11:19 AM Mon 16 Feb 2009 GMT
Ericsson 4 leads the charge, sistership Ericsson 3 has overturned its seven-hour deficit - trading places with Green Dragon overnight. Telefonica Blue are just 8 hours behind the leader after starting 19 hours in arrears.Latest news from Green Dragon and Ericsson 4 - Leg 5 of Volvo Ocean Race.
GREEN DRAGON LEG FIVE DAY 3 QFB: received 16.02.09 0604 GMT
My geography lesson is continuing as we have now swept past Korea and Japan out of the Yellow and China Seas into the Pacific. At daybreak today we had some stunning scenery as we threaded our way through two Japanese islands (well volcanoes actually) called Kuchino Shima and Nakano Shima. That's the closest I have ever been to Japan - these islands look a great place to explore.
It has been a tough 36 hours with winds in the 20's and 30's (knots) and lots of pressed up reaching. The decks have been awash and it has been survival suits, lifejackets and harnesses all round, day and night.
Sail selection has been key as changing sails costs you many miles because you have to slow the boat down to give the guys on the bow a chance to set up the change. Slowing down from five knots to 15 knots for 20 minutes costs you over three miles as well as what you lose sailing lower. Some we have done well, and some we haven't. All the time we have been trying to remember that it is a long leg and we don't need to take unnecessary risks too early on.
At the moment the boat and sails are in good shape. Everybody is pretty tired onboard as sleeping and eating is not easy in these conditions, but right now we have a slight reprieve with winds of under 20 knots. We are catching up on chores like tidying the boat, checking for damage, eating and bailing out the water that finds its way into every compartment of the boat. The good news is that the water temperature has risen from five degrees at the start to 21 degrees now, so slowly the thermals, hats and gloves are coming off. I'm sure it won't be long before we are moaning about it being too hot.
As far as the race goes, we are hanging on to the coattails of Puma and Ericsson 4 but that is no easy task in stability reaching conditions, where they have a clear speed advantage. It was fun to lead Ericsson 4 for a few scheds in the lighter air, but rather daunting at the ease with which they overhauled us and Puma. That boat flies on a reach, as does Ericsson 3 who are about three miles directly ahead of us. It's always fun to have a boat within sight as you have something to gauge your performance against. They have done well to get back in the race after starting late, but they have taken advantage of far better wind than us since they started. I suspect it won't be long before Telef?nica Blue is back in the mix too.
Today would have been the birthday of my good friend and former sailing partner John Merricks. How he would have loved to have been doing what I am now. We could have done with his driving skills onboard last night as we fought to keep control at up to 30 knots of boatspeed in the pitch black. He was one of the best heavy air sailors I ever sailed with or against.
Ian Walker - skipper
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ERICSSON 4 LEG FIVE DAY 3 QFB: received 16.02.09 0828 GMT
Hi!
It was good to keep going in the race and, for the start, Qingdao showed us what we were looking for during our stay, a beautiful day with clear sky, where we could appreciate the mountains and landscape behind the city, excellent conditions for the spectators as well. While we struggled to go out in the light wind we could see Ericsson 3 fighting to get in - good to have them back in the race!
During the evening, the wind picked up and by midnight we were blasting through the Yellow Sea in the high 20's, really cold on deck with gusts over 30-knots, I was already using all the equipment I have prepared to go deep in the South! (A good test so I can improve it for when we are there).
By the time we were abeam of Korea, we passed hundreds of fishing boats that were some times trawling in groups, some groups we passed to windward and some to leeward depending on what course we could steer, but there was one particular pair where we decided to pass between them. We noticed that both of them were trawling with long cables from their transoms. Too late to take any action and we just hoped that they were not connected!! A moment of scare and tension when you think how strong the cables must be, or how much the load will be on the yacht if we get into something like it, making 25-30knots!!! Ten seconds later we could breathe again and keep on going, looking for the next group.
Approaching the southern Islands of Japan, we had the relief of the high temperatures of the current, pretty amazing - probably hitting 20deg C which makes it a real pleasure to be hit by the constant spray and tons off water coming over the deck, at least this makes the second night a bit less stressful.
The wind has dropped quite a bit which makes the sailing pretty nice and we are still making good speed. If it's something good about this leg is that at least we are going home to Brazil. We have even stuck a picture of Corcovado and the Christ on the forward watertight bulkhead, just in front of the heads, so when you spend those precious moments you could say that we are looking forward to get there!!
Horacio Carabelli - trimmer
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TELEF?NICA BLUE LEG FIVE DAY 3 QFB: received 16.02.09 0810 GMT
We've just entered the Pacific Ocean which is a great feeling - partly because it is home for me, but mainly because the water is a lot warmer when it hits you! This time yesterday, we were in seven degrees centigrade water, now it is 21, so it's gloves and balaclava off time - not to return for a couple of weeks. Its extremely wet on deck - getting fire hosed constantly at 25-28kts boatspeed - it helps when the water is warm!
Over the last six hours, we have been in better breeze than the guys ahead - it won't last forever but it has helped us make some strong gains over the last two scheds, which is great for morale - its always hard fighting an invisible enemy but they are at last getting a bit closer. Unfortunately, we are seeing a bit of a one way track in front of us at the moment with no major passing lanes in the short term, so we are staying honest with ourselves and sailing a course which we think is best for us - even if it is similar to the others - better and less risky opportunities will arise further down the track I am sure...
In the meantime, we are starting to get ourselves sorted out after our disrupted departure from Qingdao. Heading straight into a 500 mile day was a shock to the system, but it's great to finally let these yachts stretch their legs a bit!
Tom Addis - navigator
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