Ericsson 4 Next In Line
After the euphoric welcome given to Ericsson 3 this morning when she crossed the finish line in Rio de Janeiro to win leg five of the Volvo Ocean Race, Ericsson 4’s turn will come, but later on today.
Ending her StealthPlay this morning when she came within 50 miles of the finish, at 1300 GMT today Ericsson 4 had 46 miles to run, but her boat speed is down to a miserable two knots, promising a long and drawn out affair.
PUMA in the third spot, (DTF 92 nm) is fairing fractionally better, achieving an average speed of 5.8 knots during the past three hours. However, both Green Dragon and Telefónica Blue are making excellent progress a double the speed of PUMA, but have a lot of miles yet to cover.
Ericsson is predicted to finish around 2030 GMT today, provided she is not completely becalmed, with PUMA expected later tonight, but both Green Dragon and Telefónica Blue will have at least another two days at sea before they can sample the culinary delights of Rio de Janeiro.
Leg Five Day 41: 1300 GMT Volvo Ocean Race Positions
| Boat Name |
Country |
Skipper |
Nationality |
Distance to Finish |
| Ericsson 3 |
SWE |
Magnus Olsson |
SWE |
Finished |
| Ericsson 4 |
SWE |
Torben Grael |
BRA |
46 nm |
| PUMA |
USA |
Ken Read |
USA |
+46 |
| Green Dragon |
IRL/CHI |
Ian Walker |
GBR |
+438 |
| Telefónica Blue |
ESP |
Bouwe Bekking |
NED |
+626 |
| Delta Lloyd |
IRL |
Roberto Bermudez |
ESP |
DNS |
| Telefónica Black |
ESP |
Fernando Echávarri |
ESP |
DNS |
| Team Russia |
RUS |
Andreas Hanakamp |
AUT |
DNS |
Cape Horn Scoring Gate
| Boat Name |
Date |
Rounding Time |
Gate Point |
| Ericsson 3 |
17 : 03 : 2009 |
1222 |
4.0 |
| Ericsson 4 |
17 : 03 : 2009 |
1448 |
3.5 |
| PUMA |
17 : 03 : 2009 |
2046 |
3.0 |
| Green Dragon |
18 : 03 : 2009 |
0215 |
2.5 |
| Telefónica Blue |
19 : 03 : 2009 |
1339 |
2.0 |
|