12:23 PM Sun 14 Dec 2008 GMT
Since the Volvo Ocean Race fleet left Cochin in India yesterday at the start of leg three to Singapore, most of the teams have had their moment in the sun at the head of the fleet.
Guy Salter MCM onboard overall race leader Ericsson 4 explained that his crew was concerned about the yachts inshore. 'We were looking good against them in the last sched, but the worry is that they have more wind and are slipping up the inside.'
They were right to worry, as Telef?nica Blue (Bouwe Bekking/NED) and Green Dragon (Ian Walker/GBR) did just that. The Dragons had also made a good start had soon been swallowed up and spat out by the rest of the fleet.
'We seemed to be way off the pace for two position reports and were bringing up the rear of the pack,' said Ian Walker. However, this allowed them to follow their plan of staying close to the shore, and by first light, they had every boat in the fleet in sight of them, and only Telef?nica Blue in front.
Walker thinks the fleet will compress again, but for now he says it is nice to be up with the leaders. Steve Hayles, the British navigator who is standing in for Ireland's Ian Moore on this leg, can rest easy in the knowledge that his first call as navigator for the Dragons has been a good one.
Telef?nica Blue currently leads Green Dragon by five miles, with overall race leader, Ericsson 4 (Torben Grael/BRA) in third place a further two miles astern.
Onboard PUMA, currently in fourth position, skipper Kenny Read says it is all beginning to feel very familiar - the warm water and bad food.
'Pretty much status quo,' he says, adding, 'except for this leg at least there is no large low pressure brewing as of yet to knock our socks off as in the last two legs.'
PUMA also made a good start, only to see their initial lead evaporate as the leading bunch all took turns at the front of the field. Read says that in terms of weather conditions, they have had exactly what was expected in the first 20 hours of the race. Hot, light, tricky and very variable conditions.
Telef?nica Black (Fernando Ech?varri/ESP) takes up fifth place, just a mile astern of PUMA, while Ericsson 3 (Anders Lewander/SWE) occupies sixth place and the crew is disappointed. In the bright moonlight, the entire fleet gathered in sight of one another. There was almost no wind at all, and it was essential for each gust to be harnessed.
'We did not do very well. We missed a few chances to make better gains and we feel we are not very fast in the light and we have to improve quickly. We haven't really followed our own strategy and now we have only two boats behind us. We are not happy with that,' says Swedish watch captain Magnus Olsson.
In seventh position today at 10:00 GMT is Kosatka Team Russia (Andreas Hanakamp/AUT), who has stripped everything possible from their boat in order to improve speed. Andreas Hanakamp says that the first 15 hours of racing were closer than ever before.
'This morning, the fleet was summoned within sight of each other and, at one stage, at dawn, we would have been able to talk directly to IL Mostro and Ericsson 3 at the same time. What a great race and it feels good to be able to race the other boats that close,' he said.
Bringing up the rear this morning is Delta Lloyd (Roberto Bermudez/ESP). They are now 32 miles behind Telef?nica Blue.
'If we are lucky,' writes navigator Matt Gregory from the USA, 'we will be in Singapore for Christmas. For the past couple of days, all the wives and girlfriends have asked me if my forecasting models will get us to Singapore in time for Christmas.. I didn't have the heart to tell them directly what I was thinking. The truth is, I don't care when we get to Singapore. All I want for Christmas this year is a podium finish.'
Volvo Ocean Race - Leg Three Day Two: 10:00 GMT Volvo Ocean Race Positions
1 Telef?nica Blue ESP (Bouwe Bekking/NED) DTF1690
2 Green Dragon IRL/CHN (Ian Walker/GBR) +5
3 Ericsson 4 SWE (Torben Grael/BRA) +7
4 PUMA Racing Team USA (Ken Read/USA) +12
5 Telef?nica Black ESP (Fernando Ech?varri/ESP) +13
6 Ericsson 3 SWE (Anders Lewander/SWE) +20
7 Team Russia RUS (Andreas Hanakamp/AUT) +27
8 Delta Lloyd IRL (Roberto Bermudez/ESP) +32
by Volvo media
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Cape Byron, NSW
