ERICSSON 4 NEXT IN LINE
After the euphoric welcome given to Ericsson 3 this morning when she crossed the finish line in Rio de Janeiro to win leg five of the Volvo Ocean Race, Ericsson 4’s turn will come, but later on today.
Ending her StealthPlay this morning when she came within 50 miles of the finish, at 1300 GMT today Ericsson 4 had 46 miles to run, but her boat speed is down to a miserable two knots, promising a long and drawn out affair.
PUMA in the third spot, (DTF 92 nm) is fairing fractionally better, achieving an average speed of 5.8 knots during the past three hours. However, both Green Dragon and Telefónica Blue are making excellent progress a double the speed of PUMA, but have a lot of miles yet to cover.
Ericsson is predicted to finish around 2030 GMT today, provided she is not completely becalmed, with PUMA expected later tonight, but both Green Dragon and Telefónica Blue will have at least another two days at sea before they can sample the culinary delights of Rio de Janeiro.
Leg Five Day 41: 1300 GMT Volvo Ocean Race Positions
(boat name/country/skipper/nationality/distance to finish)
Ericsson 3 SWE (Magnus Olsson/SWE) FINISHED
Ericsson 4 SWE (Torben Grael/BRA) DTF 46nm
PUMA Racing Team USA (Ken Read/USA) +46
Green Dragon IRL/CHI (Ian Walker/GBR) +438
Telefónica Blue ESP (Bouwe Bekking/NED) +626
Delta Lloyd IRL (Roberto Bermudez/ESP) DNS
Telefónica Black ESP (Fernando Echávarri/ESP) DNS
Team Russia RUS (Andreas Hanakamp/AUT) DNS
Cape Horn Scoring Gate
(boat/date/rounding time/gate points)
Ericsson 3: 17.03.09 1222 GMT: 4 points
Ericsson 4: 17.03.09 1448 GMT: 3.5 points
PUMA: 17.03.09 2046 GMT: 3 points
Green Dragon: 18.03.09 0215 GMT 2.5 points
Telefónica Blue: 19.03.09 1339 GMT 2 points