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Smooth sailing for Ericsson 4

(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-12-03 09:15

KOCHI, India: Ericsson 4, skippered by five-time Olympic medalist Torben Grael of Brazil, made it two wins in a row by winning the second leg of the Volvo Ocean Race from Capetown to Kochi, opening up a seven-point lead over its nearest rival Telefonica Blue.

Volvo Ocean Race yacht Telefonica Blue arrives in the southern Indian city of Cochin November 30, 2008. Yacht Telefonica Blue is the second to arrive at Cochin in the second stage of the Volvo Ocean Race 2008-2009. [Agencies]

However, Grael - whose team broke the world 24-hour record for a monohull yacht in the first leg from Alicante, Spain to Capetown, South Africa - played down his team's apparent superiority.

"This race is a long way from over," he said on the race website after his team's arrival Sunday evening. "I do not see ourselves as the team to beat at all."

"The second leg is the beginning of the race and there is a lot of racing to go. We have worked very hard to get where we are, but the other teams are all capable of getting results," Grael said.

Telefonica Blue came second and Ericsson 4's sister yacht, Ericsson 3, finished third.

Ericsson 4 has an overall score of 26 points and Telefonica Blue is on 19 points, followed by PUMA Ocean Racing in third place on 18.

In one of the closest-ever conclusions to a race leg, four boats crossed the finish line in Kochi, India, within a little over an hour on Monday afternoon despite having raced 4,450 nautical miles from Capetown.

Telefonica Black went from seventh to fourth in the final few hours of the leg, cleverly using its "stealth play" - which blocks other teams from seeing its position reports - and then hugging the coast to make big gains.

"I wasn't surprised that we came out in a good way," said Telefonica Black navigator Roger Nilson. "We saw the first three boats go that route and it worked for them so we did the same."

Finishing the second leg as the sun was setting, PUMA arrived in Kochi in fifth place, just 22 minutes behind Spanish entry Telefonica Black. The Dutch team Delta Lloyd followed, crossing the line just seven minutes after PUMA, with Green Dragon shortly behind.

"Painful. That is the only way to describe this leg," said PUMA skipper Kenny Read knowing the longitudinal frames on his boat broke twice during the race. "The give and take that has occurred is like no other race I have ever been a part of."

However, Team Russia is still yet to finish the race as it is currently battling very light and variable winds.

At 04:00 GMT Tuesday, Team Russia had 334 miles to run to the finish and weather routing software has the team due to arrive just after midnight, GMT, on Thursday, or with the sunrise, local time.

Agencies and China Daily