At 19:50 local time, (11:50 GMT) Ericsson 3 crossed the start line of leg five, nearly seven hours after PUMA, Ericsson 4, and Green Dragon. It will be another 12,300 nautical miles for this crew until they can relax.
Meanwhile, Telefónica Blue (Bouwe Bekking/NED), which suffered damage earlier today, just minutes before the start of leg five, has been hauled out of the water. A crack has appeared in the keel and the keel bulb has been damaged.
“That crack shouldn’t have been there, said Bouwe Bekking. “We have to do it the proper way. We have to be 100 per cent sure. A structural problem would be a major and then it’s a drama. I don’t even want to think about that.”
Leg Four Finishing Order Qingdao
Telefónica Blue ESP (Bouwe Bekking/NED) 8 points
PUMA (Ken Read/USA) 7 points
Ericsson 4 (Torben Grael) 6 points
Green Dragon (Ian Walker) 5 points
Ericsson 3 (Magnus Olsson) 4 points
Telefónica Black (Fernando Echávarri/ESP) DNF: 2 points
Delta Lloyd (Roberto Bérmudez/ESP)DNF: 2 points
Team Russia (Andreas Hanakamp/AUT) DNS
Overall Leaderboard at the end of Leg 4, including Qingdao in-port race
Ericsson 4: 49 points
Telefónica Blue: 42 points
PUMA: 41 points
Green Dragon: 30 points
Ericsson 3: 28 points
Telefónica Black 21 points
Delta Lloyd: 12 points
Team Russia:10.5 points