Volvo Ocean Race, arrivederci amore ciao
Equipo TelefonicaEricsson RacingGreen Dragon RacingOceanoPuma Ocean RacingVelaVolvo Ocean Race 18 Marzo 2009 Zerogradinord 0
[singlepic=1977,300,204,,left]Volvo Ocean Race – Oceano Pacifico – Quasi incredulo per l’impresa compiuta, l’equipaggio di Ericsson 3 fa prua verso Rio de Janeiro. Ed è proprio il caso di dire che punta direttamente la città brasiliana: Capo Horn, infatti, è alle spalle e le basse latitudini sono ormai passate nell’archivio della memoria.
Nel corso di un collegamento radio, Magnus Olsson ha detto che essere passato per primo attraverso lo Scoring Gate posto in corrispondenza della Terra del Fuoco rappresenta senza dubbio il punto più alto della sua carriera sportiva: “E’ la mia sesta volta e sono molto felice per tutti i ragazzi che erano al loro esordio, perchè ho potuto vedere quanto fossero felici nell’essere lì. Passare per primi è stato semplicemente fantastico: ho faticato a rendermene conto”.
“Ora – ha aggiunto Olsson – non abbiamo certo intenzione di sederci sugli allori. Dobbiamo stare concentrati e puntare al successo assoluto. Mancano 1900 miglia, siamo davanti e sappiamo di potercela fare”.
Passato lo Stretto di Le Maire, passaggio impegnativo tra la Isla de los Estados e la Terra del Fuoco, Ericsson 3 ha incontrato arie leggere ed è stato avvicinato da Ericsson 4, portatosi a sole 5 miglia. Dopo 2 ore, però, il VOR 70 di Olsson è tornato ad allungare il passo ed è tornato davanti di 45 miglia.
Passato al traverso delle Falkland anche Il Mostro, è Green Dragon, quarto in classifica a 246 miglia dal leader, l’unico a poter lasciare le isole argentine alla sinistra. Lo scafo di Ian Walker ha passato Capo Horn spinto da venti tesi e mare formato. Una situazione difficile, che nelle fasi di avvicinamento ha obbligato l’equipaggio a togliere lo spinnaker e ad allontanarsi da terra al punto che del famoso Capo, nessuno, a bordo, ha potuto vedere nulla.
Opzione inversa rispetto a quella che auspica di assumere Bouwe Bekking. Lo skipper di Telefonica Blue spera in un passaggio sotto costa, non perchè l’Horn sia particolarmente bello da vedere, ma perchè vorrebbe dire accorvciare la strada alla volta di Rio.
Leg 5, day 32, 13.00 GMT, rankings
1. Ericsson 3 SWE (Magnus Olsson/SWE) DTF 1872 nm
2. Ericsson 4 SWE (Torben Grael/BRA) +45 nm
3. Puma Racing Team USA (Ken Read/USA) +171 nm
4. Green Dragon IRL/CHN (Ian Walker/GBR) +246 nm
5. Telefónica Blue ESP (Bouwe Bekking/NED) +772 nm
Team Delta Lloyd NED/IRL (Roberto Bermudez/ESP) DNS
Telefónica Black ESP (Fernando Echávarri/ESP) DNS
Team Russia RUS (Andreas Hanakamp/AUT) DNS
[flashvideo filename=video/vor/Ericsson3_180309.flv /]
Ericsson 3 celebra il passaggio di Capo Horn: sigari e brindisi.
Video courtesy Ericsson Racing Team.
ERICSSON 3 PROMISES A FIGHT TO THE FINISH
[Volvo Ocean Race Press Release] The crew of Ericsson 3 is still marvelling at the fact that they led the whole Volvo fleet past Cape Horn and back into the Atlantic yesterday, claiming top marks at the scoring gate at the same time. Speaking in a radio interview today, skipper Magnus Olsson said that rounding Cape Horn is a peak in both his career and his life.
“It is my sixth time,” he said. “I am most happy for all the rookies on the boat who have never done it before, because I could see how happy they were. It is a fantastic achievement to go round first, I can hardly believe it.”
Olsson also said that whoever dares to challenge Ericsson 3 would have to work for it, promising that his team was going to work harder than ever before to finish the race in pole position: “We have the motivation and the spirit to fight to the bitter end, that is for sure”.
After passing through the Le Maire Strait, the narrow channel between the Isla de los Estados and the eastern end of Tierra del Fuego, the team ran into a light spot and their lead diminished to only five miles. Ericsson 4 came barrelling in; only to meet a brick wall, which kept them stationary for two hours after Ericsson 3 was set free to build back her lead to around 45 nm.
Now, the leading pack of three, which includes Puma, is approximately 50 nm west of the Falkland Islands, and the leader has less than 2,000 miles to run to the finish.
Ian Walker’s Green Dragon, which rounded the Horn early this morning, is the only boat now that has the option of leaving the Falklands to port.
The Dragons had over 30 knots of wind and big waves for their Cape Horn rounding, and the team dropped the spinnaker for two hours to ride out the worst of the storm. In the darkness, they passed 20 miles offshore and saw nothing of the famous Cape.
“It feels great to be back in the Atlantic and heading north again,” said Walker who planned to celebrate with a special bottle once the boat was in the Le Maire Strait.
Meanwhile, a day or so away from the exit of the Southern Ocean is Telefónica Blue, racing to stay ahead of a chasing storm, which threatens to engulf them with 50-knot winds.
Skipper Bouwe Bekking plans to take the blue boat as close to the rocks as possible. “It’s not only good for an impressive view, but, more important, it cuts the distance to Rio to a minimum,” he said.
Telefónica Blue is still making the most of the Southern Ocean conditions, surfing at a steady 19 knots, while the rest of the fleet is managing around 18. Green Dragon‘s average speed has dropped to around 10 knots as she negotiates the light airs at the exit to the Le Maire Strait.
Cape Horn Scoring Gate
Ericsson 3 (17.03.09, 12.22 GMT), 4 points
Ericsson 4 (17.03.09, 14.48 GMT), 3.5 points
Puma (17.03.09 20.46 GMT), 3 points
Green Dragon (18.03.09 02.15 GMT), 2.5 points
Leg 5, day 32, 13.00 GMT, rankings
1. Ericsson 3 SWE (Magnus Olsson/SWE) DTF 1872 nm
2. Ericsson 4 SWE (Torben Grael/BRA) +45 nm
3. Puma Racing Team USA (Ken Read/USA) +171 nm
4. Green Dragon IRL/CHN (Ian Walker/GBR) +246 nm
5. Telefónica Blue ESP (Bouwe Bekking/NED) +772 nm
Team Delta Lloyd NED/IRL (Roberto Bermudez/ESP) DNS
Telefónica Black ESP (Fernando Echávarri/ESP) DNS
Team Russia RUS (Andreas Hanakamp/AUT) DNS
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