Volvo Ocean Race, Ericsson 4 primo al cancello di Palau We

[singlepic=1141,250,170,,left]Volvo Ocean Race – Cochin – Nuova soddisfazione per Torben Grael e per il suo equipaggio. Ericsson 4, infatti, ha raggiunto per primo lo scoring gate di Palau We, situato sulla punta nord dell’Isola di Sumatra. Lo scafo dell’Ericsson Racing Team, già leader della classifica generale grazie a due successi di tappa, è transitato attraverso il cancello alle 16.09 GMT di oggi e ha raccolto quattro punti che lom proiettano a quota trenta.

“Siamo molto contenti di questo risultato perchè non è stato affatto facile arrivare qui per primi – ha spiegato da bordo Guy Slater – Ora viene la parte più difficile: le prossime seicento miglia saranno davvero impegnative, perchè lo Stretto di Malacca è ostico sotto ogni punto di vista”.

Mezz’ora dopo Ericsson 4, ad incassare tre punti e mezzo è stato Telefonica Blue, condotto da un Bouwe Bekking piuttosto contrariato: “Non siamo riusciti a contenerli. Hanno sempre navigato in vento più fresco del nostro e sono scesi con un angolo migliore”.

Leg 3, day 6, 16.00 GMT, rankings
1 – Ericsson 4 SWE (Torben Grael/BRA) DTF 579 nm
2 – Telefónica Blue ESP (Bouwe Bekking/NED) +7 nm
3 – Ericsson 3 SWE (Anders Lewander/SWE) +15 nm
4 – Puma Racing Team USA (Ken Read/USA) +18 nm
5 – Telefónica Black ESP (Fernando Echávarri/ESP) +30 nm
6 – Green Dragon IRL/CHN (Ian Walker/GBR) +38 nm
7 – Team Russia RUS (Andreas Hanakamp/AUT) +77 nm
8 – Team Delta Lloyd IRL (Roberto Bermudez/ESP) +161 nm

Per seguire la regata sul Race Tracker clicca qui.

RICH PICKINGS FOR E4
[Volvo Ocean Race Press Release] The rich get richer. Ericsson 4, already in possession of two leg wins, banked further points yesterday when it was first to pass through the scoring gate at Pulau We, off the northern coast of Sumatra.

Torben Grael and his crew, the overall leaders of the race, crossed the waypoint at 16.09 GMT to pocket their 4 points and extend their overall race tally to 30. They now have 580 miles of this 1,950-mile third leg from Cochin to Singapore remaining.

In a dispatch prior to their rounding, Ericsson 4 Media Crew Member Guy Slater reflected on the hard, upwind slog to land their prize. “It’s taken a while to get here and has taken its toll on the fleet,” he said. According to Salter, there are a few remaining obstacles to circumnavigate en route to their final destination.

“The Malacca Straits are the next task, it could be quite a tricky and time-consuming passage. I have been up and down many times and have never known of much wind, the only wind generated by the huge thunderstorms which brew up during the day on both the Indonesian and Malaysian side. The only thing on the minds of E4 now are about getting to Singapore ASAP whilst avoiding the fishermen, their nets, the vast amounts of commercial shipping, the large amount of litter in the water which ranges from a plastic cup to the odd tree log, the tides, the sandbanks, the storm clouds and associated lightning, the pirates, the sea snakes and the areas of no wind – so not much to worry about.”

Telefonica Blue still had eight miles to cover to the gate to grab the 3.5 points on offer for second place. Bouwe Bekking’s men, camped out in the south on the passage through the Bay of Bengal, had held the lead over the past 48 hours. On the seventh day, E4 rose again – to the top of the leaderboard benefitting as they did from an unfavourable wind shift for the Spanish entry.

You could sense the resignation in Bekking’s words when he finally conceded defeat to E4 in an email this morning. “Grrr, we haven’t been able to hold E4, who always had earlier lifted breeze than ourselves. This has given them a more favourable angle to sail in … and they were able to go faster than us”.

Leg 3, day 6, 16.00 GMT, rankings
1 – Ericsson 4 SWE (Torben Grael/BRA) DTF 579 nm
2 – Telefónica Blue ESP (Bouwe Bekking/NED) +7 nm
3 – Ericsson 3 SWE (Anders Lewander/SWE) +15 nm
4 – Puma Racing Team USA (Ken Read/USA) +18 nm
5 – Telefónica Black ESP (Fernando Echávarri/ESP) +30 nm
6 – Green Dragon IRL/CHN (Ian Walker/GBR) +38 nm
7 – Team Russia RUS (Andreas Hanakamp/AUT) +77 nm
8 – Team Delta Lloyd IRL (Roberto Bermudez/ESP) +161 nm

To follow the race on Race Tracker click here.

To visit the video gellery click here.

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