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12:03 AM Sun 11 Jan 2009 GMT
The UBS Challenge In Port race kicked off in spectacular style. The fleet took to the crowded shipping waters off the coast of Singapore, in a building northerly 15 knot breeze. The crews faced challenging racing as they took on a 1.5 knot tide, gusts and shifting conditions on the two mile course.
PUMA dominated the first race, Ken Read and his crew sailed faultlessly as they lead from the front. Conditions were shifty as the fleet crossed the line tacking between the pockets of breeze that dotted the course. By the first mark PUMA had taken the lead with Ericsson 4 hard on their heels, Ericsson 3 sneaked ahead of Ian Walker and his crew, with Telefonica Blue close behind in fifth. Elsewhere Delta Lloyd and Telefonica Black, who were forced to do a restart after false start, were fighting for speed at the back of the fleet.
The localised pockets of air caused issues as the fleet headed downwind hoisting their big spinnakers, but it was the big cat that stayed in control leading the fleet to the downwind mark. Green Dragon stayed in the mix just being edged out by Telefonica Blue, who had a storming run to the bottom mark moving from fifth to third. PUMA's lead had extended to 45 seconds over Ericsson 4 as they made their way up the second beat to the top mark, sticking to the middle of the course. Green Dragon clung to the right hand side of the course hot on the heels on Ericsson 4, as the racing between the boats remained tight allowing no room for error. By the second upwind leg, two battles had formed on the course. Ericsson 4 were chasing PUMA for first, whilst Green Dragon and Telefonica Blue fought it out for third. But by the last downwind leg PUMA had extended their lead to cross the line comfortably in first place, their first win on any In Port, scoring gate or leg in the race so far. Ericsson 4 claimed second and the Dragon were narrowly beaten by a boat length from Telefonica Blue who took third.
Race two was a spectacular site as the fleet showed how exciting close match racing can be as the boats battled for control on the water. The fleet were split off the line with the Ericsson and Telefonica twins heading to the left hand side of the course, as PUMA, Green Dragon and Delta Lloyd chose to take the right hand charge. A battle ensued between Telefonica Blue, Ericsson 4 and PUMA, as each worked hard to cover their place on the course. On the first beat upwind leg Ken Read was caught off guard as the cat came close to a collision with Ericsson 4, forcing Torben Grael to bear away for clean water, a protest by Ericsson 4 was later rejected by the race committee. But the error cost PUMA dearly leaving them exposed on the course which allowed the Dragon to close the gap. Green Dragon found a strong shift from the left hand side of the course which saw them cross ahead of Telefonica Black and sneak in front of PUMA to round the top mark in third. It was all left to the final downwind charge. Ericsson 4 and Telefonica Blue were caught in a game of cat and mouse as they headed for the finish line. Elsewhere Green Dragon found themselves caught between PUMA to their right and Telefonica Black to their left. The shifty conditions saw the Dragon sail into a wind hole and slow down allowing the other boats a small advantage to steal valuable places ahead. The final result saw Ian Walker and his crew finish a frustrating fifth on the second race, taking fifth overall and two points towards their tally on the leaderboard. For the Dragon their overall position of fifth stays the same.
Green Dragon skipper Ian Walker commented after racing, 'It was certainly a fantastic spectacle, but ultimately a frustrating day for us. I think all in all we sailed well, we did well to take fourth on the first race and on the last race we were pleased to be third round the last mark. But the wind was incredibly shifty on the final stretch, and we got caught out with no wind, it was disappointing to have boats pass us so close to the finish, and so we ended up having to settle for fifth. But there was some good sailing in some great conditions'.
The next race in the in-port series will be held in Qingdao, China on 7th February after the finish of leg four (2,500 nautical miles), which starts next Sunday, 18th January.
UBS Challenge for the In-Port Race in the Volvo Ocean Race Singapore
1. Ericsson 4: (4 points)
2. PUMA: (3.5 points)
3. Telef?nica Blue: (3 points)
4. Telef?nica Black: (2.5 points)
5. Green Dragon: (2 points)
6. Ericsson 3: (1.5 points)
7. Delta Lloyd: (1 point)
Overall Leaderboard
1. Ericsson 4 (Torben Grael/BRA): 39 points
2.Telef?nica Blue (Bouwe Bekking/NED): 33.5 points
3. PUMA (Ken Read/USA): 31 points
4. Ericsson 3 (Magnus Olsson/SWE): 24 points
5. Green Dragon (Ian Walker/GBR): 22.5 points
6. Telef?nica Black (Fernando Echavarri/ESP): 22 points
7. Team Russia (Andreas Hanakamp/AUT): 10.5 points
8. Delta Lloyd (Roberto Bermudez/ESP): 10 points
Green Dragon Crew List In-Port Race
Skipper: Ian Walker (GBR)
Watch Leader: Anthony Merrington (AUS)
Watch-leader: Neal McDonald (GBR)
Navigator: Ian Moore (N. IRL)
Bowman: Justin Slattery (IRL)
Pit/Trimmer: Tom Braidwood (AUS)
Pit/Trim/Helm: Ian Budgen (GBR)
Bowman/Trimer/Pitman: Andrew Mclean (NZ)
Driver/Trimmer/ Sailmaker: Phil Harmer (AUS)
Bowman: Freddy Shanks (GBR)
Media Crew Member: Huang Jian (CHN)
Read more news at greendragonracing.com
by Lucy Harwood
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