One - Two for Ericsson 3 & 4
08/04/2009
Ericsson strengthened its grip on the Volvo Ocean Race leaderboard after the longest leg in the history of the round-the-world race, but it was not the Swedish boat many thought it might be that sailed into Rio de Janeiro at the head of the fleet.
After 40 days, 23 hours and 26 minutes and 57 seconds of dramatic race sailing, covering the 12,300nm long haul from Qingdao to Rio, it was Ericsson 3 that took top points from the so-called ‘senior boat,’ Ericsson 4 with PUMA Racing taking the third podium place.
Veteran Swedish skipper Magnus Olsson could scarcely hide his delight, not only at winning the toughest leg in the 30-plus-year history of the race but also putting one over on Ericsson 4, the international crew.
Said the skipper of Ericsson 3, the Nordic boat on the Rio quayside, “Unbelievable,” he said amid the hollering at dockside. “We actually deserve it. We had a fantastic strategy when we needed it and we executed that strategy in a very, very good way.”
In a see-saw battle between the Ericsson two, the International boat, Ericsson 4 took the line at the first waypoint ahead of their junior partners, but come Cape Horn and the second waypoint, Ericsson 3’s Nordic crew had carved out a lead they were to hold until Rio.
Ericsson 4 came into Rio to take seven points as runners-up, strengthening their grip on the Fighting Finish Trophy on 63.5 points, 10.5 ahead of PUMA with Telefónica Bule in third on 50.5 points. Ericsson 3’s epic win took them in closer order, their eight point leg win and four for the Cape Horn waypoint elevating them to 43.5 points and on the fringes of contention.
And the racing just keeps on coming; the Rio in-port race takes place on 4th April, with the fleet, hopefully restored to a full complement of eight yachts setting sail for Boston on 11 April 2009, the sixth leg, a 4,900nm drag up the east coast of the Americas expected to end in the only US stopover port on Monday 27th April.
www.volvooceanrace.org / www.ericssonracingteam.com