Volvo: Ericsson 4 first to scoring gate as Ericsson 3 makes brave move

11:06 PM Wed 4 Mar 2009 GMT

'Average Wind Speed over 40Kn, gusts of up to 50Kn apparent, True Wind Speed 30-32Kn. The only protection is the helmet.Telefonica Blue approaching the Southern Ocean, on leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race, from Qingdao to Rio de Janeiro' Gabriele Olivo/Telefonica Blue/Volvo Ocean Race &copy

As the Volvo Open 70 fleet drag raced towards the scoring gate at 36 degrees S, 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), yet 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.

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 Telefonica 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 five 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!'

Ken Read and Justin Ferris repair the damaged J2 as we approach the scoring gate at New Zealand., on leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race, from Qingdao to Rio de Janeiro - Rick Deppe-PUMA Ocean Racing-Volvo Ocean Race &copy

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 of them with only two miles separating them.

Bekking on Telefonica 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.'

Leg Five Day 19: 1300 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
Telef?nica Blue ESP (Bouwe Bekking/NED) +56
Green Dragon IRL/CHI (Ian Walker/GBR) +58

Delta Lloyd IRL (Roberto Bermudez/ESP) DNS
Telef?nica Black ESP (Fernando Ech?varri/ESP) DNS
Team Russia RUS (Andreas Hanakamp/AUT) DNS