9:07 PM Wed 28 Jan 2009 GMT
What a difference a day makes as the Volvo boats edge slowly and carefully towards the finish line in Qingdao, China.
GREEN DRAGON LEG FOUR DAY 11 QFB: received 28.01.09 0527 GMT
What a difference a day makes. Since we left the Philippines and managed to break Tommy's (Tom Braidwood/AUS) repair to the forward ring frame, we have been nursing the boat with three reefs and a storm jib, the other sails downstairs and the keel on centreline. Just occasionally we would find an area of flatter water and shake a reef out for a few hours. Inevitably, we would fall of a few big ones, get scared and reef again.
Now we have escaped the grips of the Kuroshio current and the sea, although not completely flat, is 'almost normal'. We have a stack on deck for the first time in five days, the keel is fully canted, and we are making almost 11 knots on course. It doesn't sound like much, but at times we have been slowing down to five or six knots just to keep the impacts down to an acceptable level. It feels like we are racing again.
Tommy and Neal (Neal McDonald/GBR) have further repaired the port side of the ring frame and, touch wood, it seems much stronger. We are still a wounded Dragon, and I shouldn't tempt fate, but for the first time in a while it feels like we might make it to Qingdao without have to stop again.
Ian Moore - navigator
GREEN DRAGON LEG FOUR DAY 11 QFB: received 28.01.09 0126 GMT
Hi everyone,
Well we are still going, still making our way to Qingdao, slowly and safely, trying our very best not to hurt our little boat anymore.
I have to say, this is the toughest Volvo leg I have ever had to deal with, and it's been a real test of man and machine. The guys on the Green Dragon have done such an amazing job.
I found myself in a tough place the other day, when we popped the ring frames in the bow and damaged our jibs, only after breaking the forestay and really struggling with pace early on in the leg just to stay in touch.
I was really lost, struggling for motivation, down in the dumps and really just had enough of it all. We anchored late at night in the Philippines, got some rest and I woke a few hours later to find a few guys in the bow, grinding carbon and cutting up materials to try to fix the ring frame. I saw Guo (Guo Chuan MCM), making the guys coffee and filming their progress, so I got in there to see what I could do to help.
We got a full production line going; mixing resin, wetting it out, then laying it all up, and got it done just in time so it wasn't too hot for the resin to go off while still working with it.
By the time we were done, I didn't realise we only had a few hours before we planned to set off again and we hadn't even started on the sail repairs. Yet again, my team mates on the Green Dragon came to the rescue and we all dug in, to get the sails done so we could rejoin the race. We set out again exactly on time, just after a little Chinese New Year celebration, to which our friends on Delta Lloyd witnessed and were amused by.
I guess after all my blabbing on here, I feel very lucky and proud to be a part of a team with such amazing team spirit and determination. We are all competitive people on this boat, but we are also all good friends. When one is down, the rest are there to pick him up again, and that why this team so good to be a part of.
It is also, what I believe, the race is all about, and this leg for all its highs and lows, will stick with me forever, mostly because of the people I am sailing with. And for that I'm lucky and grateful.
Looking forward to seeing and speaking to you all in Qingdao in a few days time.
Phil Harmer - helmsman/trimmer
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TELEF?NICA BLUE LEG FOUR DAY 10 QFB: received 28.01.09 0905 GMT
It has been a glamour day, sailing in blue skies and flat water. Most of the time we sailed with our code zero and staysail, but now have hoisted our big spinnaker and are still making good mileage to the finish.
We have haven't lost much against the two boats behind us, but still not feeling very comfortable, as the models show hardly any wind for us at the finish, where the boats behind still have breeze. Thirty miles ahead sounds a lot, but this can get eaten up in no time when one is parking up. Remember the last leg, where Ericsson 4 had a healthy lead, and then they made a wrong choice and ended up without wind, and there we appeared, like sharks with no mercy.
So another night where our nerves will get a good test. I think it will become extremely cold tonight, the sun is starting to go down and you feel the temperature dropping rapidly, the water temperature is only 5 degrees. Brrrrr.
Pepe (Pepe Ribes/ESP) had an encounter with a wave on the foredeck, and you saw on his face how cold the water is feeling, his hands ended up numb for minutes. I think it will be the first time for most of the guys to sail in under zero degrees conditions, as that is for sure going to happen. In Holland everybody would become nervous if you had a day like this, as freezing temperature means ice will form to go skating. I hope I have time in Qingdao to find an outdoor ice rink. Having a bad back or not, it will be vitamins to do a couple of laps.
Back to the boat: Downstairs we have very manageable temperatures, we have the generator running non-stop to create some extra heat and good sleeping bags are doing their job. Jono (Jonathan Swain/RSA) got his birthday present but he was a bit disappointed when he saw it was chocolate, as we have plenty of that onboard for this leg.
We had today a good check through the entire interior and checked all the bondings of all the bulkheads and the big hull panels; nothing was noticeable which was a big relief. But we will have another good check once we are in the harbour by the real specialists, our shore crew.
So we have a long cold night ahead, luckily we get an update every three hours to see where the other two boats are, so at least we can try to cover them as best as possible. It is so simple, stay in between the finish and your opponents, piece of cake on paper, but I am sure we will have a bit on.
Cheers,
Bouwe Bekking - skipper
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ERICSSON 4 LEG FOUR DAY 11 QFB: received 28.01.09 1216 GMT
The last five hours have been more eventful onboard Ericsson 4 than the rest of the day.
We were ( but probably will be again) sailing through thousands of fishing nets about 20+ miles off the Chinese coast, around the delta of the Yangtze river.
These huge lines of buoyed traps consist of two larger buoys, about the size of 50-litre drums, separated by about five metres by a piece of bamboo (or a substantially more robust looking piece of wood), which seem to be anchored.
From the bamboo is the net which seems to trail in the tide - often with a smaller marker on the end of this net about 10 metres down tide - or at least that's what the majority look like. In amongst the thousands of markers are the fishermen working them on small boats and minding their own business.
Then add a few Volvo 70s and the excitement starts.
We went to leeward of the first one we could not avoid (the lines of this string of traps was as far as the eye could see), and, just when we thought we passed with no trouble, the two larger buoys began to chase the boat. Anyone who has seen the film Jaws will be able to picture the scene. The boat slowed a few knots and the line snapped and the buoys stopped chasing us, we all looked around in relief.
With the next trap we came up against we headed the other side, thinking this was the answer, and caught the trap again, but instead of the Jaws moment, the bamboo cross beam bent in half and snapped in two, the net then broke and we were off again. We all burst out laughing at the fact that we had no idea which side of the net was the correct side to go and the fact we had caused such amazing damage to the second one. Hollywood could not have made it more entertaining. Sorry fishermen!
The third one we struck broke, but part stayed on the fin of the keel and no matter what we tried, we could not get rid of it. We tried heeling and flossing and flossing and heeling, but to no avail. With Puma just behind us, we only had two choices: leave the rope on the keel and ignore the vibration and slowly watch Puma run us down or, furl the code zero and do a back down (reverse the yacht and let the rope and net wash off the fins), which would hand second to Puma, but leave us clean and ready to fight.
The latter it was. The sun had set and we had about five minutes before it became pitch black outside. So we backed down and off floated about 10 metres of line, half a green net and the small buoy. Puma passed us by about three boat lengths and we deployed the sails again and gave chase.
This was two hours ago. We have hunted them down and managed to poke our nose in front, but not without a fight, and I'm sure this fight will go on and on and on.
I'm guessing we are on the sprint finish now with very little sleep to be had for either boat. We are so close that we can see the reflective camber stripes on their boat's sails which are lit up by our navigation stern light. So I'm thinking we will be about five boat lengths apart for some time yet - give or take the odd net - which, incidentally, we have just gone through another whist I have been writing. You don't stand a chance with them at night - just hope we don't get the wooden pole!
At least it will let the boys ignore the cold weather, especially the Brazilians who seem to be noticing the cold weather more than most. They are in full thermal gear including the 'old public school boy' grey balaclava - straight out of ripping yarn! Makes you wonder how the Brazilians cope in the UK when playing football away at Newcastle.
Personally I have been in shorts all day, I say shorts - it's probably fairer to say trousers as they hang well below the knee - but they are shorts on a normal person. I think my hard training at increasing my adipose layer over the last year has obviously worked very well.
It was a beautiful day today - sunny and crisp - just right for a pub roast dinner and a stroll along Cowes seafront or Compton bay (on the Isle of Wight) - a perfect winter's day!
Well I'm sure the night will be a very long one here off the Chinese coast - after all it would only take a net or two to ruin anyone's night.
Guy Salter - MCM
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by Various Volvo Ocean Race competitors
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