12:31 PM Mon 23 Feb 2009 GMT
News from the crews onboard the Volvo 70's racing towards Rio.
GREEN DRAGON LEG FIVE DAY 10 QFB: received 23.02.09 0329 GMT
There has been plenty of excitement on the Green Dragon in the last couple of days, not least a close call with a huge whale first thing this morning. The whale breached the surface about three boat lengths to windward of us when we were charging along at 17 knots. It does make you wonder what the impact would be like if you hit one of these fantastic creatures flat out - it's probably best not to think about it too much.
There has been plenty of good news too. First of all Damian (Damian Foxall/IRL) heard the news via a phone call that he has been awarded the prestigious Irish Sailor of the Year Award and then overnight came news that Neal (Neal McDonald/GBR) had became an uncle. Congratulations all round!
Spirits are also high as it seems our easterly route seems to be paying some dividends. We have had a very easy doldrums passage so far, with only one cloud bringing us even close to stopping. The leaders' margin has been more than halved although some of this is natural compression as the fleet slows. We have done well recently against Telef?nica Blue to the west and we are still over 100 miles east of where the leaders passed. This could mean more big gains or possibly losses if things go against us. Wouter (Wouter Verbraak/NED) and I are still comfortable with our position for now, but only time will tell.
The Equator is now only 140 miles away and our new crew member Chris Main is right to be concerned about his first crossing. He has had a baptism of fire and is doing a great job, but King Neptune and Queen Codfish do not take kindly to lone crew members seeking to cross the Equator for the first time - Chris will be very outnumbered!
The only bad news to report is the increasing hold the lurgy has on our crew. Freddie Shanks is the last one to go down and he has commandeered Guo's (Guo Chuan MCM) bunk as a sick bay for now. Over half the crew have suffered so far with a queue for the head (toilet) not uncommon.
Today we spent an hour sterilising all the cups, bowls and spoons as best we can but the reality of life on these boats is that if one person gets ill, it is a fair assumption that everyone will. This means I am probably next in line and funnily enough I can feel a sore throat coming on. I'm off to find the vitamin pills.
Ian Walker - skipper
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ERICSSON 4 LEG FIVE DAY 10 QFB: received 23.02.09 1136 GMT
It's another beautiful evening on Ericsson 4 with very pleasant conditions. The sky is clear and the full display of stars is on view - with the Southern Cross directly on the bow.
The sea was very flat today and the wind has topped out at about 12 knots but been in the 8 - 10 knot range for most of the afternoon. We have been cruising along at around 10knots with the code zero up and have been sailing on the wind. It has been glorious.
We managed to get ourselves out of the terrible cloudy doldrums area, managing to hold off the rapid advances of Puma and Ericsson 3 - for now - who knows what will happen over the next week or more.
We also passed back into the southern hemisphere today - not quite as much fun as when we last did but more to the relief of Ryan Godfrey and Phil Jameson who said it took a while to rid themselves of the smell provided by Neptune and his bride a couple of months ago.
The majority of the crew did however make their point felt that we were returning to the 'proper' side of the planet - but then these same nine originate from this side (three of whom seem more interested in carnivals and homecomings to be honest) - however the minority once again know themselves to be right and let the antipodeans and pals celebrate their misguided beliefs in peace!
There has been a distinct lack of wildlife - yet again - on this trip, at present we have seen a dolphin and a whale (both singular!) and quite a few birds - we were hoping for a better turn out, but then, if you were a sea creature you would also probably stay well away from a VO70.
One thing which would be great to have right now would be a trivial pursuit question pack - we do try and have a few questions floating about but we seem to be drying up a little. Already we have exhausted sport, yachting and a fair few general knowledge questions. Pop music has also been featured, but there seems to be a huge gap in taste. Stu Bannatyne, who is normally the quiz master, is definitely stuck in the '70s with his tastes - and often bands which only he, and the south end of the NZ north island, has ever heard of.
Never mind only about 30 or so days to go
Guy Salter - MCM
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ERICSSON 3 LEG FIVE DAY 10 QFB: received 23.02.09 1019 GMT
Rolling the dice
It has been a very nice and at the same time an enormously exciting day in the Volvo Ocean Race. During the night we made huge gains on the front fleet and in the morning we could see Puma in bearing 90 degrees. And by then we were still gaining.
They were sailing much lower than us but pretty much at same pace and for a while it seemed like we were going the come really close to each other. But, suddenly, they got some breeze that we didn't and just took off. Fortunately for us, that only lasted for about 30 minutes, and we were back in the game.
We have reached the Doldrums and the game of rolling dice can begin. Even though the convergence zone is not as big as it has been at the last crossings (leg one and leg two), it is still impossible to predict what's going to happen with the wind the next coming days.
We have had very calm conditions today, but it is still a lot of action since we have to keep 100 per cent watch for the clouds and try to find the best way around them. Otherwise you can easily get stuck, like Puma did earlier.
'This is just like fleet racing in light air, when it is all about finding the wind', commented bowman Anders Dahlsj? as he stood by the daggerboard keeping watch on the wind and the monster at the horizon. This race is a lot about endurance and until now it has been pretty tough.
'Everyone has been fighting so hard to keep the boat going at 100 per cent and it's fantastic that we are doing so well and staying in good shape even though we haven't had any time to rest since Singapore, because of the crack in the hull. It has just been a full on marathon for us on Ericsson 3', says skipper Magnus Olsson.
New crew member Magnus Wox?n agreed:
'Endurance is definitely a big part of this race. Since I got onboard in China it has been full on fire housing and everyone is really happy to get a calm day like this when we can dry out and step out of the wet weather gear'.
Some of the guys took the opportunity to get a freshwater wash. It is important to try and stay as clean as possible in the heat. Everyone is struggling with rashes from the heat and from always being wet. A good wash should help some.
It has been warm the last couple of days but since it still has been wet sailing we haven't been able to open up the hatches. Today we could open both hatches over the galley and aft and make the air flow all the way through the boat, and for the first time in a long while, the smell is actually acceptable down here. At least someone from the outside would no longer faint from just sticking his nose under deck.
On the last sched Puma was three miles ahead and our sistership 25 miles. No big gains or losses during the day between us. Interesting is that Green Dragons decision to go east seems to start paying off. The next coming days will be very interesting.
Gustav Morin - MCM
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TELEF?NICA BLUE LEG FIVE DAY 10 QFB: received 23.02.09 1025 GMT
The following came through a couple of hours ago on our navigation warning system:
'NORTH PACIFIC, NANPO SHOTO.DISCOLOURED WATER WITH SUBMARINE VOLCANIC ACTIVITIES OBSERVED. IN VICINITY OF 24-17.1N 141-29.0E'
Yes, indeed a volcanic 'eruption' very close where we crossed this position a couple of days ago. Good it didn't happen when we were there, as not sure how we would have reacted..........and rather don't want to know the consequences.
So what other 'dangers' are out here? Radioactivity is one of them, a big thanks to the countries who have been playing here with atomic bombs about 30-40 years ago. Some of the atolls are still highly radio active, and the Pacific pilot recommends a wide berth around these atolls. The Pacific pilot has provided us some nice reading material, and it is a shame that we are racing through this area. Wouldn't it have been nice to make several stops here and to explore some of the atolls? The pictures say it all, it is paradise.
Last but not least: we had small electrical fire in the media box!! Some quick action, by ripping all kind of connectors apart, prevented worse. Gabry (Gabriele Olivo/MCM) has been trying to fix it, but no luck yet. If he can't fix it, it means he can't edit video and pictures, so he is determined to get it going again.
Besides that he had a quiet day today. As it was sunny and no water over the deck it was drying out time. The only shots he could take where restricted to face shots, as we were we all running around half naked, all desperate trying to dry out underwear and our bodies. Body rashes have appeared, so the suda cream was heavily used and made downstairs smell like a hospital.
David Vera and Xabier Fernandez repaired the prop door properly, without having to drop the propeller outside. They found some stainless steels self tappers, which they stripped off from somewhere else on the boat. This will give us re-assurance when we sail fast through the southern ocean.
Jono (Jonathan Swain/RSA) replaced some small strops, which have shown some usage in this last week, so everything is fixed, we are all tikitiboo again!!
Bouwe Bekking - skipper
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