Volvo Ocean Race - The Dragon on its way

12:52 PM Sun 17 May 2009 GMT

'Green Dragon, skippered by Ian Walker (GBR) at the start of leg 7 from Boston to Galway' Dave Kneale/Volvo Ocean Race &copy

The crew onboard Green Dragon were given a warm send off in Boston today by a huge crowd of Irish supporters, all cheering on as the boat left the dock to the sound of their team song 'Galway Girl'. In a 15 knot south easterly breeze the fleet started Leg 7, but the fleet were recalled from the first start after the start gun malfunctioned.

Once racing got underway again, it was a split fleet off the line with the home team Puma leading the fleet to the top mark. Telefonica Blue led her sistership around the first mark, followed by Green Dragon just holding off Puma, then Ericsson 4 and Ericsson 3, whilst Delta Lloyd was pushed away from the mark by the coastguard because of an approaching freighter!

The fleet then headed back down into the harbour as a dense fog started to set in around the city. Telefonica Blue held her lead and rounded the bottom mark ahead of Telefonica Black, Puma managed to slip through just ahead of Green Dragon, with Ericsson 4 and Ericsson 3 chasing hard on the Dragon's tail.

Delta Lloyd was forced to play catch up in distant seventh, after the freighter incident earlier on the course. As the fleet headed back up and out of the harbour it was to be round two with the freighter, which now under pilot boat was making its way back towards the fleet. The two Telefonica boats held their course with the rest of the pack around a minute behind. Green Dragon were caught by Ericsson 4 as they pass the freighter but still held off Ericsson 3 as they headed out passed the final channel mark. Delta Lloyd bought up the rear of the pack as the fleet disappeared into the thick fog that had now covered the harbour. They will head north-east up the coast of New England as they make their way out passed the whale exclusion zone this evening.

Current forecasts suggest slightly lighter speeds are expected to the east and north as the fleet ventures out of Boston Harbor. As the evening approaches the cold front should advance far enough east to cause a building gradient wind, which will veer to the South/South West across the coastal waters of New England. Conditions may become increasingly gusty during the evening and overnight ahead of the cold front.

For Green Dragon Leg 7 has great significance as they race across the Atlantic to their home port of Galway in Ireland. This is also a unique leg for the crew as they will be in active communication with the online Volvo Ocean Race Game community, every 12 hours Ian Moore and Ian Walker will send the online community a question regarding the current situation on the boat. The community will vote and the crew will decide what to do.

Green Dragon, skippered by Ian Walker (GBR) at the start of leg 7 from Boston to Galway - Dave Kneale-Volvo Ocean Race &copy

Update from onboard

It was with some sadness that we left Fan Pier in Boston. What a fantastic city and I am already looking forward to returning there soon. Unfortunately that is the nature of the Volvo Ocean Race. No sooner have you made new friends than you must say your farewells. It has been an exciting week for our team as we have signed a new partnership with BWIN and United Games for us to communicate directly with those who play the Volvo Game online. I have just sent my second question to be polled by the gaming community - the first one received over 10,000 votes which is incredible. It will be fascinating to see how the gaming community's choices compare to the decisions Ian Moore and I make onboard. Let's hope we don't get it wrong!

We made a good start again in Boston and enjoyed the two lap course in front of the city. I only hope the fog wasn't too bad for everyone ashore to enjoy the spectacle. It was quite bizarre losing sight of everything as visibility dropped to less than 100 metres. I suspect this will be a recurring theme of the next week as moist air from the South cools over the very cold water we will be sailing through and forms dense fog. I think fog is one of the worst hazards at sea and for Ian or I it will mean 24 hour radar watch.

Radar doesn't help much with lobster pots though so we will need a bit of Irish luck to help out there. Neal had to avoid 15 lobster pots in the first 20 minutes of his shift steering earlier today which doesn't bode well for tonight. Talking of Irish Luck how can I not mention our terrific send off.

The Mayor of Galway came over to send us on our way and we were treated to fantastic Irish singing and dancing. The Green Dragon is on its way home and we cannot wait to sail once again into the beautiful waters of Galway Bay.

Skipper Ian Walker