Stalking Or Overtaking?

As the Volvo fleet presses south on day 11 of what could be a 40-day leg five to Rio, Ericsson 4 (Torben Grael/BRA) has pushed the bows of Ericsson 4 further into the lead, and a game of cat and mouse is being played out astern.  However, it is not the cat that is doing the stalking.  It is Ericsson 3 (Magnus Olsson/SWE), and actually, they are not ‘stalking’, they are ‘overtaking’.  Or trying to.

“They are right there, about three miles behind us and mile to weather,” says PUMA’s MCM Rick Deppe.  “They are laughing as they sail away over the horizon before their ultimate arrival in Rio, days before us,” he says.  How does he know this?  “Because, of course, we are trying to do exactly the same to them, and their team mates on Ericsson 4.  In fact, every other boat out here,” he says.

“It is nice to have them so close.  It pushes the crew to always stay on top and make the boat perform at its best,” says Ericsson 3’s helmsman Thomas Johanson.  “We are happy to have caught up with PUMA, but we are also trying hard to gain on Ericsson 4,” he added.

Deppe says that Ericsson 3 is the one boat that the PUMA team has seen most of during the course of the race.  “They always seem to be lurking around somewhere and often show great bursts of speed which gives them the ability to stay in the fight and also to get them out of trouble when they need to.”  He also notes that the Ericsson 3 crew seem to be having a lot of fun on their boat. “I like that,” he says and adds that the Ericsson 3 crew is quite a bit younger than the PUMA team “except Magnus Olsson, who would fit right in over her.”

The chasing duo crossed the Equator yesterday, almost side by side.  Onboard PUMA, there were no new crewmembers who needed permission from King Neptune to pass from the northern to the southern hemisphere, so instead,  the crew indulged in some contraband and held an impromptu party to celebrate the arrival of Michi Mueller’s newly born daughter.

“Jerry (Jerry Kirby) brought along some Cuban cigars (the good ones) for Michi, but he wouldn’t even touch them.  The rest of us were happy to help out.  Justin (Justin Ferris) smuggled a small bottle of rum aboard, disguised as sewing machine oil, and we all managed a nip of that as well.  Fortunately, the ‘Scandihooligans’ on Ericsson 3 must have been having an even bigger time, because, while the party rocked, Il Mostro sailed right away and took about ½ a mile out of them.  A nice moment,” reported Deppe.

As Ericsson 3 and PUMA enjoyed their Equator crossings, Ericsson 4 put more miles on the clock, building a buffer of 47 nm; almost double that of yesterday at 1300 GMT.  She is currently 790 nm northwest of the Polynesian island of Fiji and the whole fleet looks set to give Fiji a close look as they pass by.

Further back, Telefónica Blue and Green Dragon (Ian Walker/GBR) briefly swapped places and then swapped back again.   Telefónica Blue has gained another 21 miles, and Green Dragon a further 12.  The first scoring gate set at 36 degrees south is 1,825 nm ahead of the fleet, but, until then, it will be a drag race south. 
 
Leg Five Day 11: 1300 GMT Volvo Ocean Race Positions