12:13 AM Fri 20 Mar 2009 GMT
The leading boats have hit a high pressure zone as they all battle north to Rio. The low pressure systems and the roaring forties of the Southern Ocean are now a distant memory, but all four boats are caught in this system as they negotiate their way around the Falkland Islands.
As a result there isn't much change on the positions in terms of miles gained or lost in the last 24 hours. Green Dragon are still holding fourth and they are sailing at 100% and chasing hard to try and close the gap on Puma who lay 100 miles ahead. At present the upwind stretch has kicked in and Green Dragon are pushing north in 25 knots. Whilst the weather options for Green Dragon are limited over the next few days spirits onboard remain high and the race isn't over until they cross the line, 'Finishing this leg will be a great achievement for the whole team but it would be far sweeter if we could get on the podium in Rio,' commented Ian Walker.
Green Dragon's navigator Wouter talked through his passage around Cape Horn, for him it was the second time around, but he is still no closer to actually seeing it in all of its majesty!
'My second rounding of the Horn and out of luck again. None of the glamorous pictures of a yacht blasting along the green rocks in bright sunshine for us. On the contrary we were hanging on for dear life in 40 knots of wind in a pitch black night. The waves were so bad we even had to drop the fractional spinnaker and went to the smaller blast reacher. Cold, wet, overcast and stormy is a better description of Cape Horn if you ask me.
They say the Horn marks the end of the Southern Ocean. I would like to disagree with that statement and suggest changing it to the Strait of Le Maire. A mere 100 NM around the corner of Cape Horn, this 16 NM wide strait is for me the gateway to the Atlantic. On the one side, grey and overcast skies with storm force winds and squalls, on the other side, sun, clear skies and a gentle NW breeze. The contrast can't be bigger. A wild scramble for sunglasses, foul weather gear being peeled of, and frozen feet regaining their feeling.
It is here that we finally found a good moment to celebrate the rounding of Cape Horn, the end of the Southern Ocean and the return to our home waters of the Atlantic. Our fantastic shore crew provided us with all the necessary ingredients to mark this special day. Big bellows of smoke signalled the end of our two weeks of wet clothes, cold feet and frozen hands as we lit some big cigars.
A pleasant surprise found its way up from the galley too in the shape of a bottle of Linje Aquavit. Whereas most of the crew threw some inquisitive and curious looks at this unknown bottle, I felt right at home. Living in Norway this traditional drink is no stranger to me as we typically drink it with our Christmas dinner. A very nice gift from race sponsor Wallenius Wilhelmsen Lines indeed, and soon the bottle was shared around us heavily bearded group of smelly men.
So now it is all good news as we are heading north towards Rio de Janeiro. The weather looks to be a right mess, which suits us very well as it will provide us with some snakes and ladders to try and overtake Puma. This marathon is not over until we cross the finishing line, that is for sure.
The 10000 nm behind us have been the warming up for the grand finale which is about to start. The crew is hungry for a podium place and Ian and I have been spending some decent time on trying to second guess the weather models that are spitting out a rather chaotic pattern of small low and high pressure systems. First we will have to deal with the Falkland Islands which are of course right in our way, and then we will slalom north through what the weather Gods are going to throw at us. At least my feet are dry again, so life is looking up. The Southern Ocean has been everything it is meant to be, but we are happy to leave it behind us for a while.
You know those pictures of Volvo 60s running under spinnaker in a beautiful sunny day with the green mountainous Horn in the background? Fake and trick footage if you ask me. A pretty story to keep us motivated through the cold, wet and stormy Southern Ocean.' - Wouter Verbraak - navigator
Leg Five Day 34: 1300 GMT Volvo Ocean Race Positions
(boat name/country/skipper/nationality/distance to finish)
Ericsson 3 SWE (Magnus Olsson/SWE) DTF 1, 621 nm
Ericsson 4 SWE (Torben Grael/BRA) +50
PUMA Racing Team USA (Ken Read/USA) +136
Green Dragon IRL/CHI (Ian Walker/GBR) +236
Telef?nica Blue ESP (Bouwe Bekking/NED) +636
www.volvooceanrace.org
www.greendragonracing.com
by Lucy Harwood/Wouter Verbraak-Green Dragon
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Mount Wellington, TAS
Foiling - Foils Complete
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