but the wind is forecast to drop and this may well slip back.
Volvo Ocean Race Positions - Leg Two, Friday, Day 14: 1300 GMT
1 Ericsson 4 SWE (Torben Grael/BRA) DTF 335 nm
2 Telef?nica Blue ESP (Bouwe Bekking/NED) +111
3 Ericsson 3 SWE (Anders Lewander/SWE) +230
4 Green Dragon IRL/CHN (Ian Walker/GBR) +240
5 Delta Lloyd IRL (Roberto Bermudez/ESP) +242
6 PUMA Racing Team USA (Ken Read/USA) +247
7 Telef?nica Black ESP (Fernando Ech?varri/ESP) +274
8 Team Russia RUS (Andreas Hanakamp/AUT) +355
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Cape Byron, NSW
