11:57 PM Wed 18 Feb 2009 GMT
Latest news from the Volvo Ocean Race fleet.
ERICSSON 4 LEG FIVE DAY 5 QFB: received 18.02.09 1125 GMT
Ahoy from Ericsson 4
Dry-out time aboard today. The temperature has really made a change for the better and this afternoon has been a great opportunity to pack up the double layer sleeping bags and mattresses. It's also been nice to see all the condensation moisture that forms throughout the boat start to evaporate away. It's still high speed and crashing waves on deck, but the warm water and relatively dry interior make life so much more pleasant aboard the mighty Ericsson 4.
Racing-wise, things are going really well. The boat loves these reaching conditions and with every sched we gradually build our lead over the chasing Il Mostro. Our team mates aboard Ericsson 3 have done a top job getting back into the race after a late start and it's a great reflection on the skills of our shore crew that that boat is up and racing at 100% so quickly and that Ericsson 4 is so well prepared that we can be pushing at the front of the fleet in what, at times, have been pretty full conditions.
There is already some talk of bets on when we will round Cape Horn, but with 11000nm still to go to the finish, I think I might hold off a while yet before making my call.
I hope all the families and shore guys got home alright and perhaps even get some time to relax and enjoy the break from Volvo life.
Ryan Godfrey - bowman
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ERICSSON 3 LEG FIVE DAY 5 QFB: received 18.02.09 1012 GMT
There is good mood among the guys. Everyone is joking, telling stories and laughing while we are trying to make the boat go as fast as possible. This is the seventh day at sea for the guys who sailed the boat from Taiwan. The new guys, Magnus 'Bagi' Woxen and Arve Roaas, have been blending in well with the old crew.
Arve sailed the race with the Norwegian syndicate Djuice 2001-02 with the VO60s. And he is thrilled about the new boats.
'The VO 70s are better in every way. They are a lot quicker and actually a bit drier, under deck that is. And if the swing keel system is as reliable as I hear it is, it's a lot better than the water ballast system.'
Magnus Woxen, 38, is one of the most experienced ocean sailors of his age in Sweden with experience from the three latest Ocean races. Just after a couple of hours sailing with us he was amazed with the differences between the old VO 70 and this one.
'It's a complete different boat, so much quicker and more controllable.'
How does it feel to join the race so late and for the longest leg?
'I have been keen on doing this leg since I heard about it,' he says and continues:
'It includes everything, tropic conditions, Southern Ocean, Cape Horn and finish in Rio. Very challenging, of course, but fun. And it feels good to be on the Nordic boat. It very seldom happens that I can speak Swedish when I sail, so that is fun. I only knew two of the guys from before, but so far I like everyone and it feels great to be a part of this crew.'
Arve Roaas adds:
'Yeah, I feel the same. There is a good spirit in this crew and I feel I am blending in quickly. Also I start to get a good feeling on how to handle the boat and I get more confident with it every day.'
Today the sun is shining and the temperature is really comfortable. But the wind has been very shifty and it's been tricky to keep good speed and making the right choice of sails. We have between 10 and 20 knots of wind and the angle has constantly been going back and forth from 30 to 55 degrees
Obviously the other boats are in the same situation. The results we see on the scheds are a lot up and down.
Everyone is pretty happy about having less wind and warmer air and water. We have been punched around pretty hard in the cockpit the last couple of days and everyone is a bit bruised. Some have twisted their knees and ankles and hit their ribs, but nothing really serious.
'It has really been an inferno of water,' Arve Roaas says. 'But my body is now getting use to this environment. I am also starting to get use to taking on and off the wet clothes, knowing were to put your boots and socks while sleeping and how to fit in to the sleeping bag and climb up in my bunk which has only 20 cm to the roof. It feels like we have a good setup for making a good result to Rio. We seem to have alright food and fortunately a lot of snus,' he ends, laughing.
Gustav Morin - MCM
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PUMA LEG FIVE DAY 5 QFB: received 18.02.09 1006 GMT
When we started this journey Sidney Gavignet promised me that we would do some phenomenal sailing that I would remember for the rest of my life. Clearly the last two days were the ones he was describing. Fast, warm reaching down the Pacific. A little moist on deck, but a little water is always involved when you mention the word fast.
As for the race itself, we are pretty pleased at this point to be holding on to Ericsson 4 in conditions they have excelled in on past legs, and we are constantly stretching on the rest of the pack. And it really has been a flat out drag race. All of this ocean to choose from and the five boats are essentially travelling down very similar paths. The goal is to meet up with the easterly trades far enough to the east so we aren't hard on the wind. Also, we will try to position ourselves to the east of some light air near the doldrums.
Hopefully we will make it though the dreaded doldrums a little more unscathed this time. So far, as Jochen Zeitz (the head of PUMA) pointed out, we are pretty much 0-2 while trying to get through the dreaded doldrums. Since we have two more passages though there we are trying in vain to even the score.
As Jochen said 'I hate the doldrums!' Believe me Jochen, when I say that every sailor out here shares your sentiments exactly.
Life onboard has really settled in and fortunately some of the bumps and bruises that were received by a few of the boys in the first 36 hours are healing up. Doesn't look like anything terminal. Clearly Kirby's (Jerry Kirby/USA) storytelling hasn't taken a hit. Shannon Falcone has taken a breather in order for Jerry to hop back on board for this leg. As Jerry's wife Kim knows, the peace and quiet on board is now gone and Jerry can be heard laughing and bringing up another story pretty much at all hours of the day.
Don't tell him I said this, but he is the perfect guy for a leg like this. Believe me, there is never a dull moment with Mr Kirby around. And he actually knows when to take things serious as well. Something that I think it has taken all of his years to learn!
Tonight, the train may come to a halt as we run into some lighter air later and then the trades start up at a tighter angle. Still some nice sailing but not quite the bullet train that we are riding now. Plenty more to come.
Kenny Read - skipper
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TELEF?NICA BLUE LEG FIVE DAY 5 QFB: received 18.02.09 1052 GMT
Hi there,
When someone shook me awake this morning I was suddenly filled with optimism that we may have a sunny day ahead of us, however, by the time I had pulled my wet weather gear on, dragged all the stack forward downstairs to compensate for the ever- lightening wind and forced down some breakfast, the sun had once again disappeared and the light was flat and grey once again.
This has been the story for the last few days, grey, overcast with little life around us. Every now and then we see a ship in the distance and this morning we sighted the first bird for several days. Even the flying fish seem to be scarce in this part of the Pacific.
With so much sailing on the same angle in similar conditions you could easily think it's Groundhog Day! This is the way it looks to continue for the next few days at least. Reaching, reaching, reaching.... The wind will steadily head us and we will slowly curve down to the south to pick up the trades to take us south.
Despite a slight feeling of monotony amongst the crew, everything onboard is going well. The cuisine is as good as ever, with Spanish jambon, Italian parmesan and even a few fresh oranges are a treat to the palette with while stocks last! Conditions are now also much warmer so the thermal clothing is slowly being peeled away. The only bad things we have to deal with at the moment are a few people's smelly feet! So bad in fact that Jono (Jonathan Swain/RSA) was moving around downstairs wearing a ski mask on his face! The worry is, if the smell is this bad now, what are we going to do in 30 days!!
For me now it's lunch time, then sleep and the owners of the smelly feet are on deck so I best get to sleep before they return!!
Cheers,
Simon Fisher - strategist/helmsman
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TELEF?NICA BLUE LEG FIVE DAY 5 QFB: received 18.02.09 0602 GMT
Just another day reaching really, but we are starting to get into the leg a bit more now. Ericsson 4 and Puma are still stretching, but we are starting to reel in the Dragon and occasionally Ericsson 3 so hopefully we'll have some friends to play with soon.
Slowly coming into better breeze so we may be able to stop the bleeding soon, but we still aren't seeing any major passing lanes - perhaps a bit of a compression in a few days, but nothing much more exciting than that at this stage. Just have to keep chipping away - day five of a long leg like this is no time to be taking big risks on the routing.
Me, personally, I'm really looking forward to having some shifts and clouds to pick once we start getting south. There's not so much value that I can add in these reaching conditions where options are much more limited. In the last sail change I managed to give myself a small cut on my head on the back of the daggerboard, ever since then I've felt heaps better about this leg - so that's what I needed - a swift hit to the head to get me into the swing of things!!!
Jono (Jonathan Swain/RSA) has just made the change from boots to shoes. He's always the last one into boots and the first one out but I think others will follow soon. It's still very wet outside, but it's getting warmer and the wet isn't going to stop anytime soon knowing these boats, so the call will probably be made by most soon to get out of the heavy gear.
Back to reaching on port tack.
Tom Addis - navigator
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