Volvo Ocean Race: Ripped sail, no fun sailing and a bad loss?

12:04 AM Fri 23 Jan 2009 GMT

'Telefonica Black repairing sails, on leg 4 of the Volvo Ocean Race from Singapore to Qingdao, China' Mikel Pasabant/Telefonica Black/Volvo Ocean Race ? Click Here to view large photo

Onboard news from various competitors heading to China, during leg 4 of the Volvo Ocean Race.

DELTA LLOYD LEG FOUR DAY 5 QFB: received 22.01.09 0313 GMT
Sailing through these waters is not just fun. If you see the drift wood - sometimes the size of a really big tree - and realise that nobody will remove it during the night, and, considering the area in the chart that explicitly says: 'DANGEROUS GROUNDS', this is becoming a dangerous occupation.

Last night, around 2000 local time and pitch dark, we hit a piece of wood that slammed off the paddle-wheel speed sensor. This caused the whole navigational instruments to go bananas. We managed to glue some parts together like the A-Team would have done and were in an operational status within an hour.

Frits Koek - navigator
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ERICSSON 4 LEG FOUR DAY 5 QFB: received 22.01.09 1328 GMT
Well, it's the end of day four and we are starting to see how much of a loss we have suffered by sticking to our plan to stay in the Palawan Channel. Most of the boats out to sea have now tacked onto port and are approaching our line. It looks like the deficit will be 60 or more miles to Puma, which is significant to say the least, although with over half the leg to go and with the weather conditions forecast, this leg is far from over.

Speaking of weather, up until now, things have been pretty mild in both wind speeds and temperatures. Jules just let us know that the breeze will start building tonight and will soon be well into the mid thirties. This is what we have prepared the boat for and, hopefully, these are the conditions in which that E4 will start to excel. Time for us to get back into the race.

Goodnight for now,

Ryan Godfrey - bowman

Ryan Godfrey repairing sails onboard Ericsson 4, on leg 4 of the Volvo Ocean Race, from Singapore to Qingdao, China - Guy Salter-Ericsson 4-Volvo Ocean Race &copy Click Here to view large photo

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TELEF?NICA BLACK LEG FOUR DAY 5 QFB: received 22.01.09 1601 GMT
Dear all

It has been a very busy day today, and it has not ended yet. The guys are inside the bow of the 'Demonio', still repairing a ripped J2, so imagine the difficulties on such a bumpy road! But they are doing a great job.

Apart from that, we have been dealing with continuous wind changes in direction and speed, so the work on deck has been extenuating. We have lost the lead, but the final approach to the waypoint next to Manila promises to be really tight for the leading pack. Right now, we are involved in another of the countless tacks in this upwind leg. Fighting hard and with spirits high as always in the TELEF?NICA NEGRO!

Anecdote: bad luck for Javi (Javier de la Plaza/ESP) tonight, as his shin encountered a new item on deck with the result of some pain and a couple of filthy words! And not to forget the 'attack of the flying fish', much bigger than any seen before in other seas.

So, with our Roger, as any navigator in the world would, enjoying sailing in this part of the world with less-than-reliable charts, we will see what tomorrow brings.

Mikel Pasabant - MCM