Volvo Ocean Race Press Information

Magnus Olsson/SWE and his crew racing Ericsson 3 were simply not going to give away points.  Retiring after their boat was seriously damaged in the crossing between Luzon Island in the Philippines and the northern tip of Taiwan, was not an option for this team, whose tenacity is beyond doubt.  Four points for finishing in fifth place were on offer, and they belonged to Ericsson 3.

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That is the situation for us on Ericsson 3. We have managed, with a massive effort from our shore crew, to get the boat ready in just a couple of days. We have sailed the boat to China with just seven sailing crewmembers. We have been through heavy sail changes in complete darkness and biting cold winds of 30 knots.

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It is foggy both outside and inside. One thing is worse than another.   This morning our navigator Aksel Magdahl had to keep his eyes on the radar all the time so we wouldn’t collide with any ships. Visibility was just couple of hundred metres and ships were suddenly appearing a bit too close.

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It’s been a race against odds for the past two weeks to get Ericsson 3 (Magnus Olsson/SWE) repaired, back in the water and to Qingdao in time for the start of leg five.  The team restarted leg four on 11 February at 2344 GMT from position 25 51.94N 121 52.97E.  The boat will cross the line in Qingdao, repack the boat and then restart leg five as soon as possible.

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Place: Taiwan, Hualien. Time: five in the morning.   It is completely dark, rain is drizzling down and the temperature has suddenly dropped 10 degrees.  But, the heat is on. In a few hours this mission will reach one of its most crucial points.

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We are  coming into Guo’s home town of Qingdao. After everything we have been through on this leg it looks like we are going to make it to Qingdao. We now have only 35 miles to go and a gentle seven knot wind that, knowing our luck, will probably die away to nothing soon! 

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It feels a bit strange being the only ones left out racing. For a start, there is no reason to look at the position reports every three hours as we know where we are – well we do most of the time when the GPS works.

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With the first three boats safely tied up in Qingdao after finishing earlier today, the only team still at sea is Ian Walker’s Green Dragon.

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Kenny Read/USA, guided PUMA through the finish of Volvo Ocean Race leg four in Qingdao, China today at 0817 GMT (1617 local time) to claim second place after an unbelievable effort, which saw the team break their boom and drop anchor in the Philippines order to make repairs.

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In a leg that has been full of drama, bravery and courage, Bouwe Bekking and his men racing Telefónica Blue has pulled off their second leg win a row to take first place on the podium in Qingdao, China, after sailing immaculately.

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